“There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There're secrets in this life
That I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Or maybe I'm just blind...”
Lyrics to “When I’m Gone” by 3 Doors Down
Chapter 11-Revelation
Silence filled the room and Sarah just stared at Harry and thought for a moment. Is he crazy? My parents could not have possibly been wizards! No, I’ve thought of this before, but ruled it out immediately. Chris would have told me…He would certainly not have kept it a secret to me. After all, that’s a huge secret to keep! It would have changed my whole life…exactly! It would have probably put me in greater danger and revealed me to whatever danger Mom, Dad, and Chris had been killed by. Chris must have known and tried to protect me!
She blinked and then considered Harry’s theory further. She had made some things happen that were unexplainable. When Chris had told her that their parents had died, she found herself upstairs in her room, with the door locked, within a matter of seconds and she couldn’t remember how she got there. When she was younger, a bully was picking on one of her friends during recess and she thought about how funny it would be if the snow on the roof of the school would just fall down on top of him. Then, suddenly, the snow did fall, and she earned herself a time out for not being able to explain herself. One night, while doing her homework, she got angry because she couldn’t solve an extremely difficult math problem and the paper caught fire somehow. Andrea, dissatisfied with Sarah’s lack of explanation, sent her to her room for playing with matches. She could also recall many other instances that she never quite understood, but instead, blamed them on coincidences.
Harry looked at Sarah, wishing that he could know what was going through her mind. It had been a while since he’d asked her about her parents and he wondered if she was just pretending that he didn’t say that. She gave him a puzzling look and he waited for a response.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I had thought about that when you first told me that you were a wizard and then I put it to the back of my mind. I can’t explain some things that have happened to me, so being a witch is probably a logical theory. It would clarify my situation a lot. I still don’t understand why Chris would keep a secret like that from me.” Sarah sighed.
“Well, is it possible that he didn’t know either?” asked Harry.
“It’s possible, but highly unlikely. I always felt that he was keeping things from me and by things I don’t mean where he hid the television remote. I mean stuff like what my parents did for a living, or how dinner was always ready within a matter of seconds. He just told me that I was too young to understand and after a while, I stopped asking questions. Now, I regret not asking more, but usually my brother would get angry with me when I asked too many questions about our parents. It was always a very touchy subject,” explained Sarah.
“If you are a witch, then there must be a good reason why your brother never told you about it. I mean, my aunt and uncle thought that my parents were freaks. My parents were murdered by a very powerful dark wizard and I was told that they had died in a car crash. And I believed that for eleven years. What my aunt and uncle put me through when I was growing up was just terrible. You’re lucky that you found guardians who obviously care very much for you. However, you still have a right to learn about your past. I would like to help you, if you don’t mind,” Harry said.
Sarah just nodded. She had never heard Harry talk about his childhood before. She had asked him if he did have a good upbringing before. He simply replied “no” and then asked her how her classes were going. Sarah knew now that Harry was not happy growing up and she didn’t blame him for speaking ill of the people who were so cruel to him as a child. She could see in his eyes that Harry had faced many difficulties. Now,Sarah thought, it’s my turn to learn about my life. What has my family been hiding from me?
Sarah sighed again. Harry could see the obvious expression of sorrow on her usually joyful face. This saddened Harry. Her usually bright eyes seemed to have darkened. Her lips were turned slightly downward and the smile that had once lit up any room had faded. Harry, felling slightly responsible, took her warm hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze. She looked up, smiled, and looked into his emerald eyes knowing that somehow, everything would be alright.
“Thank you, Harry,” she whispered. Harry stared at her.
“What for?” he queried.
“For just being here with me, helping me, and being the best friend that I never had. You know, the usual,” Sarah replied.
“Sarah, you know that I’ll always be here for you when you need me,” Harry reassured her.
“I know, but there’s just one thing that I don’t understand. How can so many horrible things happen to you, yet you still put others before yourself? How is it that when your own life is in danger, you always think of your own well being last. I mean, I love helping people, but you have risked you life time after time for some people that you don’t even know. I really admire that, Harry,” Sarah added. Harry blushed.
