Chapter 02
The Parchment shows all

We follow the greasy haired man through the gates, up the grounds, past the bridge and the courtyard, through the Grand Staircase and down to the Dungeons, where Snape leads us into the same office I have been in many times over the last half of the year. He then tells us to wait and retrieves the purple draught with clear bubbles flowing through.

The man then hands me the potion, but on our way here had I secretly noticed Malfoy following us from the First floor on and while keeping quiet about him spying on us from around the corner of the doorframe, do I listen as Snape says: "Just spread this over your hand and then rub your hand over a piece of parchment while drinking the rest."
I nod and Hermione hands me a roll of parchment. Knowing that Arthur lived more than a couple of centuries ago, I spread the roll over the floor and put Excalibur back in the holder, before casting an enlarging spell with my wand as I say: "Arthur is centuries ago, surely my family tree has many more ancient lines to show."
The Potions teacher nods and I stop the spell when the parchment is as large and wide as Hagrid. The man steps back as I do and says: "Good, now do as I said and remember to think of your family trees when you spread your hand over the parchment." I nod, but then look down at the potion, which I hold in my left hand.

Tilting my hand a little I see the words I Must Not Tell Lies engraved in my skin and I think: "There is no way I can think of both my parents' lines long enough to make the potion work properly. But three drops of blood work as well with this potion as three drops of Veritaserum dosed within a simple goblet of water."
And with that I start scratching at my wound with the nails of my right hand, causing the M of Must to bleed once again and I tear a bit of fabric from my robe before dropping three drops of my blood in the vial and wrapping the ripped fabric around my hand. I see Snape and my friends looking at me shocked and I say:
"I won't be able to think of my parents' lines long enough for the potion to work properly, but I know that three drops of blood work as well on this potion as three drops of Veritaserum on a regular wizard." The Potions Master nods, while Ron looks at me flabbergasted and Hermione smiles in ecstatic pride.

I then spread the potion over my wand hand and start swiping that over the parchment, all the while letting Hermione help me drink the potion as closing my fingers now hurts the wound too badly for me to try. I move from the left to the right in even swipes and slowly work down the ten foot wide and fifty foot long roll of parchment.
Reaching the bottom just when I gulp down the last drop of the potion, I raise my hand slowly and see my own name Harry James Pendragon (Potter Née Evans) written where my hand was seconds ago, my father's name on the left above it and my mother's on the right, their parents above them and their ancestors above their parents.

We look in shock as the potion actually causes the parchment to become as wide as it is long and more and more names appear, spreading over the paper like snakes and I see several lines stopping with a certain name, while others seem to connect with each other before dividing up again as they raise higher and higher.
Finally both lines stop and I read the top names, shocked as I read Godric Gryffindor above my father's name and Arthur Pendragon above my mother's. I then whisper: "So it's true." And everyone looks at the same name as I do, all our eyes almost pasted to the name Pendragon and I gulp as it finally crashes down on me.

I really am the Heir of Pendragon. My mother really was a Pendragon, a line cursed by Morgana Le Fay to bare only females and my father's Potter curse really did allow for her to break that curse – something that led Umbridge to creating the Prophesy, that in turn forced Voldemort to hunt me down and kill my parents.
I sag down on the ground in shocked defeat and whisper: "I – I just don't believe this. Did she – did she know? Did my mother know?" But no one answers and Neville asks: "Should we check your other ancient Lines, my liege?" I nod, sit back up and focus back on my mother's side of the parchment, my eyes following another direct line.
It twists and turns throughout her entire family line and I slowly see the name change from Evans, to Evaline, to Everclaw and then – to everyone's shock – to Ravenclaw, finally ending with the name Rowena Ravenclaw. My eyes widen and I follow the line with my finger one more time, again seeing the name change and again ending up with that name.

This time Hermione catches me and I ask: "Rowena Ravenclaw? I am Heir to Rowena Ravenclaw? One of my Ancestors is a Hogwarts Founder?" To which Neville asks: "Harry, do you know what this means?" I look at him, the slightly chubby boy smiling at me and I ask: "That I get to stay at Hogwarts over the summer?"
The boy looks shocked and then shakes his head and says: "Yes, that too, but I didn't mean that. Harry, remember why Malfoy told you to do this? About that legend of one of your ancestors?" And I ask in shock: "I have to have an heir for Both lines?" Neville nods and says: "An Heir and a wife – or husband depending on how you swing."

I feel as if the shocks can't overwhelm me anymore and I ask: "So – does that – does that mean that –that if we find any more ancient Lines, I am to get a partner and Heir for those lines as well?" And Neville nods as he says: "You already need 4 of them. One for Potter, one for Gryffindor, one for Ravenclaw and one for Pendragon."
I look at the boy shocked and then, while wishing and hoping that it won't happen again, does my finger again trace my father's line, finally ending with one Ignotus Peverell. To this I tilt my head and I ask: "Ignotus Peverell? Who's that?" But my friends all seem as lost as I am and then I ask: "Malfoy, you've got an idea?"

And a shocked gasp comes from behind me, while my friends look at me shocked for having known of his presence and the boy walks over as he asks: "How long have you –?" And I answer: "I saw you following us when we turned left to take another staircase down from the first floor." And the boy grumbles at this.
He then looks down and asks: "Your family tree?" I nod and say: "We already discovered that I am Heir of the Potter, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Pendragon Line and that I am the first and only Heir to the Throne of Magical England. We just don't understand why my father's second line starts with Ignotus Peverell."

