Note: Hellooo! So, I want to thank my seven faithful readers who voted on the Poll. This update is for you! And to the one who voted on a New Story, hang in there, it's coming!
Guys, hope you enjoy this chapter!
He blinks, coming out of a deep slumber. The first thing he notices is the darkness. He can't see a thing inside wherever he is. Then he notices his wrists and ankles are tied up to the very uncomfortable chair that he's sitting.
He groans. His throat is dry and he feels thirsty.
Fast enough it all comes back to him.
They poisoned him.
Gritting his teeth he tries freeing his hands, but the ropes are tight, almost cutting down his circulation. Harry tries some wandless magic, but he's drained, completely exhausted.
He chews the insides of his cheeks, furious. He was sloppy. He let his guard down. He felt too comfortable around them, too safe. His grandfather's voice comes to him - You should learn who trust, Harry. - from the last fight they had.
And now it's all over.
They'll turn him in to Tom Riddle, they'll find out he's Harry Potter and he'll be dead in a few days. The certainty and fatality of it strikes him hard. And to his utter dismay, he thinks about Hermione. Thinks about the shot they never had at being together.
Grunting, he tries freeing himself again. He can't let it end. Not like this, not-
A door opens and Harry blinks fast when someone turns the lights on.
It's Sirius.
Harry purses his lips while the man seizes one chair - they're inside a common bedroom, probably still at Grimmauld - and sits in front of him, crossing one leg over the other and sighing.
"I'm glad you're already up. It's only been a few hours, I had doubts about the amount of potion-"
"You poisoned me." He says through gritted teeth.
"Nonsense!" Sirius waves a hand, a smile playing on his face. "I just wanted you to sleep a bit and feel very, very weak. I mean, it's the only way we can have this talk, isn't it?"
"Talk? How do you expect me to talk tied up like this? And what the fuck?"
Sirius sighs, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward. "Harry," His voice changes to a gentle tone, "you really thought we wouldn't recognize you?"
Harry doesn't react. He was expecting this. "What are you talking about?"
"You can deny all you want. But I suggest you don't. It will make things easier. Trust me."
"Trust you?" He spits the words. Then he laughs humorlessly, angry at himself for being in this situation. When he saw himself in this position with Hermione, he found a way out because they have a different connection, but something yells at him that there's no way of fooling or lying to Sirius.
A silence stretches while Sirius observes him. Then, the man clicks his tongue.
"When I laid my eyes on you, I knew. You look exactly like James. With Lily's eyes." Harry grits his teeth. It's infuriating how this traitor talks about his parents. And it's unfair that he had a chance of knowing them while Harry had to grow up without them. "And then, the Ball!" Sirius raises both hands, chuckling. "Remus was skeptical when I told him, but when he saw you," He shakes his head, amused, "it was undeniable. Arthur and Molly were also sure."
Harry presses his lips together, stopping words from pouring out.
Sirius goes on, "I'm sure Peter also saw the resemblance. He's not a fool. And I bet my life Lucius did too, didn't he, Harry?" He leans forward on the chair. "I'm fairly sure it was you beneath him when that Avada Kedrava killed him."
Gulping, Harry looks up at the man in front of him. "You have no proof." It's what he manages to say.
"Well, we'll get to that. But before we do, I want to know… what do you want, Harry? Revenge? What are your plans? Matteo D'Angelo's plans?"
Harry snorts, "I have nothing to say to you, Sirius."
"As I said, I suggest you do cooperate, Harry. I have ways of making you talk, and believe me, you should be thankful I'm the one in front of you."
"Thankful?" He can't help being ironic.
"Yes. Thankful that it's not Tom Riddle." Sirius' eyes narrow into slits and Harry manages to see sheer hate for a moment. "If he knew what I know, you would be dead by now."
Harry shakes his head. "I don't know what you think you know, but I have nothing to hide." He has a hard time believing his own words.
"Is that so? I'll leave you to it for a bit, then."
With that, Sirius stands and smiles, then he turns the lights off and walks out, closing the door behind him.
Harry exhales heavily. Cazzo. Now he's truly fucked. One thing is to fool Hermione and the others, but those who knew, truly knew his parents, is another matter entirely. Sirius, Remus, Arthur and Molly are pretty damn sure that he's Harry Potter and unfortunately, they're right.
He tries freeing himself again. His grandfather and the Auror training had endless classes dedicated to escaping, but Ginny, Ron and Draco - all Aurors - are there. They probably tied Harry up in a way they knew he wouldn't be able to escape.
Harry trashes against the ropes, his strong body trying to smash the chair onto the wooden floor. He does it countless times, drops of his sweat start to hit the ground, but nothing happens. He's both magically and physically bound.
The urge to cry takes over him.
He knew he was risking a lot coming to London and infiltrating the Ministry. Before he left, his mother told him to disguise himself, but he shook his head believing his grandfather's words that no one would connect him to the Potters-
What a fucking idiot.
Panting, he lets his head fall back. They'll interrogate him and probably kill him after they're done. And should he even care? There isn't a way out, he knows. Maybe I should tell them everything. His chest tightens at the thought. Would they show any mercy to the son of his deceased friends? Or would they be as merciless as those Aurors? As Tom Riddle?
