The raised voices were the first sign that things weren't going smoothly. It was supposed to be a pleasant evening. That had been the plan, at least. Hermione's parents had been invited to Grimmauld Place for a meal (Lupin was making a variety of pizzas to cover all dietary requirements), allowing them to get to know Sirius better. The children were there too, mainly to supervise and stop the conversation from veering off course. For some reason, Harry was incredibly nervous about this going well, probably because he spent so much time with Hermione. And, the more he viewed Sirius as his family, the more he wanted that new part of his life to seamlessly merge with the rest of it.

The only problem that the three of them saw as a possibility was that Sirius could go into detail about stories they preferred the Grangers not knowing about. As much as Hermione had grown to be more open with them, there were some tales that were probably too shocking to share over the dinner table. Harry, in comparison to his friend, had found it easy to boast to his godfather over those summer months about their exploits in Hogwarts, mainly since Sirius encouraged that sort of behaviour. Therefore, he had plenty of awkward ammunition that would likely raise some pointed questions that Hermione didn't want to field. Tonight was about having fun, pushing their concerns about the future to one side.

Matthew, on the other hand, had a completely different reason to be nervous. This was pretty much the first time he was seeing the Grangers since he'd started dating their daughter, and all the anxieties that came with meeting the potential in-laws had been eating away at him throughout the day. As someone who was typically so laid back, Matthew had thought that he was above such trivial nerves. No such luck. He'd met Katherine and Peter on several occasions, visiting their home countless times, but this was somehow different . He had to impress them. He had to show them that he was perfect for their only child, another layer to the pressure weighing down on him. He'd never had to consider such matters before.

Wanting to be open with Hermione, Matthew had discussed his thoughts, albeit at the very last moment, just to make himself sweat even further. She, for one, had found it completely adorable, getting to witness a different side to the boy. Of course, she had quickly assured him that everything would be alright. Her parents, after all, had already met him and had gone into detail about how much they liked him, especially her mother. Matthew had already won brownie points with them by being the catalyst in introducing them properly to the magical side of Hermione's life, and they were always going to be impressed by the boy who had a Tardis at his fingertips (it turned out that Peter was a massive fan of the original tv show, wanting to find out more about how Matthew had provided the BBC with the idea in the first place).

No matter how many assurances Hermione gave her new boyfriend (was that the label they were using? With him under so much pressure already, she wasn't about to add to that by asking that particular question), Matthew wasn't going to listen. As soon as the Grangers had turned up, he was acting more peculiar than ever. He shook Peter's hand for an unnecessary length of time, and had completely forgotten that he was supposed to let go when he'd shared what had been supposed to have been a quick hug with Katherine. Hermione had torn him away at that point, attempting to limit the damage he'd already caused. Harry had been next to useless at this point, laughing at how awkward his friend had instantly become.

The most peculiar thing about the evening was that it wasn't down to Matthew's behaviour that it had taken a sour turn. In the main, he had calmed down after his initial wariness, thanks to Hermione taking him to one side and giving him a small kiss in encouragement. After that, he had been fairly normal (by his standards), although he pretty much stuck to talking only when spoken to, in order to reduce the chances of embarrassing himself. But, with that major improvement, their small group had been able to enjoy themselves, waxing lyrical about Lupin's culinary skills, with Katherine wanting to know a lot about how magical people went about cooking. It turned out that the professor typically stuck to the standard oven, which wasn't as interesting an answer as she might have hoped.

The enjoyment lasted until Dumbledore arrived.

The headmaster's presence hadn't been preannounced, which was the main source of Sirius' frustrations. Upon seeing who was there, Dumbledore had quickly apologised, though hadn't made any attempts to leave. Lupin had gone as far as offering him some of the food, but the unexpected guest had turned it down politely, stating that he had too serious a task to take part in the general revelry. That had obviously gotten their attention, all of them wondering if there had been any developments concerning Voldemort. The Grangers, two people who weren't affected by wizarding society's constraints, had promptly asked whether that was the case, and Dumbledore's cryptic answer had raised even more questions. The only detail he'd provided was that it was a matter that personally involved Harry and that, since he was his guardian, Dumbledore had wanted to do things properly and talk to Sirius about it before anything was taken forward.

