Professor Dumbledore briefly spoke with Hagrid, dismissing him as he told him he had more to speak about with the Harry and Rose being than he'd anticipated. He then returned to the office and conjured a squashy, comfortable looking arm chair that both halves of the Harry and Rose being could sit in together. They did so, glad for that, Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk and gazing at them with a heavy expression.
"I shall not begin, as you may wish, at the beginning. However, I will tell you all that you wish to know." Professor Dumbledore began.
"Why not at the beginning?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Because the first confession I make to you will be, perhaps, the most difficult for you to hear." Professor Dumbledore stated. "It was I who left you at the Dursley's."
"You left me there?" The Harry and Rose being asked coolly. "Do you realize how difficult it's been to live there with those people? They don't care for me at all!"
"If you will allow me to speak, I will inform you of my reasoning." Professor Dumbledore said.
The Harry and Rose being didn't respond, only looked on angrily.
"You will recall your last encounter with Voldemort, how Professor Quirrell, who was being possessed by him, was unable to touch you." Professor Dumbledore responded. "That magic of which I speak, the sacrifice of Lilly Potter for you both, kept you safe during that encounter. It is also a magic which Voldemort chooses to have little or no understanding, a magic he despises, that of love.
"At the time when I left you on the door step of your aunt, my priority was to keep you protected. I reasoned that, being soul bound, that protection would carry over from you, Harry, to Rose. I chose to leave you both at the Dursley home, where your aunt, Lilly Potter's sister, would take you in and keep you safe from those wishing to harm you. You see, the protection the Dursley's home offers not only yourself but them, is stronger than any that I could have erected myself, for if that had not been the case, I would have left you with a wizarding family who would have been far more kind and caring than the Dursley's.
"However, knowing my protection would eventually fail, and keeping in mind that Voldemort had been vanquished hours before, I made my choice. I knew that many of Voldemort's supporters would attempt to kill you both, as they were angry, violent, and desperate. I knew also that Voldemort would return one day, that he is not truly dead, even now. And so, you were kept safe from those who wished you harm.
"There was, however, an unanticipated difficulty. I had originally planned to leave you with Sirius Black once he could be found, or perhaps Sarah Black, as I reasoned the same protection may carry over to them, but before I did so, I needed to verify that I was correct. Though they were not the ones who sacrificed their lives for you, I have little doubt that they would. However, the night that I left you with the Dursley's was the same night I discovered Sirius Black's betrayal."
"I don't believe he betrayed the Potter's." The Harry and Rose being replied. "There's hardly any evidence to prove that's the case."
The Harry and Rose being saw Professor Dumbledore look thoughtful, almost proud.
"Might I ask you to explain?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"There was one finger left behind from the man Sirius Black supposedly killed, only one. There was nothing else found from the explosion, and if Peter Pettigrew was killed there, you'd think there would have been more to find." The Harry and Rose being responded. "He was put in Azkaban with no trial at all, no chance to defend himself."
"You must understand, that at the time, desperation to round up all of Voldemort's supporters was quite high." Professor Dumbledore admitted. "It was common knowledge by that time of Sirius Black's role in the protection of the Potter's. Since they were, obviously, quite dead, the conclusion drawn was that he betrayed them. The evidence fit the facts, and indeed, he was found laughing at the scene of the crime. That only re enforced the conclusion reached."
"What if Peter Pettigrew left his finger there intentionally and escaped somehow? What if he's still alive, and he was the trader?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"To our knowledge, he was not the secret keeper." Professor Dumbledore replied. "I presume you are familiar with what I speak."
"The Fidelius Charm." The Harry and Rose being said. "I've read about it during my free time, I was curious to learn about it a little more than the news article I'd read last year. But, answer this, Professor. Is it possible for the Potter's to have switched secret keepers to protect Sirius Black, or keep themselves safer?"
