Chapter 2: The Sidetrip A/N: There will be a few canon discrepencies in this chapter as well. Kinda big ones; you'll notice once you read them. Just deal with them, okay? That's why this story is marked as AU. Also, I got this idea from the awesome musical Wicked, especially the song No One Mourns the Wicked. Go listen to the songs while you read. Also, I am about halfways through chapter three, so wait shouldn't be that long.
The exclamation that he had just made rang in his ears. I think I saw, forty years ago, my mum and Narcissa Black becoming best friends. It was proposterous, impossible. Yet he had saw it. It had been so clear, so vivid....
Hermione just blinked at him, an odd look on her face. "But Harry," she said, her head on the heel of her hand, thinking. "How would that ever work? If your mum was in Gryffindor, and Narcissa was a Slytherin--"
"Are you sure she was sorted into Slytherin?" Harry interrupted.
"Of course; why wouldn't she be?" Hermione replied automatically.
"Well, in this...vision...she said she didn't want to be a Slytherin. She wanted to be in Ravenclaw. Doesn't the Sorting Hat usually take that into account?"
"Usually," Hermione responded. "But if it's really, really blatent that that's where they should be placed, I don't know."
"Did you ever hear directly that Narcissa Black was sorted into Slytherin? Cuz I haven't."
Hermione sat in silence for almost a full minute, as though searching her mental library, checking to see what she could find. "No," she said suddenly. "No, I don't think I have."
"So it's possible she was in Ravenclaw?"
"Yes, yes, I suppose it is." Harry displayed a look of triumph at this, but Hermione gave him a look. "But Harry, it's extremely improbable. Draco goes about bragging of his whole family being in Slytherin. It seems unlikely..."
"Maybe he doesn't know; maybe it's a secret, even to his own son. Lucius wouldn't be too keen on everyone knowing that he married anything but a Slytherin."
"Well, there it is, Harry! He wouldn't marry anybody but a bad-to-the-bone witch, a Slytherin, and a Pureblood! He would have no motivation to do something other than that."
"It's still possible; there's no undeniable evidence--"
Just then, they heard Ron groan from beside Harry, maybe a foot or two away. It was too bad that they hadn't been able to find a more respectable dwelling before nightfall had come. That's why he had been so uncomfortable: fitting the four of them into this tiny cave hadn't come easily, especially with Ron and Harry well over six feet in height. Also not helping matters was the fact that Ginny was starting to embody the Weasely height gene as well. But they were searching for Voldemort's soul, after all, and the conditions were bound to be less than glamorous.
Hermione smiled beside him, looking at Ron tenderly. His two best friends had been been going out for three months now, and they were much happier. Both he and Ginnny had agreed that it was a long, long time coming. The highs between them were much higher, but the lows were lower as well. However, they were happier than he had seen them in a long time. It was actually a relief. There had been no more canary attacks or Quiddich player limbs strewn about, so all was well.
Hermione interrupted. "I suppose it is. So...what are you thinking? About this whole thing?"
Harry thought. He honestly wasn't sure. "I dunno. Maybe it hasn't really sunk in yet. But I'm not mad. Just kind of...shocked, I guess. I'm not even sure it's real yet. If I find out that it is, it's gonna change things. What're we going to do about this? It could be a trick."
Hermione nodded. "It could be. That's why we have to be sure."
"But how?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? Well, once it's a half-decent hour, we can Apparate over to the Burrow and ask Remus if what you're seeing is true. It's the Order headquarters; he's bound to be there."
Harry smiled. She was right, of course, and had the perfect action plan. Remus would be absolutely perfect to inform them. "But for now," she continued, "we should go back to sleep. It's probably three in the morning."
Harry laughed. "Alright then. G'night, Hermione."
"'Night, Harry," she offered before collapsing into sleep almost instantaneously. Harry, however, was not as lucky. He lay awake for hours, until he could see the glimmers of sunrise over the horizion. He was far too anxious to sleep, and he wasn't sure whether he dreaded or wanted to see his mum again.
*******
"So Harry, what did you see?" Ginny questioned over their meager breakfast of a piece of dry toast (cooked with Hermione's wand). Harry didn't see why they even bothered eating. After all, Mrs. Weasely would insist on feeding them a hearty meal once they got to the Burrow. However, Hermione had insisted, so none of them had argued.
"I saw my mum just before she was supposed to go into first year, walking through Diagon Alley," Harry told her. "I could hear her thoughts, too; that's what made it so odd. Then she went to get robes, and Narcissa Black was already in there getting fitted. They talked, and Narcissa told her that she wanted to be a Ravenclaw; that was probably the most note-worthy part. Then Narcissa left, and she left a note. It asked my mum to sit with her on the Hogwarts Express. And Lily thought that they could become best friends."
"Whoah," Ron muttered. "Do you think they stayed friends long after that?"
"That's what we're going to Lupin for. So we can figure out how much he knew, make sure this wasn't placed in his head," Hermione explained.
Ginny nodded. "Alright. I want to go; the sooner the better. It'll be wonderful to see everyone again. When can we leave?"
"Well, it's almost ten already. It should be late enough, don't you think?"
"Yes, it is. I'm going; see you guys over there!" he said smiling, and with a crack, he was gone. And at that, they all closely followed him.
