Fallen & Risen 7. Secret of the Past, part 2

Previously…

When the light faded, Shacklebolt and Harry opened their eyes. The minister stared blankly at the person standing in front of him, not saying anything for minutes. Then, he spoke.

"It's really done now… Harry Potter is dead…" the minister muttered.

The two of them looked down on the birth registration on the table. The red triangle symbol there disappeared too. They saw the name of 'Harry James Potter' fade away and another one appeared.

Heley Jane Potter

It was the real name Heley's parents gave her.

For as long as she could remember, Heley had always believed and thought herself to be a boy. Until the day she reached her eleven birthday. Until she met Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore told her the truth about herself.

"When your mother was pregnant with you," Shacklebolt said, "Dumbledore never thought you would be the child of the prophecy. You were expected to be born around mid-August, not in July. Dumbledore always believed it was the Longbottoms' child because he was due to be born in July. Because your parents were members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore gave them protection for your upcoming into the world, but the Longbottoms were given more special protections. Dumbledore thought that the fate of the Wizard world weighed on their child and on them."

Shacklebolt momentary paused, his eyes closed.

"Then, you came in the world. Two weeks earlier than expected," Shacklebolt continued. "To our horror, the Dark Lord chose to mark you as his equal instead of Neville Longbottom." Silence again. "We didn't understand why. We had always thought Voldemort would mark Neville Longbottom, not you, a baby girl. That was when we realized that the prophecy never mentioned the sex of the child. It was our mistake for assuming it was a boy all along. It never occurred to us that the child of the prophecy could be a girl…" A long sigh. "We only realized our mistake that night when you were marked and when your parents…" Shacklebolt stopped, unable to continue.

"Before my mother was hit with the killing curse, she managed to cast a shield to protect me," Heley said. "The shield so powerful that it made the killing curse bounce back to Voldemort, almost killing him. That was how I survived from the killing curse that day."

"Dumbledore believed it was his fault that you became an orphan when you were only a baby," Shacklebolt continued. "He swore on his own life to protect you. First, he thought about hiding you away from the Wizarding world because of the sudden fame that fell upon you for surviving the killing curse. Also, it was the best way to hide away you from the Death Eaters because those Muggles-haters would never think about searching for you in the Muggle word. But leaving you, a baby, in the Muggle world alone was also dangerous because there were no longer any protection Dumbledore could provide you. Then, he remembered Lily's talent for charms. Knowing her, she must have used a very powerful spell to protect you. And usually, the most powerful magics are the one based on blood. That brought Dumbledore to think about leaving you at Lily's sister's place, your Muggle aunt. As long as you were under your aunt's roof, Lily's magical protection on you would still work through your aunt's blood. But after a little research Dumbledore did on your aunt's husband, Vernon Dursley, he worried about what might happen to you, a girl, under the roof of such a man. Not to mention the son of that man! Dumbledore was sure your cousin would turn out bad when he grew up. And, as you saw it, Heley, your cousin turned out rotten spoiled!"

Shaklebolt paused again.

"That was when Dumbledore called for my help. I retrieved your birth registration and Dumbledore turned you into a boy. I sealed the secret in your original birth registration and made a false copy of your gender for the Ministry record. Then, Dumbledore left you at your aunt's doorstep. Dumbledore asked Arabella Figgs to keep an eye on you for him and immediately inform him if your live was endangered."

Shacklebolt looked straight ahead into the dark abyss, as though he were watching a movie of the past.

"When Dumbledore turned you into a boy, he chose to perform blood magic too, like Lily did. I believe he felt remorse because he couldn't protect your parents and made you an orphan. But because Dumbledore wasn't your blood relative, his protection was weaker than Lily's. Blood magic feed itself on the blood of the caster of the spell. Since you were Lily's child, the magic could indefinitely feed itself on the blood you carry. But because you were still a baby, your blood wasn't mature enough, so the magic you carried was unstable. Blood magic cannot feed itself on an unstable meal. Lily's magic might weaken at any moment and the protection put upon you would break and inform the Magical world about your hideout. As for your aunt, she might be a Muggle, but her blood was mature, which could provide regular meals to the magic. That was another reason why you were left at your aunt's place. But in Dumbledore's case, he wasn't your blood relative, so his magic could feed itself only as long as Dumbledore was alive. After Dumbledore's death, it was expected that the charm he casted on you would eventually wear off because the magic could no longer feed itself."