"Perhaps." Professor Dumbledore responded thoughtfully. "It is certainly something they could have done, but we have no evidence to prove that being the case. We also have no idea how Peter Pettigrew might have escaped. I briefly entertained the possibility of him being an Animagus, one who can transform into an animal, but dismissed the possibility when I discovered he was not listed in the records of registered Animagi, of which there are, I believe, only seven for this century."
"What about an unregistered Animagus?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"That is admittedly more unlikely, and a thought I hadn't entertained." Professor Dumbledore stated.
"I assume injuries that someone has in their human form will carry over to their animal form?" The Harry and Rose being asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, the opposite also being true." Professor Dumbledore replied.
"And how long do rats live, Professor? In the magical world, that is, one that has no particular abilities, ordinary as far as anyone knows." The Harry and Rose being said.
"Typically, between three to five years." Professor Dumbledore responded.
"Ron has a rat who's lived at least eleven." The Harry and Rose being replied. "It has a missing toe on it. That could be him."
"Curious." Professor Dumbledore said under his breath.
"I didn't realize it until now." The Harry and Rose being went on. "But when you brought up the possibility of people turning into animals, and Peter having missed a finger, I remembered why I wanted to know earlier this summer. I dismissed it earlier too, thought it was just a property of magical rats. I guess Ron did as well, because he never thought it was odd, nor did Percy who owned him before that."
"A plausible, though admittedly circumstantial line of reasoning." Professor Dumbledore stated. "There is a spell that can be used to reveal an Animagus, force he or she into their human form. On an animal, such a spell does nothing and is not harmful."
"If he's alive, then Sirius Black's innocent." The Harry and Rose being said. "What can we do about that, anything?"
"In fact, there is something we can do." Professor Dumbledore responded. "The remarkably intelligent Miss Granger is, I believe, working on a Polyjuice Potion in Myrtle's bathroom at this very moment, is she not?"
The Harry and Rose being felt their blood turn to ice, blood draining from their faces.
"That is to say, hypothetically, if such a thing were occurring, it is something of which I am totally unaware, and for your protection from punishment here at Hogwarts, something best kept secret." Professor Dumbledore continued casually. "I presume you understand what I am telling you."
"Yes, sir." The Harry and Rose being replied.
"Of course, should some of this potion happen to come into my possession anonymously, there would be no way to link you to its brewing, for which at such time, my plan to speak with Sirius Black and possibly retrieve him from Azkaban can proceed." Professor Dumbledore replied.
"What plan?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"One that I have just thought of, in fact, and one I shall require your assistance with." Professor Dumbledore responded. "My position, not only here at Hogwarts, but elsewhere, gives me certain abilities to bring people to and from Azkaban. I believe you are still in possession of the invisibility cloak I sent you?"
"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being said, heart beating with excitement now rather than fear.
"Good." Professor Dumbledore responded. "But, I get ahead of myself, and such a plan may be unnecessary at all, as well as overly complex. We have, I believe, digressed from the original topic of discussion, my explanation to you as to the Dursley's protection."
"But Sirius..." The Harry and Rose being began.
"Can wait a little longer." Professor Dumbledore stated. "You have asked for an explanation as to why Voldemort will not rest until you are both dead. I promised you that explanation."
"Okay." The Harry and Rose being responded. "But I want to free Sirius Black if it's at all possible to do."
"After this, I promise you that we will proceed with the first step in that endeavor." Professor Dumbledore assured.
After a moment's thought, the Harry and Rose being said, "You left off with the Dursley explanation, I think, with the difficulty of Sirius Black and your theory he could protect me."
"Ah, yes." Professor Dumbledore said. "With Sirius Black now being in Azkaban, the situation with the Dursley's became more permanent than I had originally intended. However, I still believed the protection would pass on to you, Rose. Not long after such time, I was believed to be proven wrong."
Dumbledore stood to his feet and walked past them to a cabinet beside Fawkes's perch. From it, he took a shallow stone basin with various runes carved around its edges.
