Chapter 35: Relative Truth - June 1994

Hermione didn't know what to expect from the Divination final exam, having not taken it in the other timeline. She walked into the classroom, which was empty except for the professor. She sat down at the small table opposite her.

"This is a palm reading, right?" Hermione clarified.

"For the other students, yes. But for you, I'd rather talk about your essays. They turned into something of a highlight for me amongst my marking."

"I'd love that." Hermione brightened.

They went over each of her ten essays. The professor pointed out, "Your description here of true prophecy was uncannily accurate to my ears."

"Well, I believe I've heard one. I haven't figured it out yet." She didn't even remember the words anymore. She hadn't thought about it in months.

"Marvelous!" Professor Trelawney's arm shot out, beads making tiny noises at her sudden movement. "Don't tell me if I said it. I might feel immense guilt, if the prophecy brings you ruin."

Hermione understood completely.

There was a set of knocks on the trapdoor. Hermione went over to open it, revealing Lavender.

"Hermione! You're still up here. I was starting to get concerned."

The professor said, "Ah yes, we may have gotten carried away. Thank you, Miss Granger. You may go."

After she made it to the top of the ladder, Lavender looked from Professor Trelawney to Hermione. "I've never noticed before, but your hair is really similar." She pointed from professor to student.

Hermione had the sudden urge to cast the relation-checking spell but didn't. She said, "We'll have to talk haircare some time. Thanks, professor." She internally winced at her clumsy exit.

Hermione left Lavender to her exam and headed back to Gryffindor Tower in a daze. Without really noticing, she made it all the way to her bed. She laid on it flat, feeling all sorts of things but with no coherent thoughts. My mind might as well be completely blank for all the good thinking is doing me.

Lavender eventually came back to their dorm and said, "I didn't tell the professor that you're adopted or anything, but she did ask about your family. She muttered something about a sister."

Hermione bit at her lip. "I'm not entirely sure I want to know, now."

"Oh, okay. It's just a theory, anyway. How was your exam, then?" Lavender moved on easily.

As they chatted, Hermione reached for her charmed zoo snowglobe. She gave it a shake and was surrounded by a flurry of magical snow.

"Ooh, that's so cool. Did you add that effect?"

"I did. Thanks," Hermione said. "For that, and for everything."

Lavender gave her a blindingly bright smile.

The weather was clear and bright on the day of the final quidditch match of the year. Ron felt too sick to eat, but Harry served him some breakfast anyway. He also put together a plate for Ginny, who looked like Ron felt. She showed more nerves today than she ever had before.

Fred and George were especially gregarious. They led a chant in the Great Hall until Professor McGonagall asked them halfheartedly to stop.

What felt like no time later, Ron was rising with the other players at the sound of the starting whistle. Wood told Ron he was in, since Angelina was out. Ron didn't hear or remember why, but there he was, Gryffindor Keeper.

Even with Wood substituting, the chaser part of their team moved with remarkable fluidity. The score was already 40-0 without the quaffle coming near him.

Bones expertly intercepted a pass and streaked towards him. Ron took a position slightly off center of the three hoops. She yelled, "Nice to see someone new up here. Wood's been your keeper for six years." The chaser threw before she finished the sentence, but Ron was on it. He chucked the quaffle to Bell. Play continued.

The score climbed to over one hundred for Gryffindor. Ginny could catch the snitch anytime now.

It took her fifteen more minutes. She and Diggory ended up in a tight race at the end, where she scooped him.

The Gryffindor stands erupted into magically amplified cheers. A sea of red and gold then spilled out onto the field. The moment that Madam Hooch passed Wood the cup, there was a loud lion's roar.

Or possibly a lioness. Ron could see Harry and Luna doubled over in laughter. Next to them, Hermione looked both smug and embarrassed.

Now that exams were almost over, Ron turned his attention to the summer and the trio's bigger plans.

Assuming that the ring horcrux had been destroyed, they only had Hufflepuff's Cup, Harry, and Voldemort himself left on their soul-piece list.

If Harry's luck surrounding the horcruxes was truly magical, the trio could conduct another Gringotts heist for the Cup. But Harry had already telegraphed that he wouldn't support that course of action. Too many goblins had died from Voldemort's ensuing wrath in the other timeline.

Prior to time-traveling, Ron had asked his brother Bill for "academic reasons" what their alternatives had been.

Bill had said that the Longbottom's estate could have claimed it, were the political climate at the time not so hostile to them. If doing something illegal was an option, Ron's eldest brother also thought that a representative of the Black family could have pretended that the object was theirs and applied for its return.

With Sirius and Harry's relationship as what it was, Harry probably could work with Sirius to make a claim against the Lestrange Vault. The hard part was determining which argument Harry could use with Sirius.

In the trio's final secret meeting of the year, Ron asked for help brainstorming.