He shakes his head. Sirius also saw him killing Lucius. Fuck, did everyone see, except Hermione? He frowns. Could it be that she… also saw?
The door opens again, this time Remus is standing there. With his arms crossed over his chest, the man observes Harry.
"I'm truly intrigued, Harry. James never-" He stops himself.
"What do you want?"
"We want answers."
Harry raises an eyebrow. And sighs. Decided. "I'll give you answers. But I want to be untied."
Remus chuckles. "A bit of a stretch, don't you think? Can we trust you not to flee? Or kill us?"
Looking into Remus' eyes, Harry tries showing all his intentions. Maybe he's tired of hiding, tired of lying, tired of running.
Something changes on the man's expression. Then he calls out to Sirius and the others.
Fast enough, Sirius, Eleonora, Arthur, Molly, Remus, Nymphadora, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Draco and Sally are all inside the room, looking at him.
"Harry here says that if we untie him, he'll give us answers." Remus tells the others.
"I want answers too." He says in a low voice. "You owe me that much." He purses his lips and lowers his head as he tries to hide his tears, his chin trembling. Dio, I'm exhausted.
It hits him, like a brick, how totally fed up with all of this he is. He never intended on being caught, but he was and now, going against all his training, he finds himself wanting to give up. Maybe before they decide what to do with him he can get some answers about his parents… and maybe that's better than revenge.
He trembles when he thinks about Hermione. Will she miss him?
In a rush he feels his arms falling down, his legs giving in.
He's free.
Taking a deep breath he runs a hand through his hair.
They're all looking at him, ready to act if needed. "Could we talk downstairs?" He asks sincerely, "I need some water." He's freakishly calm.
Molly is the first to act. "Of course." She says and steps forward, extending her hand to him. Harry nods in thanks and when his hand clasp hers…
…he only squeezes it tightly and they all let out a collective breath.
Harry feels trapped in a daze. He will make them promise not to hurt his family. It's the least he can do.
Crumbling down on a couch, he takes the glass of water and drinks it in one go. They're all sitting around him in a circle, waiting for him to talk. He only presses his lips together.
"Harry." It's Sirius. "Are you James and Lily's son?"
He closes his eyes. Letting out a sob, some tears run down his face. "I am. I'm Harry Potter."
There's a brutal silence that follows his words. He has no idea how long it lasts. And he's ready to take whichever retaliation that may come his-
Strong arms close around him.
Someone is crying and he realizes it's not him. It's Sirius. He's holding Harry with a vicious grip, pulling him up for a full hug. Harry blinks, confused. And then, Molly, Arthur and Remus are joining the hug. He's being suffocate by their… affection.
The others are frozen on the spot, watching in awe. They're all crying. And his ears are buzzing. He has no idea what's happening.
"We never knew." Sirius mumbles.
Remus laughs out loud, cheering. "Damn you, James! Damn you, Lily!" He seems to be talking to the ceiling.
Harry shakes his head and pulls away from them. He doesn't understand.
Arthur smiles at him and raises his voice to calm the others, especially Remus and Sirius that are yelling incomprehensible things.
Harry feels weak and he falls back down on the couch, his hands supporting his head. It takes them minutes to sit back in silence.
"Harry, tell us what happened! How did you escape?" Arthur asks.
"I- aren't you…" He swallows the lump on his throat, "What the fuck is happening?"
"What do you mean, dear?" Molly asks.
Harry grits his teeth. "You betrayed my parents. You are responsible for their deaths!" He exclaims.
"What?" Sirius bellows. "Of course not! We tried protecting them-"
"Liar!" Harry stands and they all tense around him. "You wanted my father to leave my mother, you're all the same Pureblood Supremacists who want nothing than to-"
"Ow, ow!" Remus raises a hand. "Stop! Listen, Harry, listen!"
But he's furious now. "You don't have the right to cry for them! Or even show any kind of affection towards me!" He's yelling. "You don't!"
And he falls down again, crying copiously, desperately.
Who are these people? What are they saying?
He feels a hand on his back and he looks to the side to see Sally smiling at him.
"It's okay, Harry." She says in a low voice. He lets her hold him while he cries. It's a warm and friendly gesture.
"Harry, Harry," Sirius is calling him, "I have no idea what you heard, but I don't think you know the whole story, and we would be glad to tell you everything."
"How you expect me to trust or believe you? You just poisoned me and tied me up to a chair!"
Sirius makes a face. "I know it doesn't look good, but we had no idea how to approach the subject without raising a red flag and having you fleeing or killing us. We can make a Vow if that'll make you feel better."
Harry widens his eyes. "A Vow?" His voice is low. This can't be happening.
"Yes." Sirius looks at the others and Harry watches, with his mouth hanging open, while they all nod in agreement. "We Vow to never reveal your true identity unless you do. The only exception is if we are under coercion." Sirius smiles and gives Harry his wand back. "You can seal it yourself. And then we can be done with all the mistrust and misunderstanding and have a conversation about my dear old friends."
Harry takes the wand and gulps. He could stun all of them and flee. Go back to Rome. Forget he ever came to London, forget his revenge, everything.
