Harry Potter and the Black Grimoire

You have waited long enough for this so I won't bore you with notes. Just read!

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO - SECRETS REVEALED

Hundreds of miles away, in a dark and forbidding castle, men in dark robes were gathering in a candlelit room. Outside the windows of the study a cold winter's night was in full swing. Ominous clouds filled the black sky, making it impossible to see the large crescent moon that invariably hung above. Tiny white snowflakes fell idly from the heavens and vanished upon hitting the already snow-laden ground. An icy-cold wind whipped through the tall trees surrounding the manor. One could hear nothing outside the manor, save the swift blow of the wind. All animal life had long since gone into hiding for the winter.

But inside, a warm fire was already crackling in the hearth. It cast elongated shadows onto the surrounding wood-paneled walls and gave the room a woody smell, not unlike the forest outside. Smoke spiraled up the chimney and was lost to the night air.

As the men in black sat in their circle of high-backed chairs, a great snake uncurled itself from the corner and slithered silently to the largest of the chairs. It wrapped its scaly body about the legs and sat there, silent and watchful.

The man in the largest chair cleared his throat, signaling the beginning of the night's meeting.

"You all know why you are here. Let us make this quick. Macnair."

"Of course, Lucius. As you wish."

"How goes the traitor? Has he broken yet?"

"He has not, Lucius. Nothing we try seems to work, not even the Veritaserum. He must have found a way to counteract the effects. He is, after all, a potions master."

"I know what he is!" Lucius Malfoy roared, violently getting to his feet. "Why can he not broken? He is only a man and a weak one at that! You are not trying hard enough!"

"We have done everything we can think of, Lucius!" Macnair countered, somewhat startled, but not shaken. He is on the verge of death and still he refuses to talk! No potion we have tried has had any effect on him, nor have the physical devices we have employed!"

"Fools!" Lucius spat. "What will the master think upon his return? He has left us in charge of a simple task that we cannot even perform! You are the best dark wizards and witches in the world and you cannot get one simple man to talk! What will he think when returns? What do you think his actions will be when he finds out we have failed him?"

Several of the room's occupants shifted uncomfortably in their chairs at this thought.

"We will try harder, Lucius."

"You will try harder! You will do so and you will succeed, or else feel the wrath of the Dark Lord upon his return!"

"I don't see you helping any," A Death Eater to his left challenged.

"You don't, do you. That's fine. You do not need to see what I do. The Master left me in charge in his absence and I have other matters to attend to. I attend to all the business he cannot do, as he is indisposed at the moment, as you are all well aware of. Not that that is any of your matter. I am in charge and you will treat me with the same respect and authority that you did the Master!"

"We will do that when you earn it," the same Death Eater growled.

In a split second he was caught in the chest with a bolt of red light and flung from his chair, where he promptly met the wall and crumpled, unconscious, to the floor. He lay there in a heap, unmoving.

"Does anyone else wish to challenge my authority?" Lucius said, his wand extended.

They all sat in their chairs in silence. They could see the look in his eyes and none wanted to dispute him.

"That is it then. You will break that insolent coward or else face the consequences. You will get back to work immediately. I want him talking by the morning or you will all end up like him," he snarled, pointing at the broken body in the corner. "This meeting is over. Get out of my sight, all of you."

Silently the Death Eaters removed themselves from their chairs and left the room. Lucius Malfoy flicked his wand and righted his chair. With another swish of his wand the other chairs were gone and the room was back to normal. He went to the window and peered out at the pallid scene outside. Slowly the door to the study reopened and in walked a short man. He walked halfway across the room and stopped in front of the fireplace.

"What are we to do if Severus cannot be broken?" he asked.

Lucius did not turn from the window.

"He will be broken, Wormtail. He must."

"But if he isn't, what will you tell the master upon his return?"

"What would you have me tell him, Wormtail?" Malfoy said, turning angrily from the window to confront the other. "Would you have me tell him that we failed in the one task that he appointed us?"

"That he appointed you," Wormtail corrected.

A tremendous blow from the hand of Lucius sent the smaller man reeling in shock. He fell to the floor in pain, clutching his cheek.

"How dare you correct me, worm? You are lucky the master hasn't killed you already. I know I would have."

Wormtail lingered on his knees in pain, still stunned from the shock of the blow.

"Stop crying you worthless creature. Get off your knees and deliver this scum to the dungeons. He could use some time alone for awhile."

Wormtail did not move from the floor.

"Go!" he bellowed, kicking the downed man hard in the ribs.

Wormtail gasped for breath and clutched his side as it exploded with pain. He was now crying openly.

"Yes Lucius," he sobbed.

"That's a good worm," came his reply.

Lucius turned back to the window as Wormtail dragged himself and the unconscious Death Eater out of the room.

