Harry Potter and the Rest of the Story

Harry Potter and the Rest of the Story

Chapter 3 - Heritage

Thu, 10-Jul-1997 continued

"Boy! Get down here this instant!"

His uncle's bellow was quite a rude awakening. For once, Harry had been having a wonderful dream, playing Quidditch at the Burrow with the Weasleys, racing Ginny for the Snitch. Glancing out the window, he saw it was not very long until sunset. The events of earlier in the day came back to him in a rush, and he looked for the portrait.

"Good evening, Harry," smiled the old wizard's image. "I expect that your escort to Hogwarts has arrived. Don't forget the overnight bag you packed earlier. If you would, please, add my frame to your bag as soon as I leave. Being carried in the dark brings on a sensation very unfortunately akin to seasickness, so I will await your call in my other portrait." With a wave of his hand goodbye, Dumbledore walked out of the small portrait, followed by Fawkes.

"Boy!" bellowed Vernon Dursley, "I said ..."

"Please remain calm, Mr. Dursley. I will go up to Harry's room to wait," came a familiar voice.

"No! I won't have any more freaks traipsing around my home, you ... you ..."

"The word you want is 'werewolf', Mr. Dursley. And werewolves have very sensitive hearing. The more bellowing you do, the more irritable I become. You don't want to be around an irritable werewolf, you know," Lupin commented in a strained, slightly edgy voice.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Harry had a difficult time holding in his laughter. Lupin? Telling off Uncle Vernon? And oh so gently threatening him? Harry's only regret was that he couldn't see just what shade of purple ... or maybe green ... his uncle's face was turning. He checked his room once more, then hurried over to unlatch Hedwig's cage and leave his window partway open. "Good hunting, Hedwig. I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose."

As he closed the bedroom door, Lupin was just topping the stairs. "Hi, Professor Lupin," Harry smiled in greeting. "By any chance can you lock this door so only I can get in, without setting off the Ministry alarms? I don't trust the Dursleys not to try to trash my school stuff while I'm out."

"Certainly, Harry. We left word at the Ministry that I would be here, just in case I needed to use magic to get you away." The werewolf pulled out his wand and said, "Place your hand on the doorknob, so the ward will let you in when you return." With a wave and a wordless incantation, a silver light flashed around Harry's hand and the doorknob, then faded. "There. That should last the summer or until someone takes it off. It will keep any Muggle or average wizard out."

"I wish I'd asked for something like that ages ago," Harry sighed. "Well, it won't be much longer, I expect ... my birthday at the latest." They both headed through the house and out, with nary a glimpse of the Dursleys.

"I can't promise, but it may be only a few more days until you can leave. Minerva told me about what is happening tonight ... I hope you don't mind," Lupin glanced at Harry tentatively, knowing how the young man sometimes had a touchy temper when under stress. If recent weeks weren't a perfectly good reason to be stressed, Lupin didn't know what was. "What is learned tonight may determine what comes next for you."

"How are we getting to Hogwarts this time?" asked Harry.

"Though you don't have your Apparition license yet, I'd like to know how you did during training. And have you ever been on a Side-Along-Apparition?" asked Lupin.

"I had trouble at first, but I suppose I'm doing well now," answered Harry. "I've done Side-Along a few times with Dumbledore, both ways."

"Both ways?" Lupin was puzzled.

"Usually I was the passenger, but that last night ... well, he was in pretty bad shape, so I brought us back to Hogsmeade," Harry answered quietly, trying not to think too much about that night.

Lupin was staring at Harry. "You performed a Side-Along-Apparition? Do you know how far the jump was?"

"Well, from the feel of the jumps there and back, all I can say is that it was probably farther than here to the Burrow ... maybe double," Harry answered, a bit uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "Dumbledore could tell you."

After a long moment, Lupin sighed and relaxed a bit. "Leave it to you, Harry, to keep doing the unusual. I suppose it didn't occur to you why you've had to rely on portkeys, floo, and brooms all this time ... it takes a very strong wizard to take a passenger, and a resilient person to be a passenger. Like the Patronus, many adult wizards can't do it at all, 'either way', as you might put it. I can manage to take a passenger about the distance from here to Grimmauld Place. To get to Hogwarts would require several stops, even though I can go in one jump by myself. I'm impressed that Dumbledore transported you; I'm stunned that you were able to transport him."

