Chapter 1 - Neither Can Live While the Other Survives
AN: Okay here we are and sorry for the delay on this, nothing is abandoned or on hiatus I had to go away and didn't have the freedom to get any writing done and this chapter was closer to being finished than infinite hope. I also found a file with some more of my Ancient Sage stuff so I dunno that might go somewhere but no promises.
I guess I want to clarify this, yes I know bashing is overdone, that being said for Dumbledore and Hermione the way I'm doing this is very different to anything I've read so I hope you all give it a chance and see it as something more original. For Molly and Ron I will stress that it is minor bashing, essentially for Ron it is to get him past his jealousy and for Molly it's mostly to do with Sirius. This is not a screw the Weasleys fic nor an anti Ron/Molly fic in any serious way.
I'm saying this now, I hate chapter 37 of OotP, the whole thing rambles on so I've done my best not to do so here. I've also added more after the meeting which is only about a third of the chapter. That being said I'm using these chapters set in the tail end of OotP to set things up for the main story.
Final thing, Azrael, so if you didn't recognise any of those names or get the hints that was Death, Azrael is the name he currently goes by being Judeo-Christianity's angel of death and "the pale rider" doesn't feel right to me. He has made one of his three major appearances but do you guys want to see him more than three times? Let me know in the comments because I have some ideas for him turning up a few more times though they won't be quite so dramatic.
Please Read & Review. As always this is JK Rowling and Warner Bro's universe I'm just playing in the sandbox
As Harry looked around Dumbledore's office he couldn't help but notice how everything seemed to have been repaired during the headmaster's exile. The room was full of nothing but silence save for the odd snore from the occupant of a portrait, as Harry looked around the room. Through a window Harry could see the slight darkening of the night sky, it must have been early in the morning. Harry couldn't help but pace praying that Sirius had survived his injuries, despite all the blood Harry held out hope.
Harry couldn't help but blame himself, if he had not been fooled by Voldemort into coming to the Ministry, if he had managed to learn Occlumency to keep Voldemort from his mind… These thoughts raged through the boy's mind as his feelings raged within, turning away from the window Harry made his way to the door, trying the handle it refused to turn no matter how hard he tried.
As he banged on the door in frustration he heard the blaze of the fire and turned to see the emerald flames of the floo and Professor Dumbledore emerging as the portraits stirred. Harry saw Dumbledore frown at the empty perch where Fawkes would usually be, come to think of it it was strange that Fawkes had not followed Dumbledore.
"Well, you will be pleased to hear that none of your friends will suffer any lasting damage from the events of last night." Dumbledore said as he turned to face Harry and made his way to his chair. Harry realised that Dumbledore was looking at him assessingly as he nodded.
"Poppy is patching them up as we speak, as for the order most of them had few injuries, Nymphadora Tonks will need a short stay in St. Mungo's but nothing life threatening… as for Sirius Black, I'm sorry Harry." Harry felt a strange tightness in his chest, he could feel the sting but it was not like he expected… He felt numb, not the pain when he watched Cedric die, nor the fear when he saw Ginny in the chamber, it was more like when Ron treated him like a stranger or rather how he would treat Malfoy during their fourth year. Wisely Harry bit his tongue he didn't know why but somehow he knew Dumbledore's words were a lie, something deep inside him but what it was he didn't know.
"I should go see my friends Professor, to see for myself." Harry said numbly as he turned to walk towards the door, when he turned the handle he found it still being stubborn. Turning to the aged headmaster this time Harry couldn't quite keep his anger in check."Let me out." His voice was calm and yet the fury was something he couldn't hide, the calm fury seemed to shock the man as he stared at Harry for a moment before speaking.
"No Harry, I brought you here for a reason." Dumbledore said plainly as he watched Harry's shoulders slump, the look in his eyes resembling the same he had once seen from Lily Evans, on the night he told them what he was about to tell Harry himself.
