DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does, and she has every right to do whatever she thinks is best for Harry Potter. I just love writing. So sue me. Wait, seriously… don't.
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A/N:
Hey, I'm back. Sorry it took so long…a month, to be exact. I'm really busy with schoolwork. And I don't say this just to have an excuse, coz I reallydo have a hectic schedule. So, I apologize for the delay and I hope the chapter would be worth the wait. Some of you may be confused about who Aiden is, so maybe this one will give you a clue. Enjoy!
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"My lord?"
Standing behind the window-paned glass overlooking the front lawn of Montmayne, Sirius met his butler's gaze through his reflection, noting his presence, but not quite seeing him.
Even though Sirius still looked every bit as powerful as he usually did, his thoughts and feelings were in complete turmoil.
In spite of his deep resolve, he was still not certain of the reason behind his sudden urge to reveal everything he knew about Harry. But as impulsive as it was, he knew his choice had been the right one.
When he found the boy 5 years ago, wandering around Hogsmeade, Sirius instantly recognized him despite Harry's long absence from their estate. But behind his elation over finally coming across his godson, there still lurked fear within his thoughts that made Sirius keep some information about Harry's true identity.
Ever since that moment, he hadn't stopped feeling guilty as though he had betrayed his very own son.
He tried to make amends for his deception, but Sirius couldn't do it directly, and so, during the years that he had been teaching Harry how to handle the estate, he had also tried countless of times to instill in the boy his duties as the last living duke of Godric's Hollow.
But because of Harry's adamancy to never marry, they never reached that point and all that prevailed between them
was formality.
Sirius had already given himself a dozen sermons for not telling Harry the rest of his story. He was used his own reprimands and the one that he was sure to receive from Harry a little later would mean no different from him.
Mayhap it would even lighten the burden in his heart.
It didn't matter whether Harry would be mad. As long as Sirius knew that what would do was right, he was not bothered by what Harry would think. Because of the news that he received earlier, all doubts about the impending conversation had been erased from his mind.
The time has finally come.
As he had hoped it never would…
And as he had always feared it would…
"Bastard." He cursed, remembering the person who caused all this.
"I beg your pardon, m'lord?"
Sirius looked up, surprised. He had forgotten his butler was still in the room.
Clearing his throat, he turned around. "Nothing." He shook his head and sat down. "Kindly show Harry Potter to my study. I will be waiting for him there."
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Barely two minutes had passed since Sirius arrived in his study when Harry came striding in behind him, his face pale and eyes bloodshot. From what Sirius could see, it looked like Harry had been…crying.
"What's all this about, Sirius?" His godson asked the moment he reached the opposite end of the table where Sirius had taken a seat.
"I told you I have some things to tell you." Sirius replied.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I'm talking about that hour I spend in my chambers thinking things over."
"Oh, that." He nodded solemnly. "You seemed a bit bothered awhile ago about what I said. I figured you'd want to calm down before this."
"Well, I did exactly the opposite." Harry muttered, sitting down in helpless defeat.
"Do I need to send someone to wipe your tears off the floor?" Sirius asked lightheartedly.
"Dammit, Sirius!" Harry cried out.
More sympathetic this time, Sirius leaned forward and linked his hands together. "She came back, didn't she?"
Harry looked at him for the longest of time before giving up the internal battle he was having. He didn't want to show Sirius his weakness, but his godfather had always known he had a soft spot when it came to his foster mother, so he saw no need to hide anything from him now. "Yeah, she did."
"I thought that nightmare was over."
"It can never be over." Harry shook his head fervently, hanging his head in frustration. When he spoke again, his voice was low. Sirius thought it might be from trying hard not to cry, or maybe it was just plain bitterness. "But it has certainly been a long time since she suddenly popped in my head. I don't understand how I haven't thought about her for months."
"Maybe you've been learning to forgive yourself." Sirius suggested.
Harry scoffed with bitter clarity. "I have a long list of errors where she was concerned. It would take about a lifetime before I can be forgiven."
