I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Chapter 10: Where the Streets Have No Name
A/N: I would like to start this chapter by welcoming back Teganii, my first repeat reviewer. I was rather worried when (s)he stopped reviewing for the past two chapters and I'm glad (s)he's back. Well, in this chapter we're going to welcome a brand new character that I hope you all enjoy reading about.

So, I've decided to open up a new plot thread that wasn't present when I first started writing, however, I hope it will enrich the story.

***

For the next few weeks, Harry and Hermione both met at the end of the dock to continue their study advanced magic and lucky for them, none of it involved anymore nudity. Though, it did involve countless complex spells that they had no clue how even start at doing. "Mione, this is crazy. I don't even think Voldemort can do some of this stuff. If he did, I'm sure he'd have lots of fun with the blood boiling curse."

"That just means we'll have an advantage." Hermione looked up and winked. Without missing a beat she went back to reading and waving her wand around saying Latin words that Harry wasn't familiar with. "The Incendia Anor is supposed to be the strongest protective force in our world. If we can figure out how to conjure it, we might just be able to win this war. Too bad the only one that can actually do it is Dumbledore."

Harry shook his head and went back to reading his magic book. He then spotted a spell that seemed that it would end up being useful before the end of the night. "Facio ignavus!" He whispered as he pointed his wand at Hermione.

A tiny white jet shot out of his wand, a beam that Hermione didn't even come close to registering. "Oh well, I'm going to call it a night. Maybe we should give this magic stuff a break for a month or two. No rush really..." As Hermione got up and walked towards the house, Harry smiled to himself and even considered to leave her like that for a while, but then quickly decided against it.

"Finite incantatum." Harry chanted and pointed his wand at her again. "Well there's one that worked." Hermione walked back towards him and looked at him curiously. "It's an idleness spell. It's supposed to make the victim suddenly not care about anything that they're doing and either go to sleep or just loaf around."

"Very dodgy if you ask me..."

"I didn't."

Hermione didn't register the comment and just kept on ranting. "Lazy means certain things to certain people. To Voldemort it may just mean taking over England rather than taking over the whole world. Plus, if we can do it on our first try, it can't possibly be quality."

"You're just upset I tested it on you." Harry flashed her a sarcastic smile. "And it worked."

"Accio fish!" Hermione yelled and then flicked her wand towards Harry. Suddenly, a large fish came flying out of the lake and hit Harry in the side of the face. For a second he wasn't exactly sure what to do, then he picked up his wand and pointed it at her, sending he flying into the lake. "No fair!" She yelled as she came up to the surface gasping for air.

"Was throwing a fish at me fair?" Harry asked her with out missing a beat. With that, she splashed him. He took the hint and jumped in on top of her. Harry was having the most fun of his life at this very moment... not that this moment really had much competition.

They spent the better part of an hour splashing around and laughing in Lake Windermere and being kids for the first time in such a long time. "Harry, we better go inside. I want to have time to work on the vanquishing potion tomorrow before Mum comes home for lunch."

"Agreed." Harry grabbed onto the dock and pulled himself up. He turned around and reached his hand out to help Hermione.

They both gathered up their stuff and walked towards the house together and going to their respective rooms. When he got to his room and bid Hermione a good night, Harry put on his pajamas and layed in his bed thinking about how great a time he had with Hermione. He wasn't used to having this much fun with Hermione... come to think of it, a lot of his best times at Hogwarts were with Ron. Hermione was really only present in times of trouble or extreme need. Truth be told, he did really like spending time with Hermione like this. "Harry?"

Harry smiled a bit to himself at the sound of his best friend's voice. "Yeah, Mione? Couldn't sleep again?"

"Oh no, I was just a bit worried about going to America. Did you find out when the boat leaves?" Hermione asked him as she sat on his bed next to him. In the dark, he could see that she was biting her lower lip, something she always did when nervous.

"Yeah. August 1st. The day after my Birthday. So from this stand point, I'll make 16, but I won't come of age." Harry sadly smiled at the thought of having the same fate as his parents.

"Don't say that!" Hermione hit him and slid away from him on the bed a bit. "Every year since we met, I've sent you off on some journey and wondering if you'd be coming back. Sometimes I was participating and some not, but I can't bare it, Harry..." Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears.