Forget Hermione-
He nods to Sirius.
They all hold hands, forming a circle. And then they Vow, saying the words. Harry seals the deal and the Unbreakable can't be taken back.
He feels a huge weight leaving him. So much he can't help snorting a laugh.
"Now, Harry, please, tell us how you survived." Remus says when they all sit back down.
"I-" He's shaking, but the words start coming out of him, "Well, my parents hid me when they discovered they had had their location revealed. They erased any trace of me from the house and left me inside a trap door on the floor. Only someone with good intentions would be able to break through a spell they placed there." He gulps. "Matteo D'Angelo found me. And he made me part of his family." He chokes a bit. "I grew up oblivious to who I was or who James and Lily were, but, when I was around seven they told me the truth. Of course I couldn't fully understand the depth of it at the time, but it changed me. It changed everything."
"Your mother… Bianca," Eleonora says, "do you remember I said I knew her? Well, she told me once it was extremely difficult for her to have children. It was another clue to discovering who you were."
Harry nods. "Indeed. She was a bit reluctant at first when Matteo appeared with me, afraid of any kind of retaliation, but then, when things calmed down, she took me in gladly. And I love her. She is my mother, regardless." He brushes away a tear. "But they also made Vows on my identity and for that I'm grateful."
"What about your father? Marcello?" Arthur asks.
"Well, he never accepted me fully, but… we get along fairly well. Matteo was more like a father than him."
"Hence the surname." Sirius states.
"Hence the surname." Harry confirms. They're waiting for him to continue, "Matteo raised me with one purpose in mind…"
"Revenge." Sirius confirms for him again. Harry only nods. "I knew it. And you infiltrated the Ministry, got close to my daughter and is friends with Ron, Ginny, Draco…"
"I- look, what happened to the Potters is a huge secrecy. I tried discovering all I could before coming here, but my only certainties were that… one of James' friends had betrayed him and Tom Riddle is the main responsible for their deaths. I had to discover the Aurors who were there that night-"
"And you plan on killing them? Us?" Remus asks.
Harry shakes his head. "Who betrayed them?" He asks sharply.
"It was Peter." Sirius says in a low voice. Harry closes his eyes. Again, another confirmation. In a way it changes almost nothing to him. "James and Lily hid pretty well where they were living and that they had had a child. It never crossed our minds. But… one night, close to the date of their deaths, we received a cyphered letter from James, it was our way of keeping in touch, of knowing that things were fine. On the letter he specified how worried he was, he said he could feel the danger around them. He said they were thinking about finally leaving England, but before they went they wanted to see us." Sirius chokes. "Stupidly he wrote down the address because he never imagined his friends might betray him. Peter did."
Harry chews the insides of his cheeks. "Pezzo di merda." He says under his breath. A murderous rage taking over him. He fists his hands, his knuckles white. "And you did nothing." He says through gritted teeth, "nothing to the man who practically murdered them."
"Things aren't that simple, Harry." Sirius says, "We can't go out there killing people-"
"Fuck it!" He says in a yell. "He deserves to die for what he did! He was their fucking friend!"
"Calm down." Arthur says in a gentle tone. And only because it's Arthur, Harry indeed calms down, taking a deep breath.
He accepts Sally's outstretched hand and squeezes it.
Still outraged, but more resigned, he says, "So? The way you're talking you were all heartbroken for what happened to my parents, but none of you went there and tried to save them. None of you searched the house the way my grandfather did and found me. Not to mention that you are all here with your pretty lives sucking on Tom Riddle's balls!"
A heavy silence falls and Sirius and Remus lower their heads, ashamed.
"When it happened…" Sirius' voice is barely a whisper, "we were ready to go, ready to fight and defend them, but… it was too late. The news of their deaths reached us fast enough. It was a victory for the Ministry and for Pureblood Supremacy, a clear message. We decided then that we shouldn't go, shouldn't show ourselves in any way." He gulps. "We had no idea you were there, Harry, if we did things might have been different."
"Yeah, well, they weren't." He says sourly.
"You can't blame us, Harry." Remus says, "We were doing our best given the situation we were in. We loved James and Lily, but we had our lives here, our own families to think about." Harry scoffs. "You believe it or not, we were throughly interrogated, after all, Peter knew their location because of the letter and he also gave our names to Tom Riddle."
Harry raises his chin. "You can tell me whatever you want, I still think you were cowards."
"Dear," Molly says, "it's not like that. We wanted to do something…" She looks at the others with questioning eyes. Something goes between them that Harry doesn't comprehend and Molly stops talking.
In her place, Sirius, abruptly changing the subject, says, "We know you're having an affair with Hermione."
Not expecting the words, Harry goes very still and cold inside. Suddenly, is the first time he feels extremely protective… towards her.
"What?" His voice is low and Sally groans at his side.
"Harry, I saw you." She says and he turns sharply to her. Of course, she saw them at the locker room-
"At your flat, days ago," She continues, "When I was there. You thought I was asleep, but I saw you and I also…" She looks down in an apologetic way, "I also went a bit through your stuff." Then she retrieves from her pocket one of Harry's vials of memory. "That's how we were certain and decided to drug you."