He'd refused to say anything further until he was alone with Harry's godfather, who had begrudgingly accepted the old man's request. If it concerned Harry, then he saw it as his job to take every precaution, even if that involved doing as the headmaster bidded. With them leaving the room rather hastily, that had left the others not really knowing what to do, a stale taste left in their mouths that had ruined the pizzas somewhat. Understandably, Harry had only been able to think about one thing, regardless of the attempts his friends made to distract him. Once the shouting started, it was impossible to start any sort of conversation that wasn't about what was happening just next door.

"Do you think I've done something wrong?" Harry wondered aloud, feeling as if he was to blame for the evening turning sour.

Hermione was quick to reassure him. "Of course, not."

"If you had, then me and Hermione would likely be involved too," Matthew pointed out. "Seeing as we usually get up to mischief together. Dumbledore explicitly said that it only concerns you."

"I think I'd like to hear more about this mischief," Katherine said suspiciously, leaning forward slightly. "If it happens so often."

Hermione's face blanched. "I think we've got too much to worry about right now to also throw that into the mix."

"Do you think you're going to get away with it so easily?"

"I'd just prefer to focus on Harry, seeing as he's obviously really worried about this!" There was a bit to the young Granger's tone, born out of her desperate desire to keep the conversation on track.

"Now, now," Lupin interrupted softly, holding up a hand. "Let's not turn on each other. We're all curious about what's going on, but we're just going to have to wait."

"You mean you don't know either?" Harry asked.

"I'm just as in the dark as you. Let it be known that Sirius could start such a heated argument with Professor Dumbledore over even the smallest of things. They've never truly seen eye to eye. It could be sounding a lot worse than it actually is."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then we'll deal with that together. The whole point of you living here is that you have a larger support network. We're not going to abandon you if things get tough, Harry."

The boy slowly nodded his head. "Maybe the Minister has said something. Maybe Fudge wants to go back on confirming Voldemort's return."

"Fat chance of that happening," Matthew muttered. "It's been front page news since he first said it publicly. Even a politician as skilled as him isn't going to be able to make everyone forget about that."

"I've suddenly had a really worrying thought…"

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Hermione responded, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

"What if Dumbledore wants me to go back to the Dursleys? He's always gone on about how it's the safest place for me." Harry had his head in his hands now. "I knew this was too good to last."

"Then Sirius is right to be furious," Lupin commented, his voice firmer than they'd ever heard it. "And I have absolute faith in him that he won't allow that to happen, no matter what Dumbledore has to say. Not to mention that the headmaster is a man of his word. He allowed you to come here; I doubt he'd go back on that."

"Unless it's really necessary. Like when a mass murderer is seemingly hell bent on killing me."

"We all knew about that when you moved here. Nothing's changed. In fact, I'd say that things have been surprisingly quiet on that front since the end of the school year."

"Thank goodness," Katherine murmured. "We can only hope that this monster never resurfaces."

"If I'd suffered as chastening as defeat as you've told us he did, then I wouldn't want to risk going through it again," Peter added.

Lupin gave them a small smile, appreciating what they were trying to do. "Sadly, you don't understand Voldemort and just how determined he can be."

"Even so, I really doubt this has anything to do with where Harry's living," Matthew said. "If he was so focused on keeping you safe, he'd have you locked up in the Tardis. Voldemort isn't getting in there anytime soon."

Harry looked at his friend in concern, having never considered that possibility. "You…wouldn't let him do that, would you?"

Matthew shrugged. "Depends…I'll just encourage you not to annoy me. Although you'd have plenty of things to entertain yourself with in there." He noticed Hermione sending him a warning glare. "What? I'm trying to lighten the mood!"

"I don't think now's the time for that," she retorted. "Just look at how pale Harry's become."

"That's exactly the reason why we should be trying to have a laugh! School's right around the corner again. We won't have an opportunity to do so soon, what with all the crammed lessons and OWLs we've got to look forward to."

"You love going to Hogwarts, Matthew."

"I was trying to make a point."

"An inaccurate one."

"I thought you might have let it slide."

"What? Because we're…" She stopped herself just in the nick of time.

Matthew's eyes flashed with humorous delight. "We're what, Hermione?"