"Please sit, '' Dumbledore said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. As Harry sat down he braced himself. "Harry, I owe you an explanation, one of the mistakes of an old man. Now I can see what I have done and not, the mistakes of age. Old men such as myself often forget what it is like to be young… Something I have evidently forgotten much of late."
The green light of dawn was now peaking through the windows as Dumbledore looked into his eyes, for his part Harry stared at the old man impassively, his respect for Dumbledore had taken a number of hits this past year and now it seemed that there was little of it left.
"Can we get on with this Professor? I need to make sure my friends are okay." Harry said, there was a bite in his voice as he didn't want to sit through one of the old man's rambling speeches after everything that had just happened.
"Of course… Fifteen years ago, when I first saw that scar on your head I guessed that it may indeed be a sign of some form of connection between you and Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore began only to be interrupted by Harry.
"This isn't anything you haven't told me before Professor, can we get to what's important here." Harry snapped at the old man, his patience was wearing incredibly thin, he wanted to make sure his friends were alright and Sirius… he needed to make sure his feeling was right and Dumbledore was lying to him.
"Yes of course." Dumbledore said, a small amount of shock clear in his voice before he continued, realising Harry had little patience after the events tonight, possibly because of the appearance of this Ankou in the chamber of death. "More recently I became concerned that if Lord Voldemort was to discover this connection he would use it to force his way into your mind. This is why I kept my distance from you and had Severus teach you Occlumency. I did not want to give him more of a reason to do so, as such I hoped by distancing myself I could if nothing else buy you more time.".
Harry thought on the words of the aged headmaster and realised that they did hold some truth, when he had made eye contact with Dumbledore just after he saw the attack on Mr Weasley he had felt like a snake waiting to strike.
"As much as I appreciate the truth here Professor, you could have told me this before, but you didn't. You could have warned me about all of this before term, at least by Christmas but you didn't. Since you're explaining things though, how about this, the prophecy?" Harry said starting out polite but he found himself standing, hands pressed into the desk glaring at Dumbledore by the end. "You know it don't you, not just about it, if you didn't know it you would have had me get it after my trial!"
It took Dumbledore a moment to react, he hadn't expected Harry to make that leap of logic. Once again he was reminded just how intelligent he could be when he put his mind to something, and it was now clear to him that the thing Harry had put his mind to was getting out of this conversation as quickly as possible. Taking out his wand Dumbledore waved it towards one of the corners of his office and summoned his pensive.
"It is time for me to tell you what I should have told you some years ago, Harry. Once you asked me if I knew why Lord Voldemort came after your family that night, yet I did not want to take away your childhood… I cared about you too much." Dumbledore said as Harry scoffed at what he said before the old man continued. "After your second year you fought Lord Voldemort again in the Chamber of Secrets, once again I stopped myself from telling you. I cared more for your happiness than for the consequences of you not knowing. When Lord Voldemort returned rather than tell you once again I delayed, if Voldemort could access your mind he could learn the Prophecy I thought. Now though, now if you do not know then you will no doubt spend your own time trying to figure it out rather than preparing." Raising his wand to his temple Dumbledore pulled out a long silvery strand that clung to his wand and let it fall into the pensive.
With a deep breath Dumbledore tapped his wand to the side of the pensive and the ghostly figure of Sibyll Trelawney rose out of the basin. When she spoke it was not her usual strange tone but rather the deep almost demonic voice Harry hard heard her use once in his third year.
"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES. . . .
BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES . . .
AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE 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. . . .
THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES. . . ".
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix by JK Rowling - Chapter 37 - The Lost Prophecy - Pg841
The pair sat in silence as the figure of Sibyll Trelawney sank into the pensive, Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for Harry's reaction while Harry was thinking through what little he knew about divination. A prophecy could only be given by a true seer, and while others could sometimes have successful predictions, particularly if they were dedicated to the art given her classes Harry couldn't bring himself to believe she was one.
"It seems I have a lot to think about Professor, but I need to check on my friends." Harry said plainly as he stood. Dumbledore seemed reluctant but he nodded and allowed Harry to leave the room.