~*~*~

Harry and Hermione stood staring up at the painting, completely stunned. Neither of them answered his question. They were too shocked to even speak. They had just followed a hidden map to a seemingly normal, if bothersome, painting that they had seen hundreds of times before. They stood staring up at the same jovial knight that they met on that day in their third year when they could not find their way to class. The same clumsy character and fat pony that had then proceeded to lead them on a quest, ending at their destination. They stood staring up at the smiling, absentminded face of Sir Cadogen.

"Sir Cadogen? How? What?" Harry stammered, unable to find the right words.

"Is something wrong, my good sir and lady?" He suddenly crouched defensively and looked around him nervously. "Is there danger afoot? Are we under attack?"

The two teenagers were still too stunned to reply to the bumbling knight.

Harry snapped out of his confused stupor long enough to peer down at the map. A bubble had appeared above the painting.

"Patefacio," Harry read.

The painting deftly swung outward, revealing the oldest door Harry had ever seen. It was made of dark wood and had a faded Hogwarts crest upon it. There was no handle.

"There's nothing there," Hermione said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"There is," Harry replied, again looking down at the map.

"It's the door!" Hermione squeaked in excitement.

"It has the incantation for opening it."

"Do you think you should try it? Dumbledore said it wasn't easy."

"I'm trying it," Harry said, a determined look in his eyes. "If my dad could do it, so can I."

"I don't know Harry," Hermione started.

"Don't argue with me, Hermione. I know I can do it. I was meant to find this, therefore I was meant to try and open it. It is the map's purpose."

"I suppose you're right, Harry," she relented.

"Of course I am."

"Ok, ok. Try it already," she whispered, a bit of her initial excitement returning. "Before a teacher comes!"

Harry looked down at the map and repeated the words in his mind, memorizing them. He would have to use all of his magical will to make them work. He had never done an incantation before. Hogwarts students didn't learn them until seventh year. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind and willed forth all of the magic he could muster.

"Admitto ab acclaro iste gnaritas."

With a soft click the door swung open, swinging outward on its silent hinges. They stood there for a second staring in at the darkness.

Suddenly from behind them they heard footsteps and Harry hurriedly pulled Hermione into the room and shut the door.

They turned and immediately the darkness around them was banished as several wall torches were lit around them, bringing the room into full light and splendor.

"Wow," Hermione muttered next to him.

Harry could not speak. He was too stunned at what he saw to let any sound escape his lips. He couldn't muster a coherent sentence at this point anyway. He blinked and looked around again. They were standing in almost the exact room that he saw in his dream all that time ago.

It was all there: the high, stained glass ceiling, the wood paneled walls, the roaring fireplace and the four doors.

"It's so beautiful," Hermione said, turning all around and examining the room.

Harry grasped her hand in his. "Look up," he said.

She did so and he could hear a small gasp escape the lips he had come to adore so much.

"It can't really open to the sky on the other side; there is no such ceiling in the castle. It has to be bewitched."

"It's a sight to see otherwise."

She nodded in agreement, her eyes still pointed upwards.

He moved away from her and slowly approached the door with the lion carved into it. He remembered what Voldemort had done in his dream and he drew his wand from inside his robes. He could not think of anything to say, so he tapped the door and said "Patefacio." To his amazement a golden door-handle materialized. It was highly polished and had the look of a lion, stretched out in the curved shape of the handle. He put his hand on the handle and pushed inwards. He let the door swing open silently before going in. It was dark inside.

"Harry," Hermione said as she moved to his side once again.

"My dad had to have known about this. He wrote the map. He wanted me to find it. He probably used the study. It all makes sense now. That's why no one could ever find his and my mom's notes. They were all hidden here. That has to be it."

"Do you want to go in and look?"

Harry did not respond, but instead took her hand again and walked into the room. The room was again lit by wall torches as they stepped through the ancient doorway.

Gryffindor's personal study was decorated even more lavishly than Harry had dreamed. It was circular, like the preceding room and the walls were paneled in a dark wood. The ceiling was again stained glass, this time red, with a giant yellow lion patterned in the middle. The floor was carpeted in the same fashion as the common room. A large desk sat in the center of the room, covered in papers and books. Bookcases lined the circular walls. A brown leather couch sat along one wall. Everything appeared old and worn, yet new and untouched at the same time. There was a feeling of knowledge in the air. Harry and Hermione felt almost saturated by it.

"I can feel the magic in here," Hermione said.

"So can I."

In fact, Harry could not only feel the magic, but he felt completely comfortable, almost as if he should be in the room. It felt like exactly where he needed to be. He suddenly felt content; at peace in the world of utter confusion that he had begun to grow weary of. He could feel the history in the room. He could feel his parents. He could feel his blood.

"Harry, the desk."

He moved behind the desk and sat down in the oversized chair, letting his surrounding sink in again.

