Author's Note: This is the chapter y'all have been waiting for.
—
Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin gazed at the sight before them. Professor Lupin's eyes darted to the unconscious Pettigrew on the ground. Then they darted to stare at Harry.
"Harry," Professor Lupin whispered, "I'd thought it was you, I didn't want to believe..."
Harry, at a loss for words, opted to remain silent.
Professor Dumbledore sighed, whatever energy he retained draining out of him. "I think it'd be best to start from the beginning."
Oh, yes, Harry thought faintly.
Professor Dumbledore flicked his wand at Pettigrew. "Stupefy." The writhing form of Peter stilled, frozen in his cowering position. "Perhaps you'd like to walk with us to my office?"
"Of course, professor," Harry said numbly.
Everyone walked in silence. Professor Snape and Sirius stared daggers at each other, while Professor Lupin and Professor Dumbledore walked in the front, Pettigrew's stunned body following behind them. Harry and Tom were at the end of the line, observing the procession of people on their march to Dumbledore's office.
In the office, everyone settled into their seats quietly. Tom sat next to Harry, and Harry clutched Tom's hand like a lifeline. At least the mania in Tom's eyes had dissipated somewhat; he was still suffering from a Dark Magic overdose, but at least it was harder to notice now.
"Tea?" Professor Dumbledore asked. His voice was quiet, and his eyes lacked its characteristic twinkle. "It will make the following conversation easier to digest, I hope."
Harry avoided looking at Pettigrew's stunned body in the corner of the office. "...Yes. I would appreciate that."
The six of them sat in silence as the tea boiled, the kettle slowly emitting a hissing sound. Professor Dumbledore carefully poured tea for each person. Harry gratefully accepted his cup and took a sip.
"I think the best place to begin would be for you two to recount what you've learned," Dumbledore said, nodding at Harry and Tom.
Harry stared at Tom, taking a deep breath. Then he met Dumbledore's eyes. "Of course, professor."
Tom began, "Harry and I were outside Hogsmeade earlier. A man in the Animagus form of a rat stunned Harry and dragged him to the shack on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Then, I followed a black dog..."
And so Tom and Harry explained their version of events.
Dumbledore looked at Harry thoughtfully. "And did you discover anything about yourself?"
Too much, in fact.
Harry took a deep breath. "I found out Sirius Black was framed by Peter Pettigrew—" he pointed to the unconscious form in the corner— "I found out Sirius Black is my godfather. I found out Professor Snape is an Acolyte."
Tom's hand found his clenched fist under the table. His fingers slipped into Harry's, forcing him to loosen his muscles and unclench his fist. Harry squeezed the hand softly, thankful for the support.
He inhaled deeply. "I found out I am Hyrieus Potter," Harry whispered. He lowered his eyes, staring at the table, avoiding the others' gazes.
"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said sincerely. "We failed you in letting tonight's events occur."
Harry shook his head slowly. "I think... None of you would have told me about my true identity, correct? Even though many of you knew. Or at least suspected."
Lupin stared at him, grief on his face. "I couldn't—I didn't want to raise my hopes in the slim chance that you had lived."
Harry hunched his shoulders. Tom carefully slung an arm around Harry, fingers curling around his bicep. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known," Harry said quietly. He flicked his eyes to Snape. "Did you know?"
Professor Snape cleared his throat. He seemed subdued in his answer. "No. I'd briefly suspected it, but I didn't want to believe it."
Because that would have meant your life's work was done in vain. Because I lived, while Lily died. Everything that you'd done leading up to now wouldn't have mattered.
A silence fell upon them.
"So what now?" asked Tom coldly. "We have many unanswered questions."
"We answer your questions," Dumbledore replied. He looked as though he had aged a decade within the last minute.
Harry buried his head in Tom's shoulder and decided to let Tom speak for him.
—
Feeling Harry curl on him and withdraw into himself, Tom cursed the people in the room in his head.
At Dumbledore's words, Tom nodded curtly. His hand underneath the table squeezed Harry's. Harry squeezed back. "Earlier, I learned that Pettigrew wasn't ordered to kill Harry, instead that he was ordered to stun Harry. The Unbreakable Vows on his being made it quite difficult to figure out a motive."
