Harry took his time as he wandered back to the house. He thought about the day’s conversations and how they had gone. All in all, he thought they had gone well. To his relief, no one had laughed at him, or belittled him. He got the sense they knew he was building to something, and were letting him take his own route there. Hermione had confronted him, but that was to be expected. She always wanted the answers. She wouldn’t be herself if she wasn’t trying to get information.
For the most part, he felt good about having told everyone how he felt. He knew full well that what he was going to tell them tonight might cause them to pull away from him a little, and if the truth be told, he almost hoped for it. Anything that could keep them safer was worth it. He knew that being close to him made them more of a target. He also knew them well enough to know that it would take a lot for them to back away from someone because of Voldemort. He could not help hoping that they would try to be safer, though.
He was starting to get a little anxious for the dinner tonight. He took his time as he walked back and tried to focus his thoughts. He would wait until everyone was almost done eating. That way, he wouldn’t be interrupted, and everyone could still enjoy their dinner.
As he approached the house, he started to get a little more nervous. It was almost time to eat, and everyone would be there by now. He hoped they would let him until he chose to start talking about it. As he reached the pond, a familiar figure appeared before him. The sandy hair, patched robes, and gentle look could only be one person.
“Professor Lupin! It’s good to see you.” Harry ran the last few feet, and warmly shook the werewolf’s hand.
“Hi, Harry. It’s been too long. How are you holding up?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose.” There was a touch of sadness in Remus’s eyes.
“Professor? How are you handling everything with Sirius being…gone?”
A dry chuckle met Harry’s words. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? I mean, I am the adult, I should be checking on you.”
“He may have been my Godfather, but he was like a brother to you. You had known him for years.”
“It was hard at first, but I realized that I was given something with him that can never be taken away. I was given a second chance to know him. I never thought I would have that again when he went to Azkaban. I thought I had lost him forever. We were able to have a couple of more years together, I am grateful for that. I also know that he died doing something he believed in. It still hurts, but it gets easier all the time.
“How are you holding up, Harry?” There was more than a touch of concern in his eyes.
“I am better now than I was at the beginning of the summer. Some talks with my aunt, and a couple of near howlers from friends got me thinking in the right direction again. I was almost ready to give up at the start, though.”
Remus looked a little stunned. “Your aunt? Is this the same aunt that treated you miserably your whole life? They same one that made you wear your cousin’s old worn out clothing?”
Harry chuckled. “Yes, she was actually very kind this year. We patched a lot of bridges, and became closer. She even bought me these clothes. She also told me the reason she did what she did was that she blamed me for my mother’s death.” The last part was said quietly while he looked at his shoes.
“Harry? Look at me. You are not to blame for any of this. Your mother and father both died because they wanted to protect you, and so did Sirius. That does not mean it is your fault. They loved you enough to put you before themselves. That’s what happens when you love.”
For all of his improvement the past couple of weeks, Harry realized in that moment that he was still not done grieving. Tears came to his eyes as he started to sob. He felt Remus pull him into a hug, and Harry broke down at last and let the emotion overtake him. The pain that he had bottled up flowed out of him through his tears, and he clutched the man who was his parent’s friend to him as he wept.
After a few minutes, he was able to pull himself together. He straightened up and wiped his eyes, and saw that Remus had been crying as well. It was what they had both needed, to share the pain of loss with some who might understand. It made Harry realize that what he was going to say next was absolutely the right thing to do.
“R-Remus?” The older man smiled warmly at him. “With Sirius being gone, I had something I wanted to ask you.”
“Anything, Harry.”
“Well, Sirius was my godfather, and with him gone, I was wondering if you…If you would take over…I mean if you want to…if you would let me think the same way of you?”
Remus got misty-eyed once more. “Do you know how close it came to being me that was your official godfather? No? Lily and James couldn’t decide who to pick, so they left it up to us. We argued for a week about it and then we decide to settle it the Marauder way.”
“And what, pray tell, is the Marauder way?”
