Only Time Will Tell

Only Time Will Tell

By: A. Byrnes

Chapter Three ~ A letter and an explanation

But before Harry was able to say anything, a ball of fire appeared and out of the flames rose Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix with a letter.

Remus pulled the letter off of Fawkes's leg and before he knew it, Fawkes left in a ball of flames. Remus opened up the letter and muttered "Lumos" and lit the tip of his wand so that he could see what he was reading. The message the letter bore was:

Remus,

We have arrived at the Dursley's house. Please bring Harry back to the house as soon as it is possible. Tell Harry as much as you can about her and her siblings and what's planned for his stay at the Dursley's while the magic that protects him and his family restores its self. Please be quick.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry was watching Remus's facial expressions while he read the letter. He went from confusion to understanding as he read the letter. When Remus looked up from the letter, he saw the questioning in Harry's eyes. 'I guess I should give him the heads up,' Remus thought.

Remus sighed and said, "That letter was from Professor Dumbledore. He and a guest are at your uncle's house now and wants me to bring you home so he can explain to you what's going to happen this summer."

Harry sat there letting the information sink in. "Do you know what this is about?" he asked.

Remus answered "You know that those on guard duty are not supposed to talk to you while on duty, right?

Harry nodded and said "I know but you broke the rule, didn't you?"

Remus laughed and said, "No, I didn't. Professor Dumbledore gave me permission to speak to you if I felt the need to do so. However, we switch the guard duty everyday so I may or may not see you for a few days especially since the full moon is approaching in a few days, which brings me back to what I was originally talking about."

Remus sighed, thinking about how he should explain the next part to Harry. "Two weeks ago, just after Sirius's death, Dumbledore had saved a set of fraternal triplets from their mother and step-father. The triplets were born about a week and a half before you were born. Their mother, Cynthia, was a good friend of your mother Lily's and the marauders', however after your parents died she moved to the States to get away from everything that was happening, especially since her best friend was dead. The triplet's names are Amy (the oldest of the three), James (the middle child and only brother), and Madison (the youngest). About two years after Cynthia moved, she apparently got married to a man who was also from Britain, named Jack Avery. He turned out to be a rogue Death Eater who kept a glamour on himself to hide the dark mark on his forearm at all times to avoid being captured, much like Lucius Malfoy, who didn't show his true colors until after Voldemort had risen last year. Cynthia loves her children but can't do anything to protect them from him because she fears for her own life. Amy resents her for it too. Amy also thinks that her mother hates her because she tries to be perfect at everything she does and cares for James and Madison's life more than her own. I've met them already and from what they have told me, apparently when James or Madison have done something that would anger their stepfather, Amy would always take the blame so James and Madison wouldn't get punished. She said 'it's the duty of the oldest to protect their younger siblings', I think she just doesn't want to see anything bad happen to them because she said that they are her only family and will do anything to protect them. Well, anyway, Cynthia somehow sent Dumbledore a letter explaining what had happened and asked for help. Well, of course Dumbledore had to do something, so himself, Mr. Weasley, and Mad - Eye went to Boston, Massachusetts, rescued them and brought them to Grimmauld Place. They got settled in quite quickly with the Weasleys and they have helped with the cleaning and housework. When they were all settled in, Dumbledore asked Amy for a favor. He was worried about you being at the Dursley's by yourself without anyone for company except your uncle, aunt, and cousin. So he asked her if she would take care of you while you're here. She knows about what happened at the Ministry and I believe Ron told her how to take care of you when you have nightmares or visions while you're asleep. So she agreed as long as she was treated with respect from the Muggles. Dumbledore agreed to that and know they are at your uncle's house talking with your uncle, aunt and cousin. I think we should start to head back to the house." Remus said as he stood up straight and stretched.

Harry, a little annoyed that Dumbledore thought he needed a baby - sitter, asked, "Why couldn't Ron or Hermione come to stay for the summer?"

Remus sighed and said "Well he wanted someone who knew about Muggle technology and how to use it and obviously Ron doesn't know that much about Muggles so he couldn't come and anyway even if he did, Mrs. Weasley wanted her children at the house to help with the cleaning. Hermione couldn't come because she's on holiday with her parents in Italy and she won't be visiting until the week before you arrive at Grimmauld Place. So Amy was his last option."

Harry, curious as to what she looked liked, stood up and stretched and began to lead the way back to the house. They walked all the way there in complete silence. When they arrived at the walkway leading towards the house, Remus turned towards Harry and said "I know that you might be a little annoyed that Dumbledore is having a baby - sitter sort to speak watch over you, but he's only doing this because he wants you to heal properly and have someone watch over you and make sure you don't do anything rash. So please I am asking you to not lose your temper. Can you do that for me?" Remus pleaded, looking Harry straight in the eyes.

Harry sighed and said "Yeah I'll try to keep my temper down." Then with a smirk he added, "Besides, what if she's really cute. I wouldn't want to make a Hippogriff out of myself, would I?" giving Remus the cheekiest grin he could manage.

Remus chuckled and said, "You got that right my boy!" They laughed for what seemed like an hour, but was really two minutes. Remus wiping tears of mirth off his face said "Not that I want to ruin this fun moment we are having, but I think we should go in now, don't you?"

Harry nodded his head, still chuckling too much to talk, turned the door knob and entered the house. Before he took another step inside he heard the familiar grunt and then heard "Potter! Is that you?"

Automatically, Harry answered "Yes Uncle Vernon."

Then he heard a disgruntled Uncle Vernon bellow "BOY GET IN THE KITCHEN NOW!" With dread in his eyes, Harry looked at Remus, who gave him a nod of reassurance and began to walk into the kitchen.

TBC