Lost Love Found

Chapter 9: Christmas Break.

The morning after the Winter Dance everyone was getting ready to leave for the Christmas break. It had been snowing all night, so the ground and the roofs of the castle were completely covered with white snow. It made Hogwarts look like an enchanted castle taken out of a Winter Wonderland.

Hermione got up early, and went down to the Great Hall. There, she found Harry and Ron already eating their breakfast. As she walked over to them, she overheard part of their conversation.

"You're so lucky, Harry! I'm pretty sure that Adrian lives in a mansion," said Ron excitedly.

"You reckon?"

"Yes, haven't you seen his clothes and all his stuff? Everything looks very expensive."

Harry nodded and then said, "I just hope that his family doesn't mind me coming over."

"Don' worry 'Arry," said Ron with his mouth full of French toast. He swallowed and then continued, "If his family is as nice as he is, I bet that they'll be happy to have you over for the break."

Hermione rolled her eyes out of habit because, as hard as she tried, she couldn't find the resentment in her heart she usually felt towards Adrian. Last night, during the dance, she had gotten to know Adrian a little better and she found out that she actually liked him. "I guess he's alright," she thought as she sat down next to Ron.

After what seemed like no time at all, every Hogwarts student who was leaving for the break was aboard the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Adrian, and Hermione sat together in a compartment. A couple of hours later, Ron and Adrian were playing a game of Wizard's Chess while Harry was watching them and Hermione, for a change, was reading a book.

As Harry looked absently at Ron's tattered chessboard he was thinking about the coming weeks. He was very excited because this was the first time he left Hogwarts during the holidays and he really hoped that everything would go all right and that he would have a good time at Adrian's.

The compartment was getting hot and stiff, pretty much like Professor Trelawney's room only without the bothersome scent of incense. Harry was still tired from the Winter Dance so in no time at all he dozed off and his mind drifted to the yard of a dark house. The house looked deserted and gloomy, only a faint yellowish light flickered through one of the windows on the top floor and not a sound could be heard. He made his way through the unkempt lawn, into the front door of the house, and then up the stairs until he arrived to a wooden door, from under which, a dim ray of yellow light glimmered. Without any forewarning, the door opened slowly to reveal a dishevelled room with no other furniture than a big upholstered chair and a small table, both illuminated by the blazing light coming from the fireplace.

"When are we attacking my Lord? When are you going to show yourself to the world?" said a squeaky voice from one of the dark corners of the room.

"Not yet. Patience, my servant, patience. My plan is not ripe yet, but when it is be sure that I will show no mercy to the world," came a hiss from the chair.

Harry couldn't see who the speaker was. All he could see was his long spider like fingers wrapped around the arms of the chair. At the sight of the pale hand, Harry felt an odd wave of recognition hit him.

"Potter will pay," the sentence was followed by an ear-piercing cackle that chilled Harry to the bones and a searing pain menacing to split open his forehead interrupted his fitful sleep. Harry opened his eyes to find himself slipping off the seat of the Hogwarts Express. He was breathing hastily and looking all around him. His scar didn't hurt anymore but he felt kind of dizzy and nauseated. He needed to get some fresh air, so he got up and exited the compartment. Ron and Adrian were so concentrated on trying to beat each other at chess and Hermione was so caught up in her reading that they didn't even notice when Harry left. He walked all the way to the back of the train, and when he opened the door a blast of cold air hit him on the face. He pulled his cloak tighter around his body and went outside. He was looking at the stunning view in front of him: fields and frost-covered mountains flashed by as the Hogwarts Express raced on the tracks. Harry's mind was racing too, still thinking about his nightmare.

"This was no ordinary nightmare..." thought Harry to himself. "It is like the ones I had right before he came back. What is that bastard planning now? I wish I could know what he's up to. I wish I could make him pay for all the pain he's caused."

Harry stayed like that, leaning on the railing of the train, for a while, still thinking about Voldemort, until his stomach let him know that it was lunchtime. He then walked back inside the train and joined Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Adrian in the compartment to eat lunch.

A few hours later, when they were about to arrive to King's Cross Station, Adrian got up from his seat and went over to the luggage rack. When he came back, he was holding three packages. He sat back down next to Harry and then gave Ron, Hermione, and Ginny one package each. Ron took his and he realized that it was wrapped with fancy Christmas paper. "What's this?" he asked.

"Your Christmas presents," replied Adrian. "I would've needed two owls for each present because they are kind of heavy, so I decided to give them to you now. Since you are staying at my house, you'll get yours on Christmas day, Harry."

Harry nodded while Ron ripped open his present. His mouth fell open when he saw what his present was. "A new set of Wizard's Chess? And it says: Property of Ron Weasley... the Chess Master!" said Ron in awe contemplating his gift. "Thanks Adrian."