“A one week prank war. I was leading after four days, having Sirius go bald just before a date, but I forgot the full moon was that week. When I woke up the last morning, which was the last day of the prank war, he had slipped Polyjuice to me just before I woke up. When I looked in the mirror, I saw Snape looking back at me. He never would tell me how he got some hair from that git. He only said that some grease-proof tongs and rubber gloves were involved.” Harry was laughing by this time. That sounded like something Sirius would do.
“After that, I had to concede. He became your godfather with the understanding I would take over if he could no longer fulfill his duties. So, to answer your question, I have always thought of you like a godson, even if it wasn’t official. I would be honored if you thought the same of me.”
“Thank you, Remus. Does this mean I can call you ‘Uncle Moony’?”
“Only if you don’t want me to answer.” They both laughed.
“Harry, there is one other thing I need to discuss with you. Next Monday is going to be the reading of Sirius’s will. I am the Executor of the will, so I know that other than some specific things he left for people in The Order, he left everything but a few thousand galleons, which he left to me, to you. You will need to be present at the reading for it to take effect.”
Harry looked at him sadly. “I’ll be there, just tell me when and where.”
“I will.”
They both looked out across the pond without talking for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. The sun was getting low in the sky, and the reflection off the pond was like a mirror. The serenity of the moment was disturbed by Molly calling them to dinner. They both stood and headed toward the lopsided house.
Remus stopped Harry after a few steps. “Do you know why Ginny came into the house, grabbed Hermione, drug her up to her room, all without saying anything to anyone else?”
“N-no, not really.” Once again, he was blushing scarlet.
* * *
The aromas that were coming from the kitchen were enough to make one’s mouth water. Harry could not think of a time when he had smelt anything so wonderful. As they walked in the house, he could tell he was not the only one affected by the smell. Ron’s eyes kept shifting to the table, and even the twins seemed to be anxious to move that direction.
Everyone was there, including Professor Dumbledore, and Molly told all of them to get cleaned up for dinner. Everyone bolted to wash up, with Ron grumbling that it was “…about time they came in…” and “…dying of starvation…” Hermione smacked him in the back of the head as she smiled warmly at him. Harry could tell she was not upset with Ron. He did notice a twinkle in her eye that he did not recognize when she looked back at him as they went upstairs.
Professor Dumbledore walked over to Harry and reached out to shake his hand. Harry took it and shook it warmly.
“Thank you for coming, Sir.”
“I would never miss a chance to sample some of Molly’s wonderful cooking. Although, I think she may have outdone herself tonight, judging by the wonderful aroma.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Harry? Are you sure you want to tell everyone tonight?” the wizened Professor asked quietly.
Harry nodded and said quietly, “They are the closest thing to family I have, Sir. They have a right to know what I am up against so they can protect themselves. Being close to me makes them bigger targets.”
“I understand. I may not agree whole-heartedly, but it is your decision. I know you can trust everyone here, and I will stand by you no matter what.”
“Thank you for understanding, Professor.”
“Harry, while we are not at school I would be pleased if you would call me Albus. We are past the point in our relationship for the other formalities.”
“I’ll try, Sir.”
“Now, I believe Ronald has been kept drooling for far too long. Shall we?” Dumbledore said, motioning to the table.
Everyone was just sitting down as the two entered they kitchen. Harry let the Professor take the seat at the end of the table and he took the only other empty seat. It wasn’t until he sat down that he realized he was seated next to Ginny. He glanced at her, and she smiled back at him.
On his other side was Remus. Across from him and Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting next to each other. On Ron’s other side were the twins. Arthur was at the other end of the table, and Molly was next to him, and beside Remus. Harry wondered if this arrangement was by chance, or by design.
The food tasted better than it smelled, and everyone ate with gusto. Conversation flowed up and down the table. The twins were having Remus tell them of stories from his Hogwarts days. Harry listened to every word as all the stories included his father and sometimes his mother.
Hermione had tried to draw Dumbledore into a conversation about house elf rights, but the Professor artfully dodged the topic. Soon he added some stories of his own about when the Marauders were in school. Harry kept noticing Hermione glancing between himself and Ginny, smirking whenever she did.