Shacklebolt's lips twisted into a bitter smirk.

"In the end, everything turned out exactly as the prophecy said. We didn't make a mistake. It was a boy who killed Voldemort," he said in a acrid tone. "…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…" he repeated the prophecy. "Voldemort's killing curse hit Harry Potter, removing a big portion of what was left of Dumbledore's charm in you. And Harry Potter had to die because of it."

Shacklebolt stopped talking, leaving Heley to reflect on what he had told her. Heley bit her lips, trying to control the tears that had threatened to fall at the mention of her mother.

"Heley, your parents and Dumbledore scarified their life for only one wish. They wanted you to live happily after their departure. Sirius, Remus and all your friends also carried the same wish," Shacklebolt said. He fixed her straight in the eyes and spoke in an authoritarian voice. "Heley Potter, do not waste their sacrifice and fail to fulfill their wish. From this second onward, you have been given a new start in life. Live happily."

Heley let her tears flood out of her eyes.

'Mom, dad… I love you…' Heley sent her loving thoughts to her parents.

'We love you too, Heley,' Lily's and James' voices echoed in her head. Heley started, her eyes snapping open, happy.

'Heley, live happily from now. We will be watching on you.' Heley started again. It was Sirius' and Remus' voices this time. Slowly, she smiled.

'Yes. I will,' Heley promised.

Seeing her smile, Shacklebolt was satisfied. He spoke again.

"Let's get out of here now," Shacklebolt said. Heley nodded and followed the minister.

Back in the minister office, Shacklebolt turned to Heley and extended his hand to her.

"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, minister of the Ministry of Magic. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Heley Potter," Shacklebolt said with a wide smile. Heley smiled, amused, and took his hand.

"I'm very please to meet you as well, minister," Heley replied. After a strong and formal hand shake, Shacklebolt went to his chair and dropped himself on it.

"Ha!" Shacklebolt sighed, "I'm going to miss Harry Potter, Heley." Heley didn't say anything. They kept silence again. "And now, I have to announce to the wizard world the death of Harry Potter…" the minister muttered, grunting. "I will also have to organize his funeral… (Grunt!) I'm not ecstatic about the job…" Heley smiled.

"I'm sorry, minister," Heley said. "This time, I cannot help you."

The minister only groaned again. Heley giggled.

"Anyway, you can leave everything to me," Shacklebolt said. "I will have your new official papers with your real name send to you." He paused momentary, thinking back again. "I couldn't keep you away from all the suffering you went through because of the War, but I will do everything to give you a new life, a better life than your previous one starting from this moment."

Heley's lips trembled because of his words, but she smiled again.

"Thank you very much, minister," Heley said. "I will leave you now. Thank you for sparing your time for me."

Shacklebolt nodded. Heley bowed and left.

Outside, when he heard the door opening, Ashley eagerly turned his head to see Harry Potter again. But it wasn't Harry Potter who stepped out of the Shacklebolt's room. It was a young woman around eighteen, who bore an incredible resemblance to Harry Potter. Ashley gasped. Heley only smiled to him, then bowed and left. When she was no longer in his sight, Ashley ran in the minister's office.

"Minister, who is that young girl? When did she come into your room? I didn't see her come in. And where is Harry Potter? Why does that girl look so strikingly alike Harry Potter?" Ashley hastily asked.

"She is Heley, Ashley," the Minister answered only one question. "And prepare a press conference for me. I have an important announcement to make."

"What is it for, minister?"

"Harry Potter died today."

End flashback

Back to the Sorting Ceremony

"Ah! Here we meet again, Miss Heley Potter," the Sorting Hat said in her head. "Or should I say Mister Harry Potter, as you were known up to today?"

Heley only smiled.

"Thank you for keeping my secret for all these years," Heley said.

"It was my pleasure to serve you, Miss Potter."

Post on Monday December 7, 2009.