Dumbledore sighed, seemingly aging a decade again before Tom's eyes. He placed a familiar silvery gray piece of fabric on the table. "It's because of this particular Invisibility Cloak. Or rather, the owners of the Cloak."
Harry stared at Dumbledore with a terrified expression. Because Harry was the one who had stolen the cloak from Dumbledore, and now Dumbledore had gotten it back. Tom resisted the urge to gnash his teeth together and instead stroked the back of Harry's hand under the table.
"Don't worry, Harry," Dumbledore said gently, "You aren't in trouble. You'll soon find out that the Cloak was yours all along. I simply held it for safekeeping purposes."
"The Potters?" Tom asked, desperate to draw the conversation back on track.
"Yes. Do you know the Tale of Three Brothers?" Tom noticed that Professor Snape's eyes sharply darted to Dumbledore, while Sirius Black and Professor Lupin exchanged confused expressions.
Tom cleared his throat. "The one written by Beedle the Bard? Yes, Harry and I are familiar with the fairytale."
Dumbledore nodded. "Good, good, that'll save us some time. The youngest brother was Ignotus Peverell. As the generations passed, the Cloak was also passed down to his descendents, eventually to the Potter family after Iolanthe Peverell's marriage to Hardwin Potter. After a time, the Cloak landed in your father James Potter's possession."
Impatience was starting to eat holes in Tom. "That's good and all, but what does Grindelwald have to do with any of this?" He couldn't bear listening to Dumbledore's long-winded tangents while still not knowing the reason that Harry had been targeted.
"Grindelwald was always obsessed with the idea of immortality. I knew him when he was young, and he was convinced that obtaining the Deathly Hallows would grant him a life without death."
The tales that madmen tell themselves...
Tom shook his head before saying, "So that's why Harry was targeted. To obtain the cloak. But then why couldn't Pettigrew simply have stolen the cloak and apparated back to Grindelwald?" he asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Grindelwald believes it is not enough to simply have possession of the Hallows: the Cloak, the Wand, and the Stone. He believes that to truly become the Master of Death, he must gain the loyalty of each Hallow by murdering the previous owners. The Cloak's owners were James and Lily Potter, and by extension, you, Hyrieus Potter. Therefore, Grindelwald would have to personally murder each Potter before he could gain the Cloak's loyalty. Grindelwald and his acolytes almost succeeded, as they massacred every Potter except for Hyrieus."
"But how did Grindelwald know that Hyrieus Potter was alive?" Tom asked.
Pointing to the stunned figure of Pettigrew, Dumbledore said, "I believe Pettigrew has been spying for Grindelwald since 1929. After escaping his fight with Sirius all those years ago, he must have remained in his Animagus form at Hogwarts and reported back to Grindelwald with his findings."
Tom thinned his lips. "And you didn't manage to capture him until today, more than a decade later."
Dumbledore sighed, "Unfortunately so. We didn't think to look for Pettigrew, as we all believed Peter had died. Besides, rats are unfortunately too common in Hogwarts as it is."
"What comes next?" Tom asked, choosing to ignore the last part of Dumbledore's statement.
Dumbledore, Black, Snape, and Lupin exchanged glances with each other.
"Now that Grindelwald has actively targeted you, we believe it is best for you, Harry, to remain under protection. Have you heard of the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Professor Dumbledore," Lupin interjected somewhat desperately, "they're too young for this."
Tom glared at Lupin, who seemed to shrink under his gaze. "If Harry is old enough to be targeted by Grindelwald, the most notorious Dark wizard to roam these lands, we're old enough to learn about this Order," he snapped, a bit of his Cockney accent sneaking through. He cleared his throat and turned back to Dumbledore. "I've never heard of it before."
"I had hoped to protect you two for longer. Alas, you are correct. We cannot protect you through ignorance now that Grindelwald is actively pursuing Harry's death." Dumbledore paused, letting the information sink in. "The Order of the Phoenix is a secret group I founded to take down Grindelwald and his acolytes. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape are all members. We disbanded in 1929 after Grindelwald was sentenced to life in Azkaban. The Order swiftly reconvened the night Grindelwald escaped Azkaban, on January 9th, 1940. We have been working hard with the Ministry since then."