"No problem," said Adrian smiling. "Well, aren't you opening yours, girls?"

Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and then began to unwrap their presents carefully. Ginny's present was a beautiful stationery set containing: a diary, a fine set of quills, parchment framed with butterflies, hearts and embossed with a "from Ginny's quill" footer, envelopes, and a bottle of "Ever changing colors" ink. Ginny looked up from her gift and said blissfully, "thank you very much Adrian. I love it."

"Glad you like it. I wasn't sure what to get you but since I know that you love to write I thought you'd use it," shrugged Adrian and then he turned to look at Hermione, who was almost done unwrapping her present.

Hermione gasped when she saw the gift laying on her lap. It was a hand painted jewelry box carved in fine wood with little stones encrusted in intricate patterns of flowers and butterflies. The interior was lined with black velvet and there was a mirror affixed to the cover. There were also a couple of fairies dancing around, following the sweet melody played by the box. She was so charmed by the jewelry box that it took her a little while to notice that it wasn't the only present she had gotten. She looked under the box and she saw a big, black leather bound book. When she read the title of the book she realized that it was a copy of the book she and Draco had been fighting over just a few days ago. "Thanks Adrian," said Hermione breathless beaming at Adrian.

"I hope that book saves you the trouble of checking it out of the library every time you need it," said Adrian with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione's reply was a warm smile.

Just then the Hogwarts Express came to a halt. They had arrived to King's Cross Station. Everyone got up, grabbed their belongings, and exited the train. After crossing the magic barrier, they saw that Mrs. Weasley and Hermione's parents were already waiting for their children. Harry, Ron, Adrian, Hermione, and Ginny greeted them.

"Mom, this is Adrian,&rd; said Ron. "Adrian, this is my mom."

"Adrian Franco, very pleased to meet you Mrs. Weasley," said Adrian shaking Mrs. Weasley's hand.

"My pleasure," she replied smiling. "So Harry is spending the break with you and your family? (Adrian nodded) Who's going to pick you up?"

"My grandpa, I guess," said Adrian glancing around looking for his grandfather. Soon, he saw a blond woman walking towards him. "Mom!" he gasped hurrying through the crowd of muggles and wizards to meet her.

When Adrian arrived to Clara's side they hugged each other tightly. They had never been apart for so long and they certainly had missed each other very much. Clara let go of her son and wiped a couple of tears from her face.

"Come with me. I want to introduce you to my friends and their parents," said Adrian guiding Clara to where his friends were standing. "Everyone, this is my mother, Clara Franco. Mom, this is Ron, his sister Ginny, Fred, George, their mother Mrs. Weasley, Hermione Granger and her parents, and finally, Harry Potter."

Clara was smiling and shaking everyone's hands. They talked for a while and then, after exchanging good byes, Merry Christmases, and Happy New Years; Mrs. Weasley said to her children, "Let's go guys."

Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George waved good-bye to their friends and walked away. Hermione and her parents also said good-bye and left. A second later, Hermione ran back to where Harry, Adrian, and Clara were standing and she hugged Harry. "Harry, please be careful," she pleaded as she let go of him. Harry nodded and then she hugged Adrian too. "Thank you very much for the gifts. You take care too," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

"No problem," replied Adrian awkwardly, blushing slightly.

Hermione hugged Clara too, "it's been a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Franco. Well, must go now. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too!" they replied and Hermione ran to catch up with her parents.

"Well, I think we better go too," said Clara motioning Harry and Adrian towards the exit. Once they were outside the station, Clara led them to the parking lot where a fancy-looking silver car was parked. She opened the trunk so Harry and Adrian could throw all of their stuff in. Then, Adrian got into the car's back seat letting Harry sit in the front. Clara got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"You drive Mrs. Franco?" asked Harry surprised. Clara turned to look at him, smiling and nodded. Harry continued, "I thought maybe we were traveling by floo powder or something like that."

"I know it's a bit surprising to see a witch driving but I like muggle stuff. I think it is rather interesting. Actually, I happen to have many muggle friends. Well, guys, buckle up!"

The ride lasted for about twenty minutes, until they arrived to a "muggle-looking" neighborhood with big houses and beautiful yards. All the houses were decorated with multi-colored lights, Santa Clauses, reindeers, snowmen, and all sorts of Christmas decorations. It was starting to snow, and smoke was coming out of the chimneys of several houses. They pulled up in the driveway of a two-story house, also richly decorated.

"Here we are," Clara said, turning off the car.