"Well, I didn't feel so good when we got to Hogsmeade, though I'm not sure if that was the Apparition or fear," Harry commented. His memory took him back to the cave when he struggled to take Dumbledore to safety. 'Don't worry ...' he had said, and Dumbledore answered, 'I am not worried, Harry. I am with you.' So completely different from one year earlier as they went to speak with Slughorn ... it had been Dumbledore, the protector, who said Harry needn't worry about being attacked because 'You are with me.' "Uh, I'd rather not think about that night right now, Lupin. So, how do you want to do this?"

"How do you feel about a solo jump from here to the Burrow ... to the broom shed? If that goes well, we'll go the rest of the way to Hogsmeade," suggested Lupin. "You go first, and I'll follow."

Harry nodded, thinking about the 'Three Ds' from Apparition class, then concentrating the way he did that night. With a fairly quiet pop, he disappeared. "Damn, you're getting strong in some things ... why not in other areas?" Lupin asked the empty air. The werewolf just followed his charge with a moderate pop.

Lupin found Harry looking longingly at the hodge-podge structure that was home to the Weasley clan. "You'll see them soon, Harry. How was the jump? Ready to head for the Shrieking Shack next?"

Harry blinked and shook his head as though to clear it, saying, "Let's go." And again with a moment of concentration, he disappeared, closely followed by Lupin.

Lupin led Harry to the Room of Requirement, where McGonagall and Flitwick were just assembling the items they would need for the Heritage Ritual. Harry dropped his bag near the door, then remembered the portrait. Once he had the uninhabited frame in his hands, he looked around for a place to set it. McGonagall saw him and pointed to an easel at one end of a narrow work table. Harry didn't notice that the others gathered behind him to watch as he touched the candy dish, murmuring Dumbledore's name.

Once Dumbledore arrived, with Fawkes close behind, he said, "Excellent, Harry. Hello, Remus. It appears the trip went smoothly, since you both look fine and it hasn't taken very long."

"Yes, quite well," answered Lupin. "As you are probably aware, Harry is excellent at Apparition. We made one stop at the Burrow as a precaution, but he did very well indeed."

"Really, Remus," chided McGonagall. "Wasn't that taking a risk with an unlicensed student, for so great a distance?"

"Not really, Minerva," interrupted Dumbledore. "Any young man that can conduct a Side-Along-Apparition nearly 500 miles from Allhallows-on-Sea to Hogsmeade would have no trouble Apparating solo anywhere in the British Isles or even to the Continent."

"500 miles?" Harry choked out in a raspy whisper.

"Indeed, Harry," smiled the portrait gently. "I was of no help whatsoever on that trip. It was all your doing, and I never thanked you for your assistance that night. You have my deepest gratitude."

"Can we deal with 'that night' another time, please?" Harry asked shakily. "I'd like to deal with tonight first."

"Yes, of course. Minerva and I have everything ready," commented Professor Flitwick, who had been avidly listening to the conversation. "Mr. Potter here needs to begin the first step," the small wizard said, waving for Harry to follow him as he turned to the table, walking around to the long end. "Shall I begin the explanations, Albus, or would you prefer to handle that?" At Dumbledore's expansive gesture to proceed, he did.

On the table were several items: a large sheet of an unusual looking, multi-hued parchment, a large flagon containing an iridescent potion, and a shallow copper tray that looked about the same size as the parchment. "We have here a sheet of dragon's-wing parchment, made from the membrane that connects the wing bones. This one, I'm told, is from a young adult male Hungarian Horntail who was killed during a challenge for the position of Dragon-Prime. It has received the usual 77 day magical treatment for Class Three Rituals, which makes it entirely appropriate for the Heritage Ritual we will perform tonight. Horace Slughorn finished the Ascertanius Potion about an hour ago. The first step, Mr. Potter, is for you to mark the parchment with five drops of your blood. Now where ... ah, here is a blood-drawing needle. There should be little, if any pain, and no scarring. Just stick your thumb and it will draw out a small amount of blood. Tap the end of the needle on a surface, and it will leave a precise drop."

Harry glanced at the others with some trepidation, but the encouraging glances and nods from McGonagall, Lupin, and Dumbledore bolstered him enough that his hand didn't tremble as he reached for the needle that Flitwick held out to him. Bracing himself, he carefully poked the needle into his left thumb. He could see a very narrow stream of blood being drawn into what was more or less a pointed hollow cylinder. When the cylinder seemed full, he removed the needle, and the small cut healed in a few seconds. He released his breath and asked, "Where do I mark the parchment?"