Opening and closing his mouth, he lets go of her hand and fetches the vial. It's the memory from when he was seven and his grandfather and mother told him everything. Harry hadn't even noticed it was gone from his nightstand's drawer. He closes his fingers around the vial and sighs. If Sally was awake and saw he and Hermione, there's no use in denying. He blames himself for not being more careful.
And the shame hits him. Sally's parents are there, watching their interaction. Ron, Ginny, Draco, now they all know that he and Hermione…
"I'm sorry." He says to Sally.
"Hey, stop, don't worry." She says to him with a smile. "We all knew this would happen after the traditional, Harry, it was almost impossible it didn't."
"Well, I thought it took too long to happen, to be honest," Ginny says, "they couldn't stop eye fucking each other."
Ron and Draco agree with smirks and Harry lowers his head. "I- you can't be this forgiving, I mean, I-"
"Relax." Sally says and winks at him. "We'll talk about this later, okay? In private." She adds while glaring at the others.
He looks at Eleonora and Sirius and Sally's mother raises her hands in the air as if not minding at all that Harry was dating her daughter and having sex with Hermione behind her back. Sirius only narrows his eyes at him.
"We would be the last ones to judge, Harry." Eleonora says, "we know how powerful the traditional is, even if some people try to deny it." He wonders if the way she talked about the traditional on the first time they met was a way of testing his beliefs. He decides it was. And he fell easily in her trap.
He sighs. Harry doesn't think it's necessary to say that he wanted Hermione since the first moment he laid eyes on her. Something that has nothing to do with the traditional.
Rubbing a hand against his face, he asks, "What me having something with Hermione has to do with anything at all?"
"You're calling us cowards, but apparently you have no problem getting involved with the enemy." Remus says, a glint of mischief in his eyes. Harry bites down his lower lip. "But that's not the point. The point is… what exactly is this that you have with her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, is it just sex? Do you have feelings for her? Does she know who you are? What?"
He leans back on the couch and his hand goes to his pocket, the coin is still there. As dull as it were a few hours ago. A few days ago. Not a word from Hermione. He gulps.
"It's just sex. We're having some fun. She'll be married to Pettigrew soon, I gather." The words weight on his tongue. Reality is terrible. "She doesn't know who I am, but I… I went through her office one day in search of clues and she found out. She questioned me, almost the same as you're doing right now, and I had to confess that I'm investigating the Persecution."
They all widen their eyes.
"And she let you off the hook?" Draco asks incredulous.
Harry ponders if he should tell them about Hermione's obsession with the Potters, but Ron beats him to it.
"You're investigating together, aren't you?" He asks. "Do you remember, mum? When Hermione asked me about the Potters? I'm sure she was already investigating even back then."
"What you told her…" Harry says, "was it all true?"
Ron nods. "Yes. Whatever she told you that I said it's true with slightly variations when it comes to my parents and the others."
"Yeah, so, that's it. We're investigating together and having some fun. That's all. I know pretty well that she's my enemy."
"You don't have to be so touchy about it, Harry." Remus says back to him. "We all love Hermione. And she's nothing like her father, but-"
"Remus." Sirius interrupts him. "Harry, the thing is, we also have a few things to tell you, but things that can never reach Hermione's ears." Sirius opens a side smile. "So, could you also make a Vow for us?"
Harry clicks his tongue. He can barely believe how torn he feels. They all made a Vow for him, and they're all his parents' friends, none inside this living room had any involvement in their deaths, but even so… his heart tightens at the thought of being unable to tell things to Hermione.
And what could they possibly be hiding-
"You did it." He says, shocked. "The attacks, the-"
"Are you willing to make the Vow?" Sirius interrupts him with a grave voice. Then he extends his right hand to Harry.
Standing from the couch, he takes Sirius' hand. He can't forget that Hermione is also hiding things from him. And with this Vow he'll be able to get answers.
With their hands together, it's Arthur who seals the deal.
"Do you Vow that our secrets won't be told to anyone outside this circle unless if permitted or if under coercion?"
"I Vow."
He grits his teeth when he feels the powerful binding spell taking over his skin and being. Sirius smiles and when they settle back on their seats, it's Ginny who breaks the silence:
"We aren't responsible for the attack at the Fair." Harry frowns at that, "We have no idea who is and that's why we're also investigating like lunatics. But, as you know, the best chance we have is with this Vernon Dursley guy who Hermione and Asmo are after." He doesn't react, hiding pretty well his jealousy, and she goes on, "but we did use that to our advantage at the Ball."
"Really? Why you wanted Hermione?"
Sirius snorts. "We didn't. But since someone clearly tried murdering her at the Fair, we thought following this line of action would be the best."
"But why did you do it, then? And how?"
"We want to scare Tom. He's been in his position for far too long and too comfortable. It wasn't hard getting those rebels inside the Manor since we're" Sirius gestures between them, "the counselors and kinda of have some access to the Manor's security detail."
Harry shakes his head, "But was it worth it? All those people dead just to scare Tom Riddle? How does this change something?"
"Harry, my boy, those rebels didn't die. Remember we were the ones fighting them. They faked their deaths and later when their bodies were removed from the Manor, we gave them the right potions to come back from a very deep sleep." Sirius looks at Draco, "Only one person died that night."
