Harry Potter and the Secrets from the Past

Chapter. 18 BACK AT GRIMMAULD PLACE

...

Along unknown shores

We are in many to walk

With tears in the eyes

With the sun inside our hearts

If you are tired to fight

Come here and have a rest.

...

"One more friend" by Lucio Battisti

The following day Christmas holidays were starting and the majority of the students would leave Hogwarts to come back to their houses.

Harry slept for the whole morning and Ron didn't have the heart to wake him up until lunch time.

"Harry? Harry, do you hear me?"

Harry heard his friend's voice coming out from far away: he tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids seemed too heavy and his head was throbbing painfully.

After a few minutes, he clearly heard the voice of Madame Pomfrey.

"Come on Mr. Potter, if you drink this potion then you will feel better soon."

Finally he managed to open his eyes and made out Madame Pomfrey's face, while she helped him drink a smoking potion from a silver bowl. The taste was horrible, but he didn't protest, mostly because he wasn't strong enough to do it.

Almost immediately, he felt an enjoyable cool feeling in his whole body and his forehead was slowly becoming colder. He leaned his head on the pillow and stared around him.

Hermione was standing at Ron's side and was hugging Crookshanks in her arms; both his friends looked really worried.

"My prescription is... one day of absolute rest, light food and no overwork. Now I'll make arrangements with the House-elves concerning your meals."

Madame Pomfrey exited the dormitory, leaving the three friends alone. Harry moved his elbows on the pillow, trying to get seated, while Ron came closer to help him. Then, he leaned his back on the wall and smiled slightly, in order to reassure his friends.

"I'm feeling better, there is no need to make those worried faces!"

"You fell asleep in the common room tonight, right? I heard you coming up at dawn."

Ron was scolding him, and Harry couldn't understand why.

"Oh, Harry, you should have gone to bed when we did! Instead, you remained down in the common room and your fever went higher!"

Harry was surprised to see Hermione so resentful.

"Hey, guys! I'm feeling really better now! Madame Pomfrey does miracles and tomorrow I will surely be able to leave Hogwarts!"

At hearing those words, Ron and Hermione became serious and lowered their gazes.

"What's happened?" he asked worriedly, and after a minute of silence, Ron spoke to him.

"There has been another attack."

Harry's heart jumped to his throat.

"W-what are you saying? Where?"

"London, right in the center of the city. We found out this morning, reading the Daily Prophet," whispered Hermione, while Harry was staring at her, his mouth gaping.

"A group of Death Eaters have blown up a whole district, causing at least fifty deaths and wounding thousands of people. Muggles blamed it on a gas leak, but a few wizards have clearly seen hooded Death Eaters moving out from the place and above all, they have seen..."

"YOU-KNOW-WHO's Dark Mark in the sky."

Ron ended the sentence for her in a gloomy voice. It was several seconds before Harry could fully realize the meaning of what he had just heard. Then, he spoke, pondering every word.

"War has really began. We can't go back now."

"Exactly, Mr. Potter!"

Their attention was attracted by Professor McGonagall, who had just entered the room, and was staring sternly at them.

"And precautions are never enough. Tomorrow morning, when you are feeling better, you will go to the headquarters of the Order. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will come with you."

Harry looked at his friends, and since none of them replied, he did it.

"And what the Headmaster..."

"It is Professor Dumbledore's will."

Then the teacher turned to Ron and Hermione.

"The rest of your family is already there, Mr. Weasley. Your sister has left a few minutes ago. Regarding your parents, Miss. Granger, I personally just sent an owl to inform them."

Then she turned again to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I expect you to follow Madame Pomfrey's instructions so that tomorrow you will be able to leave. That will be all; I wish you a very good day."

Professor McGonagall exited the dormitory, leaving the three friends without words.

Ron, who was pale like a bedsheet, took a seat on his bed, and Hermione did the same, caressing Crookshank absentmindedly. Then Harry broke the silence.

"What do you think about that?"

"We should have expected it," Hermione replied, and Ron turned to face her.

"I mean, the war has just started after all! Now I'm curious to know how Dumbledore is going to react."

"Probably he will gather as many allies as possible!" Harry replied; then he recalled the vision he had had and decided to tell his friends about it.

"Listen! I must tell you something that happened to me last night."

When he ended his story, he realized that Ron was staring at him with his mouth open, while Hermione was wiping away a few tears from her eyes with her sweater's sleeves. Then she sighed deeply and spoke.

"Are you really sure that she was your mother?"

At that question, Harry felt deeply wounded: How was it possible, that Hermione wasn't able to understand? Harry tried to reply, but the girl cut him off:

"Don't you think that if could be another vision sent to you by Voldemort? After all, it wouldn't be the first time!"

"NO! I'm telling you that she was really my mother! You can't understand what I've felt inside and her words, the sense of sweetness which they left me. It has been REAL, I'm sure of it!"

Harry was starting to lose his temper.

"Please, don't get mad! It was just an idea! If your vision was true, then probably, the fact that you have found your parent's grave just made you more receptive to them."

"Maybe you're starting to use your new Seer powers!" said Ron simply.

Harry and Hermione stared at him, astonished.