They walked in without the slightest note of hesitancy; this was their home. The kitchen was warm, scents of a freshly cooked breakfast sweeping the place. However, there was no one in sight.
"Mum! Molly!" Ginny called loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Look what the cat dragged in!"
After about half a minute, Molly Weasely ran into her kitchen, pink-faced, her eyes as large as dinner plates. "Ron? Ginny?"
"Yes, mum," Ron told her, smirking. "Harry and Hermione, too."
And at that, she ran up to her daughter and embraced her, nearly knocking Ginny off her feet. "Ginny, oh Ginny! We've all been so worried; anything could have happened to you!" She ran over to Ron next, her euphoria quite clear now. "Ron! We've missed you all so much, you have no idea!" Then she turned to Harry and Hermione, nearly out of breath, and hugged both of them, one in each arm. "Harry, Hermione, it's been far too long!"
Once she released them, she caught her breath, an addressed all of them, trying to keep a calm note in her voice. "You're not done, are you? You haven't found them all?!"
"No, but we've been lucky so far. There's only two to go," Ginny told her.
Molly smiled. "You're all so talented; of course you'll be able to cope. That doesn't keep me from worrying, though, heavens no. But it's so great to see you all back alright. But goodness gracious, it looks like you've all lost twenty pounds; there can't be anything decent wherever you're staying." As she said this, she summoned what looked like two kitchens' worth of pots and pans. They all started to perform their designated tasks, Molly flicking her wand occasionally.
"Sit down, sit!" she said, sounding airy and inviting. All four teenagers gathered around the table, plopping down in chairs before she continued. "So what brings you back? I'm sure it's strictly business, of course."
Hermione smiled. "It's not really horcrux stuff, actually. Harry had a dream last night that he thinks may have actually happened. It had to do with his mum, and we figured Remus would be able to help us figure it out."
Mrs. Weasely nodded. "I don't think he's up yet. Everyone in the Order has already eaten and are on assignment by now, but I haven't seen him. It was a full moon a couple of nights ago, so I don't think he's feeling his best. I think it'd be wise to wait a bit. After all, I've finished your breakfasts." Platters of food levitated over to the table, and all of their mouths hung open. There were eggs, bacon, sausages, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, breakfast potatoes, scones, muffins, doughnuts, toast, marmalade, hashbrowns, and about five different kinds of drinks to choose from. Four mouths hung open at the feast set before them, and Molly grinned. "Go on," she told them. "Tuck in!"
And that they did. Not having a well-ballanced meal in months, they were certainly making up for it now, all senses of dignity forgotten. About two hours later, all of them feeling full to the brim with food, they resurfaced, most of the platters left bare. Harry was the first to speak. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasely. That was amazing."
They all murmered their agreement, and Mrs. Weasely simply said, "Thank you, dears; my pleasure. You'd better go find Remus and be off."
Taking Mrs. Weasely's advice, they all stood up from their chairs, smiled at Molly, and trudged up the stairs. Once they found what Ginny said was the guest room that he was bound to be staying in, they knocked gingerly on the door. "Remus? Remus, are you in there?"
After a minute or so of pounding, they heard a voice behind the door, and exchanged glances. "It must be him."
Harry frowned. "But I can't tell what he said. Does he want us in or out?"
"Beats me. Look in there and see, Harry," Ron said.
An anxious feeling in his stomach, Harry creaked the door open a crack. "Remus, can we come in? It's me, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny." After getting no response again, he looked into the room. Remus lay ashen on his bedsheets, his face devoid of all colour. "Remus?" Harry asked again, his voice unsure.
He nodded as though it caused him a large amount of pain. His voice raspy, he spoke. "Yes, Harry. You may come in." Harry took his head out from in the crack of the door, and beckoned for the others to follow him in. They nodded, and Harry opened the door. Once Hermione caught sight of Remus, she gasped.
"Remus, are you alright?! You look terrible!"
Remus smiled weakly. "Decent. Full moon the night before last. Always a bit under the weather afterwords. It's good to see you back. How's your search going?"
"Alright," Ron piped in. "Two more to go. Would've been three is Sirius's brother hadn't been so helpful."
"But that's not why we're here," Hermione said curtly.
"Oh?" Remus attempted to sit up, but his attempts failed miserably, and he gave up.
"Yes. Harry's been having some visions about his mum, and we wanted to clear them up before they could cause trouble. Figure out what's fact and what's fiction."
Remus nodded again. "So Harry. What were these visions about?"
"Well, they've been about my mum." He took an intake of breath. "And...and her friends at Hogwarts."
Remus blinked. "Go on."
With a hint of urgency in his voice, Harry asked, "Was Narcissa Black a Slytherin?"
Lupin sighed. "I always knew this would come up. I tried to get the Weaselys, Dumbledore, Sirius to tell you. But they said you were too young, and maybe you were."
"That I was too young for what?"
"Harry," Remus breathed, his features changed somehow. "Narcissa wasn't in Slytherin. She was in Gryffindor."
A/N: Alright, this is an AU story. I realize that it couldn't happen. So I'd really prefer it to be taken as such. And just so you all know, I suck at writing Molly Weasely. I'm sorry! Please review, cuz they make me feel all happy.
Printer Friendly Version