The three of them got out of the car, took out the luggage and carried it into the house. Once inside the house, Harry was shown to his room. Adrian went to his own room to leave his stuff, and Harry was left alone for a while. He was looking around the room, which was about the same size as his room at the Dursley's, but this one was better looking, and best of all, it didn't feel like a prison. Harry was setting his trunk next to the bed when Adrian came back into the room and asked, "well, what do you think? Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's great," replied Harry.

"Let's go downstairs. My mom made us some hot cocoa."

They went downstairs where they found Clara setting four steaming mugs of hot cocoa on one of the living room's end tables. Then they saw an older man sitting on a recliner. Adrian ran towards his grandpa and hugged him. "Grandpa! I missed you."

"I missed you too, short man," replied his grandpa patting Adrian's head. Then Mr. Franco saw Harry standing shyly at the foot of the stairs. He got up and walked towards him saying with a tinge of a Spanish accent, "Well, hello Mr. Potter! My name is Manuel Franco and I am Adrian's grandfather."

Harry shook his hand. "Hello, nice to meet you and thank you for letting me stay at your house."

"Our pleasure. Where's that hot cocoa Clara?" asked Mr. Franco smiling and turning to look at Clara.

"Here dad."

The four of them drank their cocoa and when they were through, Harry and Adrian went outside for a snowball fight. Later, after dinner, the four of them were gathered in front of the living room's fire. Harry and Adrian were sitting on the floor playing Exploding Snap while Mr. Franco was reading the Daily Prophet and Clara was reading Witch's Digest, the Wizarding World Periodical. She was reading an article about education when she remembered that she still hadn't seen Adrian's progress report.

"Adrian, you haven't shown me your report card," she said putting the Witch's Digest aside.

"Oh yeah," said Adrian taking a folded and crumpled piece of parchment out of his pocket. He gave it to Clara and continued playing with Harry.

Clara took the report card. "It looks very neat," she said sarcastically as she unfolded it and read it. "Very good grades. Congratulations hijo!"

"They wouldn't have been so good if it hadn't been for Professor Lupin. He tutored me in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He's like the coolest teacher at school," said Adrian.

Clara's eyes widened. "Professor Lupin?" she asked in disbelief.

Adrian still hadn't forgotten about his mom not telling him that she went to Hogwarts when she was younger so he decided to bring up the subject. "Yeah, perhaps you know him."

Clara looked as white as a ghost and she stammered nervously, "W-why would I k-know h-him?"

"Because you went to school with him. You both were in Gryffindor and you were in the same year,quo; replied Adrian dryly.

This time Mr. Franco raised his gaze from the Daily Prophet and even though, the paper was covering the lower part of his face Harry could swear that he was smiling.

"W-what? Who told you that?" asked Clara trying not to look nervous.

"No one. I found it out when I had to organize the student files because of a detention that I got. Why didn't you tell me?"

Clara took a deep breath and said, "I didn't think you would be interested in knowing it." Adrian wasn't happy with her answer but he knew better than to keep pressing. He knew his mother would say no more.

"So you knew my parents too?" asked Harry hopefully.

She nodded smiling. God, was she glad that Harry was changing the subject. "Yeah, your mom and I were really good friends."

Harry's face lit up and his heart was pounding with excitement. "Really? Could you tell me about her and my dad?"

"Sure."

Clara told Harry what a sweet and nice person Lily had been and how intelligent James was. She told him lots of things about James and Lily. She also told him some anecdotes of their school days, carefully "forgetting" to mention Remus in all of them.

An hour later, Clara escorted Adrian and Harry to their bedrooms and after she tucked Adrian in she knocked on Harry's door.

"Come in," said Harry buttoning his pajama's shirt.

Clara entered the room and said, "Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Thank you very much."

"Um... Harry? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Clara sat down on the bed next to Harry. "Adrian really likes that Professor Lupin, right?" she asked trying to hide the anxiety in her voice.

"Yes, and I don't blame him. Professor Lupin is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had and he's a really nice man."

"And what about the Professor? Does he like Adrian? Do they talk a lot?"

Harry was puzzled by Clara's weird questions but he answered any way. "Yes, they do. Especially since they b their tutoring sessions. I'm pretty sure that Professor Lupin likes Adrian as much as Adrian likes him." Harry could see uneasiness and worry in Clara's face so he added, "you are worried because Professor Lupin is a werewolf, right? You have nothing to worry about. A week before the full moon he takes a special potion that makes him safe. Besides, he would never hurt anyone."

Harry's final words rang a bell in Clara's head. "That's what you think," she thought as she got up from the bed and kissed Harry good night. "Good night and sweet dreams," she smiled before she closed the door behind her. She descended the stairs and went back into the living room. There, she stood in front of her father with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. "You knew he was teaching at Hogwarts didn't you?"