Harry widens his eyes, Draco seems a bit furious. "You killed my father, didn't you?"
One thing is to confess who he is and having a Vow from them that his identity won't be revealed, but another one entirely is confessing to the murder of Lucius Malfoy to his own son. It's ridiculous to imagine that they'll let him off easily.
Sensing his hesitation, Remus says, "It's okay to tell us, Harry. We promise this information won't leave this room. Give us a chance to prove you can trust us."
It takes him a few more beats to decide. He would be extremely exposed, but the shit already hit the fan, didn't it?
"Draco, I'm so sorry." He says, choking a bit, "He came at me. He was choking me to death and he recognized me, I'm sorry. I acted on impulse and…" He trails, pursing his lips.
Draco stands from his chair and looks up at the ceiling, shaken. Scoffing and looking at Harry, he says, "Asmodeus is sure you did it. He told me so and I had my doubts… I can't say it's nice hearing this, D'Angelo, but I understand the situation." Harry sees him setting his jaw and sitting back, his hand seeking Ginny's.
"I-"
"We can talk more later, in private." Draco says, already averting his eyes from him.
"Okay." Arthur says, "We all suspected and it doesn't change a thing for us. Lucius was as a Supremacist as you could get. You just need to be careful, if this reaches Tom, he won't think twice before sentencing you to a Dementor's kiss."
Harry nods. He knows.
"What about the guy at the funeral? The one who attacked me?"
They all mumble something. "We have no idea what happened." Sirius says. "We never planned to attack the funeral, so, probably, whoever did attack you was someone involved with the Fair. How he got informations, we don't know. But we want to find out."
"The traitor?"
Remus shakes his head. "We have no idea who they might be. Unfortunately."
Harry chews the insides of his cheeks, and says, "The man who attacked me talked very personally about Lily and James." He's confused.
The others shake their heads, making faces, also confused. "He left no trace, there's no way of tracking him down." Ron says.
"I would be dead if it wasn't for Hermione." He says in a low voice.
"We know." Ron replies, his head low.
Harry purses his lips. He's angry. Angry that Ron, Ginny and Draco seem to have no problem in keeping all of this from Hermione. They say she's their best friend, but yet, they plot behind her back… I do the same. He sets his jaw. Like Arthur said, they all love Hermione, but the fact that she's a Riddle is… too much. They know that if came down to it, she would choose her family first. Harry is sure. Because he would do the same.
And he feels the already large gap between he and Hermione getting larger and deeper. Wider. But he pushes the thought away.
"And what about Lucinda Summers, Harry?" Ginny asks, her eyes glinting. "Was it you? Come on, please tell me it was because we bet some galleons on it and I'm ready to win."
Harry actually laughs. After confessing a murder and revealing his true identity, telling them he freed Lucinda Summers and her daughter is practically nothing.
He only nods.
"I knew it!" Ginny shouts. "Give me all your galleons!" She says to the others while they protest.
Harry wonders if he should tell them Hermione was there… he doesn't.
Instead, he says, "Who concealed the french windows at the Manor? Because I was there with Hermione and she did a tracking spell, she knows who did it… but she didn't share the information with me." He tries not showing how this bothers him.
Sirius cocks his head. "When she performed the spell?"
Harry shrugs, "A few days ago."
"So she doesn't know who did it. It's impossible that after a month…" Sirius turns to Remus, "Could she?"
Remus sighs. "I don't know. It's hard to tell with Hermione. She's extremely powerful. It's a fact. Maybe she knows."
They share a tense look.
"It didn't seem to me that she was going to tell someone." Harry says, trying to appease things. They're like this because she traced a spell from a month ago… how would they react if he told them that she did one that went back twenty-four years at his parents' house? "Is this spell… that hard?" He honestly doesn't know.
They snort. "Extremely." Remus says. "Few wizards can do it, Harry. It's one of the many reasons that got Hermione into her Head position."
"We did our best to keep her away from prying those windows the days after it happened." Sirius says, "But if after a month she's able to tell…" He clicks his tongue. "Well, we'll deal with it if it comes to it."
"Now, Harry-" Remus begins.
"No. Enough of questioning me. I have some questions of my own." He says sharply. They nod, agreeing. Taking a deep breath, he says, "What do you know about the Aurors who murdered my parents? Where are they?"
"We've been trying to discover this for years, Harry. We don't know what Riddle did, but they vanished from the map after that Halloween night."
"But you found Karkaroff, didn't you?"
Sirius and Remus share a look, and Arthur snorts a chuckle. It's Molly who says, "We did." A chill runs down Harry's spine at the look in her eyes of pure… contentment.
"Hermione pulled the files, right? That's why Tom was questioning her at that dinner." Sirius says and shakes his head. "Tom must be going crazy. His own daughter disobeying him like this. The Persecution is the only topic that they never agreed on. I don't know if Hermione told you this, but they already had grotesque fights on this matter."
Harry shakes his head. "What about the other Aurors?"
"Even if you call us cowards, Harry, we stayed and we're trying our best to avenge our friends." Remus says, "We have connections with the rebels and we're trying to find ways of shaking the Ministry's foundations. But a good revenge, one that no one sees coming, takes time." He stops for a moment to exhale. "It takes patient, it takes planning and a lot of pretending, Harry."