"My father sat here. I can feel it."

He began looking through the papers on the top of the mess. With a rush of excitement he recognized his father's handwriting from the notes he had written Lily. He gathered them up and put them to the side, hurriedly examining more. He found some with his mother's writing; some with both.

"This is it, Hermione. This is their work."

She nodded in stunned silence as he continued to gather up the loose papers into a pile. Soon he had a small stack of papers, all in his parent's handwriting. As the papers began to clear away, Harry got more and more excited. This was what they had been searching for since his parent's death. This was what could stop the war forever.

Harry's heart leaped as he picked up the final stack of papers and placed them in the pile. He had revealed an envelope. It was a large parchment envelope stamped 'Department of Mysteries: Top Secret.'

Harry sat back and exhaled slowly. They had found the lost work of Lily and James Potter.

~*~*~

Dumbledore had just leaned back in his chair after finishing all of the day's work. He took off his half-moon spectacles and closed his eyes wearily. When he opened them again, Harry and Hermione were standing in front of him, excited and flushed red in the face. Dumbledore did not so much as bat an eyebrow at their appearance, but his curiosity was already piqued because of their excitement and the fact that they had come directly to him so late.

"What has happened?" he asked calmly.

"Professor... the Offices... we found them," Harry forced out, yet unable to string a logical sentence together.

Dumbledore stood at once, his glasses back on in an instant. "Tell me everything. Leave nothing out."

So they told him. They started with Lupin and then Harry related to Dumbledore his dream with the beds. They could tell that he was already beginning to put the puzzle pieces in place. Hermione then told him of the revelation they had had about the dream and its meaning and the search of the beds. They told him of the map-making supplies and of the one left by James Potter. Then they told him of the search and the painting of the knight.

"Of course!" Dumbledore exclaimed, putting his hand to his head. "Why hadn't I thought of that? The whole time the door was hidden behind a painting! That's why you never saw it Harry."

"Yes, Professor. When it was revealed, Hermione could not see it, but I could."

"Just as we thought."

He stopped in thought and closed his eyes. He was going over the abundance of memories locked inside of his mind.

"Everything makes sense now. It even explains the time I caught your father in that hallway after dark."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Well, as I remember it, I was going up to the North Tower to speak with our Divination teacher at the time and there was James, wandering the hallway, walking very fast and looking suspicious."

"What did he say he was doing?" Harry asked.

"He told me that he was just coming back from the tower. Said he had felt like a look at the stars."

"Did you believe it?" Hermione asked.

"No, but I could not think of any reason for him to be there. He was often found wandering the castle after-hours, so I did not think much of it."

"Well now you know," Harry replied.

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore replied absentmindedly. His eyes had fallen on the group of papers and envelope that Harry clutched in his hands. "What do you hold in your hand, Harry?"

He handed the papers to Dumbledore somewhat reluctantly; as if he didn't want to be separated form them.

"It is what my parents were working on when they died; their lost notes."

"Harry, this is tremendous!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he thumbed through the papers. Suddenly he stopped short. "You went into the room? You saw Gryffindor's personal office?"

"We did," Harry answered shortly.

"So Lily and James used his study as their own. It would have provided them with the safety and privacy they needed in their work," he mused. "What I wonder, is how James came to know about it?"

"I don't know," Harry answered truthfully.

"It also makes sense that the door would be behind that particular painting," he continued, changing the subject. "Sir Cadogen and his horse are the oldest painting in the castle."

"So it all fits then," Harry said.

"It does," Dumbledore answered.

A silence fell between them.

"So when do we go in for the book?" Harry asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"We go tomorrow. I will summon everyone tonight and we gather tomorrow morning in the Great Hall, just as we did the last time. I will make sure everyone is present."

Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in approval.

"You did the right thing by coming to me. You have both made me exceptionally proud tonight. Now, I suggest you both go back to your dormitory and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be an important day."

"Yes, Headmaster," they replied.

They turned, and after they stopped to pet Fawkes, they were gone. Behind them, Albus Dumbledore sat down at his great desk and placed Lily and James' notes before him. He began reading through them, looking for anything of importance. Unlike Harry and Hermione, he would get no sleep this evening.

~*~*~

Author's Note: My BIGGEST apologies on making you all wait so long for this. Truth be told, every time I sat down to write, nothing happened. My first real case of writer's block I think. I was making some progress, but I did not want to force anything out. It was slow coming. Last night, however, I sat down at the computer and had a great urge to finish the thing and it all came out in a couple of hours. Again, I apologize for the wait and I sincerely hope that the rest come as easily as this one did last night. I can't promise anything, but I will try. I completely understand if I have lost some readers, but I want to thank the ones that have stuck with me through this dry spell. It is because of you that I write at all. I hope you enjoyed this one and as always, KEEP REVIEWING!