Mr. Franco looked up from his reading and asked, "who?"

Mr. Franco sighed, and put the Daily Prophet aside. "It was hard enough to convince you to come back to England with me, without you knowing that Remus was teaching at Hogwarts."

"You should've told me! I don't want Adrian to go back to Hogwarts ever!"

Mr. Franco got up from the recliner and stood in front of his daughter. "You are not going to make Adrian change schools at the middle of the term. Especially if he's happy at Hogwarts," he said raising his tone and started to walk towards the stairs.

Clara was looking at him despairingly. "I was talking to Harry just a minute ago and he told me that Adrian and Remus are very fond of each other and that they spend a lot of time together. What if Remus finds out that..." she paused unable to talk because of the lump in her throat.

Mr. Franco stopped for a second and turned to look at his daughter. "It would be about time. You've kept this secret long enough. Adrian is going back to Hogwarts and that's the end of it." Having said that, Mr. Franco climbed the stairs up to his room leaving Clara alone in the vast living room.

Clara stood there, her heart stirring with mixed emotions. Of all those emotions, the one that held sway over the others was fear. She dreaded what could happen if Remus and, especially Adrian, found out the truth. She thought of all the times that Adrian had begged her to tell him things about his father and that she had changed the subject or lied about it. She knew that Adrian would hate her for not telling him that his father was alive. Clara also felt desperate because she knew that even though her father had respected her decision of not telling Remus about Adrian, he had never approved it. That's why she knew that her father wasn't going to go out of his way to help her keep her secret. All she had left to do was pray that Remus and Adrian wouldn't find out the truth. In a way, she was even surprised that Remus hadn't found out the truth already. For goodness sake, Adrian was so much like him!

Clara's head was spinning with all her thoughts and fears. She fell to the floor on her knees and buried her face in her hands and crying desperately as the sorrowful memories of the day Remus broke her heart crawled up to her head. She still remembered that day like it was yesterday...

It was a cold Saturday afternoon of February when Clara was walking back to her "little paradise," as she called the small house where he lived with the love of her life, Remus Lupin. She felt so happy that she was jumping like a little girl attracting stares from curious passer-bys. She was imagining the look on Remus' face when she told him that he was going to be a father. She figured that the good news would be like a ray of sunshine in the black sea of tragedies that they were living in, with Voldemort stronger than ever and terrorizing everyone.

She walked into the house and was surprised to find Remus there. He was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. He had the same worried and distant look on his face that he had had since the Longbottoms had been tortured by Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse. Clara didn't blame him for being that way since the Longbottoms had ended up in a mental hospital unable to recognize their own son and family.

Clara greeted her husband with a kiss he didn't respond to. "We have to talk Clara," was all he said.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" she asked hurt by Remus' unusual coldness.

"Clara, you have to go back to Spain with your father."

"What? Why?" she asked frowning.

"Because I can't keep this up any longer," he said turning away from her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Our marriage, I can't keep up this fraud."

"What in the world are you talking about Remus? Did someone put a Confundus Charm on you or something?" she asked worriedly as she stood in front of him and examined his forehead for signs of a fever.

Remus shoved her hand away from his face and after he took a deep breath he said, "I only married you because I thought your father could get me a good post at Ministry, but now that he went back to Spain, you are of no use to me anymore."

Clara stood flabbergasted in front of Remus unable to talk as her mind processed what Remus had just told her. When she finally found her voice she said, "Y-You only used me so you could get a job at the Ministry?" Clara couldn't believe what she had just heard. It had to be a joke. She was looking at Remus in disbelief, searching for the sweet look he always had for her, but all she found was a pair of cold eyes and an unreadable expression on his face.

"You know it isn't easy for a werewolf to get a job, let alone a job at the Ministry. That's why I needed a rich wife with an influential family to help me. My plans would've marched as I wanted had not been for your father going back to Spain. You are useless now dear Clara. Since your daddy left, you've become a burden to me so please go away and leave me alone," he said cruelly crossing his arms and propping himself against the wall.

Clara was fighting back the tears that were escaping her eyes, still refusing to believe what Remus was saying. "But, all those times you said you loved me. All the sweet moments we spent together..."

"I'm quite a good actor, aren't I?" Remus straightened himself and kneeled in front of Clara taking her hand. "I love you. Would you marry me?" he asked mockingly bringing her hand to his lips.

Clara's grief turned to rage when she saw the cynical look on Remus' face. She jerked her hand away from Remus' grip and slapped him across the face, the same way she had done a couple of years before with Snape when she was defending Remus. With trembling hands she removed her engagement ring and threw it at Remus' face.

"I guess I won't be needing this anymore. Give it to some other idiot like me who believes in your false love," she spat.