"Do you see pinpricks at the corners and at the center? Yes, there. Touch the needle in each spot, left to right, top to bottom, then center, saying your name slowly, one syllable per spot: Har-ry James Pot-ter," instructed Flitwick. "This ritual is a ritual-of-five, meaning that 'five' is a key element in the ritual components. It is the most potent when some form of your name can be used for the five syllables." Harry went through the steps as instructed, while Flitwick continued with commentary. "You are the primary, Minerva and I are the secondaries, and Remus and Albus are the witnesses ... five again. If Albus had not been present, we would have had to ask Horace to remain. And yes, a fully-animated wizarding portrait has sufficient sentience to act as a ritual witness, though not in other capacities." Gesturing to a small copper plate, Flitwick said, "Place the needle there for now. You will need it again shortly."

The five drops of blood were glowing on the dragon's-wing parchment, glowing bright red. Flitwick then took out his wand. He conjured a stool and stepped up so he was looking down at the parchment on the table. For almost a minute, his wand moved in intricate patterns, and his lips moved soundlessly, incanting a complicated charm. Threads of red light now connected the five glowing drops of blood. When finished, the little Charms Professor was covered in a fine sweat, his breathing shallow for another minute or so. "There," he said quietly. "That defines the purpose of the ritual, and the color coding that will be used. As your family tree emerges, wizards will be identified by blue marks, Squibs by green, and Muggles by yellow. Males will be stars and females will be circles. If any type of legacy was active in some ancestor, there will be a glowing white halo around the marking; the larger the halo, the stronger and/or more numerous the legacy gifts." Flitwick then plopped down to sit on the stool and rest.

Dumbledore took over the instructions from his position on the easel at the end of the table. "Now Harry, you need to place the parchment in that tray. Carry it gently by the edges and lay it flat. Good. Next you will slowly pour the potion into the tray, completely covering the parchment. While pouring, say slowly and clearly, 'By blood I seek to know my blood.' Keep the stream of potion slow and steady, and say the phrase five times. It is not required that both words and actions finish precisely together, but the closer together, the better. The potion will then become quite active and colorful as it interacts with the parchment. It should be precisely five minutes and five seconds from the end of the incantation until the potion becomes absolutely calm and clear."

Harry mentally repeated the phrase a few times, to get a pace and cadence, then picked up the flagon, swirling the potion slightly to gauge its consistency and amount. As he poured carefully and spoke smoothly, he watched the remainder in the flagon. On the fifth incantation, he had only to slightly speed up the phrase to have the last word coincide with the last drop of potion. As he capped the empty flagon, the potion began to bubble and sparkle and glow. With a grin, he looked at the others, hoping that was the expected reaction. Wide smiles assured him he had done well. "Excellent timing, Harry. This should be quite the potent ritual," congratulated Dumbledore.

"While the parchment is being prepared," McGonagall said, taking over the instructions, "we will go over the transfiguration portion of the process. You will invoke the drying charm, Aridio, on the tray with a simple pointing gesture. This will cause the remaining potion to evaporate, and will dry the parchment. Next, you need the charm Affixio and, using your wand to guide the movement, you will levitate the parchment out of the tray and attach it to the wall in a landscape orientation. At this point, the parchment will actually have the texture of thin, soft leather. It will be my task to transfigure the parchment, transforming it to the texture of fine silken cloth, and increasing the dimensions, five times the current length and width. It will then be ready for you to activate. Remus will instruct you in that step when the transfiguration is complete."

While waiting for the potion to do its work, Harry stepped over to Flitwick to ask how he was recovering. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. I'll be fine in a few more minutes. The active participants become quite drained, you see. It's not likely that a single person could perform the entire ritual alone. The final activation will be the part that affects you. Don't be alarmed to experience extreme fatigue and some dizziness. It is not painful, but it can be exhausting. The activation will draw on your magic through your blood. The stronger the wizard, the farther back the ancestry can be documented, and the fabric will grow to accommodate it."

