Epilogue Relative Revelations
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Harry and his four friends sat in the library before dinner, hoping to make a start on their research into the clues that Thoth had given them. They desperately wanted to make some progress for they knew that the time would soon arrive when Lord Voldemort would be at the height of his powers. But they were just too tired.
Even Hermione felt that she wouldn't be able to do justice to their search for more information. That morning, they'd all been through an accelerated learning session with Professor Denarnaud and had gone to bed straight afterwards, but first making Neville promise to wake them when he returned from afternoon classes.
"We shouldn't have asked Neville to wake us," said Ron, stifling a yawn.
Hermione nodded. "I think it was a mistake too. Come on, we're not going to get anything useful done today, let's get some more sleep."
They all got up and walked out of the library and along the corridor towards the common room.
"Oh no," said Harry, "what does he want!"
Walking towards them was Draco Malfoy, and they were all surprised to see that his two goons weren't with him. Ginny looked at him strangely, wondering why he wasn't wearing his usual sneer. He walked up and stood in front of the five friends, looking down at his feet nervously.
"What do you want Malfoy?" asked Ron, his distaste clearly showing.
"I uh… I have to speak to you," he said, still looking nervous.
"What could you possibly have to say to us?" asked Harry, his distaste showing just as much as Ron's.
"It… it's very difficult," stammered Draco. "I have to leave Hogwarts soon, and I wanted to tell you something before I go."
"Leave as in permanently?" asked Ron, his face breaking into a smile.
"Be quiet Ron," whispered Ginny. "He's obviously upset about something - let him speak."
"Thank you Ginny," said Draco, causing four pairs of eyebrows to be raised at his use of her Christian name. "Look, I'm not proud of what I've done and I'm sorry - very sorry. I … I've been spying on you since the beginning of last year."
"Why you…" Ron took a step towards Draco, his face twisted in anger and his hands balled into fists, but he was stopped by Ginny who stared at the Slytherin through narrowed eyes.
"Let him speak Ron," she said. "He's obviously got a lot more to say."
Draco smiled at Ginny. "I had an owl from my father last night - he's coming for me soon to take me to see 'You Know Who'. You see, although I continued to spy on you, I didn't report anything back to him. Ever since my father took me to see one of their raids I've known that I could never be one of them - I could never kill anybody in cold blood like that - it sickened me. One of the girls they killed looked just like you Ginny." He smiled sadly at the redheaded girl, a look of longing in his eyes.
"So if you weren't intending to report anything, why did you still spy on us?" asked Ginny quietly.
"Because … because …"
"Because what?" asked Harry, looking at Draco through narrowed eyes.
"Because I've come to realise what's been missing in my life," he continued. "Seeing the way you were together… I know I can never have friends like you - what you have and share made me realise what's important in life. Look, I'd better go now."
"Why does Voldemort want to see you?" asked Harry.
"My father said in his note that he's found out that I haven't been reporting your movements, and he's not pleased with me."
"So he'll give you a hell of a row and a few Crucios no doubt," said Ron. "What makes you think you won't be coming back to Hogwarts?"
"Because my father said that he's in a rage, and he's already told me what he'd do if I didn't do exactly what he told me to do."
Ginny gasped and put her hands over her mouth. "You've got to get away from here Draco - before your father gets here."
"Why didn't you leave when you had your father's note?" asked Hermione. "It seems to me that he gave you the chance to escape Voldemort's clutches by sending you the note in the first place."
"It's no use, Hermione. I wouldn't be able to hide from him for long - his servants are everywhere. I'd only be delaying the inevitable. I have to go now - I just wanted to say sorry."
Draco took one last look at Ginny, the longing clear to see in his expression, then turned and walked slowly back down the corridor.
"He's changed," said Margot. "He's not a bit like the boy who came onto me in the dance."
"He's changed, all right," said Harry. "And he seems sure that Voldemort's going to kill him."
"We've got to help him Harry," said Ginny anxiously. "We can't just let him go like that."