“Well, Hermione’s told me before that I have a ‘saving people thing’, but I just like to help people. Maybe it’s because I’ve been the victim so many times in my life that I just don’t want to see other people suffer, too. But, I really don’t know why I do it,” Harry explained.
Silence filled the room as Sarah and Harry thought. Sarah was thinking about her family and how calm Harry always was. Harry was in a regretful mood and kept thinking about all of the people who he couldn’t save. His mind flashed to Ginny, but he quickly pushed her memory to the back of his mind. Instead, Harry thought about Sarah and what dangers lay ahead for her. He found himself drifting between thoughts.
* * *
The next few days carried on slowly. Sarah felt that Harry was keeping an annoyingly close watch on her but said nothing about it. Ron did what he could to find information about Sarah’s family. As it turned out, Ron discovered that the Ministry did know that three Dementors had strayed from Azkaban. He was furious as he explained that his home had been attacked but all the Ministry could do was apologize profusely.
Hermione kept a close eye on the articles in the Daily Prophet, hoping to find news about any strange occurrences. However, she was unable to find anything out of the ordinary.
Harry showed Sarah a lot of his things from Hogwarts including his Firebolt, robes, and books. Sarah had been especially interested in the pictures that he showed her. She asked Harry was his favorite class was and naturally he told her how he excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry explained the different exams that he took and how he had a different Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year. He told her about the castle, the lake, and the grounds. Harry also informed Sarah about the Forbidden Forest and what he had encountered on his journeys into it.
“I hope someday that you’ll be able to see Hogwarts for yourself. It really is a magnificent place. After all, Hogwarts was the first place where I felt as if I actually belonged. I think that you would love it,” Harry had said. Sarah had agreed with him. Then, since they were on the subject, he asked Sarah what it was like for her growing up.
“Well,” Sarah hesitated, “I went to a public school and it wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed school but I was always teased when I raised my hand to answer every question. I had a few good friends but over the years we drifted apart and I went through many different groups of friends. I don’t think that I told them that Bob and Andrea were my adopted parents because I didn’t want them to feel sorry for me. I figured that I’d rather have friends that liked me for who I was instead of people who just felt sorry for me. I think that I may have intimidated them, too, but it wasn’t my fault. And I’m not trying to boast but I was very smart and a lot of the boys thought that I was very pretty, also.” Harry laughed at this and Sarah, who was now a pleasant shade of pink, threw a pillow at him.
“What? I’m laughing because it’s true. Those boys weren’t stupid,” Harry chuckled. Sarah flushed again.
“Anyway,” she emphasized, “I was never very popular at school but to me it didn’t matter. I had a family that loved me and I constantly reminded myself that that’s what mattered. Nothing really exciting ever happened to me at school,” Sarah finished.
“Alright then, let’s go back to these boys who liked you. Did you ever go out with any of them?” Harry asked smiling. Sarah was taking off-guard but laughed lightly.
“Well, of course I did. I went out with two of them. The first one, John, took me to the sophomore semi formal dance in high school. He was very nice and when he asked me to go with him, I said that I would. A few months later as I learned more about him, I saw that he wasn’t the type of person that I like after all. Just between you and me, he was a bit of a geek,” Sarah laughed as she wondered why she ever went out with him in the first place. She decided that she was too young to know better. Harry laughed at her description and asked her about the second boy.
“Oh, well, you know, I did really like my second boyfriend, Daniel. He was the school heartthrob. You must know the type. Daniel was handsome, smart, funny, and athletic. We went out for about a year and then to my horror, I saw him flirting with a girl who I knew as Mandy. She was a cheerleader and when I saw his arm around her, I marched right up to him and slapped him right in the face. Then, I walked away and of course, he had to run after me. After some yelling about how much of a loser he was, I slapped him once more and vowed never to talk to him again. Then I told him to have a happy life with Mandy and hurried off to my next class. That day, the whole school watched as they discovered how bad my temper was. No one bothered me again and I was just fine with that,” Sarah reflected as she pictured the look on Daniel’s face that day in the hallway after lunch.