Hermione suggested, "What if we told Sirius that Harry saw it in a vision, like the ones he used to have?"

Ron grimaced. "I don't want any of the adults to know about Harry's connection to Voldemort."

Harry added, "Also, can we please stick as close to the truth as possible?"

Hermione was skeptical. "What exactly is the truth, as you see it?"

"Er, we learned about horcruxes from the diary, and the diadem pointed us to the cup?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's, like, 10% of the whole truth. At best. And those facts are just as complicated to explain. We're going to have to actively lie."

"Ron, there aren't any, like, object-summoning charms that the goblins wouldn't know about?"

The redhead entertained the idea for a few minutes before saying, "Probably not."

"Ulg." Harry was impatient. "Can't we just impersonate Sirius then? I don't think I could lie to his face."

"But you would steal his face." Hermione pointed out the moral similarity of those approaches.

Harry considered this. "Well, I could just ask him. 'Sirius, can I pretend to be you for something that's sort of important? I promise that my parents would be proud.'" Harry put his hand on his chin. "I could see him going for that, actually."

Ron shook his head at the absurdity of that idea, but the trio moved forward with it.

The redhead moved the meeting along. "Alright, then let's talk about Lucius Malfoy."

"What about him?"

Hermione supplied, "I've been following the Daily Prophet for news about Mr. Malfoy's scheming all year. There wasn't a whole lot, but he continued to crop up in articles about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup."

"That's also what I noticed," the redhead said. "Mr. Malfoy was throwing mud at Fudge as well as the event organizers. I've been trying not to focus too hard on him, but I've started to get a bad feeling again. My concern is that he might stir up some trouble, possibly to prove that his criticisms were valid."

"Can we do anything about it?" Harry asked.

"Possibly, but we need more information. Is he working for Voldemort now, for example?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Do you think we can get answers through simple surveillance? Though, I was hoping to spend more time at home this summer."

"I can do some, but I don't have high hopes for good results. If we knew his plans and allies, we could try to stop an incident. However, I was actually hoping that we could persuade Mr. Malfoy that it's not in his best interests to cause trouble. We could do that with the right move."

Hermione looked impressed. "That's quite ambitious."

"I learned ambition from you," Ron smiled at Hermione.

Harry snapped his fingers and said, "Kreacher is at Malfoy Manor now. He probably won't tell me anything about Narcissa, but I doubt that same consideration applies to Lucius. Sirius told me that Kreacher doesn't care for him much."

"Great idea! I'll get back to you with some questions for Kreacher."

"Do you want any other help with Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"Not that I can think of, but I'll let you know if that changes of course." Ron was in high spirits when the meeting finished.

Harry's mood varied from moment to moment as another year of school drew to a close.

When his mother finally revealed her identity to him, Harry felt ten stone lighter. A darker part of his mind was pleased that he finally earned her trust, even if that didn't seem like an entirely healthy way to think about it.

Hermione clearly anticipated his struggles. Harry didn't tell her what he was thinking, yet she told him things like, "We all already knew that Snape doesn't act to the highest of moral standards. It's fine if you can't accept what he's done, or what he's doing now."

And, "Snape's secrets say more about him than about you."

Also, "Snape may not think himself worthy of your attention, rather than the other way around."

Luna also offered her own brand of encouragement in offhand comments:

"Your eyes are highly reflective."

"If you follow an animal, you risk running into a snare intended for it. The animal might also set prepare its own trap."

"You have a way with snakes, but you can still keep them in their enclosure instead of letting them run loose."

Harry tried his best to absorb his friends' subtle cheering.

When Harry and his mother had been face-to-face the previous month, he had wanted to ease her misery. He resented his own overly forgiving nature once he thought more later. He never wanted to become hard-hearted, but he could certainly stand to be a little tougher in some scenarios.

Particularly, Harry found Dark Lord Lily Potter to be a concerning idea. In the previous timeline, Sirius had tried to get Harry to stop thinking about Death Eaters vs. Everyone Else, and Harry had taken that lesson to heart. But Lily might be a lot closer to the former than the latter.

Still, Harry was more interested in what she was like now than who she was in the past. Harry couldn't say exactly what combination of dark magic, ill intent, good intent with ill outcome, and carelessness he could forgive in a person. But he'd like the opportunity to at least try with his mother.

Unfortunately, she had seemed set on rebuffing him for much of the last month. She didn't look at him when talking to him and critiqued his potions work with venom.

He explained this in code to Ron, who grimaced slightly before smoothing his face over. Carefully, the redhead offered, "It takes two people to have a connection."

"This sounds like a song I heard once."

Ron shrugged. "Honestly, I, uh, don't feel well-suited to offer advice or insight on this one. You're one of my best friends, and I think I'm too close to what's going on to see it clearly."

"Fair enough." Harry rested his chin on his hands.