"Let's see Dumbledore," said Hermione. "Perhaps he can protect him here at Hogwarts."
The five ran along the corridor towards the headmaster's office, and saw him just about to walk down the staircase towards the Great Hall and dinner.
"Professor Dumbledore," shouted Harry.
He turned and waited for the youngsters to approach. "What is it? You look a bit anxious about something."
"It's Draco Malfoy," said Hermione. "He just spoke to us. He said his father was coming to take him to see Voldemort - and he's sure that he's going to be killed."
"He told us that he's been spying on us, but that he's changed and hasn't sent any reports to Voldemort," said Harry.
"You've got to help him Professor," said Ginny pleadingly.
Dumbledore sighed, "I hadn't realised he'd changed so much. Oh I knew he'd been spying on you - I'd suspected as much for a long time. I only found out for sure a few months ago, but I didn't want to turn him in to the ministry - I preferred to try to change him, to get him to see that the Dark Side wasn't the right way to go. Professor Snape has been working with Draco in a very subtle way, trying to improve his outlook on life and the way he views those whom he sees are less fortunate than himself. It looks like it's had the desired effect, but we'd better get to him before his father does."
Dumbledore hurried down towards the Slytherin common room with the five friends in tow. They met Snape as they walked down to the dungeons. "Severus, have you seen Draco Malfoy?" asked Dumbledore.
"No Headmaster, but Goyle just told me that he's left with his father. Something about his mother being very ill."
"Oh no," groaned Dumbledore. "Quick, we've got to catch up with them."
He hurriedly told Snape what had happened as they all rushed up to the Entrance Hall and out into the school grounds. But there was no sign of Draco and his father. They searched the grounds and Snape hurried into Hogsmeade, but there was no sign of them anywhere.
Draco had gone.
***
Remus Lupin walked down the corridor towards the hospital wing, wondering why Katie Bell wanted to see him. He'd struck up a very good rapport with her during her time at Hogwarts, but that was far from unusual; he'd got on well with most of the students he taught - apart from the Slytherins.
He opened the door to the hospital and saw Katie lying in bed with Oliver sitting next to her. He walked over and smiled. "How are you feeling Katie? We were all relieved to hear that you're out of danger."
Katie smiled nervously at Remus. "I'm feeling very tired Professor, but I should be back to normal after a few days."
"Oh, would you like me to come back later? It's important that you get some rest, especially after what you went through."
"No Professor, please stay. What I have to tell you is very important to me." She made eyes at Oliver, who excused himself, saying that he'd pop down to the kitchen to get a sandwich.
Remus sat in the chair that Oliver had vacated and smiled at Katie, a puzzled look on his face. "So, what's so important that you have to speak to me in particular?"
Katie took a deep breath. "You probably don't know this - what am I saying! You definitely don't know this, very few people do, but soon after I was born, my parents adopted me. I always wondered about my real parents, but my adoptive ones would only tell me that my mother died not long after I was born, back when 'You Know Who' first terrorised the country. But they refused to tell me about my father. All they'd tell me is that I was conceived here at the school, and my mother was taken away soon after. My mother's parents made sure that no one said anything to my father - he still doesn't know that I exist."
Katie took another deep breath. "Since I left Hogwarts, it's become more and more important to me that I find out who he is, and thanks to Professor Dumbledore and Oliver, my parents finally relented. Just before the attack at Qumran, the headmaster told me his name. That's why I need to speak to you, Professor."
"Me? I think you must be mistaken Katie. Since I was… struck down with the curse of the werewolf all those years ago I've made it a point not to form any sort of attachment with a girl - you see, any children I might have would be werewolves as well; the curse would be passed on in my genes. So I can honestly tell you that I can't be your father."
Katie looked horrified for a moment, and then gave a short laugh. "Oh no. I'm so sorry Professor; I didn't mean to give you that impression. I know that you're not my father. The reason that I want to speak to you is because I got cold feet about telling him, and I want your advice."
"Did Professor Dumbledore tell you your mother's name?"