"Look, Harry." Sirius regarded him with sympathy. "Polly would never blame you for what happened. She wanted to protect you."
"I've relived the memory once tonight, Sirius. I don't need to remember it again." Harry held up his hand. Then muttering inaudibly, he sank onto the chair and massaged his temples. "Not that I won't later this evening, but it would help if we don't talk about it now."
"I'm afraid, Harry, that what I am about to say to you, has something to do with her." Sirius warned him.
Seeing the look of gravity in his godfather's face, Harry didn't bother to protest despite his urge. Instead, he simply stared at the floor and waited.
Satisfied with the intent silent of Harry, if not his gaze, Sirius began. "I'll start by asking you a question."
If Harry was surprised that Sirius chose to start their "talk" that way, he didn't bother showing it, which worked well for both their parts. "Go ahead."
"Do you remember what I told you when you asked me where your parents were?"
"You told me they were on their way to a ball when their coachman took a wrong turn and their carriage fell over a cliff." He recalled with disdain, his annoyance over that pathetic story rekindling.
You might be wondering why he was pissed off by an accident, which was certainly not his parents' fault. But you see, Harry had always wanted to believe that his early loss had been due to heroic reasons, and not just some foolish mishap that could have been prevented had they been smarter to get a competent coachman.
Selfish, yes, but he didn't grow up fitting in.
What was he supposed to harbor inside?
Sympathy?
Not bloody likely.
"Don't you wonder why after all his years of service, their coachman suddenly becomes reckless?" Sirius asked him.
"No." Harry replied smugly. "I was too busy wondering what crossed their mind to go out in the first place. It had been a stormy night, as you told me."
"Don't be critical, Harry. Remember, you went to the Weasleys' Masquerade Ball three months ago despite
your reluctance. You were honoring a long-time camaraderie." Sirius pointed out with a great deal of patience born
from five years of dealing with the same profound scorn. "Your parents had only wanted to do the
same."
"It wasn't raining when I attended the Masquerade." Harry said, unrelenting. His excuse had been pathetic, that was a given, but he didn't care. "And I had a trustworthy coachman."
"Ah, so you do get my point." Sirius smiled a little. "Your parents had put their trust in the wrong person."
"I agree." Harry nodded emphatically. "When it comes to trust issues, my parents weren't really particular."
"If you're talking about your aunt and uncle, then I would not disagree with you." Sirius said, standing up. Rounding on him, Sirius said. "But tell me, Harry, if you had a brother, wouldn't you trust him with everything you have, including your own child?"
"This is a hypothetical question, right?" Harry asked.
"I do believe I used the word if…"
"All right." Harry threw Sirius an irritated look. "If I had a brother and a child, I'd be out there with my own family, not be here. None of this would have happened with my parents having survived to bear another child."
"I thought I told you that I mean this conversation to be a serious one."
"Sorry." Harry muttered sincerely, surprising Sirius. He idly tapped the booted foot he had crossed over his knee. "But still, I can not understand how my aunt and uncle had gotten away with what they did to me. You could have taken me since you are my godfather."
"How many times would I have to explain to you, dear boy, that I would have done so, had you been there to claim. By the time I came to take you from your aunt, you were already gone."
"And instead of being taken into prison, they were given Gryffindor." Harry shook his head, incredulous.
"The English do have strange laws, don't they?" Sirius mused. "But there was really nothing we could do. I was your godfather, but your Aunt Petunia was the next living relative of your mother. When you vanished, the estate and all the land that come with it were given to them. But it was fortunate that it was only under an entailment. If it weren't, only God knows what they could have done with the estate."
"Just because they were relative, they got away with disposing me?" Harry asked.
"They didn't kill you. No one could prove it anyway. And they had made up a story of not having anything to do with your disappearance."
"But you knew they had."
"Remus and I managed to retrieve information that you were left on the doorstep of a nearby inn." Sirius paused for a moment. "Leaky Cauldron, if I remember correctly. And…"
"Let me guess," Harry interrupted with a bored drawl. "You went to the Leaky Cauldron, but I was no longer there."