"If it's really as you say, I'm going to explore the matter. If Harry has new powers, then it would be better to learn how to use them!" said Hermione, slightly worried.

***O***

Harry, Ron and Hermione had just entered Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, realizing that everything had stayed the same: the portraits of Sirius' ancestors were still covered with heavy black curtains and the few candles were emanating a dim light.

Harry was really in a bad mood: he was still thinking about what Mark Evans had said, and how he was always kept in the dark by the adult wizards. He really wanted to call Mr. Weasley over and ask him about it.

That morning, the three friends had jumped on the Knight Bus and "Mad-eye" Moody, Tonks and Professor McGonagall had showed them to the headquarters. As soon as they had arrived, Professor McGonagall immediately left.

Mrs. Weasley gave them a warm welcome, and together they reached the huge kitchen downstairs, where they found the others waiting for them: Ginny and, with great Harry's surprise, Remus Lupin. He was sitting on an armchair by the fire, with his right arm still covered with bandages and pale in the face. As soon as they entered, Lupin immediately stood up, and came closer to them, a large smile on his face.

"Finally you've come. I was really looking forward to see you again. Are you all right?"

"Professor Lupin! How are you?" Harry asked, staring at him worriedly.

"Better, much better now, thanks, Harry."

"Why don't we all take a seat? Expecially you, Remus. You'll get tired if you're standing up for such a long time," Mrs. Weasley warned him, and everybody got seated around the large table, where lunch was immediately served. Mr. Weasley would come back for dinner that evening, while Fred and George couldn't leave their shop during Christmas holidays.

Harry took a seat between Ron and Hermione, furtively staring at Lupin, to check if he was really feeling better, as he had said.

During lunch, Harry could feel a tensed atmosphere among the others, surely due to the recent events.

Afterwards, Tonks, Hermione and Ginny helped Mrs. Weasley cleaning the kitchen, while Harry, Ron, Lupin, and Moody remained seated at the table, excanghing a few words.

"Professor Lupin? Can you tell me what has really happened at Riddle House that day?"

Harry asked with a certain hesitation. Lupin stretched on the chair and looked at him seriously.

"Yes, Harry, I wanted to ask you exactly the same question and I'll do it now, since you've just started the subject: how did it jump in your mind to go to Riddle House all alone? Dumbledore was furious when Professor McGonagall told him."

Harry lowered his gaze, mortified; he had posed the question without thinking to the inevitable consequence of being scolded.

"Really a bad idea you had boy! As soon as they told me, I didn't even want to believe it!"

"Mad-eye" Moody also seemed deeply disappointed, and now he was frowing at him with both eyes, the real one and the magical one.

Then Lupin spoke again:

"Luckily, Ron seemed to have much more judgment than you, and had immediately gone to warn Professor McGonagall."

Harry just realized that Hermione had stopped washing the dishes, and now she was standing behind him, listening; he felt his cheeks warming up for the shame of being scolded in front of everybody, and suddenly he decided to answer back, in order to justify his actions.

"But, Hermione was in danger! I saw her in my dream, how could I stay there and doing nothing!"

"You could have told immediately Dumbledore about your dream!"

"And what if he wouldn't have done anything? If he hadn't believed me? It's already happened in the past, and I thought that..."

"Why don't you trust the people who are in charge of you more?"

Harry didn't reply and lowered his gaze. Then Lupin tried to soften his voice, and spoke again.

"I really would like you to understand that Professor Dumbledore is aware of such things that justify his way of acting, even if we don't fully understand him. I just want you to trust the wizards of the Order next time. If there is going to be a next time!"

Harry nodded to him in silence.

"Well, turning to the story, thanks to Ron's information, we managed to reach Riddle House just on time, because if we had entered that room a minute later we wouldn't have be able to help you anymore, Harry."

Mrs. Weasley shuddered all over, while Tonks, Ginny and Hermione took a seat in front of Lupin.

"Yes, Remus is right!"

Tonks intervened in the discussion, and went on talking with emphasis.

"When we entered, we saw a really spine-chilling scene in front of us: you were lying on the floor, senseless, and our little Hermione was kneeled on your side, trying to face YOU-KNOW-WHO... well, you should have seen her!"

Tonks seemed really amused by this, and Harry immediately turned to Hermione, who blushed furiously, deeply embarrassed. Then, the girl tried to justify her actions.

"Voldemort was killing you, what choice did I have? I fought to free myself from that Lestrange woman, and tried my best to protect you!"

Lupin went on with the story.

"Unfortunately, in the exact moment of our raid, Voldemort and his more faithful Death Eaters had just disapparated, but those who remained, fought against us until the end. I reached Harry straight away, and with Hermione's help, I dragged him far away from the battle. When I came back inside, I fought together with all the wizards of the Order who had come to rescue you. Then I realized too late, that Voldemort's evil snake had crawled behind me. Suddenly, it jumped on me and sank its teeth in my right arm. I lost senses and woke up at St Mungo's Hospital a few days later."

Everybody was silent; Harry had vividly imagined all the scenes, and felt a shiver going up his spine. Then Mrs. Weasley cut his reflections off.

"Well... I think it's about time to stop with all these sad memories. It's better if you go up to your rooms, and settle in."

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