“So, what about you, Harry? I can only imagine how many girls would be attracted to your hero complex.” Sarah giggled. Harry thought and wasn’t sure why they were having this conversation. Perhaps just to pass the time as they waited for Ron to come home with any news that he could find about Sarah’s family. He shrugged and then told Sarah about Cho Chang.
“Cho was always, er, dramatic. Remember that I told you about the Triwizard Tournament? Well, Cedric, the boy who died, was her boyfriend at the time. When we went out the year after, all Cho wanted to do was talk about Cedric and every time I’d see her, she was always crying. Of course, after watching him die the previous year, the last thing that I wanted to do was talk about Cedric. So, Cho and I had some fights and then when I saw her with another guy, I was absolutely fine with it. After that, I went out with Ginny, and well you know that story,” Harry mumbled. Then he smiled.
“Why are you smiling?” Sarah queried.
“Oh, nothing really. I just pictured you slapping someone across the face. I can imagine that it would be quite funny to see,” he replied, laughing through his teeth.
“Well, if it really is that funny, I could let you experience it firsthand if you would like,” Sarah grinned. She rubbed her hands together as if she was bracing herself. Harry stood up and backed away from her with his hands blocking his face.
“Um, I don’t think that will be necessary but thanks for the generous offer. Maybe some other time…please?” Harry said as he backed into the corner. Sarah was still coming at him. Harry, feeling as if he had better do something fast, approached her quickly and started tickling her. She tried to run away, but Harry wouldn’t let her.
They fell to the ground with Sarah on top, gasping for breath as she laughed. Harry laughed with her and soon he became the target of the tickling. He thought about using a tickling charm on her but figured that would be cheating and she wouldn’t like that. The battle went on for a few minutes, and before too long, they tired out. Sarah lay down on the floor next to Harry and stared at the ceiling for a while. Harry looked at Sarah and wondered how she was so unpredictable. Harry always had no idea what she was thinking and couldn’t even begin to understand most of her actions. Then Sarah turned her head and looked at Harry.
“What are you looking at?” she giggled.
“You,” Harry replied simply. Sarah blushed and then Harry added, “Duh!”
This made both of them laugh out loud and Sarah looked into Harry’s eyes not understanding her feelings. Then they heard the door creak open but neither Harry nor Sarah turned to look at their visitor. They heard footsteps and then Ron spoke to them.
“Um, am I interrupting something?” He grinned at the sight of his best friend lying on the floor next to Sarah. Harry stood up immediately.
“No…nothing. We were just, um…well Sarah and I were just…” He looked to Sarah for help. She laughed at him.
“Harry and I were just playing. It was quite funny, actually,” Sarah explained, and then continued, “So, Ron, do you have any news?”
“Oh, right. Okay, well come on down to the kitchen and I can show you what I found. I think that you’ll find this very interesting,” Ron said. Harry and Sarah followed him to the kitchen and sat around the table. Sarah felt her heart begin to beat faster. Ron broke the uncomfortable silence.
“I’ve been doing some digging, Sarah, and today, I was finally successful. Would you like to see what I found?” Ron asked.
Sarah thought about it for a moment. Whatever Ron had found could easily change her life, but would also clear up some of the questions that she had. Then she realized that if she didn’t discover the truth now, she would most likely live the rest of her life regretting her decision. There are some things that are worth risking, and this, she decided, was one of them.
“I’ve waited my whole life to learn about what my brother had kept from me, and I’m not about to turn back now. Go ahead, Ron. Show us,” Sarah answered.
Ron nodded and opened a large envelope that he had been carrying to reveal several newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and an Internet article. Sarah, Harry, and Hermione looked through the papers. Sarah recognized the people in the photographs as the parents that she once knew. Ron started talking again.