"This," Professor Dumbledore explained as he walked back to the desk. "Is a Pensieve. It will allow us to view, among other things, that fateful night when I discovered your death, Rose."
"The Rose half's death?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Yes." Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "The evidence left for me to find was flawless and bore no deception that I was aware of."
Placing his wand to his temple, he seemed to take from his mind some fine strands of an odd, silvery substance that looked like neither liquid nor gas, but somewhere in between. He placed them within the Pensieve and beckoned the Harry and Rose being to stand, which they did.
"You need only lean forward and touch the memory within." Professor Dumbledore said, hand hovering over the Pensieve. "The sensation may be somewhat disorienting for you, but you will not be harmed."
Trembling a little, the Harry and Rose being reached out to do so as Dumbledore prodded the substance with his wand, which began to swirl very fast, a window forming above. The Harry and Rose being gazed down at a snow covered seen, and if they remembered correctly, this was a park near Privet Drive where they lived. Taking a deep breath, they leaned closer and their noses touched the window. The office floor lurched, tipping them head first into the memory. They spun very fast through a cold blackness before coming to stand next to Professor Dumbledore, surrounded by the snow covered park. Moments later, Professor Dumbledore appeared on their other side as they looked around with interest. The voice of a desperate woman caught their attention and they stared at Sarah Black, a woman they recognized from the Mirror of Erised the prior year.
"What's this about? Can we see them, where are they? Are you going to let me keep them now? Tell me!" She asked with desperation.
"Right here." The Harry and Rose being said in a trembling voice.
"They cannot hear you." Professor Dumbledore said in response. "Turn around."
While they'd been talking, Professor Dumbledore had gazed on at Sarah with a terrible sadness. She staggered as the Harry and Rose being turned to the left, the Professor Dumbledore in the memory stepping aside after Sarah had weakly said, "No..." He revealed a tiny Rose Potter, who looked as if she'd partly transformed into a wolf of some kind, face twisted in sheer agony, cold and lifeless. As Sarah stared at the sight, she cried out in terrible grief, shouting, "No!"
She and a man they'd not noticed before fell to their knees. The man wasn't familiar to them, though they thought they might have seen him somewhere before. His face was warn with scars, and at the moment, his expression was just as grieved as Sarah Black's own.
"Remus Lupin." Professor Dumbledore said quietly behind them, indicating the man.
The Professor Dumbledore in the memory also looked terribly grieved, tears running down his cheeks, shaking with silent sobs. It wasn't an expression that could have been faked. The Harry and Rose being's breath caught in their chest as they stared on at the scene, desperately wishing they could do something to change what had happened. It was only a memory, though, and as such, wasn't changeable.
"I am terribly sorry." The Professor Dumbledore in the memory said. His voice even shook a little, too, the Harry and Rose being noted.
There was a long few moments of silence before Remus Lupin asked, "How did this happen? She didn't transform like this before!" His voice was also trembling a little.
"I don't know, Remus." Professor Dumbledore in the memory replied weakly, sounding lost. "I just don't know."
"I have to check, have to know." Sarah said in a frantic voice.
A knife appeared with a wave of her wand as Remus Lupin and both Professor Dumbledore's watched on. Quietly, Professor Dumbledore said, "This is the irrefutable evidence that proved you were dead."
Sarah Black moved to the body of Rose, cutting it and letting a small amount of blood leak into the snow as she pulled it from her body with her wand, then cut herself and let her blood mingle with that which she believed was her daughter's. Trembling, Sarah waved her wand in a circle and stated, "Familial." The blood gathered into a sphere as Remus Lupin and the memory Professor Dumbledore watched with anticipation. Moments later, the blood vanished and a deep red light traveled from where it had been. Sarah Black screamed in grief as she fell to the ground, and from her expression, she knew her daughter was dead. It was only a moment later that she leapt up, looking furious, glaring at the Professor Dumbledore in the memory.