The blonde looks shocked and asks: "Are you for real? Ignotus Peverell? The youngest of the three brothers?" And while I wonder what he is on about, does Ron ask: "Wait, three brothers? As in the Tale of the Three Brothers? The one in the Tales of Beetle the Bard?" Malfoy nods and I ask: "What are you talking about?"
Both boys look at me as if I've grown an extra head and I say: "Muggle raised, remember?" To which Ron asks: "Surely you had Beetle the Bard tales while growing up?" But Hermione says: "No Ron, we had what Muggles call fairy tales, stories made up by Muggles like Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
Both boys now look at her the same way they looked at me seconds ago and the girl moans: "Impossible. You're bloody impossible." To which I ask: "So what's so special about this brother? Or that tale?" And Ron turns excited as he says: "Oh, you'll love the Tale of the Three Brothers, Harry. I practically grew up with it."

Malfoy nods and I say: "Fire away." And Ron squeals softly as he says: "Once upon a time there were three brothers who were each a year younger than the other and who were very, very skilled in the arts of practicing magic. They travelled over the world and one night they arrived at a field that was cut in half by a wild stream.
The three brothers all drew their wands, knowing that if they crossed the river they would die and instead cast spells that changed the grass on both sides into a bridge, which they crossed. But halfway up the bridge they came across a figure of darkness, cloaked in an old robe and with ravens flying around him; Death."
I feel amazed at how well Ron can tell the tale and see that even Malfoy seems impressed as Ron goes on: "Death was furious as the river was his favorite way of gathering souls, but he was also cunning and instead of raging, he congratulated the brothers on their perfect art of magic and offered them each a special gift.

The first brother was vain and arrogant and thus wished for an unbeatable wand, one with which he could beat any opponent he could come across on his travels. Death smirked at his arrogance and broke a long twig from an Elder tree handing it to the brother before returning to the middle of the bridge to the other two brothers.
The second was less vain, but he was intelligent and caring and he wished for an item with which he could revive the dead." This makes me wish for the same, if only to see my parents or apologize to Cedric and I listen on: "Death went into the river himself drew out a small stone and handed it to the brother, telling him it would grant his wish.
He then turned to the last brother, who was – according to the tale of my mother – always bullied by the kind heart he had and how he only used his magic when absolutely necessary. Again the brother showed his good heart, but also that he was smarter than his brothers, he wished for something that would let him evade death until he was ready.

Death grumbled at this, but was a man of his word and handed the youngest brother his own Cloak of Invisibility. The three brothers then passed the bridge and each went their own way. The first went to the nearest town, the second went back home and the last went from town to town, evading death and settling down after a year or two.
The first brother, upon arriving at the town, went to the bar, challenged the strongest wizard there and beat him before calling dips on his girl and giving rounds, getting drunk and boasting about his talent and his unbeatable wand without paying attention to who he was talking to. That night his throat was slit and his wand stolen."

This shocks me and Ron says: "Death had claimed the first brother in less than a week, but it took the second brother the same time to get back home. There he used the Stone and brought back the bride he lost upon their wedding. He lived with her, but she was but a phantom of herself, not human, yet not a ghost either.
The brother could see and walk with his love, but he could not touch her, could not kiss her, could not hold her while sleeping and in the end, the second brother hang himself, undoing the spell that brought his bride back to him and dying as he didn't want to live while his love was unhappy by his side. Death claimed the second brother."
My eyes widen and I wonder how Ron and the others can live, growing up with such death-filled tales and Ron says: "But as I said, the third brother had been immensely smart. He had used the Cloak whenever he sensed death near him, settled down, got a son and a grandson and then, finally, gave the cloak to his son and left with Death – as a friend."

This makes me smile and I think: "Not all that different from Muggle fairy tales. Sounds terrible halfway through, but ends with a happy ending." Then Malfoy says: "And that tale has been told so many times over the last thousand years that it is now a child's tale, instead of an actual recap of the Peverell history.
Barely anyone remembers that it was the Peverell brothers that are the brothers in the tale or that they themselves created these items in the face of the many wars they actually faced. Only the House of Black and the House of Malfoy are still told this tale after growing up with the Tale of the Three brothers their entire youth."
He then turns to me and says: "And you being the Heir of Ignotus Peverell, the youngest of the three brothers, means you have to have inherited his greatest creation, the Cloak of Invisibility." Instantly Ron, Hermione and I share shocked glances and Hermione says: "It – it does explain how that – that thing still works, doesn't it?"
And I nod, barely able to believe that the cloak I have been using for the past 5 years is actually an ancient heirloom, an heirloom spoken off in a child's tale almost the entire wizarding world grows up with. Then Malfoy asks: "So you actually have it?" And I nod, saying: "Dumbledore gave it to me for Christmas in First."
The blonde nods and then Snape says: "Well Potter, I have to say. Five ancient lines, of which one even a royal line. That will cause quite the commotion, not to mention how it will make your love life quite busy." And I blush as I realize I will have to bond myself to five people and give them each a son to keep up the family lines.
Then a female voice says: "Sure is about time you found out about it." And we all turn to the doorway, where we see a lightly tanned girl with long blonde-brown hair that lies down her back and who has the most amazing sapphire blue eyes I have ever seen, while part of her hair hangs over her ears and frames her face just right.