Harry inched closer again and put his arm around her. "Mione, let's get under the covers and get some sleep. I'm having too much fun here to worry about what might happen in the future."

She took his suggestion and got into bed next to him and closed her eyes to try and fall asleep, but she quickly opened them again and turned to Harry. "Hey, do you trust Dumbledore?"

Harry pondered the question a bit. Besides Hagrid, Dumbledore was his biggest contact in the magical world, but for some reason, he was having trouble trusting Dumbledore lately. The whole trip to America and trying to convince Anton LaVey to join the fight against Voldemort was just the nail in the coffin. "I don't know, 'Mione and that scares me a little bit. At one point I thought of him as a grandfather figure, but now not so much."

The two of them didn't talk any longer, but tried to go to sleep. Hermione quickly fell asleep next to Harry, but Harry on the other hand could not. He kept thinking about Dumbledore and how he was losing trust in the man that had been there for him since he was eleven. "Sirius... I need you now... more than ever."

Just then, he heard something ruffle in his trunk. Without thinking too hard about it, he got out of the bed, sure not to bother Hermione and walked over to his trunk. When he arrived at the edge of his trunk he recognized the sound as a muffled human voice. With much fervor, he opened his trunk and began to dig through it. "Harry... it's okay... I'm here." Harry instantly recognized the voice as Sirus'.

"Sirius! Is that you?" Harry asked in pure astonishment. "Where are you?"

"The mirror boy, go to the mirror." The voice called back and Harry knew exactly what he was talking about. He dug through his trunk and found the small parcel that Sirius had given him around Christmas time last year. Once he opened it, he pulled out a small mirror and in the middle of the mirror was Sirius' face. "Good evening, Harry. How are you?"

The young wizard was completely speechless. He thought about every charm and hex that he could think of, but nothing could ever cause this. "What's going on..?"

"Harry, I assure you, it's me. I was a member of the Marauders with the nickname Padfoot. At school my best friends were Prongs, Mooney and... Wormtail. And my death is not your fault..." Harry looked long and hard at the image of his Godfather and it wasn't he trying to prove himself that struck him, it was the fact that he didn't believe Harry was at fault for his death. "I came to fight at your side out of love. There is nothing you could have done to stop me."

"Sirius... How is this possible?" Harry asked in a state of shock.

"Your father and I are still trying to figure that out, but it's clear that the magic of the mirror goes beyond the veil." Sirius responded in a business like manner that Harry never really heard from him in a long time. Not since third year.

"Wait... my father?"

The twinkle in Sirius' eye quickly came back as he smiled back at Harry. "Yes. We're all here. Both your parents, Cedric, your grandparents. Lily and James would be talking, but they don't feel it's the correct time and place." Harry suddenly found tears flowing down his cheeks and he was speechless.

"Harry, right now I don't have the time to talk about everything that you want to. I have come with a warning." Harry shifted and took a seat on the floor. "I'm going to cut right to the chase. By this time next year, the war will be over, for better or for worse. The winning side has not be chosen, but there will be a clear winner before you finish your 7th Year."

"Sirius?"

"Yes... it may seem very unlikely, but it's true. You will end up defeating Voldemort soon, or you may very well be spending a eternity with us far before your time. This year you have to remember who you can trust. That's the key, Harry. Because of all this pain, you have trouble trusting... that needs to end now to ensure your survival." Sirius' tone was all business-like again and quite grave.

"What do you mean? I trust people." Harry said defensively. He either was starting to believe this was the real Sirius or he was too tired to care one way or the other.

"No, Harry. You don't, not that I blame you. Ron and Hermione, especially Hermione will soon become the thing that will make or break the end of this war. If you try and cut them out you will lose. Same with Ginny, Neville and Luna. The five of them went with you to the Ministry for a reason and it's not because they wanted to train. Remus too. He thinks of you as a son, Harry. Accept his love." Sirius looked up at Harry with a strong look of sadness. "I can't talk much longer... your father and I need to get to work, but I wanted to let you know they are so very proud of you."

Harry couldn't hold back anymore. Once Sirius had told Harry his parents' message, he could no longer hold back the tears. "What's it like? Where you are."

