The Summer Before

Harry sat at his old scarred desk illuminated only by the soft light of the lamp. A blank piece of parchment lay expectantly before him. He twirled the quill in his fingers, absently wishing that the letter would write itself. Sighing, he dipped the end in ink and started.

Remus,

Sorry I haven’t written sooner. It’s been quiet here so far. I’ll be happy when I can finally leave for good. Hope you’re doing ok. I guess that things have been busy after what happened at Hogwarts.

So, about this Larentia person, who is she? Why is she saying she’s my godmother and why is she suddenly contacting me now? Where’s she been for the last sixteen years? I’ve been studying the picture she sent, and I can tell that you and Sirius knew her. Why didn’t Sirius tell me about her? Why didn’t you?

Her letter says that she wants to meet me. I’m not sure if I should or not. She might be a Deatheater for all I know. She says that Mom and Dad gave her stuff to give me. Sounds like a trap to me. She also said I could ask you about her.

Stopping his writing, Harry tried to get his anger under control. Why did it seem that people were always keeping something from him? Why did he have to find out that there were things about his past that he’d only learn about when someone else decided he was ready? He ran a hand through his hair and wondered if he should even bother finishing the note.

The picture she had sent with the letter was propped up against his desk lamp. Every now and then he could see her peek up at the camera, while his baby self grasped her finger. He watched as Remus and Sirius watched her. He wondered again how they all fit together. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she really was his godmother. Maybe she did have things his mom and dad had left with her for him. Leaning back in the chair, he closed his eyes and realized that if he didn’t talk to Remus, none of his questions would be answered.

He heard a rustling against his window and shifted to look out. With the light from the desk lamp behind him, he could see only his own reflection. The rustling could be heard again, this time accompanied by a muffled knock. Wondering what or who could be at his window at this hour, Harry cautiously stood and drew his wand. Underage wizard or no, he would not risk being unarmed in case one of Voldemort’s supporters decided to take “The Boy Who Lived” fate in hand.

He walked slowly and purposefully to the window, wand at the ready and pressed closer to see what caused the knocking sound. He jumped back when his eyes lined up to another set outside the window. The knock sounded again, this time accompanied by the sound of a voice through the glass. Harry looked closer and realized that it was Remus hovering on a broom outside his windowsill.

Taking a deep breath, Harry took a moment to let his heartbeat regain normalcy before opening the window to let Remus enter. Stepping back, he waited until Remus settled both feet on solid ground before asking him why he’d come.

“I’m sorry for arriving without forewarning, but I realized that this might be one of the few chances I have to get away before the next full moon.” Remus answered quietly, careful to keep his voice down so as not to wake up the Muggles that slept in the nearby rooms.

He sat down on the edge of Harry’s bed and propped the worn broom against the edge of the bedside stand. Harry noticed that he looked even more tired than the last time he’d seen him. The full moon must be unbearable now that Snape wasn’t making the Wolfsbane. Not to mention the tasks that members of the Order must be taking on themselves to keep Voldemort and the Death Eaters at bay. Sighing, Harry sat back down at the desk.

“I was just starting to write you a letter actually,” he admitted, gesturing toward the parchment laid out.

Remus noticed the picture propped against Harry’s lamp. Dear Merlin, were they ever that young? If he closed his eyes, he knew that he’d see that day, the day after Harry was born in vivid color. How happy Tia was to see the baby, how proud Sirius had been of his godson, how Remus was overjoyed that his friends weren’t too frightened to have him near their precious bundle. For once, he remembered, Tia had sat in front of the camera instead of her usual place behind it. Blinking, he realized that Harry was studying him, waiting to ask him the questions he wasn’t sure he could answer, but that he promised that he would answer.

“I suspect that the letter from Larentia was more than a little shocking.” Remus said with no hint of teasing. “Trust me when I say that I had lost hope of ever reading words penned by her hand again.”

Harry considered this, knowing from her letter that she’d been gone for close to sixteen years, and couldn’t stop from asking why. Why had she been gone so long? What had happened to her? He leaned forward and didn’t disguise the feeling of hurt and anger of not knowing that he had a godmother, regardless of where she’d been.