"You told me they would be safe, Dumbledore, you told me! Now his followers got to Rose because of your arrogance! I'll kill them first and you're next!" She shouted, turned on the spot, then vanished.
Professor Dumbledore rose his wand and the memory froze.
"If you wish to know the rest, I will show you." He stated gravely. "However, suffice it to say, Sarah Black was killed by some of Voldemort's followers who were still at large. Somehow, it was they who deceived us with a combination of Polyjuice Potion and a partial, deadly transformation to fake Rose's death."
"Yes, I want to see." The Harry and Rose being said, gripping hands and trembling.
Professor Dumbledore gave a very deep sigh and flicked his wand. The scene spun wildly around them, cold blackness pressing in from all sides until they stood on a dark, unfamiliar street. Sarah Black was striding ahead of them furiously, the Professor Dumbledore from the memory and Remus immediately setting off to follow. The Harry and Rose being hurried after them, and behind them, Professor Dumbledore followed.
"Sarah!" Remus Lupin called desperately.
Sarah spun around, blue eyes blazing with a furious, rage-filled grief.
"You shouldn't have followed me!" She screamed, enraged.
"Sarah, you are Harry Potter's family, his godmother." Professor Dumbledore from the memory began calmly.
"And you can protect him, you wouldn't even tell me where they are! I hate you!" Sarah snarled furiously. It was clear, even to the Harry and Rose being, that she wasn't thinking clearly at all. "I will find them, do you hear me? And I will kill them!"
"In your current state, it would not do for you to go up against Voldemort's death eaters." The memory Professor Dumbledore tried to explain, even as he started to pull out his wand.
"You won't stop me!" Sarah shouted wildly. "You won't stop me this time! I know where they are and I'll..."
At that moment, a blue light sped from an alley near bye and slammed into Sarah, sending her flying through the air where she slammed into what looked to be a sharp piece of metal. The Harry and Rose being ran forward as the memory Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin followed frantically, and at the same moment, the Professor Dumbledore in the memory waved his wand in the direction of a pop, the same kind which Sarah had made as she'd disappeared earlier.
"We are too late." The memory Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "For her, and for me to catch the one who did this."
Sarah Black coughed, blood spraying from her mouth. She struggled to breath in and the Harry and Rose being blinked tears of grief from their eyes. It was one thing to know of Sarah Black's death, quite another to actually see it happen. They gasped in a sob as Sarah let out a whimper of pain. Professor Dumbledore from the memory waved his wand at her and she floated gently to the street. He muttered words under his breath, frantically waving his wand over her and vanishing the metal piece of fence from her body, a powerful magical field of some kind containing the blood. The Harry and Rose being whimpered in grief and Professor Dumbledore sighed deeply again behind them.
"Protect, Harry..." Sarah stated weakly, her eyes blazing. "Protect... Him... If you have... Any... Good..."
"I promise you that I shall do all that I can." The memory Professor Dumbledore stated, summoning what looked to be an old garbage bag, cleaning it with a wave of his wand, then tapped it and made it glow blue. This seemed to have some significant's, as the Professor Dumbledore from the memory shoved it into Sarah's hand, grabbed it, then Remus Lupin touched it as well.
Color and light began appearing all around them, and from the look of things, the three were spinning very quickly. The scene of what looked to be some sort of magical hospital appeared and Professor Dumbledore grabbed Sarah before she slammed to the floor. Several individuals wearing lime-green robes with an emblem of a wand and bone, crossed, was on their chests. As they hurried over, Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin stepped back, one of the people waving a wand over Sarah, a tall witch.
"Healers." Professor Dumbledore explained as the woman's face drained of all color.
"No pulse, no heartbeat, infected with a fatal poison." She announced, then sighed. "I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do."
"I want to know what poison infected her." Remus Lupin replied in a cold, angry voice. "Can you find out?"
"I'm afraid not, but given that it's already starting to degrade within her blood, it's likely one of the rare, fast acting ones assassins have been known to use, the names of which have been lost over time. I'm sorry, sirs, this is all I can provide you with." The woman stated in reply, her voice compassionate and caring.