Remus only stood there laughing. With a wave of Clara's wand all her things were packed in a suitcase and then, she apparated to her father's house in Spain. She apparated in her old bedroom and collapsed face down on to the bed crying like she had never cried in her whole life. Had not she been pregnant she probably would've taken her own life, but she knew that she had to be strong and get over her grief so that she could be able to take care of her baby. She vowed that she would be the best mother in the world so that her baby would never need a father and that she would never see Remus again or tell him about the baby.

~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The following days went by swiftly and soon it was Christmas Eve. That morning Adrian got up extra early and went over to Harry's bedroom to wake him up. He opened the door slowly and entered the room. Once inside he noticed that Harry was still sleeping. He walked next to Harry's bed and began shaking him but Harry only grumbled and turned his back on Adrian.

"Wake up Potter!" Adrian seeing that Harry didn't get up, began shouting in Harry's ear, "Fire! Harry, the house is burning, get up!"

Harry sat bolt upright and looked around him expecting to see huge tongues of fire licking the walls and a thick curtain of smoke, but all he saw was Adrian doubled up with laughter.

"Very funny, Adrian. Why did you do that for?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"You wouldn't wake up," replied Adrian still chuckling. "You should've seen your face."

"Shut up, Adrian," said Harry putting on his glasses and then glancing over to the clock hanging from the wall opposite to his bed. "It's only 6:30 how come you are up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was thinking," replied Adrian somewhat nervously. "Say Harry, do you know if Hermione has a boyfriend? I heard Ron teasing her about some Krum guy."

Whatever sleepiness was left in Harry's eyes dissipated at that moment and his eyes widened in surprise. It was payback time. With a malicious smile he asked," why do you ask? Do you like Hermione? Are you in love with her, loverboy?"

There was a brief silence after which Adrian answered with a sigh, "yes I am. I really like her."

Harry's attempt to make fun of Adrian for having a crush on Hermione turned into smoke when he saw the honesty behind Adrian's eyes. "No, she doesn't have a boyfriend as far as I know. She just went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum last year and I think they write to each other but I don't think they are more than just friends. Viktor really likes her though."

"Oh," was all Adrian said as he looked sadly out the window.

"Well, when are you telling her?" asked Harry gathering the clothes he was going to wear that day.

Adrian snorted. "If I do, she's going to slap me, or even worse, hex me. I don't think she likes me," Adrian paused for a minute remembering the Winter Dance and how she had hugged him at King's Cross Station and then continued, "well, she was nice to me during the dance Maybe she likes me a little now. I'll give it a try. I'll tell her when we go back to school. Now, I'll go change clothes. See you in a little while so we can go down for breakfast."

Harry nodded as Adrian exited the bedroom with a heart full of renewed hopes. A few minutes later, Harry and Adrian went to the dining room where they found Mr. Franco taking sips from his coffee and Clara putting a tray of pastries on the table. They all ate their breakfast and then the two boys stepped outside into the gray morning carrying their sleds to a nearby hill where they raced through the snow, and played until the afternoon when Clara called them over. "Guys! Do you want to come to Diagon Alley with me?"

They looked at each other, nodded and then slid down the slope to meet her. "Sure mom! Let's go," said Adrian walking towards the house dragging his sled behind him.

Clara jumped in front of him. "Oh no you won't mister. You'll get the whole house wet. Look at you two! You have snow everywhere," laughed Clara at the sight of Harry and Adrian, who looked like they were covered in flour. After she had checked for any muggle witnesses, she took out her wand and pointed it at them to dry their clothes. "Now, you may come into the house."

In no time at all, the three of them were in front of the fireplace with a handful of floo powder in their hands ready to go to Diagon Alley. Adrian was the first one to go followed by Harry, who took his glasses off before stepping into the fireplace. Clara was about to follow them when she felt someone grabbing her arm. She turned and found her father standing behind her.

"Are you ever going to forgive me for not telling you that Remus was teaching at Hogwarts?" he asked.

Clara bit her lower lip and then looked up at her father trying to keep a stern look, but failing. She couldn't stay mad at him any longer. She had always been daddy's little girl, and Mr. Franco had always been her support and crying shoulder whenever she had needed one. "Dad," she said hugging him tightly. "I'm not mad at you anymore. Just promise me that you'll never tell Adrian or Remus the truth."

"Clara, that secret doesn't belong to me. You are the only one who can and should tell them the truth, so don't you worry about that. Now, go. Adrian and Harry must be waiting for you already."

"Thanks dad," Clara nodded smiling and then stepped into the fireplace. Seconds later she was in Diagon Alley where she found Harry and Adrian waiting for her. "Ok guys, I have to do some shopping so you can go wherever you want, but don't wander off too far. See you back here at quarter to six, alright?"

