I do not own anything. I'm just translating. The characters belong to the great J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to the amazing Brigi. Her e-mail: tbwtpbe [et]

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Beta-read by Seerstella.

THE BOY WITH THE PIERCING BLUE EYES

Chapter 32 – The confession (part 1)

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Now that winter was at the corner, the sun left its place for the stars to appear rather early. Slowly sinking down, it bathed everything in its orange hue. Only small clouds colored the sky with a different color. No matter how cold the wind was, it did nothing to ruin the beautiful scenery.

However, Remus watched all of it with a cold expression. With his long fingers, he clenched the sleeve of his long robe. On his youthful face, tears rapidly made their own track. His wet face was hurt in the wild wind, and even his clothes weren't enough to keep him warm, but he just stood there and looked at nothing in particular.

He was alone. His ghost friends either didn't want to keep him company, or merely understood that he wanted to spend the afternoon in solitude. However, they were part of the reason why Remus shed his tears.

With Halloween just around the corner, it was getting harder for him to look at them.

Sirius always just sat somewhere, looking ahead without seeing anything, and James tried everything possible to lift his mood that was so dark because of his lost lover's unfaithful behavior. Even Lily's reproaches became annoying.

The fact that he saw them just made him feel all the craziness. He could feel that it was merely temporary, but he had to do something before completely losing his mind. In his worst moment, he even wished they would disappear completely, so he wouldn't have to hear them, see their curious eyes, and the regret he felt towards Harry would disappear as well.

He should have told that boy a long time ago that he could see his dead loved ones. For a while, it was fun to watch the shadows following and watching the boy's every move. However, he felt it was unfair that he could see them but the boy himself couldn't. He felt like a liar every time he looked into the mirror, and his face showed the signs of fatigue more and more as time passed.

He couldn't get through the November without any pain. No, not because of the full moon. For fifteen years, every year he cried like this, because that night he lost everything he had treasured. Peter's betrayal, Sirius' imprisonment and the Potters' death broke his heart into little pieces.

When he reached the house in Godric's Hollow, it was almost dawn and the whole place was filled with people from the Ministry. He couldn't see anything but crying neighbors and men with shovels, trying to clean up the mess…

The small house itself was in ruins. Remus couldn't even imagine someone getting out of there alive. But he soon learnt that Harry was fine and that had calmed his stormy heart for a moment. But when he saw the bodies under the debris…

He spent days sitting in front of the house crying, watching the empty, silent ruins that was the only thing left of the family's happy home. He went back there from time to time. Dumbledore's words didn't help, nor did others' condolence. No one understood what he had lost that day. His youth, his happiness, everything that made him feel joy…

"Remus?" an uncertain voice asked behind him.

The professor was surprised to find the boy he had been thinking about standing there.

Harry with no school robes on, only wearing his uniform stood there, feeling awkward at seeing him crying like this.

"H-Harry?" Remus sniffed and brushed his tears off.

"Are you… crying? Why are you crying, Remus?" the boy stepped closer.

"What happened to you?" the man asked as his heart clenched.

Harry looked as if he were at least three years older and just as tall. His worried face was just like his father's. What's this? Did he finally lose his mind, and now these images were assaulting him?

"How… how is this possible?"

The line between Harry and James began to blur. Remus held his head as the images mixed in his mind, causing extreme dizziness.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Harry stepped closer, taking both of his hands. He was very close as he looked into the man's eyes.

"Harry…? Is it you?"

"Of course it's me…" he whispered. "What's wrong, Remus? Please…"

The boy's green eyes finally came into focus and he realized that it really was Harry standing in front of him. With calming heart he hugged the boy and they stayed that way for a while.

"I love you too, Remus," Harry groaned in the warm embrace. "But, please tell me what's wrong…"

The professor smiled.

"Does it hurt somewhere?" They looked into each other's eyes.

Remus nodded silently and touched his chest where his heart lay.

"What happened to you?" he asked, still looking at the grown young man.

"I… that's what I wanted to tell to you…" Harry coughed in embarrassment. "We… drank a little age-altering potion and… This is what happened. We are brewing the antidote in Myrtle's toilet…"

A surprised smile appeared on the professor's lips. "Why did you drink that potion?"