"And that, I'm afraid, is that." Professor Dumbledore said, grabbing their elbows.
They rose up through the cold, spinning blackness and were deposited back in Professor Dumbledore's office. Weak with grief, the Harry and Rose being sank into the chair behind them, trembling quietly, silent tears rolling down their faces.
"I warned you it would be difficult." Professor Dumbledore said with a heavy sigh. "But now you know one piece of information which I wished not to burden you with so young. As you likely inferred, the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, knew she would come to that location and planned for that eventuality."
The Harry and Rose being felt weighed down with the powerful grief in their mind, their thoughts of Sarah Black's death running over and over in their mind. They clung to each other and shook with sobs, crying into their shoulders. Sarah Black was dead and had been for a long time, but such knowledge didn't make it any easier to bear.
"Do you wish to know the rest now, or shall we save it for another day?" Professor Dumbledore asked in a quiet, respectful tone.
The Harry and Rose being pulled away from one another and wiped their eyes, sniffing and taking deep breaths.
"Now." They said quietly. "I want to know it all now."
"Very well." Professor Dumbledore said in a heavy tone, pulling yet more strands of memory from his head with his wand, placing them in the stone basin.
"With the apparent, irrefutable evidence of Rose's death, I realized the flaw in my reasoning." Professor Dumbledore continued as if he'd never stopped to show them the memories. "It seemed that the protection only covered Harry, not Rose, so I watched. I made certain Harry was protected, just as Sarah Black had promised I do. And indeed, there were some attempts made on his life, all of them failures.
"You can imagine how I felt when Professor McGonagall came to me almost ten years later, reporting that you, Rose, were indeed alive. I knew then that I had been deceived, and also knew that my plan to protect both of you had worked better than I had imagined. As I had hoped and planned, you showed up at Hogwarts, Harry, and though unanticipated, you with him, Rose. I knew that leaving both of you at the Dursley's would be a hard and difficult life, but you would be protected, which was, as I stated before, my top priority.
"Having more time to think about and consider the protection given to you by Lilly Potter's sacrifice, I came to the conclusion that, as long as you shall call the Dursley home your own and return there at least once a year, you both shall be protected there. The shield of Lilly's love lives on within you, Harry, and her sister. It wasn't until the end of your previous year at Hogwarts that I came to realize that protection also extended to Rose, and I came to more fully accept your single soul bond.
"You were not as happy or as well nourished as I would have liked when you both arrived at Hogwarts, but you were safe, and acted not as a pampered little prince or princess. You were both as normal as I could have hoped under the circumstances. I knew, then, that my plan thus far was working well.
"I am certain you recall the events of your first year as I do. You met Voldemort once again, much sooner than I had anticipated, but showing more courage and bravery than I could have imagined. Again, you survived, delaying his rise to power. I was prouder of both of you than I can express.
"And yet, though I had such a wonderful plan, it also had a serious flaw, an obvious one that could undue everything I had sought to achieve. Knowing how important it was for my plan to succeed, I told myself that I would not permit this flaw to ruin it. I alone could prevent this, so I alone must be strong. And here was my first test, as you lay in the hospital wing."
"What d'you mean?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Don't you remember asking me why Voldemort wanted to kill you?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
The Harry and Rose being nodded.
"I ought to have told you then, no?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"I would have preferred that you did, but you didn't." The Harry and Rose being replied. "To protect me, keep me from knowing the truth, save me from going through this grief, perhaps?"
"Precisely." Professor Dumbledore replied. "And such is the flaw in my plan, for if I had continued, perhaps I would have never told you what you wish to know. Despite the pain the information I have thus far told you had caused, I am proud that you confronted me, glad that I was forced into telling you. Though I always have a choice, you made the situation quite clear for me, so clear that keeping the information from you now seemed quite ridiculous to do. You had shown yourself ready to hear it, so here we are."
