The End of Pretence

Here again, I have another chapter that it took me forever to get the right wording on. I wanted to get a little further in the storyline than I did, and you may want to skim this chapter again when the next one comes out incase I tweak it, but I'm pretty happy with it at the moment. I did some brainstorming with a pad of paper and a pencil to try and figure out what events I wanted to happen in the story, because I had hit a ginormous writers block. It seamed to have helped, so maybe I'll be a bit quicker with the updates. I've also started a new email account for my fiction, it's on my profile. Tchau!

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Chapter Ten

It was quite an impressive site, The Marauders Escape. The three true Marauders had created it while still in school. Even back then they had truly not trusted Wormtail. He had read about it in his father’s journals he had found in one of his vaults. Its location was prime, about ten miles from the school in the middle of the Forbidden Forrest. It compromised of about three larger and three smaller tree houses, interconnected by rope bridges. From the description in the journals, he knew from the descriptions in the journals, that the three smaller ones were bedrooms, and the three larger ones were a living room, a kitchen and dining room, and a library (Remus’ input, no doubt). As soon as he had read of their existence, he had asked the goblins if they could prepare them for him with wards set in goblin magic. Harry had figured that they were the best at it, seeing as how Gringotts rarely got broken into, and if it did, there weren’t many survivors to tell the tale. The goblins had been happy to; they still felt a bit guilty about the whole Kouncilor fiasco. Harry had hoped to not have to use this place until after the war, so he could disappear, but the great and awesome Dumbledore had caused him to speed up his plans a bit.

Harry greeted Griphook, who was sitting at the set-stone. For this time, Griphook would have to let them in. He wanted to see how his plans went today to actually set the blood wards.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to the Grangers, “Welcome to the Marauders Escape.”

Walking into the door, Harry was greeted by a fierce looking house elf, “You is be leaving now. Sera is been told no one but masters is…” she stopped abruptly, having finally looked at Harry. “Oh, Sera is been a bad elf. I is being sorry Master Prongslet, I is been waiting and I is forgetting how much you is grown now. Sera is so happy you is here Master Prongslet. Goblins is being outside constantly putting spells and such, but I is not letting them inside! I is being taking care of Master Prongslet now!” And with that, Harry was almost bowled over by a very exuberant house elf.

He extracted himself from the little elf and looked down kindly at her, “That’s ok Sera. I’d like you to meet my new family. All the goblins that have been outside, casting spells?” At the elf’s teary nod, Harry continued, “They where making a place for us to hide where no-one can find us. Can you help us get settled in? Then I have something to ask you, ok?”

“Oh yes Master Prongslet sir, Sera is happy to do anything Master is asking her! I is keeping everything ready for if you is coming. Which rooms is you be wanting, and where is Sera being put your belongings!”

“Whichever rooms you think suit us best Sera, an as for the belongings, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Looking at the Granger, he saw the extremely confused look on their faces, “I’ll explain everything once we have it in order. Right now I’ll tell you that Hermoine and I couldn’t tell you very much of what was going on because of reasons you’ll soon learn.” Turning to Sera, he asked, “How about we start off with some tea. I have a long discussion to get through while you’re completing your task.”

“Right away Master Prongslet sir, you is being following Sera into the kitchen now!”

After being led to the table and being presented with a sumptuous spread by Sera, Harry took the elf aside and whispered into her floppy ear. Giving a stout nod, she disappeared with a sharp crack.

A stern voice behind him demanded, “Now young man, what did you mean you’ve kept things from us? And what is with all this cloak and dagger nonsense?” Harry turned to see a very demanding and concerned look creep across Mr. Granger’s face. The concern made him able to repress the flinch he wanted to show at the stern tone.

“Well, you see…”

I took a while to bring the Grangers up to date on his life up to this point. He made sure to get it all out without letting them interrupt. Some of this he hadn’t even told Hermoine.

He had always told of the mental abuse he suffered at the Dursleys, now he told of the physical. The starvation periods and countless chores, the beating that had started at the age of eight because of a letter he strongly suspected Dumbledore had sent. How he basically stumbled into the Wizarding world. He had already told them about the manipulations of the Weasley family, but now he told them how he had found confidants in the twins and in Bill Weasley. He told them of going into Gringotts and learning about how Dumbledore and the Dursley’s were stealing his money. He told them about his revenge on the thieves. He told them of the events of the last five years, including details even Hermoine wasn’t aware of. Finally, he told them of this last year. Of being unable o stop the visions from Voldemort, despite his Occlumency skills. He told them about how much it hurt to watch Sirius fall through the veil, then being possessed briefly by Voldemort himself. He told them about his meeting with Dumbledore, and about the prophecy. It was all cathartic really, finally being able to tell all his secrets to someone.

“So you see, this prophesy that the barmy old coot was hiding say that I have to kill or be killed, basically,” Harry summed up.

Seeing the gears working in Hermione’s head, he sat back to let her organize her questions, “So, you say Occlumency doesn’t work against Voldemort?”

Good old Hermoine, zeroing in on small facts at a time to get the whole thing perfectly straight in her computer-like head, “I don’t know anymore. After the disaster at the ministry, I haven’t been getting any head aches, or any Voldemort induced visions. It was almost as if a chord of some sort snapped after I threw him out of my mind. It’s too early to tell, but I think I may have severed the connection somehow.”

“That’s great!” gushed Hermoine.

“No, it isn’t,” relied Harry, grimly, “That was my only method of having any idea what old Moldyshorts was doing. Now we’re flying into his completely blind!”

The Grangers were horrified. This poor, sweet boy had had so much pain in his life!

Turning to each other, Karl saw the same determined glint in his wife’s eye that he was feeling at the moment.

~Alto~