Truths Revealed

Truths Revealed -15-

They made their way up to the abandoned little hut, with Harry shivering slightly. It was late autumn, and he honestly hated that time of the year. Early fall was nice, and he had no problem with winter, but the transition from autumn to winter was always difficult.

"I sent a Patronus to McGonagall," Sirius said, as they vaulted over the fence and made for the shack.

Harry's quizzical look held an accusation in them, and Sirius sighed. "Listen to me. If you can get a month off like that, I want you living with me for that month. Not in a place where you've never once failed to do something that risks your life. I may not be against you befriending Riddle, but I sure as hell don't trust him, at least not yet. Considering that Prophecy, which according to the Founders, happens to be true, you both have a very intertwined fate. I don't want you to go falling headlong into something crazy right now. I want to keep you safe, to protect you. Whatever happens to you, I'm going to be right by your side."

"Why the Patronus?" Harry asked again, mollified.

"Harry, she needs to know why I'm carrying you off just like that. We'll go back once we get her reply, and you can pack up anything you need for a month. Andy said that their house was destroyed, and that she and Cissa are living in Malfoy Manor now. If you want, we can invite Remus and Tonks to live with us."

"If Ted is around, I'll never be able to breathe." Harry laughed at the thought. "He sticks to me like a leech."

"I'm sure we can manage," Sirius grinned, glad that he had cheered up. "After all, I'm allowed to hog my godson. And he'll have his parents to deal with."

"Probably." Harry looked down. "This place sure is familiar though... I first met you here right?"

"Yeah. Pulled your wand on me, if my memory hasn't started to fail me yet," Sirius said accusingly.

"I didn't know the truth."

"I know. You've come here quite a lot after that, haven't you?" He could tell. Quite a lot of the place seemed to have been restored single-handedly.

"Y-yeah." Harry remembered the last time he had been in the Shack and immediately turned away.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, noticing.

"Last time I was here..."

"Hm?"

"Promise you won't do something rash?"

"I'll try."

"Actually, come to think of it, there's something you need to know before that. You know that Tonks is a Metamorphagus, right? Well, when a Metamorphagus dies, their minds fix on a number, and the number they think of, someone related to them ages that many years within the span of time they take to die. That's why Ted is nearly four, though he's supposed to be turning one this year. Well, anyway, moving on. About six months ago, two months after the war, Ron and I were bringing him to Hogsmeade. We were near here, looking at a plot to start a branch of the twins' shop. Ted wandered off somewhere, and we only noticed he was gone when he started screaming. It came from here, and we found a whole bunch of Death Eaters. It took a few hours and we'd nearly gotten them all, but then Fenrir turned up. He said something along the lines of 'if the father isn't spared, neither should the son' and tried to attack Ted. I was closest, and when I turned to put up a Shield Charm, Dolohov managed to Disarm me. It was a full moon, and Fenrir would have bitten him if I hadn't gotten in his way first."

"Wait a minute, are you saying..." Sirius looked at his godson straight in the eyes, unable to finish.

"I'm a werewolf."

"So you do transform every month?"

"It's not the same as Remus," Harry explained quickly. "Yes, I do transform, but I still retain my own mind. Well, that led to another weird discovery... or, not so weird actually. When Ted found out, he decided to come keep me company one night, and well, we found out that he can transform into a werewolf too. Only, it has nothing to do with the full moon. It's something like an Animagus form for him, more like. He can turn into one at will. Same goes for turning back."

"I take it Remus doesn't know about this."

"You can't tell him!" Harry's eyes widened. "Well, about me. I guess he has to know about Teddy."

"Know what about Teddy? And what can't you tell me about you?" Sirius and Harry turned around, to find a thoroughly confused trio standing in the doorway.