Harry said quickly, "Will the Ministry be informed of today's events?" Those were the first words he'd spoken in a while.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No. The knowledge of the Hallows must not be spread. As you were targeted specifically because of the Hallows, not even the Minister shall know about today's events."
Harry relaxed, his shoulders slumping. "That's good to hear," he murmured.
Tom felt a chill run down his back.
So this is what power is.
Professor Dumbledore nodded slightly, then murmured, "Harry, my boy, I am sure you are aware, but no one must learn of your identity as Hyrieus Potter. You must guard it with all your capability and never let anyone, whether they be friend, family, or foe, learn your secret outside of the people in this room."
Harry swallowed. "Of course, Professor Dumbledore. I swear it." His voice was soft, but there was an undercurrent of steel that ran through it.
"Thank you."
With that, the room fell into a soft silence as Professor Dumbledore paused, clearly considering his next words. He clasped his hands together, his face uncharacteristically open, pleading, even. "I know that I have not treated you two fairly these past few years."
You don't say, Tom thought somewhat irritably.
Professor Dumbledore gazed at Harry, then Tom, his eyes sad. He seemed much older than the middle-aged man he presented himself as; he seemed as though he were a thousand years old. "I apologize for my actions. I want you to know that it will never happen again. I hate to ask this of you, but would you two be willing to spend this summer with the Order? You two would be housed in the most secure safehouse."
You only care about us now that Harry's been targeted by Grindelwald. Tom refrained from saying so out loud, instead staring coldly at Dumbledore. I don't forgive nor do I forget.
Surprisingly, Harry spoke. He cleared his throat before whispering, "Tom and I are okay with that." He looked at his lap, his eyes fixated on a particular wrinkle in his robes. Notably, Harry hadn't stated that he'd forgiven Dumbledore. That unsaid statement lingered in the air, causing the adults to exchange glances with each other.
"Harry—" Tom said, outrage beginning to color his tone, his grip on Harry's hand tightening.
"Tom, I don't like it either," Harry said tiredly, his face tilted upwards to look at Tom. "But it's our best choice. We weren't able to fend off Grindelwald's lackey today, much less Grindelwald himself. And we won't be able to defeat Grindelwald unless we accept help, even if it is from Professor Dumbledore."
Tom stared at Harry, taking in the exhausted, defeated eyes. He felt a little bad for reacting this way at Harry. After all, he'd been through so much today. And what Harry said was the truth. They really didn't have any better options on the table.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he said softly, squeezing Harry's hand. Harry gave a little squeeze back. Tom turned to look at Dumbledore and gave a sharp nod. "Harry and I accept your offer."
"Thank you, Harry and Tom," Professor Dumbledore said sincerely.
Tom dipped his head in acknowledgement.
Harry pushed his glasses up his nose. "What happens now to Black and Pettigrew?" he asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Unfortunately, we have no way of proving Black's innocence, so he'll remain in hiding. He'll return to the Order as an active member. As for Pettigrew—"
As if on cue, Pettigrew awakened and began thrashing against his bindings, his face slowly turning purple, his chest seizing. He made pitiful choking sounds as he struggled to breathe.
"Respiro," Dumbledore ordered. The spell hit Pettigrew to no effect; Pettigrew still could not inhale air. As quickly as he had woken up, Pettigrew ceased struggling and tipped over. His head hit the floor with a dull thud.
Tom's lip curled in distaste.
Dumbledore grimaced. "It seems that Grindelwald has noticed that his asset was compromised. Professor Snape, would you be kind enough to perform an autopsy on Pettigrew? I haven't seen Grindelwald kill in this manner before."
A kill switch, Tom thought.
"It's quite strange," Professor Snape mused. "This is also the first time I've seen Grindelwald kill an acolyte like this. Usually he prefers a public execution for maximum humiliation. Without even appearing here himself, he has caused Pettigrew's death."
Harry shivered.