It wasn't as if she hadn't told her parents about the most recent developments. Her excitement had been barely containable and she couldn't have hid it from her mother even if she'd wanted to. The large smile when she'd been picked up from King's Cross had been enough of a giveaway. Harry had basically walked in on them straight after it had happened, so he already knew. And, as much as Hermione thought it slightly weird that their professor might know, Lupin had grown so close to them that it would have been impossible for him to miss it. It was just that the pair of them hadn't really had the opportunity to explore what they now were. Labels confused her greatly, and the last thing she needed was to have this discussion in front of other people.

The door opened and Sirius stepped through, Dumbledore looming behind.

"Oh, thank goodness," Hermione whispered to herself, incredibly relieved that a distraction had been so forthcoming.

Then again, when she took in the expressions of the two men, it was hard to be grateful about it. Harry stood up, his chair scraping noisily against the floor. He normally would have taken more care of his new home, but he was simply too stressed to think about that. Sirius was visibly seething, his fists clenched. If they had to hazard a guess, he looked as if he wanted to hit something. Hard. Dumbledore, so normally a reassuring presence, seemed particularly troubled by what he needed to do. The more time that passed by with no answers, the more agitated Harry became.

"Well?" he eventually asked, when it appeared that no one else wanted to talk.

The others were doing their best to remain as small as possible, hoping that they could stay out of the firing line by keeping still. The Grangers were awkwardly sipping from their cups of tea, beginning to wish that they'd chosen any other day over the summer holidays to visit. Lupin was showing real concern, having not seen his friend this angry since the night they had captured Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack. As for Hermione and Matthew, they were allowing Harry to stand alone for the time being, until he desperately needed their support. From the looks on everyone's faces, they doubted that that was going to be very long.

Sirius bowed his head, opting to look at the floor. "Would you come with us, Harry? Perhaps the library? We'll need to do this somewhere fairly comfortable."

"Why?" Harry wasn't going to budge so easily. "What's this about?"

"Can we…can we just talk about this in private?" Sirius returned whilst he bit his lip in frustration.

"I don't need to hide anything from the people in this room."

"This is far more serious than any trivial detail," Dumbledore explained. "I really do believe that it's best for you to find out about this in a space where you can process the news, away from watching eyes, regardless of how trusting they may be."

Harry started to begrudgingly move, but it was now his friends' turn to stand up, blocking his path. Sirius rolled his eyes, even if he'd seen this eventuality happening.

"We're not going to let Harry get any bad news without us by his side," Matthew told them.

"He'll tell us afterwards anyway," Hermione pointed out, her hands on her hips. "So there's really no point in doing this silly dance." She could tell that her parents were surprised by her attitude, especially towards a person of authority, but she was rather happy that they were getting to see the side of her that had grown since meeting her boys.

"Be that as it may, I still believe that it'd be better for Harry to process this information on his own." Dumbledore was standing firm. "If Harry wishes to involve you following that, then that should be his own decision."

"I know how close you three are…but I agree with Dumbledore on this," Sirius admitted, putting aside their differences.

Harry looked at his friends. "I'll be fine. Hopefully this won't take too long. Profe…Remus…would you mind keeping them entertained whilst we're gone?"

Lupin nodded his head. "I'll try my best. I've got a particularly interesting story that I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use. Though I fear I may have prematurely bigged it up."

With one last look at everyone, Harry allowed himself to be led away. Nothing was said between the three of them as they marched up the stairs, seeking to put some distance between them and the others. Sirius and Dumbledore must have realised how their shouting match had been easily overheard just moments before. Harry kept glancing in their direction, hoping to somehow figure out what was bothering them to such an extent. Their expressions were frustratingly neutral. He just hoped that those masks fell away as soon as they were in a more private setting.

They wandered past Hermione's bedroom, the open door revealing some of the modifications she'd made. It was very much like her bedroom at home, from what Harry could remember, if she were allowed to have magical objects out in the open. She'd been immensely proud of what she'd been able to create, even if Matthew had given her a helping hand when she'd finally asked for his assistance. The memory of the reveal was a happy one for Harry, thinking back on how care free they'd been just days ago. It was a state of mind that he felt far removed from as he continued to follow the two older men.

