Harry Potter and the Power Unknown

~Chapter Five: Memories~

Dumbledore looked down at Harry with sympathy and sadness in his eyes.

"It looks as if you can officially apparate now, Harry," Dumbledore said, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We will talk more after while, but I am late for a meeting with the Order. I expect Ron and Hermione are upstairs."

Harry nodded and watched Dumbledore turn to the kitchen and continue out of sight. He sighed, debating whether to go and see Ron and Hermione or sit alone and wait for the meeting to end. He had no real desire to see Ron and Hermione now, but he knew they would be hurt if they found out he was here but didn't come to see them, so he turned and headed up the staircase. The house of Black looked a little brighter and more cheerful than it had the pervious Christmas, and to his surprise (and delight), he noticed the portrait of Sirius' mother was gone. He began to wonder what happened to the portrait, if perhaps the old house-elf had taken it, and as his thoughts turned to Kreacher, disgust and rage rose up from within. Harry clenched his hands into tight fists and tears welled in his eyes as he remembered Kreacher's betrayal and how the elf laughed knowing he had sent Sirius to his death.

If I see that piece of shit I swear to God I'm going to kill him, Harry thought viciously. I'm going to ring his filthy little...

"Harry!"

Harry jumped at Hermione's shriek; he was so absorbed in thoughts of Kreacher he had not noticed he was standing in front of the room he had stayed in the previous summer. Before he could collect himself, Hermione had thrown herself on him and a mass of bush hair enveloped him. He had a slight feeling of déjà vu, remembering the same scene when he arrived at Grimmauld Place last year.

"Hi, Hermione," he said, trying to sound excited. "It's good to see you. How are you?"

"Oh, Harry, you look awful! Haven't you been eating? Were those muggles absolutely terrible? We've been so worried but we didn't know what to think because you haven't been writing, and we wanted to come get you but Lupin and Moody said everything was fine..."

"Blimey, take a breath, Hermione!" Harry turned and saw his best friend Ron standing behind him. As usual, Ron had grown a few more inches over the past month, but his red hair had also grown quite a bit. Harry grinned.

"Going for Bill's look, Ron?" Harry asked, gesturing at Ron's hair.

"I know; it's kind of long. Mum hates it, but she seems to be the only one," Ron answered. "So, how are you, mate? We haven't heard from you in a while."

"Oh, you know, all right, I guess. I, um... haven't really done much. It's been raining a lot, so I've just been in my room mostly," Harry answered, not looking at them. He suddenly wanted to be alone again. He gave them a very brief overview of Voldemort finding his house but not being able to see him. They reacted exactly the way he expected; Ron looked extremely tense and Hermione began to lecture him on being more careful. Hermione also began showing signs of wanting to talk about the end of last year.

"You need to stop blaming yourself, Harry. It wasn't your fault," she said.

Harry said nothing, and Ron attempted to change the subject.

"So, Harry, how's about a game of wizard's chess? I've been dying to play someone who can actually challenge me," said Ron, glancing at Hermione who shot Ron a hateful look. Harry jumped on the opportunity to avoid talking about Sirius and agreed to a game. Ginny came in soon afterwards and greeted Harry with a hug and blushing cheeks, then sat down next to Hermione and watched the game progress. Harry was busy concentrating on Ron's knight, but he was still able to notice how grown up and pretty Ginny looked. It seemed as if she had matured greatly over the past month or so. She was wearing just the right amount of blush and lip-gloss, and her hair was shoulder length and slightly wavy. Harry felt he never really appreciated Ginny's sense of humor and her willingness to defend him at a moment's notice, as she did in Diagon Alley in his second year. He suddenly felt bold.

"Still seeing Dean Thomas, Ginny?" he asked. Ron frowned and looked up at his sister.

Ginny flushed. "Well, I was, but we haven't talked much since school ended, and I think he's not really interested anymore. No big deal though."

At this statement, Harry smiled to himself.

Two hours and three games later, Mrs. Weasley opened the bedroom door with a wide smile. She had lost a considerable amount of weight, and her face was pale despite her warm look.

"Hello Harry, dear," she said, pulling Harry into a hug. "It's so wonderful to see you! Have you been eating? You look terrible; you're all skin and bones. Come downstairs and I will fix you something. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, come down as well, it's just about dinnertime anyway."

The five of them proceeded down the staircase and Harry's breath caught in his chest as a large group of people yelled, "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

Harry stood speechless, unable to move as Lupin, Tonks, Dumbledore, Fred, George, Bill, Mundungus, Moody, Kingsley and the new Minister for Magic Arthur Weasley stood in the kitchen beaming up at him.

"Harry!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley, clapping Harry on the back. "How are you? It's great to see you."

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley, and congratulations Minister," said Harry.

"Oh, well..." Mr. Weasley turned slightly red. "Thank you very much, Harry."