Sirius snorts at that, agreeing. "We're pretty tired of pretending. Don't you think I would kill Tom Riddle myself? But things don't work like that. We have to think about every step we take. Carefully." Sirius sighs. "He's cunning, Harry. He interrogated us mercilessly after Lily and James were murdered. He knew we were their closest friends and still…" He opens a tight smile. "He kept us close. We're his counselors, Harry. Years of doing not so nice things for him. In a way, he has our lives in his hands. So, yeah, it takes time, it takes planning and above anything else, courage. Courage to look at Tom Riddle's face every day and plan his death. His downfall. But still smile at him and advise him. It takes a lot of pretending."
Harry inhales sharply at Sirius' words. But he says nothing. There's not an answer he finds suitable. If he grew up thinking about his parents and a probable revenge, the people in this room were their friends and had to endure what happened to them in silence. Had to move on with their lives obeying a murderer and living by his rules.
"Well," Arthur cuts the silence, "I'm knackered." He stands from the chair, yawning. "What if we all stay here for the night? We can talk better tomorrow."
"It's a good idea. A good night of sleep is more than welcome." Molly backs her husband's words and the others agree.
Harry looks down. Everyone is already raising from their chairs, talking in hushed tones. He still has a billion questions-
"Tomorrow, Harry." Sirius says, standing in front of him. "I promise."
Setting his jaw, he nods and they share a heavy look. Harry sees some sadness swimming in Sirius' eyes when he steps forward for a hug and Harry flinches back. Swallowing hard, the man nods and walks away with Eleonora.
Within minutes they're all gone to some bedroom and Harry is all alone with Sally. Gathering some courage he turns to her and-
She slaps his face. Hard.
He opens his mouth. Surprised. Shocked.
"That was for sleeping with her while leading me on." She says in a low voice, not angry… amused instead. Harry frowns.
"I'm sorry." He says again. "It… just happened and-"
"Don't bother, seriously." She sighs, looking up. "I have no idea what you see in her, but I understand. And now that we can be honest with each other… well, I really hope you don't ask me to marry you."
Harry opens and closes his mouth. "What?"
"Look, maybe you didn't deserve the slap, sorry. Because the same way you were using me for informations on my family," He tries denying her words, but the look she gives him clearly leaves no room for more lies, "I was also using you in a way. We all had doubts about you being a Potter and I stayed close to you to try to discover something." She gulps. "But I confess that after the traditional I wanted to stop. What you share with Hermione-"
"It's just sex."
She tilts her head. "Don't fool yourself, Harry."
He exhales heavily, shaking his head. "There's nothing between us." He tries again and this time she raises both hands in the air to show that she'll believe him if that's what he wants.
"Regardless." She narrows her eyes. "I'm sorry because I wasn't totally honest with you also."
"What do you mean?"
"I-" She inhales deeply, and lets out a humorless chuckle, "I'm in love with someone else."
Harry widens his eyes. He's a bit… confused. But not angry or sad or feeling betrayed. "Why are you not with him, then?"
She gulps. "I guess you noticed how I don't like Hermione. At all." He nods. "Well… I was dating him, but her father asked her to investigate him, because you know, my father is his counselor and being his daughter, whom I marry matters and all that bullshit." She waves a hand. "Hermione discovered his family had some inclination towards Muggleborns' rights and well… she told Tom. And he went after my father. You can imagine what happened. Of course my father had no problem with it, but as Remus said, we have to pretend. We have to keep up our appearances." She snorts and Harry takes her hand, seeing how the subject troubles her. He tries not thinking about Hermione's part in this. "And well, I still love him. So, I guess I owe you an apology also."
He shakes his head. "It's fine." Harry smiles. "I'm sorry about your relationship, though. You can use me as facade if you want to, I owe you that." She chuckles and he moves his shoulder to bump into hers. "Who is he?"
Sighing, she says, "Neville Longbottom."
Harry doesn't know who he is, but he squeezes her hand. "I hope you get a real shot at being together." He says honestly. "And regardless all our game of deceit, I'm glad that we did it. I mean, I really think you're bella, and I consider you a friend, Sally. I hope you feel the same."
She moves to hug him. "Of course. You can count on me, Harry. And thanks, for being so nice about this."
He snorts. "Please, it's the least I could do. So, want to officially fake date me?"
"I would love that." She kisses his cheek.
He clicks his tongue. "What I don't understand is why Riddle is so pro our union. I mean, he already mentioned how my grandfather supports Muggleborns and such. Why accept me and not Longbottom?"
"Well, from what I imagine, maybe he thinks having you close is an advantage. And after the Ball I think he would do anything to marry you soon. To keep you away from Hermione."
He nods. "Yeah, that's probably it." He says in a low voice, truly shaken by everything.
Sally stands from the couch. "Look, Harry, whatever you have with her…" She shrugs, "I really hope you figure it out, okay? For the better or for the worse."
Harry sighs and watches as Sally goes up the stairs and leaves him alone with his thoughts.