It wasn't long until Harry made his way to the Hospital Wing, the short walk from the headmaster's office had given him a little time to think. For certain Harry wasn't convinced that Dumbledore had been honest with him in his office, thinking back over the years he realised he had had a similar conversation with the headmaster every year and they always left him with more questions than answers. He didn't know why but once he got back to his dorm he was going to find out what Sirius had given him over Christmas, for some reason it felt important, but first he had to check on his friends.
When Harry threw open the doors of the Hospital Wing he was not surprised by what he saw, Ron was fast asleep, seemingly having recovered from his encounter in the brain room save for the welts on his arms, Neville was laying in a bed, his nose returned to normal size and shape with Luna sat in a chair next to his bed reading a copy of the Quibbler without a care in the world. Harry found his gaze lingering on Ginny as she turned to face the door, she looked like she was about to say something when she was interrupted.
"I'm so sorry Harry." Hermione's voice said, yet his gaze never left Ginny, he could see the tears glistening in her eyes and wondered what was going on as he walked closer to the group.
"What are you talking about Hermione?" Harry asked, schooling his features as he sat on the edge of the bed Ginny was sitting on nearest the edge of the group. As he watched Hermione blink back some confusion for a second Harry could have sworn there was something else in her look but didn't read too much into it.
"Sirius Harry…" Hermione said but before she could continue Harry interrupted her.
"What about Sirius Hermione?" Harry said with a slight edge to his voice, he felt the same wrong feeling he had with Dumbledore, something was going on here and both one of his best friends and the headmaster were involved.
"He died Harry… I'm so sorry." Hermione said with a look that seemed to Harry that she thought he should already know that. Her statement causing Nevile to gasp and Ginny to clench her jaw, Harry managed to catch her eye and shake his head slightly, now was not the time.
"Don't be so sure Hermione…" Harry said, his tone making it clear the conversation was over as he checked on Neville and Luna for a few moments before Madam Pomfrey burst into the room ready to remove whoever had wandered into the hospital wing, however upon seeing Harry she got to work fixing his various scrapes and bruises.
When Madam Pomfrey was done, surprised that of them all Harry was probably in the best shape and didn't need to spend the night she sent Harry, Ginny and Luna back to their dormitories.
Once Luna split from them Harry and Ginny fell into step both seeming to struggle with where to start, Harry was debating between starting with Sirius or the look Ginny had given him when he came into the hospital wing, as they made their way down the steps of the Clock Tower, Ginny broke the silence.
"What's going on Harry? When we left Professor Lupin was carrying Sirius but it seemed like he was going to be okay!" Ginny said softly as Harry stopped at her words, taking a moment he leaned against the railing and looked down at the giant pendulum swinging.
"Dumbledore and Hermione both said the same thing but… I don't know why but I think they're lying Ginny. Something about all this, it just doesn't make sense." Harry said, running his fingers through his hair as he turned to face her, his green eyes alight with rage.
"That makes no sense Hermione left before I did…" Ginny said trailing off as she looked into Harry's blazing eyes causing her breath to hitch as the implications hit them both. "If they both said the same thing then… but that can't be true, can it?"
"It means they either both think he is going to die or something is going on we don't know about." Harry said nodding, as much as he hated to admit it he thought the latter was far more likely. For some reason he was thinking clearer since the events in the death chamber.
"Something is going on, whatever it is we'll get you through it with or without them." Ginny said placing her hand on Harry's arm and giving him a soft smile, though her mind was reeling at the possibilities yet also something was different, something had changed in the department of mysteries it was like Harry was becoming his own person like he had been with Sirius in the summer. As she thought about Sirius she remembered something. "Harry, what was it Sirius gave you just before we left after Christmas?"
Harry looked at her at first in confusion then remembered the package that Sirius had given him as they left Grimmauld Place, he'd thought he would ignore it to keep Sirius safe… why though, he'd never felt curious about it for some reason which in itself was reason for concern. "I don't know, I never opened it, hell I was never even curious about it!" Harry said, his voice raising at the end.