"Yes mom," said Adrian. "Let's go Harry."

Harry and Adrian strolled down the snow-covered alley looking at all the store's displays for a while until they arrived to the Quidditch store. Once there, they were lured into the store by all the Quidditch stuff that was inside. They walked around looking at all the books, caps, uniforms, and Quidditch collectible cards. They also checked out the newest models in brooms and equipment. By the time they realized it was quarter to six they were both carrying an armful of things that they paid for immediately and then they exited the store. It was dark already and the street lamps were shining brightly on the cobblestone street. As they hurried along the street, they realized that several witches and wizards were running in the opposite direction, towards the Leaky Cauldron, with expressions of terror on their faces. Harry and Adrian exchanged looks of confusion and then hastened their pace. They were still a few steps away from Gringotts when they bumped in to Clara, who had be looking for them frantically. "Hey mom! What's going on? Where's everyone?" asked Adrian looking around him at the deserted streets.

Clara was about to answer when they heard screams mingled with wild and cruel laughter coming from a dark street in front of them. They saw a group of terrified wizards running past them and one of them yelled, "get out of here quick."

The laughter could be heard clearer and louder now. "Here's the floo powder, get out of here immediately," said Clara.

"What about you mom? Where are..." Adrian trailed off at the sight in front of him. About twenty cloaked figures were advancing slowly towards them from every angle and circling around them.

"Death eaters," whispered Harry trembling. He looked up at the sky and saw the dark mark glowing like a neon sign against the black velvet sky.

"If it isn't the great Harry Potter," came a familiar drawl from one of the cloaked figures. "The Dark Lord will be very pleased when I bring you to him."

"Lucius Malfoy," thought Harry as scenes from the night of Voldemort's return replayed in his head.

Clara took out her wand and shouted, "Stupefy!" A couple of the cloaked figures collapsed to the ground. Harry and Adrian followed her example and stupefied a few more death eaters at no avail because more and more death eaters seemed to come out of nowhere. They were closing in and Clara was looking frantically for a way out. She saw that the only street that wasn't swarming with death eaters was the one leading to Knockturn Alley, so she decided to make a run for it, hoping that there they would be able to find a fireplace and get out of there. "Come on run," she said to Harry and Adrian who immediately ran after her into Knockturn Alley.

The three of them were running desperately with a horde of death eaters at their heels, when suddenly a long rope shot out of a dark corner. The rope tightened around them and they were dragged into a pitch-black room. Whoever their captor was shot the door immediately behind them.

"Let us out you bas..." Adrian's yell was muffled by a gag that appeared from nowhere.

"Adrian?! What did you do to my son?" asked Clara unable to see anything around her. She could only feel Harry and Adrian's trembling bodies next to her. They were tied so tightly and close together that none of them could move an inch, let alone use their wands.

"Shh," was the only sound that came from the darkness. A second later they heard footsteps and voices outside. "Find them! They couldn't have disappeared. The two boys couldn't Apparate."

After a while the footsteps waned away and then a tomblike silence filled the air. The silence was such that Harry could not only hear his heart pounding madly in his chest; he could also hear Adrian and Clara's hearts.

"You have to get out of here quickly," said their captor loosening the rope around them. "Incendio." Then a fire sprung to life in one of the corners of the room and they could see that their captor was none other than-

"Severus Snape," gasped Clara who recognized him even though the dim light of the fire and the hood of the black cloak he was wearing shadowed his face.

"Why if it isn't Clara Franco. Long time, no see," he said stirring the fire. "So Adrian is your son?" Clara nodded and Snape's mouth curled into a wicked grin. "Oh and where's his dad?"

"He is dead," said Clara sternly.

"Oh, is he really?" came another familiar voice from the darkness.

While Clara almost fainted when she saw who the speaker was Harry was overcome by joy. "Sirius, Sirius!" he said hugging Sirius. "But what are you doing here? Did Snape capture you?"

Sirius laughed. "Snape capture me? Please, of course nt. We are just exchanging information."

Harry's face relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief. "Hey Adrian, this is my godfather, Sirius. Sirius, this is my friend Adrian."

"Hi, Adrian Franco, nice to meet you. This is my mom, Clara Franco," said Adrian shaking Sirius' hand and then pointing at Clara.

"Hello Clara," he said scornfully. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Oh yeah, you two knew each other from school right?" intervened Harry.

"This reunion is very touching but you have to get out of here before the death eaters find you," interrupted Snape motioning Harry and Adrian towards the fireplace.

"He's right guys, you better leave now. I'll keep in touch with you, Harry. Be careful, you two" said Sirius and Harry nodded before he walked over to the fireplace where he and Adrian disappeared among the green flames.