Lupin joined in with, "The finished canvas will seem extremely cluttered, but one has only to touch a wand to the symbol representing an ancestor, and the image of a scroll will appear, containing at least the person's name, magical status (wizard, Squib, or Muggle) and legacy powers, if any. For a powerful subject, and you will probably qualify as such, the ancestor data recorded can include additional information: dates of birth and death, the names of adjacent relatives, magical gifts besides legacies (like your father's animagus form), or curses (my scroll-image might show I am a werewolf). You will be represented in the center, your father's ancestry to the left, and Lily's to the right. Since with each generation, the number of marks will double, each generation will begin curving to allow for the crowding. The minimum number of generations is 15; it's not too unusual to reach 25. I believe the farthest recorded Heritage Canvas went back 45 generations, about a thousand years, but that was several centuries ago. The Hogwarts library has a log of many past Heritage Rituals. There is a spell that can merge information from there into your canvas wherever there is an overlap."

McGonagall interrupted with, "The potion has done its work, gentlemen. Shall we proceed, Harry? First, Aridio, then Affixio ... I am ready when you are."

Harry performed the two minor spells without a hitch. As McGonagall began her transfiguration work, Lupin waved Harry back to the table. "This part will take a few minutes. It's delicate work since the material is so magically charged. The final step will be your activation of the entire spell construct. You will empty the remaining blood from the needle into your right palm, then place your palm on the canvas in the center, over the original drop of blood. You will incant once the same phrase as before: 'By blood I seek to know my blood.' Then all hell will break loose," Lupin said with a grin. At Harry's scowl, he continued. "Oh, be that way. The visible effects vary, but you will experience a strong drawing on your magic. Your hand will not come loose from the canvas until the spell has run its course, which should be only a few minutes. The documented effects include some kind of glow or cold fire surrounding the subject and the canvas."

A few minutes later, it was the moment of truth. Harry wasn't exactly sure anymore he wanted to know, but then chided himself, You're always complaining that people keep too many secrets from you. Now you're being a cowardly prat, trying to hide from secrets that could help you understand your magic. Are you a Gryffindor or not? he asked himself, then realized that shortly he would discover if he were a Gryffindor by blood as well as by House. Glancing at the others in turn, collecting all the reassuring looks he could, he finally nodded, went to pick up the blood-drawing needle, then stepped up to the beautiful length of silken fabric on the wall. It was a rich creamy color, with opalescent highlights from certain angles. It shimmered with magic, waiting for him to give it final direction.

Taking the needle in his left hand, he carefully touched the tip to his right palm and held it there, releasing the drops of blood remaining, five of them. He realized that Lupin was standing beside him with the small copper plate to take the needle away. Nodding his thanks, he waited for his werewolf friend to move away, then quickly raised his hand to slap the bloody palm over the small red spot in the center, saying 'By blood I seek to know my blood'. Lupin wasn't kidding, he thought to himself as all hell did break loose.

Across the room, the current and former professors were stunned at the effects of the activation. Golden light surrounded Harry and the canvas, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. With each pulse, the golden aura doubled in size, then receded. The edges of the aura sizzled with small arcs of energy, like miniature lightning. Above Harry's hand, a bright blue star shone, marking his place as a wizard. Surrounding that symbol, a white aura pulsed, shifting in size, as though uncertain about the legacies to be found in him, perhaps because they were still mostly dormant.

Several things about the canvas surprised them ... there were several shades of blue, that seemed to represent whether the parents were both magical, half-and-half, or both Muggle ... a detail not normally represented. The generations were developing rapidly, and halos of legacy power showed repeatedly, some symbols blinking and linked by threads of silver light. The most stunning details appeared on the right ... on Lily's side of the canvas. Instead of a sea of yellow symbols, as they had expected for a Muggleborn witch, they saw that her father and paternal grandfather had both been Squibs ... and one more generation back was what appeared to be a pureblood wizard. Back along that line began to appear symbols with legacies, some minor, some major. And scattered around other supposedly Muggle areas of her ancestry were other green symbols for Squibs, reaching back to blue symbols for magical parentage, some of which also bore the white aura of legacies, some linked by silver threads to other symbols.

After about two minutes, they saw flickers of scroll images appearing ... it seemed that wherever Harry focused his attention, that ancestor's information was being displayed. First, they appeared on the Potter side, then Harry seemed to notice the green and blue symbols on the Evans side. When a scroll appeared for Lily's wizard great-grandfather, Harry began to laugh, not in amusement, but a tortured, hysterical laugh. It was the laugh that Lupin imagined Sirius had laughed when Peter Pettigrew had eluded him that Halloween night in '81.