Sirius had described the library as the most comfortable location in Grimmauld Place, but the tense atmosphere didn't change whatsoever as they made their way inside. Sirius was basically prowling, pacing around the room. Dumbledore was much more still, as if he was stalling. If he didn't want to talk about this, then how was Harry supposed to cope? He wanted to admire the collection of books on display. He wanted to ask questions about why parts of the wallpaper had been torn down, this being pretty much the last room in the building that needed a makeover. It already felt much older than the rest of the house, a space lost in time. Harry was starting to understand why Sirius had suggested this spot in particular. If he was about to receive bad news, then his godfather didn't want that tainting his feelings about his new home, so where better to do it than a room that was about to change comprehensively?

"I'm waiting," Harry said bitterly, wishing he could go back to an hour ago when everything had felt much more relaxed. "Tell me what's going on, or I'll march back downstairs and refuse to listen again."

"Harry, this isn't going to work if you have that sort of attitude," Dumbledore told him with a chiding tone.

"He has every right to be angry!" Sirius argued. "You've ruined his night! You're going to ruin the rest of his summer, at the very least!"

Harry glanced at his godfather. "Okay, now I'm officially scared. Is it really that bad?"

Dumbledore sighed, sinking into a chair that only appeared as he moved downwards. In any other circumstances, Harry might have considered how embarrassing that may have been if the magic hadn't worked. Matthew definitely would have found the image amusing.

"I have been meaning to tell you this for quite some time," the old man said, wiping a weary hand across his face. "Four years to be precise."

"Since I arrived at Hogwarts?"

"Exactly."

"Then why are you making it sound so urgent if it's been able to wait so long?"

"That's something that I'll get around to answering at some point during this conversation, though I believe it is best done in the proper sequence."

He reached into his long robes, searching for something, before producing a glass sphere. It was a strange object. Harry wouldn't have thought much about it if it hadn't been for the peculiar cloudy substance that seemed to be floating within, as if it was containing something alive. Dumbledore held it aloft with his spindly fingers, allowing the boy to get a proper look at it. Sirius only glared at the ball.

"What is it?"

"This…I'm afraid to say…is what's been defining your life from the very moment you were born. Perhaps even before then."

"I…don't understand…"

"First of all, I want you to know that everything I have done has always been planned with your best interests at heart."

Sirius laughed mirthlessly. "Is that what you've been telling yourself?"

Dumbledore chose to ignore him. "Four years ago, you came to Hogwarts as normal a boy as I could ever have hoped. Life with the Dursleys hadn't treated you well, but it was still incomparably better than what might have been without their protection."

"Because of the blood magic," Harry whispered.

"An ancient force that even Lord Voldemort could not defeat until recently and, even then, you found a way to hold him back. Those dark days after his apparent defeat, it felt as if I was the only one who understood that he might return one day. I was forced to take precautions that even I didn't want to choose, mainly concerning you. I told myself that, once you were at Hogwarts, once you had been given a semblance of the childhood that had been robbed of you, you deserved to know the truth. The plan was always to give you the answers you so desperately craved."

"But you didn't. At the end of my first year, after I'd beaten him again, you refused to tell me."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Because of one major flaw in my plan that I foresaw, yet was powerless to prevent. I convinced myself that, at only eleven, you were much too young for the burden that was to come. I should have noticed how quickly I was willing to abandon my duty, how easily I avoided the answers I was always destined to give.

"The pattern continued. In your second year, you faced perhaps an even graver threat. It might have provided me the opportunity to finally have this discussion with you. Alas…I believed twelve was nothing different to eleven, still too young. I kept coming to that conclusion. Are you seeing the flaw in my plan yet?"

"I'm sure you're about to tell me…"

"I cared about you too much," Dumbledore simply put it. "I cared for your happiness more than you discovering the truth of your existence…more for your peace of mind than my plan…more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed." He steepled his fingers together. "Is that a defence? I told myself it was. Anyone who could have watched you as I have…and I have watched you more closely than you can imagine…would want to save you more pain than you have already suffered. What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy?

"You had a brilliant group of friends, bringing together three remarkable students who needed each other to grow and become even more spectacular. From your third year, following such an astounding level of bravery, you also found yourself with a new family. How could I ruin that with the information that plagued me? I took the easy option once again, believing I was putting you first, when I was truly protecting myself from the hardship. For that, I can only apologise."