"It's beautiful, Harry. There is peace for everyone who wishes it... though there is none for us... at least not yet. Once the war is over, we can rest. Good luck, Harry. And if you ever need me, you know where to find me." Without another word, Sirius bowed to Harry and walked out of the frame of the mirror.

Harry was at a loss for words and he wanted to get Hermione up to tell her everything, but ultimately he decided against it, in fear that she'd reject it as some trick that Voldemort was playing on him. But Voldemort didn't know about the Marauders... or did he?

Rather than debate that, he decided to crawl back into bed with Hermione and go to sleep. He did so and before he knew it, he was out for the count.

***

"Harry... Harry." A voice that Harry could recognize as Lord Voldemort's hissed. "You have nothing... you are nothing. Lily, James, Sirius, Cedric. All dead because of you. The filthy little Mudblood lying next to you. Then her parents. Then those blood traitors the Weasley's... and you brought it upon them..."

"No."

"Yes. Harry. It's all your fault."

"NOOOOO!" Harry screamed so loud that he woke up with a start because of it. "Oh my God." Harry turned around to see if Hermione was still there and to his disappointment, she was gone, but before too long she came bursting through the door.

"Harry! Are you okay?" She rushed to his side at a hurried pace and quickly put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "You're burning up."

"It was just a bad dream... but my scar hurts... bad." Harry muttered as he put his head back down on his pillow.

"We were going to go to Grandfather's house today. But, I'll have to stay behind to check on you. I'll go tell Mum and Dad." Harry caught Hermione's hand as she was about to leave the room.

"No you don't, Hermione Granger. You're away at Hogwarts most of the year. I'm not taking you away from that. Just let me get a shower and I'll be fine." Hermione shot him an incredulous look and then finally nodded. "I promise, 'Mione." She nodded again and walked out of the room so Harry could take a shower.

About an hour later, they were on the road and ready on the way to Henry Richardson's house (Miranda's Father). Hermione was reading out of their advanced spell book, while reading Harry's expressions. Though to her surprise, he didn't seem as if he were in pain. He seemed deeply depressed as he stared out the window at the English countryside.

"Harry..." She finally spoke up and touched his hand.

"I'm fine... Just a dream." He didn't dare tell her about Sirius, but part of him felt guilty about that and felt that he wasn't truly listening to what he had been told. All in all, that made him feel worse.

About an hour later, they arrived at the Richardson Farm and all five of them vacated the car and began to unload. "Harry?" He spun around about to firmly tell Hermione that he was fine, but when he did he saw that it was Miranda. "Are you okay?"

"I just had a really awful dream last night, accompanied by something really... strange." Harry wasn't exactly sure what to call it. He was a wizard after all. Not much in his life could really be called strange, but Sirius talking to him from beyond the grave, really wasn't common in the Wizarding world.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Miranda put an arm around him and asked in the most motherly voice that she had.

"The dream was pretty standard. You-Know-Who was saying how he killed everyone that I loved and now he's going to finish, but what happened before is what threw me off." Harry was beginning to realize how odd it was going to sound, but he decided to go along with it. "My Godfather... the one who died before we ran away... he spoke to me through a mirror that he gave me before he died."

"Well, it's normal to dream of those who die right after they pass on. I dreamt of my mother for a good six months after her death." Miranda tried to explain it to him and comfort him at the same time.

"Did it happen while you were awake?"

"No."

"Well, I was. I know for a fact that I wasn't asleep, so I couldn't have been dreaming." Miranda looked absolutely shocked at this and decided not to go further into his account. "We have to get inside, but I really do want to talk to you later about this."

"Okay, but please, don't tell Hermione. She'll over analyze the hell out of it and I've got a feeling that by the end of this, the only solace I'll find in this war is that my Godfather and parents are looking out for me." Harry bowed his head down as he pulled his truck out of the car.

"Of course, Harry." Miranda took her small bag and took it inside the house where her father greeted her at the door with a kiss on the cheek.

"And what do you suppose that was about?" Hermione was standing directly behind him. He jumped a bit at the tone of her voice, but quickly calmed down because it was just Hermione.

"You're Mom asked what was wrong and I told her. I felt it would be easier because she's a Muggle." Hermione thought for a second and reluctantly agreed. She bent down and grabbed the other end of Harry's trunk to help pull it into the house.

