Harry Potter and the Secrets from the Past

HARRY POTTER AND THE SECRETS FROM THE PAST

...

Going out to the heath in the morning

where you do not see a step

for finding again yourself.

Talking with a fisherman

For hours and hours

For not feeling that inside you

Something is dying...

...

"Emotions" by Lucio Battisti

Finally, Harry was freely darting in the night, the fresh wind was mussing up his hair, the moon and the stars were so close he could nearly touch them; so much time had passed since the last time he had felt this way, free to fly on his wonderful broomstick, a Firebolt.

He felt happy, a feeling he had felt in what seemed like ages. In that moment, he lowered his gaze and looked at his flight companions: a few wizards of the Order came to pick him up from the Dursleys, and now they were escorting him to the head quarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

On his right, there was Nymphadora Tonks with her bright pink hair, who turned to him and winked. On his left, Remus Lupin was deeply concentrated on following the person in front of him. Behind him Mad-Eye Moody was guarding him, and in front, guiding the group, there was another wizard Harry did not know.

At a distance, another group of wizards from the Order were following them, to make sure that there was no danger and that the way was clear.

After a few hours of flight, Harry was starting to freeze, but he was resisting, because he knew that they had nearly arrived at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London.

Suddenly he shivered, but this time not for feeling cold: he thought for the first time that he was coming back to Sirius Black's house after his death; last year they had spent many happy moments together in that house.

But this time Sirius would not have been there to greet him... he wondered, how was he going to react when he walked once more into that house? Harry had never thought about that until then.

A sudden signal from Mad-Eye Moody shook him from his thoughts and he realized that they had arrived. All the wizards started to fly down in circle, keeping him in the center and soon they landed in an empty square surrounded by ancient buildings.

They got closer to the numbers Ten and Thirteen: Harry concentrated his gaze on Number Twelve and suddenly a heavy and ancient door appeared in front of them.

Moody opened the door with circumspection, and quickly pulled Harry inside.

"Get in quick, Harry," he said gruffly.

Soon he found himself again in the main entrance of that huge house, which had been the home of the Black Family in the past.

He shuddered all over and looked around. Everything seemed to have remained the same; the pictures of Sirius's ancestors on the wall, including the one of Sirius's mother (always covered by an heavy curtain to avoid her shouting out against everybody entering the house), the row of shrunken house-elves hanging on the staircase wall, and the horrible severed troll's leg used as umbrella stand.

Quickly and always in silence, Harry, Tonks, Lupin, and Moody reached the door which leaded to the kitchen. The other wizards who had escorted Harry during the trip were already gone.

When Harry entered the kitchen, he was really happy to find that his friends were all there waiting for him: Ron, Hermione, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred, George and Ginny.

He remained at the door with a large smile pasted on his face, and suddenly Hermione ran to hug him with warmth.

"Harry, finally you've arrived, how are you?" she asked.

She was still hugging him, so tightly that he was not able to answer to her question, when Ron came over and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Welcome back, mate, sorry for the poor mail I sent you, but... you know... Moody gave us specific orders about what.... and how long we could write to you.... erm... safety measures...."

"Never lower the guard boys, and always remember this: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody interrupted him before reaching the table, taking a seat, and starting to drink from his personal flask.

"I really hope that you are not angry with us..." Hermione asked worriedly, after having released him from the hug. But Harry was not at all angry with them, because he knew that at this time, safety measures were never enough.

"It is ok, it is not your fault... "

"Okay boys, girls, let's go and have dinner! How are you, Harry, dear?"

Mrs. Weasley put an end to their conversation and helped Harry take away his cloak

Soon everybody was busy eating the delicious food prepared by Mrs Weasley. Harry was sitting between Ron and Hermione, and was listening to them about all the news; in front of him were Fred, George, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, while Mr. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks and Moody were sitting on the right side, talking in low voices.

"Where are Charlie and Bill?" asked Harry.

"They are in mission for the Order... TOP SECRET! Mum does not tell us anything.... nothing about that has changed since last year!" answered Ron, looking disappointed.

Harry could not help thinking for sure something had changed since last year - Sirius was no longer there with them. Anyway, he did not want to worry his friends and show them his melancholy attitude, so he remained in silence.

"You are wrong, Ron! Many things have changed since last year," answered Hermione, a little bit annoyed, as if what Ron was saying was a terrible lie. For a moment Harry feared that Hermione was going to speak about Sirius, giving voice to his sad thoughts.

"Actually, if you did not notice, last year everybody was thinking that Harry was a stupid visionary and that he built up a silly story about the return of You-Know-Who just to be in the center of everybody's attention.... but NOW all the wizarding world knows for certain that Harry was saying the truth and they keep talking about him with admiration... it was about time, don't you think?"

Harry sighed in relief: if Hermione had faced the matter about his godfather's death, he did not know how he would have reacted in front of them.