"We asked Tom, the innkeeper, whether he had seen anybody with a baby, but he was certain there wasn't because he'd been watching people go in and out of his bar ever since news came that James and Lily were dead."
"But still, whoever could have gotten me must have heard that the heir of Gryffindor estates, who was only a baby, was missing."
"They might have." Sirius considered, but also gave a ready answer. He had thought of that long before and had come up with different answers, each one as possible and strange as the next. "Perhaps they knew you were in danger and didn't want to risk your life by returning you. Or they were planning to hold you for ransom. Or perhaps they believed you were just another baby."
"I think there are a lot more possible causes than that, Sirius." Harry said.
"There are. But I doubt you'd believe every single one of them. The truth is, Harry, no one knows for sure how you ended up with Polly Smith. Though it is certainly easy to say that the reason she didn't return you is because she didn't know who you were. Averhille is a very small village. More than a thousand miles away from Gryffindor Estates. No news would have reached that place."
"But the people who came that night knew who I was." Harry pointed out. "How would you explain that?"
"That's what I've been trying to do, Harry. You keep interrupting me with your negativity."
"I keep interrupting because you say too much, Sirius. Go straight to the point." Harry said.
"All right." Sirius nodded.
"Go on."
Sirius looked uncomfortable as he shifted restlessly in his seat. Harry didn't mean to sound so eager, but the truth was, he was as restless as his godfather. They've never had this conversation before, and tonight was the first for Sirius' revelations.
"I know I told you your parents died in an accident. But the truth is, your parents' death was no accident, no more than Polly's."
Harry looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?"
"They didn't meet an accident, per se, although the carriage had been made to look as if they had."
"Sirius…"
"Your parents were murdered."
"What?" Harry paled. For the first time in five years, his animosity towards his parents was overshadowed by a sudden need in his gut to protect. "Why? How? I mean, who?"
"Maybe I should start from the very beginning."
"I need to know what you mean by murdered, Sirius, not another story."
"Yes, I know. But you would not understand unless I tell you this."
Harry sighed. Waving him off, he said. "Make it brief."
Lifting his brow towards Harry's level of disrespect, Sirius took a deep breath, hoping that what he would say would somehow return the lad's spark. ""Pay attention, Harry, because this has something to do with everything that I've been trying to make you see for the past 5 years."
"I'm listening."
Sirius looked at his godson, trying to find a trace of sarcasm in his face or his tone, but there was none that he could find.
Satisfied, he began.
"As you know, Gryffindor is only one of the four estates that make up Hogwarts. The three others are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each estate is as vast as the next, and so they needed to be governed by 4 leaders…"
"I never knew that."
"That's why I'm telling you now." Sirius bit impatiently. "We call them, Keepers of Estate."
"Fancy."
"Quite. Now be quiet." Sirius reprimanded, and then spoke again in a mysterious voice. "Now, even though Hogwarts is divided in equal extent, the Keepers of Estate are not equal in rank…
Gryffindor has the highest ranking Keeper - the Duke. Ravenclaw has the second who is an Earl, Hufflepuff claims the third with a Count, and Slytherin ranks lowest, with a Baron.
Each estate is divided into lands and these are distributed among the Lords of the Estates."
"And you're one of them?" Harry asked.
"Yes. All the men you know who are Earls, Counts, Viscounts or Barons here in Gryffindor are Lords of the Estate. But that is only in Gryffindor. In Ravenclaw, the highest among them is the Earl; therefore, a duke would never be among them. Now then, the Lords of the Estates in Hufflepuff are only those that rank below the Count since the count is the Keeper of Estate. Do you get my point, Harry?"
"After a while, I should." Then, he looked thoughtful. "What about Slytherin?"
"What of it?"
"The Keeper of Estate is a Baron, and according to the rank, it is the lowest of all, even the Lords…so, what other titles can be found in the Slytherin Estate?"
"Esquires…I believe."
"And Draco Malfoy?"
"Well, he is from the family tree of the Baron, so he is considered a Lord."
"That makes sense."