He's still a bit numb from the potion and from everything he heard. Not even in his wildest dreams he came up with such a mess.
They're all on his side. Against Riddle. Trying to destroy him from the inside.
Leaning on the couch and looking at the ceiling, he can't be sure if he's happy or not.
Now that they know his secret he doesn't feel as lonely as he felt when he first arrived, but he's not sure this changes things. They probably know a lot about the Aurors and will tell him tomorrow… but if after twenty-four years they still haven't succeeded in exposing Riddle and ending Pureblood Supremacy, what could Harry expect from this revenge? Really? How in the world is he, alone, going to be able to do this?
Especially now that he… feels something for Hermione Riddle.
Setting his jaw, he fetches the coin from his pocket. Still warm. No word from her.
Imagining her with Pettigrew gives Harry a headache. Of course he'll pretend to be with Sally in front of her, but Hermione is not pretending when it comes to Asmodeus. They have a real relationship. Years of it. And he'll propose soon.
Maybe he already did. He swallows the lump on his throat. He knows she'll say yes. And he knows Tom Riddle will give them his blessing.
And she'll look breathtaking at her wedding day.
Inhaling deeply, he sends her a message:
Are you okay?
He's a bit worried. To be fair, since the day she binded him to that chair everything changed for them. And since then it's the most days they've been without talking.
"Hey, mate."
Harry looks at the stairs, Ron is there, coming to him.
"Hey." Harry says, his voice strange.
Sitting in front of him, Ron sighs, shaking his head and rubbing his hands together, nervous. Harry waits. Ron wants to say something, but apparently he's not finding the words. While he fidgets, Harry thinks about the Ball and-
"The conversation we had," He begins and Ron looks at him, "after the attack at the Ball, when you dragged me to check the wards." Ron nods, "You were testing me, weren't you?"
Ron opens a half smile. "Of course. I couldn't tell we were responsible for the attack and I wanted to see your thoughts about it… and I realized your only concern was Hermione." Harry looks down. It's laughable that his only concern even now is still her. "She's my best friend." Ron says firmly. Harry understands this conversation is about her. "I've known her my whole life, Harry. I've seen her suffer through a lot. Things you have no idea of. I've seen her trying to come out of her father's wings and succeed. I've seen her date many blokes. Seen her make extremely wrong choices. And extremely wise ones. I've seen her questioning things she should blindly stand for." Ron takes a deep breath. "But I've never seen her acting the way I'm seeing since you arrived."
His heart skips a beat and he tightens his grip on the coin in his hand. Harry doesn't open his mouth, though. Ron isn't done yet.
"Hermione is not a cheater. And yet." He clicks his tongue. "I can't know what you share or feel, but it must be something powerful for her to betray Asmo like that-"
"It's just sex." He repeats the words, dull on his tongue, ridiculous. "She's marrying Pettigrew, Ron. Reality is… we just couldn't resist the physical attraction. That's all."
Ron narrows his eyes. And snorts. "Not just that, Harry. She listens to you. Treats you as her equal, something she hardly does." Harry bites his lower lip, raising an eyebrow. Ron continues, "She's stubborn. And being a Riddle opened countless and endless doors to her throughout her life, things came easily to her. She could be anything she wanted. But she chose the one thing her father wouldn't give without her earning it. The Head position. She's a good person. I know that. We all do. But she's Tom Riddle's daughter." Ron stops and Harry grits his teeth, unsure of what the man might be saying… "Don't get me wrong when I say this…" He stops again, his eyes on the floor. "I wouldn't trust her if I were you."
Harry widens his eyes, his heart beating insanely fast. And his first instinct is to defend her. But he stops himself just in time. If Ron is saying this… "What do you mean?" Harry asks.
"Her position. Being who she is. Carrying the name she does. It all affects her immensely, Harry. More than you can imagine. And of course I might be wrong about this, but… for her, nothing matters more than her family. Nothing comes before what her father wants. You're his enemy, Harry. You're a Potter. She's a Riddle. That's all I'm saying." He shrugs.
Harry nods. He comprehends. He thinks about this incessantly. But now… when he does, it hurts. It hurts because he wished things could be different. He wished-
"Thank you, Ron. For… warning me."
Ron nods. "I'm sorry about the whole poisoning you and stuff." He smiles and Harry does too. "I like you, Harry. I hope we can be friends."
Harry stands and they clasp their hands. "We already are, mate. Thanks."
And trying not to think about Hermione's silence - the coin still as warm as before - he retreats to a bedroom upstairs, Sally's. She's already sleeping and he automatically strips down to his boxers before lying by her side.
His last thought before falling asleep, even after everything he heard and learned, is of Hermione.
He can hear voices coming from the kitchen. Voices and laughter and a sense of familiarity.
When he woke Sally was already gone and Harry wasted no time in checking his coin. No answer from Hermione. He debated with himself if he should send her another message, but decided that it wasn't the best idea. She's with Pettigrew and they're investigating someone that might be dangerous, so, if she didn't answer, she doesn't have the time to… or the will.
He shoved down these thoughts and took a shower.
And now, as he enters the kitchen, they all turn their heads to him. Harry realizes he has no idea how to behave around them now. What happened last night was huge. Life changing. And he's still trying to process. He clears his throat.