After they had left, Severus turned to look at Clara slyly and asked, "are you sure his daddy is dead? He sure looks a lot like a certain werewolf I know."

Clara narrowed her eyes. "Must be your imagination because Adrian's father is dead."

"Really?" he asked cocking an eyebrow and looking sideways at Sirius. "Have you ever heard of blood calls? You know what they say that blood relatives are drawn to each other even if they don't know they are related. How funny that Adrian and Lupin have become such good friends in such a short period of time. Don't you think?"

"I don't see anything strange about that," she said trying to look calm even though her stomach was churning and beads of cold sweat were trailing down her forehead. "You really come up with wild ideas, Severus."

"I don't see what's so wild about it. After all, you two were married, weren't you?"

Clara's expression hardened and she looked as though she could've killed Snape. "Yes we were, but it ended a long time ago. Now, I must go. Thanks for saving us."

"Wait! Can I have a word with you?" asked Sirius and Clara nodded hesitantly. "Don't you have some other place to be in now, Snape?"

Snape grimaced and then exited the room silently leaving Sirius and Clara facing each other like hunter and prey.

"Why did you do it?" asked Sirius looking daggers at Clara.

"Why did I do what?" she asked knowing perfectly well what Sirius meant.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," he said, now his eyes were flaming and he had the exact same look of hatred he'd had years back when Clara had thrown Remus' sweater into the lake. "Why didn't you tell Remus that he had a son?"

Clara stood there silently looking at the floor. She knew that it was no use to lie to Sirius. The resemblance between Remus and Adrian was incredible, plus Snape's words hadn't helped her cause either. "Because I am the one who decides what's the best for him. After all, he is my son, isn't he?"

"Yes he is, but that doesn't give you the right to keep him away from his father!"

"His father was the one who kicked us out of his life. You certainly don't know your friend as well as you think."

Sirius walked the couple of paces that separated him from Clara pointing his index finger at her and poking her chest repeatedly to emphasize his words. "You are the one who doesn't know him. If you did you wouldn't be apart from each other." There was a brief pause and then Sirius continued, "I am telling Remus the truth."

"No!" yelled Clara pushing Sirius away from her. "Don't you dare tell him. He doesn't deserve to know it."

"You are better off asking me to kill myself. Remus is like my brother, and it isn't fair for him to be kept away from his son. I am going to tell him the truth."

"No, please," pleaded Clara. "I'll do it."

"When?"

"I have to find the right moment. This isn't easy you know?" chided Clara glaring at Sirius.

"You better do it soon or I'll be the one telling both of them because I'm sure that Adrian doesn't know the truth either."

"I already told you I'll tell them when I think it is the appropriate moment."

"And when would that be? It's been 15 years already."

"It will be when I deem it necessary. Stay out of this!" scolded Clara before she apparated back to her house. Once she was back in the house, she leaned against the wall cursing her luck. Now she had two more people to worry about. Even though she had denied it, she was sure Snape knew that Adrian was Remus' son and she dreaded he would let the secret out. She was also sure that Sirius wouldn't keep his mouth shut for long. But she would worry about that later. For now she only wanted to make sure Adrian and Harry were fine. Besides something else was in her mind now.

"What did Sirius mean by saying that if I knew Remus we wouldn't be apart from each other?" she thought to herself as she went into the living room, where she found Harry and Adrian telling Mr. Franco everything that had just happened.

Mr. Franco sat on his armchair looking thoughtfully at the fire long after he had listened to the boys' story. "We have to do something quick before Voldemort regains even more power," he finally said, after a long silence. "What happened today was just a taste of what's to come."

"You think the death eaters are going to go back into Diagon Alley again, Mr. Franco?" asked Harry tensely, still trembling.

"Yes, Harry, I believe they will," replied Mr. Franco grimly. "If something isn't done about it, those death eaters are going to take over Diagon Alley."

He stood up from his chair and walked over to the fire. He lifted a funny looking jar from the mantelpiece on top of the fireplace and took a handful of a blue glimmering powder that he threw into the fire. The flames turned blue and a person's head began to take form amid the flames. After a few seconds, Harry recognized the head, it was none other than the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Cornelius, may I have a word with you?" said Mr. Franco stooping over the fire so that he would be face to face with the Minister.

"Why of course, Manuel! It is always a pleasure to talk to you," replied Fudge's blue head from the flames.

"Have you heard of what just happened at Diagon Alley?"

"Yes, a pitiful incident. Officers have already been sent out to appease the place and arrest the pranksters."

"You didn't send any Aurors? Cornelius, listen to me you are dealing with real death eaters not with a band of pranksters, like you think. These death eaters are just preparing the way for their master to make his appearance."