"I can't read it from here," whispered McGonagall. "Lupin ... you're eyesight is far better than normal. Can you tell who that wizard is?"

In a choked voice, Lupin reported, "His name is Morfin Gaunt."

"Sweet Merlin! Albus, isn't that ..." McGonagall's voice trailed off.

"Tom Riddle's uncle. It appears I was gravely mistaken ... Voldemort is not the only living descendent of Slytherin." Dumbledore was in shock, at least as shocked as a sentient portrait can be. "When I examined Morfin's memories, I specifically searched for any knowledge of children. Apparently, even he did not know of his son's existence."

Lupin was less interested in Harry's ancestry at the moment, and more concerned about Harry's state of mind. Harry was alternating between hysterical laughter and a tortured sobbing, but the ritual had yet to run its course. He seemed to almost be hanging from the spot where his hand was touching the fabric. Lupin considered approaching Harry in spite of everything, but the pulsing aura was just too powerful, too dangerous. Lupin wasn't that concerned about himself, but feared what would happen to Harry if the ritual was disrupted.

The activation phase, which normally took five minutes or less, lasted for over 15 minutes. Harry finally sagged to his knees, the glow reduced, but still weakly pulsing around him, his ragged voice still alternating between laughter and sobs, sometimes gasping for breath. So focused had they all been on the revelations in Lily's ancestry, they had forgotten about James' side. Proudly displayed were quite a few legacy symbols, several of them blinking and linked by silver threads. The completed canvas extended an unprecedented 60 generations, not only filling the wall, but causing the Room of Requirement to increase the size of the wall to accommodate the huge display.

Lupin hurried to Harry's side, trying to comfort the distraught young man, but Harry pushed him away with surprising strength. "Slytherin ... I'm a bloody Slytherin. No wonder the Hat couldn't decide ... no wonder I'm a Parselmouth ... they were right about me in second year after all ... only an Heir of Slytherin could open the Chamber of Secrets ... in the Chamber, with Tom Riddle ... I wondered about how similar we were ... we're related ... I have a madman's blood in my veins ... I'm no better than that ruddy dark bastard ... the Dursleys were right ... I'm a freak ... I'm evil ..."

"Stop that right now! You're wrong!" cried Lupin, tears running down his own face, forcing Harry to accept his embrace. "You are nothing like Voldemort. Lily was nothing like Voldemort ... she had the most loving heart I've ever known ... until I knew you. Remember what Dumbledore says so often ... it's not what we are, but the choices we make that truly matter. So, fine. You may have Slytherin blood, maybe even a Slytherin legacy, but it's how you choose to use that power that matters. YOU ARE NOT LIKE VOLDEMORT and never will be!"

"Minerva, Filius, we need calming potions," ordered Dumbledore. "This Room can produce potions temporarily, but their effects will be nullified once Harry passes through that door. Filius, you need to focus on the need for a calming potion, and it will appear. We can start Harry on a dose of that for now. Minerva, please get some of the real thing so the effects will remain. After that power surge we witnessed, we shouldn't do more without Poppy's presence."

"I'll floo-call Poppy when I get the Calming Draught. Shall we take Harry to the hospital wing, or to the guest quarters with Remus?" asked McGonagall, deeply concerned for her Gryffindor student.

"Definitely with Remus," Dumbledore answered, glancing over to where Flitwick was handing Lupin a dose of the Required Calming Draught for Harry. Flitwick was also awkwardly offering comfort and reassurance to Harry, going so far as to address him gently by first name, which the professor normally didn't do. The golden pulses had finally faded from around the young wizard's body, and exhaustion was beginning to take over. Lupin and Flitwick were leading Harry over to a newly Required couch, murmuring kind nothings to reinforce the potion that was finally taking hold.

"We're going to need reinforcements for him, I think, Albus," remarked McGonagall, "but I'm not sure who. His friends? I'm not certain how Miss Granger or Mr. Weasley will take this news. Their reactions could make matters worse. Arthur might understand, but Molly will, at first, react badly."

"There is someone, Minerva. Once Harry has been settled with Remus, and Poppy has had her way with him, so to speak, bring Ginny Weasley," decided Dumbledore. "If anyone can understand even remotely what it is to be overshadowed by Voldemort and judged for it, it is she. If any of his peers can accept Harry for who he is and not what he is, it is she. Tell Molly as little as you can of the details, only that Harry needs Ginny, for nothing has ever been more true than that."

to be continued