"Now Harry, I need you know something that I probably should have told you earlier." Hermione bit her lower lip like she always did when she was nervous. "Um... my Grandfather knows nothing of magic. He's a complete Muggle."

"What!? How the hell were you able to keep a secret like that from him? Why?" Harry asked in a shocked tone. He would have thought Hermione would tell everyone she knew about her abilities and her accomplishments, but her own grandfather didn't know.

Hermione bit her lower lip again and gave Harry a nervous look. "The year before I went to Hogwarts was an awful one. My grandmum was diagnosed with cancer around Christmas time and she died in the summer. A Few days after she died Dumbledore showed up on my doorstep." Hermione let a tear roll down her cheek. "My grandmother always wanted me to be successful in everything I did, so I spent that whole summer learning to be the best witch I could be."

"And you succeeded." Harry smiled at her and she gave him a slightly embarrassed smile back.

"See, my grandfather had a really traumatic year, so we decided it would be best not to drop this bombshell on him. My Aunts and Uncles agreed when we told them, so we never got around to it afterwards... I actually have another cousin in America who's a witch... two years behind us, I believe. He doesn't know about her either." Hermione explained as they entered the house. "Now no more talk of this. You're just a boy from my boarding school."

Harry couldn't fathom not telling his family about his magical powers, especially a family that loved him. But, he would honor Hermione's wishes on this subject. "Harry, this is my grandfather. Henry Richardson." Hermione presented a tall, old grey haired man to her friend. He was the personification of the word grandfather to Harry. In the few movies that he saw grandfathers were always presented as looking like Mr. Richardson did. "Grandfather, this is Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Henry Richardson gave Harry a questioning look and suddenly caught sight of his scar. "Where did you get that?"

Harry wasn't exactly sure how to respond. To say he got it when the darkest wizard of all time tried to kill him would certainly blow his and Hermione's cover. "Um... car accident. When I was a baby. Killed my parents."

"Car accident? I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it's good to meet you, my boy. Hermione speaks very highly of you." He reached out his hand and Harry took it and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Richardson." Harry smiled at him and was somewhat alarmed by the analyzing look that he was being given.

"No, please, call me Henry. Now run along with Hermione and unpack your things. You two will be sharing Miri and Ben's old room." The two teenagers ran up the steps with Harry and Hermione's trunks in tow and stopped at the room Hermione entered.

"That was really odd." Harry told Hermione as the two began to unpack.

"What was?"

"The look your grandfather gave me. Questioning my name and my scar... I've never had a Muggle do that." Harry explained as he placed some of his clothes in the chest adjacent to his bed.

"Well, I have talked about you a lot and it is a pretty abnormal scar." Hermione tried to explain her Grandfather to Harry, but to tell the truth, she thought it was a little bit odd too. Her grandfather was always eccentric, but he normally wouldn't question a scar.

"I don't know... it was just... odd"

The rest of the day went on to be normal. Harry and Hermione spent a lot of time working on simple levitating spells to put away their stuff and manipulate the room while her parents and her brother caught up with her grandfather. Everything seemed to be going normal up until dinner when they were called down.

"Oh, Harry, Hermione. I'd like to have a word with you later." Henry stopped the both at the foot of the stairs as they came down for dinner. Harry spent the whole meal worrying about what Henry wanted to talk to the both of them about. Would it be like his conversation with Jake like a few weeks ago?

When they finished with dinner, the three of them went into Henry's cozy den where a fire was raging in the fire place with a kettle of water on it to make tea. "Mr. Rich... Henry... you wanted to see us?"

"Oh yes... I've had a burning question for a while." Henry smiled at Harry with a slight twinkle in his eye. "How is Albus Dumbledore."

***

A/N: Yay for cliffhangers! That last little one will be explained during the next chapter and Henry Richardson will be introduced fully.

What are your opinions of the subplot with Sirius and his parents? The thing I was really worried about was having too much filler between big plot points, so I added this to fill the space. And I did link it into the end, so it will have a point along with a moral.

P.S.
Okay guys, I need your help. What kinds of advanced magic should I feature? I'm kind of at a loss of what to do after the mind link. The rules are that, if featured in Harry Potter it can't have been done by anyone besides Dumbledore or Voldemort. It also can't be inherently dark, because Harry and Hermione will be the ones performing it.

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