Black and Professor Lupin now stared at the dead body of their once-friend. Black barked a harsh laugh. "In all the ways I imagined you dying, I didn't imagine that the man you betrayed us for would be the one to kill you." He grinned harshly. "Now who's the sucker, eh?"
Professor Lupin sighed deeply.
"Now, now," Dumbledore said mildly, "none of that, please." He picked up the cloak and placed it in Harry's hands. "Now, I shall return something of yours. Please try to get a good night's sleep, the both of you."
Harry picked up the cloak, and Tom and Harry exited Dumbledore's office. Behind the door, Tom cast a couple eavesdropping spells. Alas, none of them worked. Tom scowled, Harry snorted at Tom's scowl, and they both decided that now was as good a time as ever to return to the Room of Requirement.
Final exams came around and finished quickly, and soon, third term came to an end. The quasi-cold war between the Slytherins and FiGS remained as it always did, and hostilities ceased after the school year ended.
Before the term ended, Harry found time to meet privately with Avery and ordered him to communicate anything of note about the Slytherins over the summer to them. Harry and Tom bid Lawrence, Myrtle, Polly, and Nina their goodbyes (Harry's were significantly more tearful than Tom's) and told them that due to new unforeseen circumstances, they wouldn't be able to help them introduce incoming muggleborns to the Wizarding World. They wished them luck and promised they'd work hard on FiGS on their end, and told them they could contact them through OWL or muggle mail. With everything sorted out, the two of them set off with Professor Lupin and Sirius Black in his animagus form to the Order safehouse. Dumbledore would meet them there later, as sending them off himself would draw too much attention.
Professor Lupin apparated Harry, Tom, and Sirius Black to a quiet street lined with small houses. He handed them each a piece of parchment paper and said, "Please memorize these words."
The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twenty-six, Gulley Street, Montrose.
As soon as Harry read the words, he instinctively looked up, searching for 26 Gulley Street. Out of thin air, a house materialized. It was a quiet, unassuming house. From what Harry remembered, Montrose was a small port town on the eastern shores of Scotland. He was quite certain this safehouse had been chosen for its low profile.
Professor Lupin led them forwards and knocked on the door.
"Welcome! Thank you for accompanying them, Remus," Professor Dumbledore said genially.
Professor Lupin smiled tiredly as he shook Professor Dumbledore's hand. "It's good to see you, Albus."
"The other Order members are inside," Professor Dumbledore said, motioning for the three of them to follow him.
He ushered them inside to the dining room and took a seat at the dining table. Sirius Black transformed back into his human form and sat next to Professor Lupin. Others sitting at the table included a scowling Professor Snape and a glaring man with one real eye and one wooden eye. It didn't escape Harry's notice that Black was sitting as far as Snape as the table would allow.
So few Dark wizards, Harry thought. He was more than willing to bet that the man he didn't know was a Light wizard.
Harry and Tom took their seats at the center of the table.
"Thank you once again for accepting my offer," Dumbledore began. "This location is protected by the Fidelius Charm. Those here today are the only ones that will know of your true identity as Hyrieus Potter. I'm assuming you both are curious about what your summer schedules will look like?"
Tom and Harry nodded.
Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "Very good. The Order has decided that you two will remain here for the summer, preferably limiting your time spent outside 26 Gulley Street. Order members will accompany you outside of the house, as Grindelwald could strike at any moment."
I didn't sign up for house arrest, Harry thought irritably.
"I apologize if these seem like drastic measures." Dumbledore paused. "Unfortunately, Grindelwald's power is something to be reckoned with. In the meantime, Alastor Moody—" he motioned to the grumpy one-eyed man— "will teach you two dueling and other combat skills."
Alastor Moody. The man's reputation preceded him. He was the most feared Auror of their time.
A once in a lifetime opportunity.
Moody's real eye swiveled to stare at Tom, then Harry, his fake eye moving in random directions. "Slytherins, eh? I personally put a bunch of Slytherin Grindelwald sympathizers and spies in Azkaban," he said in a gruff voice.
You put a lot of people in Azbakan, Harry thought. Regardless of Hogwarts house.
"We want nothing to do with Grindelwald," Tom cut in smoothly, staring coldly at Moody.