"Yes. Janice - Janice Potter."
Remus gasped and he looked, wide-eyed, at Katie. He whispered, "My god - James' sister. Whoa. We never knew - not even James, or at least I don't think so." He looked down at the floor for a while, deep in thought. "I seem to remember that James was very upset when his sister left Hogwarts, but he'd never say why she left. He wasn't his normal self for a while after that, and to be honest, even with hindsight I don't know whether he ever found out about it…"
He suddenly looked up at Katie and whispered; "Harry's father wasn't the only one who was upset when Janice left school. So that means that your father is…"
"Yes, Professor, my father's Sirius Black."
Remus let out a long breath of air and shook his head. "He is going to be to so surprised when he hears this. He moped around the school for months after Janice left and I know he tried to find out why she left and where she went. He was always talking to James about it, but either James didn't know himself, or if he did, he certainly didn't tell Sirius. He and Janice were inseparable back then and we all thought that they'd get married after they left school. But we were all very young back then, and after we left school we all became involved in the conflict with 'You Know Who', so there wasn't any time for Sirius to find his girlfriend.
"Oh, he knew where her parents lived and he even went there, but they'd moved house. James said he'd lost touch with them, but I wonder if that was just a ploy to stop Sirius badgering him. Then James had the message that Janice had been killed in a Death Eater attack - he was devastated, and so was Sirius."
"Professor?" asked Katie. "I don't know my father at all - I saw him around the school at the end of my seventh year but I haven't even spoken to him. I don't know what to expect when I tell him he's my father. That's why I wanted to speak to you first - I know you two are very close friends. Professor Lupin, how do you think he'll react?" Katie looked nervously at Remus while she waited for him to reply.
After pondering for a few moments, Remus grinned. "First off he'll probably be shocked; then he'll be elated that he's got a daughter - especially one like you. And if I'm not mistaken he's going to feel deep regret and remorse - I know how he reacted when he wasn't there for Harry during his formative years. It wasn't his fault, of course, but that's Sirius for you."
Remus suddenly laughed and shook his head slowly. "You know what this means of course, Katie? Not only is Sirius Harry's godfather, he's his uncle as well! Or at least he would have been if he'd married Janice. And you realise, of course, that Harry's your first cousin?"
Katie stared at Remus with her mouth wide open, and gasped, "Of course! I hadn't really thought about it that way - I haven't had much time to think about it at all. Only minutes after I found out I was pitched into the battle at Qumran. What's Harry going to think about all this?"
"Believe me Katie, Harry's going to be over the moon! He's always thought that his only surviving relatives are those horrible Dursleys, and when he finds out that Sirius is his nearly-Uncle and you're his cousin, well, you can imagine how he'll react. But I wonder why Professor Dumbledore hasn't said anything about this before?"
"He was sworn to secrecy Professor," she replied. "And I suppose that secrecy applied to Harry as well."
Remus stretched out his arm and held Katie's hand gently. "Katie - do you want me to tell Sir… your father?"
Katie stared at Remus for a few moments, and then shook her head slowly. "No Professor, I still want to tell him myself. Would you mind asking him to come to see me when he has time? But please make sure that he doesn't come straight away, I've got to get my head around all that you've told me first. And thank you - thank you very much for listening."
Remus smiled at Katie as he got up to leave. Before going out through the door he turned back to her. "Good luck."
Two hours later, Sirius quietly opened the door to the hospital wing and walked inside and over to Katie's bed. He saw that Katie was sleeping, and so was Oliver, who was slumped in the chair at the side of the bed holding the girl's hand.
Sirius grinned wryly - he'd have to wait to find out why Katie Bell wanted to talk to him - and quietly crept out of the room, waving to Madam Pomfrey as he went.
***
The following morning, Hermione woke early and put on her dressing gown. She went out through the dormitory door, heading for the shower room, when a slight noise caught her attention down in the common room. She walked onto the landing at the top of the spiral staircase and looked down to see Ginny sitting over in the corner, her chin in her hands, staring sadly out of the window.