"It really means a lot to me what you did for... I mean, clearing Sirius' name and all..." Harry said, looking at his feet.

Mr. Weasley placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "It's the least I could do, Harry, for you and for Sirius."

Harry could feel a lump in his throat beginning to form, and all he could do was smile.

"Hi'ya, Harry!" said Tonks from behind him. Her hair was chin length and bright purple. Harry took turns greeting everyone, and then stopped to congratulate Fred and George on their successes at the joke shop.

"Yup, 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes' is doing great. We had to hire some new hands though, because we are also working part-time for the Order," said Fred.

"Your mum actually let you in?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, no," answered Fred.

"But Dad and Dumbledore approved, and anyway, we're over age, so there was really nothing she could do," explained George.

"What kind of work are you doing for the Order?" asked Harry curiously.

"Well," George began, "We can't tell you exactly what we're doing, Harry." He lowered his voice. "But we have been trying to use our business as a cover to keep an eye on Diagon Alley."

Harry looked shocked. "Have you been planning this the whole time? I mean, have you been planning to just pretend to open a joke shop?"

Fred laughed. "No, of course not! We've always wanted to have a joke shop. But this gives us a chance to help out at the same time." Harry looked thoroughly impressed.

The evening continued, and Harry could not imagine the last time he had been so happy. He had never had any sort of birthday party, and he was supremely grateful for all the people present, for all the people who loved him. He ate a very large dinner and a huge piece of the most delicious birthday cake he ever had. He also opened presents from everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, aside from the cake, gave him a shirt with the Gryffindor symbol on it, Ron gave him the usual Honeydukes sweets and candies, Fred and George gave him a Skiving Snackbox to his delight, Hermione gave him a book called Occlumency: Mastering the Art of Mastering the Mind ("I thought you might still want to get rid of bad dreams," she said) and members of the Order gave him a new knife similar to the one Sirius had given him, which melted at the Department of Mysteries. For a few shining hours, he had forgotten about the prophecy, about Voldemort, even about Sirius. Then suddenly, at one look at Remus Lupin walking towards him, his thoughts turned painfully back to his godfather and his mood plummeted.

"Harry, Sirius wanted you to have this," said Lupin, handing Harry a small package. "Being in the Order, he was required to write a will in case..." His voice broke off. Harry had never seen Lupin look so sad.

"Thanks, Professor Lupin," said Harry quietly, staring at the package in his hand.

Lupin smiled with obvious effort. "You can call me Remus, Harry. Sirius also requested that I watch out for you, so if you ever need anything, just ask."

Harry nodded, then turned and silently headed back to his bedroom, hoping nobody noticed his departure. He closed the door behind him, sat on his bed and once again started at the package he was holding. There was an envelope on the top, which Harry took and opened, his hands trembling.

Dear Harry,

If you receive this letter, it means that I am gone. Whatever has happened, do not blame yourself. This is the kind of risk we all take when entering the Order of the Phoenix, and you must understand that there has to be sacrifices. I'm sorry our time together was so short, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you all those years. I see so much of your father in you, and to see Lily's eyes looking back at me through you is the most wonderful feeling in the world. I should have told you this so many times before, Harry, but I love you like my own son. James would have been so proud of you and the person you are becoming. Your father was a good man, Harry, and you are following in his footsteps will always be with you, and you must trust in your friends and in yourself. Do not worry about the future or what it might hold; concentrate on the here and now, and you will be just fine. Learn to love life Harry, and live it to the fullest. Never take anything for granted.

Sirius

PS: I left you something that your father left in my possession when he named me your godfather. He told me when he named me your godfather that if anything happened to him, I was to pass it on to you when you were old enough. Use it whenever you feel alone, but use it wisely because it only works when you truly need it. Once you learn how, you will be able to add your own memories to it.

Harry looked up, tears flowing silently down his face, and proceeded to open his gift. Under the wrapping was a small box, and inside the box was a small pendant with a chain. The pendant was of a griffin, the symbol of Gryffindor house. Harry put the pendant in his hand and closed it, and suddenly he was flooded with emotion. He could see memories in his head, memories of his father and Sirius in school, memories of his parent's marriage, memories of his baptism, memories of his mother singing him to sleep; he felt happier than he had ever felt in his entire life. They seemed to be combinations of the good memories of Sirius and both his parents. It felt like he had always had parents; that they and Sirius were still alive. For a brief shining moment, he didn't feel alone.

Then it was gone. Harry closing his hand around the pendant again, but the feeling did not return. He sighed and let the disappointment wash over him, but he at least felt better than he had in a long time. He looked up as Ginny entered the room.

"You alright, Harry?" she asked. "You're missing your own party."

Harry was glad he had wiped his face dry a few moments earlier. "I'll be right down," he answered. She came and sat down next to him, and he noticed she had a light scent of jasmine around her. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," she said, blushing slightly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, and for the first time in months, he actually meant it.