"I don't know what you're apologising for at the moment…"

"Something I'm about to explain. Because, after the events of the Triwizard Tournament, I could no longer hide behind the notion of you being too young to learn about your fate. You have consistently been dealt a bad hand, showing an extraordinary level of maturity that finally convinced me that you were ready." He gestured to the sphere, placing it carefully on the table and making sure it didn't roll away. "Voldemort wants to get his hands on this more than anything, which is why it's now in my possession."

"I still need to know why…"

"It contains a prophecy," Sirius answered bitterly. "There's thousands of them within the Ministry itself."

"And this particular prophecy…convinced Voldemort that he had to kill you," Dumbledore said, far too simply for such a weighted statement. He was never able to know the full contents, but believed that, in killing you, he was fulfilling its requirements. As you obviously know, that massively backfired on him. Ever since his return, his main goal has been to learn the prophecy in its entirety. The one weapon he still lacks is the knowledge of how to defeat you."

Dumbledore stared ominously at the innocuous object. It seemed so insignificant to have caused so much pain. "In fact, he sent one of his servants to the Ministry in an attempt to steal it, but their security was able to detect the break-in before it was too late. Thanks to our improved relations with the Minister, we were able to agree that it's best under my protection for the time being…" His gaze turned to Harry. "Are you ready to hear what it says?"

It was an incredibly loaded question and Harry felt his heart racing. Had he been asked as important a question before in his life? Perhaps when Sirius had asked him to live with him. Or when Matthew had asked if he needed any help at the train station, seeing how significant a friendship that had grown to be. But he doubted that anything had compared, or would compare, to the way he was feeling now. But, despite all those concerns, he nodded his head. And Dumbledore pressed his wand against the sphere.

The response was instantaneous. The crystal ball glowed brightly before the energy coalesced above it, an orb of brilliant light floating softly in front of them. It bathed them in its harsh light for a few seconds, causing Harry to blink blearily, before it pulsed once again, a strange voice filtering into the room.

"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 the power that 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…"

Dumbledore deactivated the device, allowing silence to fall once more. Harry closed his eyes. "So…that means…"

"...that the person with the power to rid the world of Lord Voldemort was born at the end of July, fifteen years ago almost precisely."

"...me…"

"The strangest thing about this is that, in the beginning, there could have been another boy's name written on this prophecy. You know Neville Longbottom. He too was born at the end of July, and his parents were in the Order of the Phoenix, just like yours."

"But Voldemort chose me. He marked me as his equal, meaning that it could never be Neville from that point onwards."

"A surprisingly astute observation given the turmoil you must be going through. Voldemort marked you unwillingly, because he didn't have the second half of the prophecy."

"Couldn't he have waited?" Harry asked. "He could have waited for me and Neville to grow up and then decide who was the biggest threat."

"Again, his lack of knowledge prevented him from doing that. He made his choice, completing one part of the prophecy. You'll notice that he marked you, the half-blood, over Mister Longbottom, of pure blood, going against everything his political message consists of. All because you reminded him of himself."

"The last part though…one of us…has to die. That's set in stone."

"It's not," Sirius said angrily.

Dumbledore looked at him cautiously. "Sirius…it is unwise to give the boy false hope…"

"Well, I'm right! It's a stupid prophecy, made by some hackjob. I've never believed in the superstitious nonsense anyway, and I'm not allowing Harry to be defined by it either."

"It is almost irrelevant what your opinion is, Sirius. All that matters is that Lord Voldemort believes it to be true, and he will continue to pursue Harry until he believes he has completed it."

"And he'll kill me," Harry concluded quietly. "Or I'll kill him. There's no other way this ends."

"You can understand why I was so furious when Dumbledore showed his face here," Sirius muttered. "All I've wanted is for you to have one summer where you didn't have to worry about anything. And he chose to throw this at you instead."

"You were making the same mistake as I," Dumbledore noted. "Wanting to shield him from something he must know. Isn't it better now that he understands what is expected of him? He has made significant strides in learning how to defend himself, and that can continue tenfold now he knows what he's heading towards. There's only one thing left to do…"

Harry shook his head, fearing what that could be. "Which is…?"

"Voldemort can't be allowed to get his hands on this. Any advantage we have over him is precious. The only way to be sure of that…is to destroy the receptacle of the prophecy…I'll give that duty to you, Harry, since it has…"

Harry wasted no time in turning the sphere into a pile of glass shards.