With a singular thought in mind the pair made their way quickly down the clocktower and across the courtyard into Gryffindor Tower and ducked into one of the secret passageways. The pair made their way to the Fat Lady faster than they ever had before and were in the common room without realising which of them had even given the password.
"Wait here, I'll be down in a second." Harry said as he quickly made his way into his dorm room, Dean and Seamus were fast asleep as Harry opened his trunk and removed his cloak, the map and the package Sirius had given him before he went back down and joined Ginny.
Sitting down on one of the couches in the common room together Harry set the map and cloak next to him before opening the wrapping, they were confused when they saw a small square dirty mirror, as Harry lifted it up he could barely make out his face through the murkiness. Ginny looked at him confused then seemed to notice something.
"Harry turn it over." Ginny said, her voice laced with anxiety wondering how they were supposed to use this, it didn't make sense with what Sirius had said to Harry when they left.
When he turned it over Harry's eyes widened at the note Sirius had scribbled, he moved it so they could both read it.
This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other.
If you need to speak to me, just say my name
into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be
able to talk in yours. James and I used to use
them when we were in separate detentions.
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix by JK Rowling - Chapter 38 - The Second War Begins - Pg858
"We need to go somewhere quiet." Harry said as he lifted the cloak and map and stood facing Ginny who just looked at him confused,
"Harry what's with the cloak and parchment?" Ginny said, looking at him curiously as he gestured her to follow. She stood up and moved next to Harry as she saw him point his wand at the parchment.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said, causing the map to start to appear on the parchment much to Ginny's shock as she looked at the parchment and saw the pair of them stood in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Merlin the pranks we could pull!" Ginny said softly, causing Harry to chuckle, as she looked over the other parts of the map.
"Well that's what it was designed for, looks like we're clear" Harry said as he walked towards the portrait hole. Slowly Ginny followed as they headed back out into the castle.
The pair made their way through the deserted corridors of the castle, the early morning light shining through the windows as they made their way to the seventh floor. From the light coming through the windows they guessed they wouldn't have long until breakfast now so they had to be quick. Entering the Room of Requirement Harry and Ginny found themselves in a replica of the Gryffindor Common room and sat down on one of the couches near the fire.
"Sirius Black!" Harry said as he held the mirror close enough for his breath to fog the surface. Seconds felt like minutes to Harry as he watched the mirror, just as he was about to call out the name again the surface rippled causing the duo to jump.
"Merlin pup you're a sight for sore eyes." a tired sounding voice said from the mirror. Looking into the glass they saw the exhausted yet very much alive face of Sirius Black. "What's up pup? I thought you'd be sleeping after all that happened"
"Sirius, Dumbledore and Hermione both said you were dead." Harry said his voice full of relief as he leant back against the back of the couch letting Ginny and Sirius see each other.
"I don't know about what Dumbledore said Sirius but I was there when Hermione tried to apologise for your death." Ginny said as she looked into the mirror, moving closer to Harry so they were both in the frame and trying to control her blush.
"Nice to see you again Red, so old Dumbles and Hermione seem to think I'm dead then?" Sirius said as the pair shook their heads at him. "What do you mean?"
"It's more like they want me to think you are Padfoot" Harry said trailing off at the end.
"Or more likely you're supposed to be" Ginny finished as she looked at Harry with concern, as glad as she was that they had both realised something was up she couldn't help but start thinking back over the stories Ron had let slip over the years.
"One second you two." Sirius said as he turned away from the mirror for a few moments and then turned back to the glass. "Okay Moony is coming up, I think he needs to hear this. So you finally noticed her, did you Prongslet?" Sirius finished with a barking laugh as he saw the pair of them blush, he'd seen the looks between the pair over both the summer and Christmas and knew it wouldn't be long.