The discussion continued: Ron was explaining that after the first holiday week, he and his family moved to Grimmauld Place, to better follow the current events; Hermoine had joined them a few days later. Until that moment nothing special had happened, apart from frequent secret meetings among the wizards from the Order. Naturally, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were categorically excluded from those meetings.

Fred and George were now working at full rhythm in their new shop, "The Weasleys' Wizarding Whezes", for which they had rented a little place in Diagon Alley. The following day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were going to pay them a short visit.

It seemed that the twins had started a great business, and even Mrs. Weasley had now accepted their news, and was happy for them.

Soon Mrs. Weasley ordered them to go to sleep, while the adults were remaining in the kitchen to talk about important matters.

Fred and George went to their bedroom, and Ginny did the same, while Hermione joined Harry and Ron in their bedroom to talk a little bit.

Harry sat on his bed, while his best friends took position on the other bed in front of him;

Harry could not wait any more and asked a very important question:

"And so? What do you know about Voldemort?"

At hearing that name, Ron shivered slightly, but Hermione remained quiet and started answering Harry's question.

"No, we do not know anything, nobody here tells us anything at all! But, listening here and there, we managed to understand that after having lost his better Death Eaters, Voldemort is surely disoriented. His plan to steal the prophecy ended badly, and he is probably now organizing a new plan, before attacking again."

"Fred and George say that at Diagon Alley everybody is afraid: people are cautious and do not trust anyone. People do not want to find a Death Eater on their door, when they least expect it," added Ron worriedly.

"And this is just the beginning," commented Harry bitterly, before adding.

"I fear that Voldemort will attack soon. While I was at the Dursleys, my scar was throbbing so often, and that surely means that Voldemort is preparing something.... I am sure of that..."

Ron and Hermione shuddered on hearing Harry's words, then Hermione spoke again, but this time with a worried voice.

"Harry, you should be really careful. You cannot be influenced again by wrong visions sent to you by Voldemort.... You could... you know... fall again into a trap..."

At those words Harry got up with his fists clenched and started to shout with anger.

"DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS A JOKE WHAT I FEEL EVERY TIME THAT MY SCAR BURNS ? DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS A JOKE WHEN I FEEL VOLDEMORT'S THOUGHTS? I FEEL SO HELPLESS AND HORRIBLE EACH TIME I SEE VOLDEMORT DOING THE ATROCITY HE DOES!"

Harry stopped to take breath, and he noticed that Hermione had lowered her gaze and now she was looking at the floor, mortified. But Ron got up and now he was facing Harry.

"OK, I KNOW THAT IT IS DIFFICULT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU FEEL, BUT AT LEAST WE TRY!

ON THE CONTRARY, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND US!

HERMIONE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU ADVICE, AND YOU DID NOT NEED TO ATTACK HER LIKE THAT!"

Suddenly Harry was feeling so bad: he understood that all his compressed anger came out against the only person who always had helped him in all those difficult years, the one who had divided with him the majority of his troubles: Hermione.

Harry turned suddenly and reached the window, trying to control his temper; he started to breath deeply and felt that his anger was slowly abandoning him. When he turned again to face his friends, Hermione was gazing directly into his eyes, worried.

Harry came closer to her to apologize.

"I am sorry to having reacted in that way, Hermione, but... it was as if all the anger and frustration held inside of me wanted to come out. I am so sorry that all this anger came out against you... what is happening to me is not your fault."

Then Hermione got up and put her hand on Harry's shoulder, looking at him with comprehension.

"You do not have to be sorry.... anybody could have reacted in that way, if put in the same conditions as yours. "

Harry lowered his gaze feeling guilty.

"I think that now it is better to go to bed," said Hermione a little bit embarrassed, before reaching the door and getting out of the room.

Then Ron sat heavily on his bed and started gazing at the ceiling. An embarassing silence fell between them, and Harry was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry, Ron."

Then Harry reached his bed and sat in front of his friend, trying to understand Ron's thoughts.

"I am really worried Harry, I cannot hide it from you."

At hearing those words, Harry felt a strong pain in his heart: he was feeling so guilty.

"I mean, for my family... my father, my mother, Bill, Charlie, and now Fred and George, all are part of the Order of the Phoenix. And the worst is not arrived yet... If one of them dies, I..."

"Do not say that, Ron!"

Harry interrupted his sentence. Now he understood that he was not the only person to suffer for all what was happening. He was such a selfish boy! He never thought before that Ron could suffer like him or even more.

Harry did not have relatives who risked their lives, but almost all Ron's family was at risk, since the war against the dark side was just beginning.... He tried to comfort his friend.

"You will see... None of your family will get hurt... Everything is going to end well..."

Harry wanted also to add, "You will see that Voldemort will be defeated soon", but he knew so well that this war depended only on him, on his strength and on his courage.

But his friend did not know anything about the prophecy, so he remained silent, stretching his legs on the bed and closing his eyes. Soon he fell in a deep sleep.