He grinned toothily. "Nothing to say about Slytherin?"
Tension rose as Professor Lupin and Black exchanged quick glances. Professor Snape thinned his lips.
"Now, now, Alastor," Dumbledore chided.
Harry clasped his hands in his lap. He stared at his fingers and said quietly, "I hate Slytherin. And I hate Grindelwald more. I want him dead." His voice shook on the last word from the pure strength of his intent. He raised his head to look at Moody, eyes steely. "Is that enough for you?"
Moody threw his head back and barked a short laugh. "Now that's the spirit I was looking for!"
Over the next few days, Harry and Tom settled into their new lodgings. They got to know the other Order members better, including Kingsley Shacklebolt and Marcia Weasley, the mother of fellow Hogwarts student Septimus Weasley. They read newspapers at breakfast and generally settled into a routine in which they studied topics for next year and read ravenously about Grindelwald, devouring contemporary history books and old newspapers. A few days later, Moody escorted them out to the yard for their first lesson.
"For your first training session, I want to see what you two know. Attack me and see if you can incapacitate me in the next ten minutes," Moody said.
Harry and Tom exchanged glances.
Moody harrumphed. "And don't be afraid to use Dark Magic. Nothing is off-limits."
Exchanging glances once more, the two attacked in sync. Harry immediately threw a bone-breaking curse, while Tom followed up with the Stunning Spell. Moody deftly dodged the attacks, firing off his own spell in return. A roaring wave rose up to meet them, tall and vicious. Harry and Tom countered with their own wave. The two rushing forms of water crashed into each other and soaked all three participants.
"You'll have to try harder than that!" Moody yelled.
Harry gritted his teeth and raised a giant ice barrier. Moody waved his wand, and a wall of flames rushed towards them, hitting the barrier and evaporating it instantly. Tom summoned a wall of stone to surround Moody, buying them some time.
"I have a plan," Tom said quietly as he reinforced his wall of stone around Moody, who was trying unsuccessfully to break through it with explosions. "I'll hit him with Obscuring Smoke, and you finish him off."
Easier said than done.
"Sounds good," Harry said, settling into his dueling stance once more.
At that exact moment, Moody burst from his stone prison and aimed the Blasting Spell at Harry and Tom. They jumped apart to avoid it, and Tom fired Obscuring Smoke at Moody. Moody jumped backwards, but it was too late—a haze of dark purple smoke surrounded him, slowly dulling his senses. Moody let out a string of curses between different counterspells to no avail. After all, it was a spell that Tom had only learned from Moste Obscure Dark Hexes.
Harry fired Stunning Spell after Stunning Spell into the cloud of smoke.
There's no way that you can avoid this.
"Constant vigilance!" Moody's voice roared.
Tom whipped his head around, alarm clear on his face. Harry began turning around as well, only to be met by a grinning Moody.
"Immobulus," Moody said, freezing both Harry and Tom. He observed their frozen forms. "Not bad for a couple of fourth years. But you still lack constant vigilance."
Well, we aren't the most famous Auror of all time, Harry thought. He and Tom had done their reading into Alastor Moody and what they'd found had astounded them. They'd already known about his reputation from news articles and such, but reading biographies on his life and career had been eye-opening, to say the least. Privately, Harry was honored to learn from such a decorated and veteran teacher.
"Finite." Moody unfroze Harry, then Tom. "Although, I find myself wondering how you two know such a large amount of spells, particularly Dark spells, at your age."
Harry cleared his throat. "Slytherin was not kind to us. We learned their ways so we could protect ourselves."
"Hmph. You two are certainly odd ones. Never thought the day I'd see James and Lily's spawn end up in Slytherin and be as cunning and calculating as you are," Moody muttered, more to himself than them.
Harry shrugged. "I never knew my parents. And Tom and I grew up in a muggle orphanage in the East End before we were sorted into Slytherin. We always did what we needed to do."
Moody grunted, "Suppose so."
We did what we had to do to survive.
With that said, Moody turned away and called out, "I'll see you two here tomorrow at the same time. Your dueling skills aren't abhorrent, so I'll begin drilling constant vigilance into you two."