"Bloody hell Sirius! I thought you were dead and you want to talk about girls?" Harry asked bright red as Ginny struggled not to laugh.
"Well it isn't like I've got anything else to talk about cooped up in here. Though before you two leave, try and nick a couple of mandrake leaves from the greenhouses, I'll explain over the summer." Sirius said just before turning to the side and nodding. "Right Moony, listen to this. So Dumbledore and Hermione both said I was dead?"
When Harry and Ginny nodded they could see Lupin pale in the mirror, as Harry explained that Dumbledore kept Harry trapped in his office to explain the prophecy and tell him about Sirius which made all three of them look at Harry oddly.
"Dumbledore knew the prophecy?" Ginny asked with a growl, her jaw clenched as she looked right at Harry completely ignoring the mirror.
"He told me what it said, but I mean something about it all just didn't make sense. It didn't seem right." Harry said, trying to work out exactly what it was he meant.
"Prophecies are tricky things, they don't make sense until after the fact most of the time." Sirius said looking at Lupin, neither of them had taken Divination.
"That's the thing Sirius, only one thing doesn't make sense about it, and that's how I'm supposed to defeat him." Harry said with forced calm, the last thing he wanted to think about was the prophecy right now.
"Okay this is big, but we have a bigger problem than the prophecy right now. Somehow Hermione also thought you were dead. She saw the exact same thing as me, Neville and Luna." Ginny said drawing them back on topic.
"It was the first thing she said when I got into the hospital wing." Harry said, looking at Ginny. "You looked like you wanted to say something when I got there?"
"I was wondering where the hell Dumbledore sent you, I was terrified when you weren't in the Hospital Wing." Ginny said as she saw the confused looks on Sirius' and Lupin's faces. "Harry was sent to Dumbledore's office rather than the Hospital Wing." Sirius letting out a growl as she finished,
"Right so that bearded wanker stopped you getting medical attention, stopped you checking on your friends and told you I'm dead. Am I missing anything?" Sirius said, exacerbated.
"Assuming we're just on about today, that sounds about it." Harry said as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment before looking back at the mirror. "Things aren't making sense Sirius, I swear I feel like I'm smarter after last night!" His words made both Sirius and Ginny laugh while Lupin looked confused.
"I think it's more accurate to say you're dumber at school Harry, I don't know why." Sirius said as he looked thoughtful. "Unless…"
"Unless he's being slipped potions or being cursed somehow" Ginny finished.
Their words causing Harry to pale and think, he couldn't help but wonder who could be doing this, with how the headmaster had been avoiding them he would need someone else to help.
"But who did it?" Harry said in confusion as he ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up even more than it already did.
"That's the million Galleon question Harry." Sirius said with forced calm as the four of them wondered what was going on.
"I just can't believe Dumbledore would do something like this." Lupin said, causing the others to look at him strangely.
"Why not? After what has happened every year Harry has been at Hogwarts, it makes a sick amount of sense." Ginny said, her eyes flashing at anger towards Lupin.
"Look we definitely need to talk about your time at school Harry, we might find something but for now you two get to breakfast I can hear someone coming." Sirius said as he closed the connection between the mirrors.
The door opened to reveal Tonks and a tall redhead Sirius couldn't name but was sure was one of the Weasleys. The two looked nervous as they shut the door behind them and the redhead started casting spells, mumbling under his breath.
"That'll stop anyone overhearing us and buy us some time but we need to be quick Tonks." The redhead said as he and Tonks sat down in a couple of old chairs.
"Thanks Bill, You two wouldn't bloody believe what's going on downstairs." Tonks said in a huff as she looked at the two making Sirius arch an eyebrow as he pocketed the mirror.
"What's going on and why the wards Bill?" Remus asked as he looked between the pair, they both looked stressed and worried as far as Sirius could tell, whatever they had heard had disturbed them.
"Those idiots downstairs aren't going to give you any more medical attention! I swear you'd think they want you dead." Tonks said in a rage, her hair flickering blood red as she spoke.