"Well… well…" Harry didn't seem to find the right words. "Well… we… ran away from Hogwarts…" he confessed eventually.

"Again?"

The boy looked up, his eyes shining with gratefulness. He was happy that Remus didn't start with a scolding.

"I had to make a call, but no one here has a cell. That's why we drank the potion. To look like adults… To be unrecognizable… Clever, huh?" he asked quietly.

"Very. But I'm happy you told me."

"Are you angry?"

"Next time tell me in advance…" Remus ruffled the hair that looked so much like James'. The smile that appeared was very similar too.

"Why did you cry, Remus?" Harry asked again.

Before he could answer, the ghosts appeared. The professor couldn't say a word as his gaze met his friends'.

"Harry," he held the boy's face with both hands. "I have to tell you something…"

"No, Remus, don't!" Sirius shouted angrily. He stepped forward as if he wanted to stop it.

"Then... tell me…" the boy nodded.

"I…" A tear made its way down Remus' face. "… can see your parents…"

Sirius stopped. He looked at the boy desperately, waiting for his reaction.

"I know…" Harry started crying too. "I can see them too…"

Remus looked shocked.

"H-how?"

"Sometimes… I dream about them…" the boy started and the professor realized that he had misunderstood. He was about to correct him when Harry continued. "Before… I got here, I didn't know how they looked like… At home… there were no pictures of them… Like they never existed…"

He turned away and stepped to the window.

"I think Aunt Petunia was really scared that something about them might come against her… She either hid all the pictures, or burned them… Did you know…" he turned to Remus with a sad smile. "…they told me that they… died in a car accident?"

Lupin felt worse by the minute.

"No, Harry, I didn't know," he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You know… when you were teaching me the Patronus charm, the reason we made so little progress for a while was because it was good hearing their voices… I wanted to hear those words again and again. I'm sorry you had to spend so much of your time on me," Harry smiled.

"Many would have done the same," Remus hugged the boy.

"Sometimes I see them in my dreams… Are you sad because of them? About what happened fifteen years ago?"

Sirius regarded his friend angrily, looking as if he wanted to bite him. His gaze seemed to tell Remus that something unpleasant would happen if he were to tell the boy about their presence. However, Lupin felt a pang of pain from seeing those eyes.

"Yes… because of that…" he closed his eyes and let a sigh leave him as another white lie left his mouth.

Their breaths could be seen as the students stood next to Hagrid's hut.

"We'll see another cutie today," the half-giant said.

Ron imagined the cutie as one with eight hairy legs and bloodthirsty eyes. With a shiver he hid his face behind his scarf. Hermione just smiled at him while Harry, tip-toeing, was trying to find out what animal it was.

"I ask you to… stay calm," Hagrid shrugged. "We can't make it anxious, because then it will run away and our lesson will be ruined."

"What can it be?" Lavender asked curiously from the first row with Parvati Patil standing next to her.

"Probably some monster! Lavender, step back a little!" her friend pleaded. "I don't want that thing to start chewing on my clothes like last time…"

"Girls, leave Hagrid alone!" Hermione interrupted. "He didn't bring anything dangerous lately."

"Just ones that should be in reservation," Malfoy said flatly behind them. "My mother told the Ministry about him. These animals shouldn't be taken care of by someone like him. You'll see when…"

Harry looked up at the gray sky and sighed. He didn't want to remind Draco how small power his mother had now that his father was in Azkaban. But he wasn't in the mood for an argument. He just hoped that Hagrid brought something interesting.

"Our little guest is very shy," the half-giant continued. "So, no shouting or running. Come with me!" he ordered and led the way on a narrow path. From time to time they could hear high shrills and the class became more and more curious about this animal.

They found a high, cube-like stall that protected the animal, keeping the outside world away. However, between the planks it was easy to see the animal running around in fear.

The feathers flew everywhere as it ran. Lavender's heart clenched. As soon as they saw the messy feathers on the animal's head, the bent, colorful beak and red legs some of them started chuckling, while others walked closer curiously.

"Hagrid…" Ron started. "What's this?"