Snape found Harry at supper on the last night before the students would head back on the train. Instead of assigning a bogus detention, Snape merely flicked his eyes away from Harry towards the door. Once out of the Great Hall, Harry made his way to the professor's office.

Lily-as-Snape didn't mess with pleasantries. "Your least favorite rodent has been eliminated on the Dark Lord's orders."

Harry frowned. "I didn't realize that he was strong enough to kill anyone."

"He did not."

Harry's body reflexively pulled back. "I see."

"That is one of several reasons why the Dark Lord has very limited resources at the present time." Snape kept talking as though he hadn't just implied that he killed a man. "He has seen fit to pull me from my obligations here. Officially, I will be on a one-year sabbatical for the entirety of the next school year."

Harry felt more and more off-guard. "You're not going to be teaching here next year?"

"Correct." Snape looked annoyed, which seemed a little unfair to Harry. "Professor Slughorn is delighted to come back and take the post for that year. He is an adequate brewer and teacher."

Harry stared down at the desk. He needed information on another topic and was too overwhelmed to think about an adequately smooth transition. "What about the old man's hand?"

"He is dying." Snape said this as though remarking on the weather.

"Do you know what happened?"

"Yes. It was a test, and he failed with dire consequences." This sentence made Harry's brain freeze momentarily.

Instead of unpacking that, Harry asked, "Was that ring he wears now involved?"

"Yes."

"Is that an object, like the diary?"

"Yes, and it has been destroyed." Snape leaned back, again assessing Harry. "You are remarkably well-informed."

Harry attempted a nonchalant shrug. "Ron's very observant. He caught on to Colin last year right away, too."

The pair sat in a long silence.

Harry's inner emotions were tumultuous. He himself hesitated to kill Voldemort. The guilt of taking even a single life was a lot, and his mother's nonchalance may reflect a chasm between them. Harry didn't know if it could be bridged.

The greater problem, though, was Lily-as-Snape's dry delivery of her own departure. She had shown more seemingly genuine emotions this year, yet she again denied them and pushed him away. It called back to the walls she put up a year ago, almost to the day. Will she ever let me get close to her? How many times can I fail to connect with her before I walk away?

Finally, Lily-as-Snape stood up. Harry matched her movement mechanically.

Harry wanted to ask, Will I ever see you again? Instead, he left.

Harry sat with Neville and Luna on the Hogwarts Express. He asked his friends about their summer plans and other normal sorts of questions.

Eventually their carriage fell into amicable silence, and Harry drowned in miserable thoughts about his utterly flabbergasting conversation with his mother the previous day. Did she regret killing Pettigrew? Was she happy to be away from Harry and the other students next year? Did she intentionally send Dumbledore after the cursed ring that will eventually lead to his death?

Luna must have decided that Harry needed a distraction because she asked him to read aloud from the advance copy of his aunt's novel that Sirius had mailed him.

"This is actually quite good," Neville said.

"The love interest with the motorcycle sounds quite dashing," Luna agreed.

"I… er. I'm not sure this is my sort of book." Harry squirmed as he read, but he still felt lighter.

As the train pulled into the station, Luna said, "My plot worked. You're smiling now."

"I have lots of reasons to smile around you two," Harry said. "Hopefully I'll see you both before school's back in session."

When Harry got off the train, Petunia, Sirius, and Remus were all waiting for him.

After giving Harry one of the best hugs of his life, Sirius said, "You're looking at your newest legal guardian."

"Wait, what?" Harry looked between Petunia and Sirius.

"I got a letter from the old man saying that he would be happy for both Petunia and I to file as your official guardians with the Ministry for Magic. Apparently, you never had anyone on record before." Sirius' eyes dimmed slightly at that, but brightened again as he said, "You can thank Remus, who you'll be seeing a lot of this summer."

Remus minimized his own involvement. "Dumbledore and I did have a little chat when I turned in my notice, but I don't think it was down to me."

Harry gave Remus a hug, then offered one to Petunia hesitantly. She agreed, though she hesitated and was a bit stiff. Harry didn't let it bother him.

"Er, how's novel writing going?" Harry asked her.

Her features softened. "Great, thanks for asking. I might have book signings this Fall. Even if their quite small affairs, I'm excited." Petunia leaned in. "Sirius offered to apparate me, which will save me loads of travel time, let me tell you!"

"And we'll be apparating today," Sirius said, "to Grimmauld Place. I've been renovating, and it's got tons of space. Tuney, Mooney, and you all have rooms!"

Petunia told Harry, "I've given up the flat. I… don't like living alone."

"And you don't have to," Sirius said brightly. "Let's get going!"

Harry waved goodbye to his friends and headed to his strange new home.

A/N: That brings us to the end of year 2. One more year (covered over 13 chapters) and the story will be complete! Thanks for reading, and see you in a few days for the next chapter.