"Why, then?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Why does Voldemort want to kill me?"
"Because a prophecy has been made about you both." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I heard the prophecy given, as it was stated directly to me. On a cold, wet night twelve years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head Inn. I had gone there to see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher, though it was against my inclination to allow the subject of Divination to continue at all. The applicant, however, was the great-great-granddaughter of a very famous, very gifted Seer, and I thought it common politeness to meet her. I was disappointed. It seemed to me that she had not a trace of the gift herself. I told her, courteously I hope, that I did not think she would be suitable for the post. I turned to leave. This is what I heard."
Professor Dumbledore rose his wand and prodded the memories within the Pensieve. A figure rose from it, draped in shawls, her eyes magnified to an enormous size behind her glasses. She slowly revolved, her feet within the basin. When she spoke, her voice was harsh and hoarse.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Half born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the dark lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the dark lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... Half of the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
The slowly revolving woman sank down into the basin and vanished within the silvery memories. The Harry and Rose being stared ahead. Given the information, the prophecy could only apply to them.
"You can imagine my confusion at the prophecy." Professor Dumbledore stated. "There were two individuals, two possibilities that I soon became aware of. One was yourself, Harry, but the other was Neville Longbottom."
"But he's not the one." The Harry and Rose being said with resigned acceptance. "I am, the prophecy makes that very clear. Half of the one being born can only be referring to me, I'm the only one who could have half born and another half not."
"Yes and no." Professor Dumbledore replied. "Though half of you was born, you, the whole being, was born at that moment, as the seventh month dies. Only Harry Potter's body was born, but you, Rose, having always shared a single soul with Harry, were also born at that moment. However, your body was not."
"I see." The Harry and Rose being said. "That makes sense, I suppose. But how did Voldemort mark me as his equal?"
"By giving you the scar you possess, one that has proven both blessing and curse." Professor Dumbledore responded.
"How is it a blessing, exactly?" The Harry and Rose being asked with confusion.
"You are aware when Voldemort approaches, are you not?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being said.
"I also suspect that, in giving you the scar the Harry half of you possesses, Lord Voldemort left a piece of himself within you that very night, giving you some of his powers. That, I believe, is why you are able to speak to snakes as you can, as well as understand them. Furthermore, in marking you in such a way, you have power of which he knows nothing of. Oddly, the power could also refer to your single soul bond, though I always suspected something more. It is my belief that you possess something Voldemort does not, and in great quantities, a force studied at the Department of Mysteries within the ministry of magic. This force is contained behind a locked door, and is known as love. Not only do you possess the mark your mother left, that of protection due to Lilly's sacrifice, but also that within yourself. You care a great deal for your friends and family, something alien to Voldemort, who possesses only followers."
"And he'll try again to kill me some time." The Harry and Rose being stated. "And only I can kill him."
"Most unfortunately, correct." Professor Dumbledore stated heavily.
"Where is Voldemort?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "And why can't he die?"
"According to my sources, Voldemort currently resides within the forests of Albania." Professor Dumbledore responded. "As to his survival, I am at a loss to explain that."
"If we don't know how he survived, I won't be able to kill him." The Harry and Rose being responded, feeling a burning determination building within them. "We have to figure out how he survived first, otherwise he'll survive again and we won't have killed him."
"Once again, I find myself proud of the strength you possess, and while I can see you wish to proceed to determine how Voldemort has survived, the effort will be ultimately futile. Instead, we can now proceed to fulfill yet another promise I told you." Professor Dumbledore stood and the Harry and Rose being did the same, he vanishing their chair with a wave of his wand.
"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Discovering if Peter Pettigrew has been hiding as Scabbers for all these years." Professor Dumbledore stated. "First, however, I will require some insurance. Proceed to the Gryffindor common room. I shall join you shortly."