"This is…" Dean looked at him.

"… a dodo?" Harry blinked in surprise. "But dodos have extinct for more than a hundred years now, right?"

Hagrid was about to start his explanation when Hermione interrupted with a satisfied smile.

"This isn't a dodo, Harry. It's a dirikol."

"Director?" Seamus grinned.

"Dirikol, you idiot," Parvati shook her head, getting close to the cage. She reached out toward the animal and tried calling it.

"Well, five points to Gryffindor. It really is a dirikol. These creatures are extremely shy and run away from humans. The more afraid they are the more feathers they shed."

"Malfoy, if you want a quill, it's your time," Ron said, referring to the last time when the Slytherins tried getting the feathers of the Irish phoenix. "Before the others get the nice ones."

"How dare you!" the blond retorted. He glared at them, pushed the Gryffindors out of the way and walked away with his followers.

"Ron!"

The students started picking up the feathers, Dean joining them too.

"The Muggles," Hagrid continued, "…thought that the dirikol, or dodo went extinct. But only because they don't know its secret." He winked mysteriously. "Does anyone know?"

A lot of them looked at Hermione who proudly answered.

"It can vanish while running away. That's how it gets away."

"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor."

Harry stepped closer and peeked inside. He could see the fear in the colorful bird's eyes. The more people stood near it, the more scared it became. He knelt down next to Lavender and Parvati and reached out. The girls tried to get the bird to come closer by offering it slices of an apple.

"Come here," Harry smiled at the bird. "You apparating dodo…"

Lavander started chuckling and he earned an approving glance from Parvati for trying to calm the animal.

"Here's some fruit, try this."

The three of them tried getting the animal to come to them, and the smell of the fresh apple finally got its attention. With its big yellow eyes, it looked at them. On its almost bare neck, the remaining feathers stood in disarray. It took an uncertain step towards them and pointed at them with its beak as if to ask for something. The girls leaned closer to reach in further.

"Come!"

"We're not going to hurt you! Come here!"

The dirikol stepped closer and bit down suddenly. Lavender yelped and dropped the fruit. She was afraid it would bite her. The bird picked up the fallen fruit and ate it before looking at their hands.

"Harry!" Parvati whispered. "It will leave nasty scars if it bites us!"

"It won't!" Harry tried calming the girl, though he wasn't too certain himself.

"Hagrid, can't we release this animal?" Ron grimaced. "It looks awful in that cage."

"Yes, at the end of the lesson I thought we could release it together…" the half-giant admitted. "But I can see that the feathers are more important to you all than the animal itself… Why can't you pay attention? You're all sixteen now, for Merlin's sake! When will you learn to pay attention? The same thing happened with your brothers, Ron!" He turned to the boy. "Fred and George were always up to something too!"

Ron was about to come up with excuses but fortunately Lavender and Parvati ran to them.

"Professor! Can we set it free?"

"Before it sheds all its feathers! It will freeze to death in the winter!" Parvati joined her.

Ron chuckled as he imagined the bird with no feathers. "It'll get warm in the oven!"

The girls became so angry that they left without saying anything more.

Ron looked back at Hagrid. "Tell me Hagrid, is the dirikol delicious?"

"Ron," the half-giant groaned. "Okay. Open the door so it can come out."

The students became quiet again as the animal walked out. It looked at them shyly and even Malfoy gave up on his pretended boredom.

"Come on; let it run to the forest."

However, the bird kept looking at Harry. The boy knelt down and smiled at it. He reached out his hand that still held the fruit and the dirikol carefully ate from his palm. For a moment, it looked into the boy's emerald eyes, than ran to the forest.

Harry watched the place it disappeared to for a while.

"So? Was it a pretty Animagus?" Ron joked later when they went back to the castle.

"Very funny," Harry shrugged. "There was something strange about it… must be because of the whole dodo thing. And you never know."

"Well," Hermione sighed, "I don't know about you, but I think this lesson wasn't really good…"

"Hagrid probably got scolded and now he can't bring dangerous creatures to class."

"But keeping these animals won't help him either. You heard what Malfoy said."

"Malfoy's a git, why are you listening to him?"

"Come on, Ron…"