"Good morning." He tries but wants to flinch at his own words.
Molly moves before anyone else. "Come, Harry, I made us breakfast. And it's incredibly better than Eleonora's."
They all laugh at the remark and Sally's mum tries faking some irritation but ends up smiling. Harry sits down with all of them and eats in silence - delicious food - while the conversation around him resumes.
His mind is elsewhere, though.
He wonders what his grandfather might be doing right now. Wonders what he would do if he knew Harry revealed his identity to practically everyone he swore to destroy. But even before, even when he still talked with his grandfather and they kept a good relationship, Harry knew he wouldn't be able to control every single thing. It was impossible to predict what would happen and how he would be accepted inside the Ministry.
If he's honest with himself, things went way better than he expected. But mostly because he saved the Head's life on his first day.
While he chews the pancakes, he remembers that day. How he barely flinched when he saw her life on the line. He knew it could cost his own, but Harry didn't hesitate. And I barely knew her back then.
He sighs and raises his eyes to the others. Sirius is watching him closely with a discreet smile on his face. Harry tiredly smiles back. It's still pretty hard to form a solid opinion about them.
"Harry," Sirius says, "If it's okay with you, I would like to go through a few memories of your parents-"
"The Aurors." Harry cuts him. "I wanna know about the Aurors."
A heavy silence falls, conversations dying around the table. "Very well." Sirius says after a while, his eyes searching Remus.
"Unfortunately, Harry, I think you won't like what we have to say." Remus says.
"We…" Sirius clears his throat. Harry is waiting. "Just recently we found out where Karkaroff was. We tried getting information from him, even a memory from what happened that night, but…" He stops and Harry frowns.
"But?"
It's Remus who answers, "We can't be sure, but I would bet anything that it was Tom who erased his memory. He obliviated Karkaroff. He couldn't remember a thing about the Persecution."
"Are you serious?" He can feel it already, that hot anger taking over him. He hates Tom Riddle.
"Yes." Sirius says, the others are silent, listening and eating, their eyes going from Harry to Sirius and Remus, "We used Legilimency and even so… not even Veritaserum was able of getting an answer from him. If we weren't Riddle's counselors, we wouldn't suspect Karkaroff took part in the Persecution. But we had access to some files and I saw with my own eyes the names of your parents' murderers."
Harry gulps, sipping on his pumpkin juice to help the food go down his throat. Immediately he feels nauseated. "But you took care of Karkaroff." He still remembers the sight of the man hanging there in his own blood. "Iustitia."
Molly, Arthur, Sirius and Remus share a look. Then, they nod. "Karkaroff was a ruthless Auror. We… carry no regret about what we did, Harry." Arthur says, "We're sure he was there that night and enjoyed killing James and Lily."
"Why Latin?" Is the only thing he can bring himself to ask.
Sirius exhales heavily. "It was… Lily loved knowing things. She didn't attend Hogwarts but she knew how to manage her magic and we often sent her wizarding books. She told us one day that Latin was the official magical language. The only way it manifested itself. And we-" He stops. Harry is not even breathing. He was in doubt, but now he's sure that he's not ready to hear whatever story they might want to tell him about his parents. It would be too brutal. Like opening a healing wound and poking inside. "We teased her back then. And now it just feels… right."
Another silence. Harry can hear their breathings. And his own heart on his ears. He looks down at his food, pressing his lips together. "What about the other Aurors?" He asks in a low voice. Strained.
"We don't know where they are." It's Molly who says it.
Harry closes his eyes. "Are you trying to find them?"
"We are-" Remus begins.
"No." Harry cuts him. "I'll do it." He looks at them, inhaling some courage and determination into his lungs. "I'll find them with Hermione's help."
Someone lets out a low whistle at the mention of the Riddle heir. Sirius narrows his eyes at Harry. "I don't think you know what you're doing when it comes to Hermione, Harry."
He snorts. And stands. "If I wanted your advice I would've asked for it." He says angrily. "And I do know what I'm doing. Hermione is his daughter. She has access. More access than any of you can dream of." He stops for a moment to let that sink in. He sees their discomfort at his truthful words. "I came to London with a purpose and I don't care who helps me. I'll kill them all."
He should leave. But he stays, waiting for an answer. Leaning back at the chair, Sirius looks at Remus and the others. They share a shrug.
"Okay." Sirius says slowly. "If that's what you want, there's nothing we can do to stop you." Harry gulps, a bit relieved they didn't fight him on this. "Maybe it's better this way. Maybe we can focus on other ways of bringing him down while you… investigate with Hermione." Harry hears the clear tone of disapproval at his last words. But he doesn't care. At all.
Harry nods. "Great. It's settled, then." He moves, putting some distance between himself and the others. "I need to go." He says fast.
"Harry, stay." It's Remus. "We have so much to talk about Lily and James-"
"I don't want to talk about them." He says vigorously. "I- not yet." He sets his jaw, pleading that they understand his feelings.
"Okay." Sirius says again. "But we still need to talk about a lot of things, so, when you feel like it, our doors are all open for you, Harry."
He holds his ground, his chin trembling.
Harry only nods.
And then he's gone.