The Harry and Rose being turned and left the office, proceeding down the spiral staircase and through the wall, which slid aside at their approach. As they walked down the corridor, their mind was full of thoughts of Voldemort, the prophecy they'd just heard, Sarah Black, their mother and how she'd died. They gripped hands, and silently, tears rolled down their faces. The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick was the last thing on their minds. It seemed unimportant compared to the information they'd just learned. They were only vaguely aware of their surroundings as they moved through the corridors, and after arriving at the fat lady's portrait and giving her the password, they clambered through the portrait hole.
"Harry, Rose!" Hermione cried, leaping up from the table she and Ron had been working at and running over to them, embracing them tightly. "We just heard what happened with Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and transfiguration was canceled!"
"And I just learned why Voldemort's after me, how my mother was killed..."
The Harry and Rose being couldn't hold their tears back any longer. They clutched Hermione who held them and patted their backs reassuringly, crying into her shoulders. Ron awkwardly stood, looking a little lost and not quite sure what to do. The Rose half stumbled over to him and threw her arms around him. After a moment, Ron hugged her and hesitantly moved his hands up and down her back.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Harry and Rose being." Ron said quietly into the Rose half's ear. "But I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Ron..." The Rose half choked.
"And I'm here for you too, Harry and Rose being. You're not alone." Hermione said.
"Thanks." The Harry and Rose being whispered, then carefully pulled away, feeling stronger somehow. "I needed that."
The Harry and Rose being moved to a couple arm chairs near the table Ron and Hermione had been playing chess at, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
"I also learned who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago." The Harry and Rose being said in a low voice. "Tom Riddle, known as Lord Voldemort."
Ron and Hermione gasped and shuttered at the name.
"Ron, Professor Dumbledore will be coming by shortly. Where is Scabbers?" The Harry and Rose being asked after a moment.
"He's here in my bag." Ron responded, pulling him out carefully and setting him on the table.
Quickly, the Rose half removed her wand from its holster and concentrated harder than they ever had on stunning the rat in front of them, twitching it to one side as Scabbers opened his eyes and started to move. A red light slammed into him and he went still, stunned. Hermione stared.
"You didn't even speak!" She said, amazed.
"Oh." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Yeah, guess not."
"An excellent example of non-verbal magic." Professor Dumbledore applauded, scooping Scabbers into his hands. "For privacy, I believe we should proceed to your room, Harry and Rose. Unless, of course, you object to that location."
"No, not at all." The Harry and Rose being stood and moved toward the door. "Can Ron and Hermione come, too?"
"If you wish." Professor Dumbledore said as Ron and Hermione hurried toward them.
"Rose, why'd you stun Scabbers? He's just a rat!" Ron said, looking indignant.
"He might be Peter Pettigrew." The Harry and Rose being said quietly to them as they opened the door, stepping into the room. Professor Dumbledore entered followed by Ron and Hermione, then the Harry and Rose being closed the door, after which Professor Dumbledore waved his wand around the room in several intricate patterns. A wave of an odd power swept through them, almost like Professor Quirrell's wards the previous year, but more welcoming somehow.
"We shall not be disturbed, and should Peter attempt escape, he will fail." Professor Dumbledore explained, placing the rat carefully on the ground before straightening.
A blue light hit Scabbers, who suddenly began to sprout up like a plant growing at high speed. Human arms and legs appeared, and a face that looked rat-like. Moments later left a fat man laying stunned on the ground. His skin looked grubby like Scabbers's fur and he was very short, only a little taller than the Harry half and Hermione.
"And now, we shall know the truth." Professor Dumbledore said, kneeling next to Pettigrew and pulling a vial of some type of clear liquid from his robes.
"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously.
"Veritaserum, a truth potion so powerful that most cannot resist its effects." Professor Dumbledore said, carefully opening Pettigrew's mouth and pouring three drops of the potion into his mouth. He used his wand to make him swallow, then pulled him into a sitting position and aimed his wand at him, stating, "Rennervate."