Hermione frowned and walked down the staircase. "What's the matter Ginny? Why the sad look?"
"Morning Hermione," she replied. "Did I wake you?"
"No. I was just going to have a shower when I spotted you down here on your own." Hermione pulled a chair up closer to her friend, and leaned forward as she looked pointedly into her friend's eyes. "What's bothering you Ginny?"
Ginny stared at Hermione for a while, and then she told her what was troubling her, what had been troubling her for quite some time. "Oh Hermione. I see you and Harry together, and now Ron and Margot - you're all so happy, and I'm glad, really glad, but I haven't got anybody. I feel like I'm out in the cold. I… I don't think I'll ever find someone like Harry or Ron."
Hermione grinned a sad little grin. "Ginny Weasley - you're one of the most beautiful girls at Hogwarts, and come on, it's not like you're getting old or anything - there's plenty of time for you to find the right one. I know it must be hard seeing Harry and me, Ron and Margot, but come on! You're the youngest of the five and I just know you'll meet someone soon."
"Do… do you think it might be the sixth one? The one who's going to join us on the quest?"
"It might be, Ginny. But we don't even know if it's a boy yet. Look, just be patient. It'll happen before you realise it, I'm sure."
"I hope so Hermione," said Ginny, managing a smile.
"Uh Ginny," Hermione said slightly warily, "I saw the way you looked at Draco yesterday - you don't fancy him do you? You've been looking a bit sad ever since we found out his father had taken him away from the school."
"Hermione! How could you think… well he has changed hasn't he? And he is sort of good looking when he hasn't got that smirk on his face."
Hermione held Ginny's hand tightly and stared at her intently. "Ginny. You do know we might never see him again don't you?"
"Yes," she replied sadly, "I do know that - why do you think I've been so sad?"
***
"Mr Black?"
Sirius looked up from his breakfast and saw Oliver standing by the table. "Oliver - please - call me Sirius, come and sit down and get some breakfast."
"Thank you, uh… Sirius. I don't mind if I do."
"How are you feeling Oliver?" asked Remus.
"Much better Professor - thanks."
"And how is Katie this morning?" asked Ceri.
"Still a bit weak, but she's getting better. Sirius, the nurse told me you called by last night, but we were both sleeping."
"Yes, I intended to pop in after breakfast. What does Katie want to speak to me about?"
"I uh… she'd better tell you that herself, I think."
Sirius looked quizzically at Oliver and then at Remus. "You two know what it's about don't you? So why is it such a secret?"
Remus and Oliver exchanged sly glances but remained silent.
"Hmm - very mysterious," said Sirius quietly. "Oh well, I've finished here, so I think I'll call in to see her now. I must admit to being just a little intrigued by all this."
After he'd gone, Ceri pierced Oliver and Remus with an inquisitive stare. "What was that all about?"
"Uh, no doubt Sirius will tell you about it later," said Remus, grinning at Oliver.
"Katie?" Sirius walked up to the girl lying in her bed in the hospital and sat on the chair beside her. "I must say you're looking a lot better today, how are you feeling? You must have had a terrible time of it in the desert."
Katie smiled nervously at her father, and she couldn't help the little tear that flowed slowly down her cheek, but she didn't really know whether they were tears of the joy of seeing her father at last, or of terror at what his reaction may be.
"What's the matter Katie?" Sirius looked at her anxiously, wondering if she was still in a lot of pain. "Shall I call the nurse?"
Katie shook her head and forced a smile. "No - I don't need the nurse, but you might after you've heard what I've got to tell you."
Sirius frowned, looking at Katie intently, intrigued at what she was about to say.
"You were… with Janice Potter when you were at Hogwarts weren't you?"
"Janice?" whispered Sirius, thinking back to his schooldays and his former girlfriend.
"She was my mother. Her parents took her away from the school when they found out she was pregnant with me."
