The Secret Destroyed

Hermione sat off in a corner reading a book. Ron sat near a window, staring out of it. In the next second, Harry burst in panting.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked immediately, getting up.

"It's war," Harry gasped, holding onto a table for support. His face was flushed from running but it was easy to see that beyond his face he was pale. His right arm was broken and bleeding badly.

"What's war?" Ron asked worriedly.

"It - it's war...," he repeated before collapsing.

Chapter 1

Harry stared dismally out the window, wanting to be unnoticed and ignored, yet at the same time he wanted to stop being alone. But he knew that as soon as he started to talk to someone he'd want to be alone again. Besides, he'd only want to talk about Sirius and he knew none of the Dursleys would be interested.

Next to Hedwig's cage sat a mound of letters. He hadn't bothered to answer (or even read) them. All he could do was dwell was Sirius and Voldemort.

"Boy! Get down here!" he heard his Uncle Vernon yell. Sluggishly, Harry got up and went up stairs, not really looking forward to what his uncle had for him, yet not really caring. When Harry got downstairs, he saw his uncle's face purple and Ron and Hermione in his doorway.

"Can you tell me why two of your kind are here?" Uncle Vernon breathed heavily and evenly. Harry, not knowing why, looked to his friends.

"Harry," Hermione said tentatively, "when you didn't respond to our letters, we figured you might be lonely so we came to visit you." All the while, she kept shooting glances at Uncle Vernon; apparently afraid he might snap (or, in the state he was in, pass out).

"Well, I'm afraid my uncle doesn't want you here so you'll have to leave," Harry responded dully. All heads shot towards Harry at this.

"Are you up to something?" Uncle Vernon asked him slowly.

"Harry," Ron said, "you can't keep yourself locked away from the world."

"What would you know about what I can and cannot do?" Harry asked coldly before turning and going back upstairs. He couldn't believe Ron thought that being able to recover from this was that easy. His godfather had died - the closest thing he had ever had to a real father. And on top of that, he was to be a murder or be murdered. Of course, neither Ron nor Hermione knew that, but he still couldn't deal with it. He wanted to be left alone. He wanted peace, something at the moment he felt he couldn't get.

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Mrs. Weasley moved around the kitchen, waving her wand at various things as well as talking to Ron and Hermione.

"What happened?"

"He's really depressed, mum. He didn't even want to talk to us."

"He just needs time," Mrs. Weasley told him.

"But, what if he really needs us now," Hermione put in.

"Hermione's right, mum. He could need us."

"Go there if you want," Mrs. Weasley told them, "but if Harry's uncle says no, then I don't want you two to argue with him, understood?"

"Yes," they both answered as they started for the door.

"I wanna go too," Ginny piped up. She had been sitting at the table reading the paper.

"Er, okay, Gin," Ron answered, slightly surprised.

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"Boy!" Uncle Vernon thundered.

"What now?" Harry muttered as he stirred from sleep. Couldn't his uncle do what he usually did best right now? Harry wanted to be alone. Why when he finally wanted it he was deprived of it?

When he made it downstairs, he saw Ron and Hermione again, and accompanying them was Ginny.

"Harry, we really think you ought to see us," Hermione said quickly, as if to avoid him from losing his temper. "We really think we ought to stay a while -"

"Absolutely not!" Uncle Vernon exploded. "I will not have it! I will not allow it!"

"Please, sir -"

"Absolutely not!"

"Let them in." All heads turned to Harry.

"What?"

"I said 'Let them in,'" Harry said again. He looked at his uncle's face, which was purple and turning darker by the minute. He really didn't care. It wasn't because of the fact Professor Dumbledore had made it clear to his aunt and uncle that he was to stay here, but because he just didn't feel like it. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. But through all of this, some piece of the real Harry seemed to creep up. Enough for him to care that Uncle Vernon was yelling at his friends.

"You think you get to make the rules here?" his uncle asked.

"Let them in or I'll call over adult wizards and witches, those who will be sure to change your mind." Uncle Vernon stood there for a second glaring at Harry. He then took a short intake of breath and walked off.

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"You didn't even read them?!" Ron exclaimed when he saw the pile of letters.

"I've been busy."

"Bu -"

"You probably have been," Hermione interrupted. "How have you been?"

"Depressed," Harry answered truthfully. He then tried to avoid the subject. "How are things down at the Ministry?" he asked Ron.

"All of them are trying to recover all the slander they put against you and tell everyone You-Know-Who's back. Percy's still too thick and too much of a git to admit he's wrong. He tells mum and dad that 'people are prone to make mistakes' and they should have trusted the Ministry all along."

"Dad also mentioned something about a wizard/witch or wizards/witches that are writing messages in some muggle devise or something that goes to the entire world. I don't know. They obviously have a spell to stop this but the person/persons have put some unknown charm on it so the Ministry's having a struggle with it."

"And some other wizards started doing regurgitating toilets again. So the ministry's got its hands full." Ron paused and looked at Harry. He was staring at the floor and didn't look like he was paying much attention.

"You know Harry," Ginny started, unsure whether this was the best idea, "if you're blaming yourself for Sirius' death, you shouldn't. It wasn't your fault." Harry looked up, looking like he was sick of the topic.

"I'm not blaming myself. I didn't kill Sirius," Harry said roughly, staring back at the floor.

"I'm just saying," Ginny said, trying to avoid argument like Hermione, but less timidly.

"Listen, I don't need you here. I'm fine."

"But, Harry, you aren't," Hermione told him. "You do need us. It must be awful having to stay here all the time."

"Listen, I want you guys to leave. I just need time to think, that's all." Nobody moved for a moment.