"That isn't even the half of it, Dumbledore is risking bloody war with the Goblins at this rate. Did you know Harry hasn't been presented as heir yet?" Bill said quickly.
"What? But that should have happened when he was fourteen!" Sirius yelled, rising from his seat. "Surely they would have done it at some point when he was in the bank?"
"Mum did his shopping the past couple of years… The Goblins have been on at me about it since I got back to England, they know the family is close to him." Bill said as he rubbed his temples. "Dumbledore didn't want Harry going to Diagon this year and last year with the Quidditch World Cup there just wasn't time from what I remember."
Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing, there was definitely time after the cup, even with the attack they still had a week after the match. With what Harry and Ginny told him things were becoming more suspicious, if it was too dangerous for Harry to go to Diagon Alley why did they let him go to Hogsmeade on that disastrous date or any of the other times.
"We need to get him to Gringotts right off the express I think, I think something is being hidden from him if I had to guess it's his title… Bloody hell if he had been to Gringotts he wouldn't have had that bloody hearing either!" Sirius said as he sat back down and ran his hand down his face, the light coming through the murky windows showing just how pale he had become.
"What are you on about Padfoot? What title and how would this have stopped the hearing?" Remus asked as he looked at his best friend, Tonks nodded and looked at Sirius for answers while Bill looked thoughtful.
"Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, it's his birthright and why James always wore that ring after Fleamont died. Harry would come under the end of line laws which means as the last living member he would take the title rather than be acknowledged as heir." Sirius explained in a bored voice almost as if he thought they;d know this. As he looked at his best friend he saw his jaw wide open and a similar look on Tonks' face. "Not a good look you two. Seriously, did Andi not tell you about any of this Tonks? I know Prongs mentioned this around you Moony, I called him nothing but Lord Prongs for weeks."
"I thought that was a joke, Padfoot." Remus said as he looked at Sirius in a combination of anger and confusion.
"What I want to know is why Harry doesn't seem to know about this? Surely Ron or Hermione would have mentioned being the heir to him by now?" Sirius said as he looked at Bill for an answer.
"Ron wouldn't, he'd be too jealous. The twins probably don't know about it at all so they wouldn't tell him about it. I know Ginny doesn't know because mum stopped me asking her about it over the summer. Come to think about it, mum stopped me even seeing Harry as well, he was always in a different room or my back was turned when he walked past." Bill said as he realised whatever was going on his mother was clearly involved.
"I think it's clear that The Order doesn't have Harry's best interests at heart, we need to talk to Harry about what's been going on at school over the years as well." Sirius said, getting a nod from the other three.
"I just… I can't believe Dumbledore would be involved in something like this" Remus said as he hung his head.
"You better bloody believe it Remus he's the one who doesn't want Sirius getting any medical attention!" Tonks yelled bringing the topic back the the reason they came here in the first place.
"What?" Remus said paling.
"That's why we came up here, Dumbledore has essentially ordered us to let Sirius here die." Tonks said plainly though her hair seemed to be stuck a flaming red colour.
"I shouldn't be surprised, Dumbledore and Hermione both told Harry I was dead." Sirius said unable to hide the venom in his voice making Tonks and Bill look at him strangely.
"You've spoken to Harry today?" Tonks said her hair turning blue in shock.
"Just before you two came in we were speaking to him and Ginny." Sirius said noticing Bill's and Tonks' smiles at that fact.
"So he's finally noticing her then." Bill said with a smile as he looked at Sirius causing him to let out a bark like laugh.
"I'd say so but what are we going to do, as much as I hate to admit it I'm going to need potions if nothing else." Sirius said as they began to plan what they'd do both to keep him alive and keep Harry away from the Order over the summer.
When they broke the connection between the mirrors Harry couldn't help but smile as he looked at Ginny.
"We were right, something is definitely up Gin, we need to plan" Harry said as he looked up from the mirror.
"We do but first we need to talk Harry, or should I say, Mr Peverell…"