Sirius stared wide-eyed at Katie, letting the startling revelation sink into his mind. Then he gasped, realising what Katie was telling him, "You… you're my daughter?"
"Yes. I'm your daughter." Katie studied Sirius' reaction, holding her breath.
"My god! I never knew - you've got to believe me Katie, no one ever told me about you!"
Katie smiled. "I know that. It must be a big shock for you. I've been trying to find out who you were for a while now and… and I didn't know how you'd react - but I felt you needed to know."
Sirius pushed his hand through his dark hair. "A daughter! I've got a daughter! Good God!"
Katie continued to study Sirius' reaction, still feeling very nervous about it.
Sirius stopped nervously stroking his hair and gasped once more, "Harry! You're Harry's cousin - you know that don't you?"
"Yes - Professor Lupin made me realise that last night."
"He's going to be so pleased to hear this news," said Sirius, breaking into a smile.
"And what about you? Are you pleased - or not?"
"Me? I'm over the bloody moon!" Sirius stood up and moved close to Katie. He tentatively reached out and held her hand, looking deeply into her eyes. "A daughter - I can't believe it - and such a beautiful daughter as well." His eyes were wet and he self-consciously brushed at them.
Katie grinned broadly and then let out a cry, the tears now flowing freely, and raised herself up and pulled Sirius to her, hugging him tightly.
Remus and Oliver grinned at each other as they peeked around the hospital door, then slowly closed it and walked towards Gryffindor Tower.
Katie pulled back and looked closely at her father. "We've got a lot to talk about - a lot to catch up on."
Sirius nodded. "You look a lot like you're mother," he whispered. "You've got her eyes."
They both looked round as the door opened and Harry walked in. "Remus and Oliver told me you wanted to see me?" he said, looking from Sirius to Katie and back in confusion.
"Uh - pull up a chair Harry," said Sirius, grinning. "We've got some great news for you!"
***
Over the course of the next week, Harry, Sirius and Katie spent a lot of time together. As Remus and Sirius predicted, Harry was ecstatic at finding out Katie was his first cousin. He'd always thought that there was no one left on his father's side of the family, and he couldn't keep his eyes off Katie, often pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
Not a lot of research was done into the final quest over this period. Hermione and the others were delighted for Harry and Sirius - and for Katie, and so were Fred, George and Katie's other friends at the Shrieking Shack. Hagrid was very emotional about it all - he even threw a special party for them one afternoon outside his hut.
Then it was back down to business. Fudge arrived at Hogwarts with Marcus Heatherington-Jones and 'Mad-Eye' Moody, wanting to de-brief Oliver and Katie now that they were fully recovered, and also to get an update on the state of the final quest. After introducing Marcus to everyone, Fudge addressed the people packed into the headmaster's office. Dumbledore and his close aids were there, as were the five friends and their protectors, and, of course, Oliver and Katie.
After going through the painful details of what happened at Qumran with Oliver and Katie, Fudge sighed and shook his head slowly.
"It's been strangely quiet over the last couple of weeks," he said. "There've been no incidents, but we've heard rumours that there's a lot of Death Eater recruitment and training going on. I can only assume that 'You Know Who' is building up his forces once more, but he can't have unravelled the spells yet."
"That seems to fit with what he spoke about in the canyon, minister," said Oliver.
"When he does find out what those spells are," said Dumbledore, "we can expect trouble - big trouble. And the first thing he'll want to do is get his hands on Harry and Hermione - he'll want to take their spells and knowledge for himself."
"How is the final quest coming along?" Fudge asked.
Dumbledore answered, holding up his hand to stop Harry saying anything. "It's coming along, Cornelius, but we both know that these things can't be rushed at all."
Fudge nodded. "Of course. I just hope you complete it before 'You Know Who' gets a chance to do any serious damage."
"How's the training going?" Sirius asked 'Mad Eye'.
"Busy - very busy. We've taken on more of the older Aurors to help us train the extra recruits we've had ever since that terrible business at Qumran."
"Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we should strengthen the protection for Harry and the others - they're going to be Voldemort's first target, you know."
"I know, but it's difficult Albus," he replied. "Our forces are currently badly depleted so I don't think you can expect to get anyone in the short term."
"What about these two?" asked Dumbledore, nodding at Oliver and Katie.
"They're our best and most experienced Aurors!" Fudge exclaimed, and then he looked at Marcus and 'Mad Eye' and raised his eyebrows enquiringly.
They both glanced at each other and nodded.
"Very well," said Fudge. "Provided, of course, that they agree to it. After all, they've both been through a very harrowing experience, and protecting the Anima Summas is a bit like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. What do you two say?"
Oliver and Katie grinned broadly. "We accept, minister. We'll both be happy to join the protectors - I know that Katie feels the same as me - we want to do as much as we can to get back at 'You Know Who' after what he did to Dave Henson and the others."
"Great!" said Sirius, winking slyly at Dumbledore. "That's settled then."
"How long do you think we've got before 'You Know Who' surfaces again?" asked Marcus.
"It's difficult to tell," answered Dumbledore. "I don't think he'll find it easy to decipher the spells, and I'm sure he won't do anything until he gets them. And he'll want to build up his forces in this country again - he lost a lot more people than we did, don't forget. All in all, I think we might have a breathing space of maybe a month or two before he's ready to start up his campaign of terror again."
"Right!" said Fudge. "We'd better get back and leave these to get on with things. Thank you all for your time."
After they'd gone, Sirius grinned at Katie. "I hope you didn't mind us nudging Fudge into giving us your services?"
"Of course I didn't Dad," she replied. "We get to spend more time together now."
***
There wasn't much time for research over the next month or so. Jules had increased his learning sessions, and Dumbledore had insisted that they all, including Margot, attend extra practical classes. So they were either doing schoolwork or sleeping for most of the time.
They did get one worrying bit of news though - and it affected Ginny more than the others. Dumbledore told them that Lucius Malfoy had sent him a note, informing him that Draco wouldn't be attending Hogwarts any longer - he had hired a private tutor to complete his son's education. Dumbledore looked very sad when he told them, and they all feared the worst.
Then the exams were on them - and Ginny's OWLS. To everyone's surprise, Ron wasn't phased one little bit - he put great faith in Professor Denarnaud's accelerated learning methods and felt confident that he'd do well in their sixth year exams. Then they were over, and they could relax briefly before starting in earnest on their final quest.
It had been decided that they'd all stay at The Burrow once more over the summer - including Oliver, Katie, Margot and her grandfather, who insisted that he stay with her.
Ginny hadn't told her parents about Margot yet - she preferred to see their faces when Ron told them himself.
End of Book 2 - As Above So Below.
Author's notes
Firstly - Sorry about the deception with the identity of Katie's father - I just couldn't resist it! To tell you the truth, I didn't make up my mind who it would be until quite late on - I just left a blank space in my story outline notes. And who will the sixth one be, and will he (if it is a he!) be Ginny's soul mate? All I'll tell you at this stage is that some of you may be surprised!
Secondly - thanks to everyone who've read the series up to this point, and especially to those of you who reviewed. Every writer needs to know what you think of each chapter - it's one of the best ways of knowing what (and what not) to include in future works.
Thirdly - the third and final book in the series. I've finished writing it, and I've started work on the plot of a new fic - I hope to get it finished soon after book 3 in the Anima Summa series has been posted. It's a year six fic, picking up on some of the things that happened in OOTP and taking them forward to what I believe will happen next. Book 3 tells the story of how the gang search for the source of wizard-kind - how magic came about. It also tells of how Lord Voldemort proceeds with his ambitions for world domination. And, of course, it tells of the inevitable final confrontation.
If you've liked reading the series and you want me to post the third book - please tell me - please leave a message on the review board. If so, I'll start posting it in about a week's time - I want to read over it again to make sure there aren't any glaring holes in it!
So keep a lookout for Anima Summa Book 3 - Into the Light.