All too soon, everyone was full and Molly was dishing up treacle tart for all to enjoy. Harry knew the time had come for him to say what he needed to say. He looked at his dessert for a few minutes while trying to collect his thoughts. He then noticed that the table had gone quiet, and when he looked up, he saw that everyone was waiting for him to start talking. He felt Ginny’s hand slip into his and felt her give it a reassuring squeeze.
“I guess you are all wondering why I wanted to talk to everyone tonight.” As he spoke, he looked around the room at everyone there. He saw looks of concern mixed with affection in all of their eyes.
“What I have to say tonight is not easy for me, but I feel you have the right to know. I have tried to tell you all how much you mean to me these past couple of days. The people that are here at this table I feel are family to me, but there are some things you need to know so you can decide how close you want to be with me.”
At this, Molly raised her voice from down the table. “Harry James Potter! There is nothing you can tell us that would make us not want to as close to you as we already are!”
“Molly, calm down, let’s let him speak.” Arthur once again tried to calm her down. Harry guessed he had had a lot practice over years at this.
Harry looked down for a second before continuing. “Have any of you every wondered why Voldemort…” there were several gasps around the table, “…seems to always try to come after me?” There were some nods around the table.
“There is more to it than just me surviving his curse when I was a baby. You see…He went there that night…to…to…kill me. I know everyone thinks he went there to kill my parents, but the truth is, they just got in the way. I was his target that night.” Harry was looking at his plate at this point, but heard several gasps of surprise.
“There is a reason he wanted to kill me.” Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself to say the next part. “Sometime just before I was born a prophesy was made that connected him and me. That is what he was trying to get that night at the Ministry.”
“I will not give you the exact words of it, but it stated that a child would be born at the end of July with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. It said that he would be born to parent who had defied Voldemort three times. It also said that Voldemort would mark the child but that the child would have ‘a power the Dark Lord knows not’. It went on to say that either of them must kill the other and that neither could live until they did.”
Harry looked up at this and tried to gauge the reaction around the table. Remus looked thoughtful, Molly was sniffing back tears, Arthur looked almost mad, and the twins were looking more serious than they ever had. Ron looked like he wanted to hit something while Hermione had her mouth open in shock. As he looked at Dumbledore, he saw the professor looking older than he could remember. Lastly he looked at Ginny. Her eyes were closed tightly like she was trying to keep tears from forming. It was then that he noticed she had not let go of his had.
A voice at the other end of the table brought Harry’s attention back to that end. Arthur spoke quietly, but in the silence of the room it still sounded loud. “Harry, why does this have any bearing on how close to you we should be?”
He thought for a moment, then said, “Look at the Weasley family clock. Right now all hands are pointing to ‘Mortal Peril’. It there was something worse than that, being close to me would make the hands point there. It could even be that being close to me is what is causing the hands to point there now.”
Harry heard a sound like a cat hissing come from across the table. “Is THAT why you told us all how you feel? Were you trying to tell us goodbye?” He looked up to see a furious Hermione glaring at him.
Taken aback, he held his hands up in front of him. He spoke softly, “No, it’s not. I wanted everyone to know how I felt in case that is what happens.” She glared even harder at him, this time joined by Ron. “Look, I see this ending one of three ways: I kill him, he kills me, or we kill each other.” His temper was rising a little now. “If you look at it that way, the odds are not in my favor. Sixty seven percent chance I don’t make it. The good news is, looking at it that way, there is a sixty seven percent chance he won’t be around either. I have come to terms with the fact I may die, but want the people I love to be safe. That means the people at this table. If putting distance between us makes you all safer, then I am all for it.”
At this, Harry stood up. His temper dissipating, he spoke softly, “I want you all to think about it. I love you all, but I want you safe. I will love you no matter what you decide.”
With that, he turned and walked outside. They needed time to think and talk, and he needed some air. As he walked out the door, he could hear Molly crying, and others sniffing. He did not hear a chair scrape the floor as it was pushed back. He walked down to the pond, sat down on the bench, and buried his head in his hands. He hoped they chose well.
His Greatest Power by deej
Chapter Notes: Harry finds out some things about his history and tells his “family” about the prophesy.
Once again, Mrs. Rowling owns it all; I am just playing in her back yard.