"If you need anything, let us know," Ginny said, getting up. Reluctantly, Hermione and Ron followed and all three left the room.

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It was dark outside. Harry lay in bed, covered entirely except for his head. He wanted to sleep, to ignore his life, to wash it away.

He had lied to his friends. He blamed himself for Sirius' death. If it hadn't been for him, they would have never gone to the Department of Mysteries and Sirius wouldn't have died.

Harry let loose a shaky sigh, turned over, and buried his face into his pillow.

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Harry sat on his chair, his head resting his hands, which were on his desk. He heard a knock at his window, and turned to see what it was. To his surprise it was Ginny. She waved at him. He got up and walked to the window.

Opening it, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Got bored. Thought you might need some cheering up. Wanna go for a walk?"

"I'm supposed to stay here."

"We were both in Dumbledore's Army, we'll be fine. Besides, there's a bunch of Ministry agents outside to protect you. We'll be fine." Harry still looked reluctant. "I won't leave you alone if you say no." Sighing heavily, Harry went back to get his coat, went back to the window, got up, and jumped out.

"How were you up at my window?" Harry asked her after he was on the ground. She pointed to the broom in her hand.

"Shall I lead?" she asked. Harry just nodded. The air was chilly so Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets. He just walking besides Ginny, hunched over as Ginny chatted about various things, not really making sure Harry was even listening or not. Harry, though, was lost in his own thoughts. He'd hear catches of what Ginny was saying but nothing more.

"Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"I asked you a question."

"Huh? Oh! Right, um, what was it again?"

Rolling her eyes, Ginny asked, "Did you think, given our time and place, we made a good choice going to the Department of Mysteries?"

Harry seemed to turn sulkier (if that was possible). "No. We killed Sirius," was all he said.

"We didn't kill Sirius. You said that yourself the last time I was here."

"Lucius was right, I'm too heroic. People could get killed because of it."

"Harry, if you hadn't been heroic in the past, think of what would've happened. You-Know-Who would've gotten the Sorcerer's Stone. We wouldn't know that Sirius was even your godfather. I would've been dead! Harry, everyone makes mistakes. You can't condemn yourself like this." Ginny was facing him now, one hand on his shoulder. Harry was again looking at the ground, unwilling to meet her stare.

"Harry...?" No response. Gently, her hand brought his face up. "You're hurting yourself too much."

"Don't, Ginny. Just don't." Harry then broke away from her. He turned and started walking back to the house.

"Come on Harry, don't kill yourself over this," Ginny whispered to herself. "Don't kill yourself."

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"Where have you been," Ron asked Ginny as soon as she got back.

"Harry's," she responded simply. The bewilderment on Ron's face almost made her laugh.

"If mum found out -"

"But you didn't let her, did you?" Ginny interrupted. "Stop making a big deal out of this, O. K.?"

Ron stared at Ginny, opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and closed it again. Finally, "How did you get there?"

"Walked, flew."

"You could have been seen."
"I was careful," she said with a shrug.

"Second thing is...why?"

"I was bored, figured Harry could use the visit. And there's also the fact that with Fred and George gone, the Weasley house'll need a new troublemaker."

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Harry sat at the table, dismally picking at his breakfast. The rest of the Dursleys were eating, Dudley gorging himself. They then heard a knock on the window. As everyone turned, they saw a snow white owl outside the window, bearing a letter. The Dursleys went back to their breakfast, Uncle Vernon muttering something about "ruddy owls."

Harry went and opened the window. After retrieving the letter, the owl flew off. Harry noticed the envelope had the Hogwarts seal on it. He opened it and unfolded the papers inside. One of them had the usual but the other contained his OWL scores. They read:

Dear Mr. H. Potter, congratulations on successfully completing all your Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Below are your scores. Below those are the ranking of your fellow students.

Professor M. McGonagall

Head of Gryffindor House, Professor of Transfiguration.

Harry saw he had scored an Acceptable for Astronomy, an Exceeds Expectations for Charms, an Outstanding for Care of Magical Creatures, an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts, an Acceptable for Divination, an Exceeds Expectations for Herbology, an Acceptable of History of Magic, an Outstanding for Potions, and an Outstanding for Transfiguration.

He looked down at the scores of his other peers. Hermione had scored first of course. Harry had scored seventh, Ron two spots below him. Crabbe and Goyle had tied for last, Draco two spots above them.

Harry threw the letters to the side. He didn't have to worry about getting the supplies. It had been decided that the Weasleys would buy the supplies (Harry paying them back) and give them to him at Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

He went back to eat his breakfast but noticed it missing and Dudley's plate having more food on it than before. Harry got up again and pulled himself up to his room. He laid down on his bed. After a while, his mind started to drift to thoughts. He turned over onto his side. Then he flipped over onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. He started to sob, weep, flood his pillow with tears, wanting to tear his world down.

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She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Getting board, Ginny got up and walked into the hall. She saw Ron staring at a paper in his hand. He wasn't moving, just staring. Ginny looked over his shoulder at the papers. The one he was looking at contained his OWL scores. He had done fairly well. He turned to her.

"I scored ninth," he said, as if it was an impossible task.

"Yes, you did," was the only thing Ginny could think of to say. She saw an owl fly to their window. Ron had sent Hermione a letter in the morning, so now Pig was returning to him with a letter from Hermione.

Ron got up to get it. It read:

Ron, good job on your OWLs. I was a bit surprised I got what I did (Ron snorted at this). But I have really been worried about Harry since our last visit ("That was yesterday!" Ginny and Ron both exclaimed). He's getting worse. Before we left school, he wanted to be left alone but he didn't straight out tell us to leave. I'm afraid that if we do not cheer him up someway, he may get beyond help.