“Harry, please understand there are things that I could not tell you, things that were not my place to tell you about. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to; it wasn’t that I didn’t think you should know. It just wasn’t my place.” Remus said with a sigh. Harry knew this wasn’t easy for his father’s friend. He also knew that he was the only one who could answer his questions at this point, for he did not intend to agree to meet someone he didn’t know anything about, except for what she’d told him herself.

“When we were at school, your parents, Lily and James, Sirius, and me, there was another member of our group. No, not Peter, I deliberately left him out. The other member was an American girl. Her parents were originally from England, and she was born here, but her father took a position at the American Magical Embassy. Her name was, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Larentia le Fae Dorrington. Does the name mean anything to you, other than what you learned from that letter I mean?” Remus asked, waiting.

Harry shook his head, “The name sounds familiar, but I don’t know which part or where from.”

Remus nodded, understanding. “The part of the name that is familiar is probably ‘le Fae’. That was the surname of King Arthur’s sister, Morgana, the Lady of the Lake of Avalon. Some say she even enchanted the first Merlin, making him fall in love with her, and using that love to destroy him. I hazard a guess that you may have heard it from a Chocolate Frog card.” Remus chuckled, thinking that learning such history of the origins of magic from a candy card wasn’t how education should be. He knew, however, that Professor Binns preferred the Goblin Wars to true history any day. “Larentia, Lady Larentia actually, is a direct descendent of Morgana. It wasn’t something she was overly proud of, but it was a part of her nonetheless.”

Harry tried to listen patiently, but honestly, he couldn’t understand why knowing her family tree could be important to knowing who she was. He thought about Sirius’ family tree and confirmed it in his mind that bloodline didn’t matter in an individual.

“I’m sure you are wondering what this has to do with Larentia and her connection to you, Harry. I know that you are aware that blood means very little to real witches and wizards, but it will help you understand where she has been for the last sixteen years.” Remus replied, answering Harry’s unvoiced issues with the background. “Tia’s maternal grandmother was very proud of this ancestry and spent the summer break forcing the importance of it on Tia. It was only another reason for Tia to push it farther from her, but then in our fifth year, Tia’s parents were killed. They were visiting some “half bloods” near their home in America when they were all attacked. Her parents, their friends, and two neighbors were killed in the attack. Tia, of course, took it very hard. While it was a time of mourning, her grandmother pressed Tia to live with her and continue the study into their ‘great and noble ancestry’. Sound familiar?”

Harry gulped, remember Mrs. Black’s portrait spouting on and on about the “great and noble” line of Blacks. He nodded, wondering what his godmother did.

“Tia rebelled; she chose to live with her paternal grandmother, whom we all called Grams. This caused a great riff between Tia and her other grandmother, who declared her disinherited and disowned. Tia really didn’t care, she was happy living with Grams and closer to all of us during the summer. Grams could care less about the bloodline, all she cared about was the love that she felt for Tia and how she wanted her to be happy in spite of the tragedy that caused the loss of her parents.” Remus paused, gathering his thoughts. “When we finally finished at Hogwarts and started out in the ‘real world’ it was a bit surprising when Tia decided to follow in her father’s footsteps, working in the political part of the magical community. She studied for a position of “consulate” and we all kept in touch. She and Lily were very close, being so different from those of us who were raised in the magical community of England; they bonded over what made them different from us. When Lily married James, Tia was right there beside of her. Taking the spot that Petunia turned down as bridesmaid.”

Harry interrupted, “Why wasn’t she in the photo album that Hagrid gave me? There aren’t any pictures of this Larentia in that whole book.”

Remus sighed again. “Tia preferred taking pictures to being in them, which is something I’ll let her explain to you. Should you choose to meet her that is. Most of those pictures in your album were taken by Tia. She loved capturing memories. She used to say that you never knew when you would forget, so you had to make certain to keep mementos to remind you.” He smiled, remembering Tia bustling around them, clicking the camera that was her constant companion at the oddest moments. “She used to take pictures of everything, that picture there,” he pointed at the photo on the desk, “was one of the few times she didn’t put up a fight about having her photo taken. While we all reveled in James and Lily’s marriage, your birth was an even higher point. We were all so taken by you, Harry.” He looked straight at Harry. “You were a sign that we had a future, all of us.”