"I hope it does, I'm quite confused myself." Sirius muttered, dumbfounded. "All right, I'll move on. Although the lords have authority over the people who live in their lands, the one who has full power over them are the Keepers of Estates.
As you might have guessed already, since your father was a duke, he had been the highest Keeper of the 4 Keepers.
Therefore, he had legal authority over Hogwarts.
All of Gryffindor's lords respected him and followed his conditions for he had been a very wise ruler and a compassionate one. Ravenclaw's Keeper and its lords had equal amount of respect for him. The Hufflepuff Keeper was in good terms with your father, but some of the Lords had developed an aversion to him over the years.
Now, the one keeper that your father couldn't get along with was that of Slytherin's. He went by the name of Lord Voldemort."
"He sounds like a snake." Harry interrupted.
"And that he is." Sirius smiled at the newly found protection Harry found over the parents that just a minute
ago, he thoroughly despised. "He secretly negotiated with the Lords of Slytherin and Hufflepuff to revolt against
James. But then, even the combined power of these lords was not enough to covet the throne from James….
"My father had been strong, then?" Harry asked.
"Of course." He agreed with pleasure. "But Count Miller, the Hufflepuff Keeper, was not. He was an acceptable Keeper, but as ambitious as he was, he had a different dream. And because he was weak, Lord Voldemort managed to convince Miller to turn over Hufflepuff into his hands."
"With 2 Estates, wouldn't he have been more powerful than Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"No, because Ravenclaw was in full support of Gryffindor and it ranks as the second highest among the estates." Sirius said.
"So what happened then?"
"We all thought that he was going to take steps to convince by words or by swords, even by pistols, the Earl of Ravenclaw. But he didn't. For some reason, Voldemort went straight for your father's estate."
"Maybe he didn't want to wait any longer."
"Maybe. But majority of us think that Lord Voldemort had supposed that if he had already gotten Gryffindor, Ravenclaw would surrender without protest."
"So, what did he do to get Gryffindor?"
"He tried to talk to your father at first. But he knew all too well that James would never agree. And so, he planned the murder. Secretly, of course."
Harry tensed. "Did that plan include me as well?"
"We don't know for sure if the crash had been meant for you as well. But Voldemort was as wise as he was greedy."
"What do you mean?"
"He knew that your parents would do something to hide you from him. And so, even before his plan to murder James and Lily, Voldemort marked you."
"Marked me? In what way?"
"Your scar."
Harry's hand automatically lifted to caress that very scar he had grown up wondering where he got it. "He marked me through this?"
"Very clever, eh?" Sirius said. "And mysterious…"
"Mysterious?"
"No one knows for certain how he had gotten to you. You were left in your chambers one night with a nursemaid to keep you company. The next morning, you were found in your bed with dried blood, blood that came from the wound on your forehead."
"Through the scar, he believed he would recognize me from anywhere?"
"Yes. And it had also served as a warning that the worst has yet to happen. And so, your parents took great measures when they had to leave you the night they died. They called for me to look after you. Although I agreed, I was miles away, and so, they temporarily left you with your aunt and uncle…
On my way to Godric's Hollow, I caught some noise near the Dellin Road. There were people gathering over the edge of the cliff. I was going to ignore them, but then I heard the name of your parents. I got down of my carriage and saw theirs on the rocks below, broken pieces of the carriage splintered everywhere. Their bodies, well…" Sirius paused, inwardly shuddering at the painful memory of seeing his beloved friends' bodies, lifeless and horrid. "Well, I don't think we need to get there."
Harry had only to look at Sirius to know it had not been a sight to describe. And strangely, he felt the mysterious pang of pain and guilt inside his heart.
Sirius was right.
He shouldn't have taken his parents' memory for granted all these years. Despite everything that happened to
him, he now knew that it had not been their fault that he had been orphaned at such a young age.
Bloody brilliant!
One more fault to add to his guilt!
"What happened to Voldemort?" Harry asked after a while. "Did they arrest him?"