Pettigrew's eyes opened, but they looked glazed. His face was expressionless.
"Can you hear me?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." Pettigrew replied, his voice squeaky like Scabbers, but dull and emotionless.
"What is your name?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
"What year were you born?"
"1960."
"Are you an illegal, unregistered Animagus?"
"Yes."
"What is your form?"
"A rat."
"Why that little..." Ron began.
"I implore you to remain silent, Mr. Weasley." Professor Dumbledore stated. "Peter Pettigrew, were you the secret keeper for the Potter's?"
"Yes." Pettigrew replied.
"Are you a Death Eater?"
"Yes."
Professor Dumbledore rose his left sleeve and the Harry and Rose being leaned closer. They saw a light image of a black skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, almost like a tattoo. Professor Dumbledore dropped his sleeve, gazing at Pettigrew with a hint of anger.
"Were you responsible for the deception of Rose Potter's death?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"No." Pettigrew responded.
"Do you know who was responsible?"
"No."
That was one mystery that wouldn't be solved soon, the Harry and Rose being thought.
"Explain what occurred between yourself and Sirius Black, how you framed him, and faked your own death." Professor Dumbledore stated.
"Sirius Black tracked me down after I ran, afraid the ministry would find me. When he did, I screamed for the entire street to hear that Sirius betrayed the Potter's. I pulled out my wand and performed a blasting curse, killing twelve Muggles. I then cut off my own finger to fake my death, transformed into a rat, and fled, leaving Sirius to get arrested for the crime I committed." Pettigrew stated.
"Well, at least we know what happened for sure, now." The Harry and Rose being coolly added.
"Indeed." Professor Dumbledore sighed, then stunned Pettigrew again before transforming him into a rat, conjuring a cage, and placing him within.
"What are you going to do?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Make an effort to free Sirius Black." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I shall let you know if I am successful. After I reveal Peter Pettigrew to the ministry, I will proceed to Azkaban to speak with him."
"I want to come with you." The Harry and Rose being responded firmly.
"Such a journey is not to be taken lightly. The effects of the Dementors are quite powerful with some, and I suspect you would be one of the rare few to be effected strongly by them." Professor Dumbledore said.
"Why?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"They will make you relive your worst memories." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Imagine reliving the memory of your forced separation again and again, and perhaps, even more memories than that."
The Harry and Rose being shivered a little.
"I implore you to trust my judgement, trust that I am not unwilling to allow you to see Sirius Black. However, I strongly wish to protect you from the Dementors if at all possible." Professor Dumbledore said.
"Okay." The Harry and Rose being replied quietly. "But please, do what you can."
"I shall do so." Professor Dumbledore responded, then walked from the room after removing his wards, closing the door behind him.
"That was..." Hermione trailed off, sounding shocked.
"I can't believe he was living as Scabbers all this time!" Ron burst out, shuttering a little.
"Believe it." The Harry and Rose being said somberly. "I think... I think I'd like to be alone for a while."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." The Harry and Rose being replied.
Ron and Hermione left them alone as they'd asked, and after locking their room door, they sat on their bed and quietly cried, hugging, their mind going over and over everything they'd learned. Grief weighed heavily on them and they let their emotions consume them for a time, thinking of Sarah Black, the strong, determined woman who wanted revenge for the death of her daughter, who even in her dying breath, made Professor Dumbledore promise to protect the Harry half because she cared for him equally. They thought of the prophecy, that it was only they who could destroy Voldemort, and decided, at that moment, to learn all the magic they could as quickly as they could, without sacrificing the retaining of such information. A cold determination gripped them even in their grief. Sarah Black, their mother, wouldn't want them to give up, they thought. She'd want them to carry on, to do what they must. Feeling exhausted from all the revelations, the Harry and Rose being flopped down on their bed, still hugging and crying, faces stricken with grief and determination. Without meaning to, they drifted off to sleep, their life forever changed, just as Professor Dumbledore had said it would be.