Fudge shook his head. "Now, now Manuel. You have been talking to Dumbledore, haven't you? Frankly, I think the fellow is getting quite old for his post. I am seriously thinking about naming a new headmaster for Hogwarts because poor Dumbledore is off his rocker."

"The one who is off his rocker is you, Mr. Fudge," spat Harry angrily. "Professor Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards in the world, and he is also the best headmaster ever!"

"Calm down, Harry," intervened Mr. Franco. "Cornelius, I agree with Harry. If you remove Dumbledore from his post you will be making the biggest mistake of your life."

"I suppose he can keep that post for a while, but I don't know for how long. The Dark Lord is back, please," he chuckled.

Harry's face was now livid, and his hands were curled into tight fists of rage. "Perhaps you will believe Voldemort is back after he's sliced your throat open and killed half of your family!" With that Harry stormed out of the room.

Fudge was shocked at Harry's reaction. "Poor boy, he's also loosing it," was all he said.

"No, he's noosing it, but if you are not going to do anything about the death eaters, fine. Just don't say we didn't warn you."

Fudge's head disappeared from the flames, and Mr. Franco went back to his armchair. "Something must be done soon," he muttered to himself.

Half an hour after the incident, Clara went over to Harry's room. She opened the door slowly and she found him sitting on the floor resting his back against the wall. She sat next to him, and noticed a couple of anger tears rolling down his cheek. She took his hand and held it tightly. He slowly turned to look at her and whispered through gritted teeth, "Is he ever going to believe us?"

"Probably not. That Cornelius Fudge is as stubborn as a mule," replied Clara.

"He should've been there the night Voldemort came back and killed Cedric," Harry paused and shuddered. After a while, he let out a sigh and said, "I shouldn't have told the minister all that about his throat being sliced open, huh?"

Clara chuckled. "Are you kidding? I was dying to tell him the exact same thing." Harry turned to look at her and smiled weakly. "Harry, we are going to fight Voldemort with or without Fudge's help and we will defeat him. You'll see. Now, we can't let all this ruin the holidays. It's Christmas Eve. Let's go down for dinner."

"Thanks. I'll be there in a minute."

"All right, we'll be waiting for you," said Clara with a smile closing the door behind her.

Harry washed his face, straightened his clothes, and combed his hair at no avail because it didn't matter how much he tried, his hair would always look as untamed as before he combed it. Then, after taking a last look in the mirror, he went downstairs.

The dining room was gleaming with the merry light of the crystal chandelier hanging on top of the table, which was covered with an elegant white cloth embroidered with silver snowflakes. White porcelain china with golden rims and Christmas motifs, silver cutlery, and glasses were set on top of it along with a bunch of poinsettias with bright red petals and lush green leaves that served as center piece. Turkey, baked potatoes with butter, salad, bread, and a big glass pitcher full of punch were also set on the table.

Harry sat down, and the four of them began eating, chatting and telling jokes the whole time. After they finished their dinner they ate butter cookies shaped like Christmas trees, snowmen, and candy canes as they sat in front of the fire.

"Midnight! Time to get the presents," exclaimed Adrian as the big grandfather clock chimed, announcing that it was indeed midnight.

"Shouldn't we wish each other a merry Christmas first, Adrian?" asked Clara opening her arms to Adrian.

"I guess," joked Adrian hugging his mother. "Merry Christmas!"

After they had all hugged and wished Merry Christmas to each other, Adrian went over to the Christmas tree and began handing out the presents.

"I know you are used to opening the presents on Christmas day, Harry, but in Spain we usually open them after midnight," said Clara at Harry's puzzled expression.

"Come on open your presents, Harry. That one is from me," said Adrian pointing at the present in front of Harry.

Harry tore open the gift to find a big "Quidditch Strategy Board" with figurines that moved at his command so that he could plan his moves for the Quidditch matches. He, just like Adrian, got pants, shirts, and a coat from Clara. From Mr. Franco both of them received a pair of tickets for the next Quidditch World Cup that was to be played during the oncoming summer. Harry also got presents from Hermione (a new set of quills), Ginny (a handmade pillow embroidered with the Gryffindor lion), Ron (a king size box of chocolate frogs), and Mrs. Weasley (the usual knitted sweater).

After every thing that had occurred throughout the day, the evening turned out to be quite enjoyable for everyone and the following days went by swiftly. The New Year came like a breeze and before they knew it, it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

Next Chapter: Oh my goodness! Hermione has a secret admirer? Wow! Sirius is gonna pay Remus a visit. Will he blab or will he keep the promise he made to Clara? If you wanna know the answers to these questions read the next instalment of my fic lol!