"For what crime? There was no evidence that he had done the murder. The coachman, whom no one ever bothered to look at closely, had disappeared. There was no trace of him anywhere, and we figured he was paid to kill your parents and then with the money he received, he moved to another country."
"Did Voldemort stop there?"
"He must have tried to look for you, but since you were far away from Hogwarts, it took him quite some time to find you. 15 years to be exact, if the attack on the night of your 16th year celebration was the first of the attempts he has tried to get to you."
"Why didn't you tell me this before, that somebody was after me even when I was a baby?"
"I was afraid that if I said anything about the threat in your life, you would not agree to stay and become the Duke of Godric's Hollow. I also wanted you to become close to your lands, to develop fondness over them, so that if Voldemort decides to strike again, you will have enough feeling in your heart to reject any offer he will make."
"What made you decide to tell me now?"
"Originally, Harry, I was only going to tell you about your role as the highest ranking Keeper in Hogwarts. But terrible news arrived during that hour I told you to wait. And I decided this was as good as any time to tell you."
"And the news is all about what?"
"One of Ravenclaw's lands, Neseltt, was attacked."
"Attacked? How bad was it?"
"Practically the entire land is now in ruins. Women were….disgraced. Children were beaten and men were slaughtered. Only few managed to escape."
"God!" Harry exclaimed.
"My sentiments exactly." Sirius nodded.
"After all these years, he finally made a move on Ravenclaw?"
"Not so, Harry. Ravenclaw had been attacked before."
"You didn't say that a while ago."
"I'm saying it now." Dismissing Harry's reproof, he continued. "Ravenclaw Keep was left unharmed until after 17 years had passed since the death of James and Lily."
"What happened during the 17th year?"
"The Earl of Ravenclaw was kidnapped."
"Just like that? Vodlemort didn't give him a chance?"
"Oh, Voldemort did approach him in a cordial manner."
"What did he do?"
"Voldemort asked the earl for his daughter's hand in marriage." When he saw the perplexed look in Harry's face, he explained. "The daughter would inherit the land when her father dies. If Voldemort killed the earl of Ravenclaw right away, his efforts would have been for nothing because the entire land would have been given to the earl's next living relative. In his case, his daughter. So, to save himself some time, Voldemort chose to take the easier way by trying to lead things."
"Judging by the flow of your story, Sirius, I take it they didn't agree."
"That's right."
"But I've never heard of the Earl of Ravenclaw." Harry mused aloud.
"You wouldn't. He's already dead." Sirius said. "Murdered, if you want the specific."
"That was why he was kidnapped? Why not kill him directly? Why go through the trouble of taking somebody away, only to kill him later?"
"It had been a little more complicated than that."
"How so?"
"When they refused to give the daughter's hand in marriage, Voldemort took the final step into making her agree. He kidnapped the Earl of Ravenclaw and held him for ransom. That ransom would be for her to accept the arrangement."
"But she didn't."
"No, she didn't."
"Heartless wench."
"Tut tut…mind your mouth, Harry." Sirius shook his head. "She would have agreed, you know. It was her father's idea that she refuse. He didn't want her to be shackled with a man she didn't love, especially when this man cared of nothing else but to get his hands on their lands."
"And the daughter would be what age now?"
"25."
"This detailed explanation couldn't have come from hearsay, Sirius. How do you know all this?"
"I've known that girl all her life." He paused, and then gave Harry a pointed look. "I'm also her godfather."
"Really?" Harry sounded genuinely surprised. "You know her that well?"
"Yes, and so do you. You've met her quite a few times." Sirius was now smiling in a lighthearted manner.
Harry looked at him suspiciously. "She isn't one of those chits you have forced me to marry before, is she?"
"How many 25-year old ladies do you know, Harry?"
"You can't mean…" Harry began, dumbfounded.
"Hermione is the Countess of Ravenclaw. And it was her hand that had been asked for marriage by Lord Voldemort."
It took the news a long time to sink in to him. But when it did, a thought passed his mind. "I don't mean to sound rude, but it is no wonder she refused him. Voldemort must have been decomposing whilst he had asked for her hand. He had to have been more than 60 by then."
Sirius laughed. "He was, but then, he was just asking in behalf of his heir."
"Heir? He had descendants? He was married?" Harry couldn't help himself.
"No, he was not. But, he had relatives who were married, and the closest to him were the Malfoys."
"You're not talking about the Malfoy family, are you, where Draco Malfoy comes from? The one who has set his eyes upon Ginny Weasley?"
"He was considered heir for a moment, until his father, Lucius, died."
"How?" Harry asked, the name bothering him a bit, because it had also been the name of the man who killed Polly. Apparently, there were far more Lucius roaming about than he would have liked.
"Someone bested him at a duel eight years ago." Sirius explained. "Lucius Malfoy was next in line, indicating Draco as the ultimate heir. But when Lucius died, the connection with Draco was cut, and the heir became the next close relative of Voldemort. Up until now, no one has heard of who he is. But we doubt that Voldemort has retired from his greedy ways. I believe that he is planning to ask for Hermione's hand once again, using massive violent means this time."
"So Hermione's father was kidnapped, and then she refused to marry this heir, so then what did Voldemort do next?"
"He killed him."
"Just like that?" Harry splayed his hands wide. "Didn't she go to the magistrate to ask for help?"
"She did."
"They didn't help her?" He asked in disgust, knowing exactly how it felt to be shunned by the police.
"They tried."
Harry scoffed. "If they had, then the Earl of Ravenclaw wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be alone right now."
"Concerned?"
"Not bloody likely." Harry muttered, but he thought otherwise.
Sirius chuckled and then gave a Harry a mild look of sincerity. "I swear to you, the magistrate did try to help."
"How?"
"During the first try, they tried to trace the place where they thought Voldemort would be, but their attempt was made in vain because it had been under a pseudo-residence."
"And their second try?"
"They hired an assassin."
"A what?!"
"Well, not really an assassin. More of a dueler."
"Go on."
"It had been a constant talk then, about this man who had bested Lucius Malfoy before. Hearsay had said that he was extremely gifted with the pistol. Through some connections, they had approached the dueler's ally to relay their request, asking him to do the dirty job for them. They offered to pay, of course, but he refused to do it."
"Did he say why?"
"No one got to talk to the lad. It was only through a messenger that he and the magistrate had managed to communicate."
Beside him, Harry was trying hard to listen, but he just couldn't get past what he had heard…and what he was suddenly remembering.
"They came here to ask for your help…"
"Why should I help them…?"
"Because Baron Welchester's life is at stake…"
"And I care because…?"
"They need your expertise…"
"They're the best, aren't they? They don't need my help?"
"If you don't agree; they say he might die…"
"He can rot in hell…and they are welcomed to join him!"
"What did you say the earl's name was?" Harry interrupted Sirius, his entire body rigid, his heart beating fast.
"Robert Granger."
The name didn't register, and Harry slightly relaxed…
But it couldn't have been his only name…
"What other titles did he have?"
"The Earl of Ravenclaw, Baron Welchester, Count Degaron, Lord…"
"Oh God." Harry suddenly stood up. He turned around and started to pace back and forth in long purposeful strides. "Dammit! Bloody hell!"
"Harry?" Sirius called after him, taking in the sight of his godson's pallor.
Sirius grabbed Harry by the shoulder the moment he reached his sudden still form. "What's wrong?"
Harry swallowed, his vision swaying. His fists clenched at his sides.
"I was that dueler."
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A/N:
I sincerely hope I have satisfied your curiosity over what really happened to Harry in my story (I underlined it because I don't want to be sued for not following canon or something…but still, James and Lily were his parents, so I'm not breaking any rules.)
Anyway, classes are going on now and I don't really know when I will be back with another chapter. I hope you don't give up on me if I don't update for months.
I will try, though, when I don't have homeworks or quizzes or projects or duties (I'm a sophomore at UST College of Nursing, so I will be undergoing my first experience as a hospital nurse, yikes!)
Thanks for the reviews and please continue to read and review.
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