“Sarah, I’ll tell you what I think is the truth that I’ve gathered from these articles. Your parents were powerful Aurors, or Dark wizard catchers. They aided the Ministry by catching many powerful Dark wizards. They started tracking Voldemort as he was gaining power. Unfortunately, Voldemort learned of their plans and immediately turned his attention to finding them. Your parents, fearing for you and your brother’s safety, went to the United States to hide. They tried to blend in with the Muggles, but Voldemort found them. At the time, Voldemort lacked the knowledge that Karen and Christopher Stanley had a son and a daughter,” Ron explained as he reached across the table and handed Sarah her parents’ obituary. Ron, obviously not finished with his story, started talking again.
“You see, Sarah, Voldemort never discovered that you and your brother existed until his return. Although his main focus was killing Harry, he murdered your brother about two months after he came back into power. Voldemort assumed that you had also died in the car crash with Chris, so he never came back for you. The Ministry is partly at fault for this, too, because they thought that you and Chris died along with your parents. Read toward the bottom of that obituary and you’ll see your name. You see, Sarah, the wizard world believes that you died along with your parents sixteen years ago. You were supposed to go to Hogwarts and your name was on the list since your birth. However, when the school had learned of your apparent death, they didn’t bother to send an invitation when you turned eleven. Sarah, you’re not a Muggle. You are truly a witch,” Ron finished.
Sarah stared at Ron in total disbelief. My parents? Dark wizard catchers? Murdered by Voldemort? I’m not supposed to be alive? This isn’t happening! Sarah thought. She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to take in this revelation. She tried not to panic but almost burst when Ron started talking again, to her horror.
“There’s one more thing, Sarah…and Harry. Sarah, your parents were also very good friends with James and Lily Potter. They all went to school together. In fact, Karen was Lily’s Maid of Honor at her wedding. Harry, you could have pictures of your parents with Christopher and Karen and Sarah, if you have any old pictures of your parents, then odds are the Potters make an appearance once or twice. And that’s all I could find, but I think that this clears up a lot of the questions that you had,” Ron informed.
Harry just stared at Ron and was uncertain of what to say. His mouth was half open and a look of complete shock filled his eyes. Now he was sure that it wasn’t just a coincidence that he and Sarah had met. Harry looked across the table to see that Sarah held relatively the same expression. She handed Harry one of the articles that she had been reading. Harry noticed that it was the obituary.
As Harry read, he got to the last few sentences on the page. “Beloved son, Christopher, and daughter, Sarah, suffered the most tragic deaths for their bodies were never found. It is truly sad that these two promising young children met their fate at the hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”
Harry wondered what was going through Sarah’s mind at that moment. He knew that Sarah was strong, but this was a lot to take in. There were several times in his own life that he had doubted his ability to deal with news and events. Harry found it hard to believe that a little more than a half an hour ago he and Sarah had been laughing so hard that they couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, Sarah pushed herself away from the table and left the room. Harry hesitated for a moment but then decided to follow her.
Sarah went outside to the backyard and sat against a tree. Harry followed her and sat on the opposite side of the tree. Although Sarah had undoubtedly seen him come, she didn’t acknowledge him for a while. Harry respected the silence, but when she finally did speak, he could sense her voice shaking.
“Did you know, Harry? Did you know that our parents were friends?” Sarah asked.
“Of course I didn’t know. If I did, I would have told you. I’m just as surprised as you are,” Harry responded. He tilted his head back against the tree and waited.
“Harry, I just don’t know what to make of this. I’ve gone through my whole life as a Muggle, thinking that my family died in accidents. Then, I find out that they were murdered by some guy who had the nerve to think that he could control everything. And if that’s not enough, I’m a witch, too! Is there anything else, Harry? Anything at all about my own life that I don’t know? Because if there is, feel free to enlighten me at any time!” Sarah snapped. Then she stood up and ran quickly back to the house, slamming the door on her way in.
This time, however, Harry didn’t follow. He fully understood what Sarah was feeling now. He had felt the same way in his fifth year at Hogwarts while he destroyed Dumbledore’s possessions. Harry just closed his eyes and wondered if Sarah would be all right. Somehow he knew that she would be. After all, he had turned out all right for the most part.
When It Seems Like All Is Lost by KateH
Chapter Notes: Sorry it took so long! Chapter 12 shouldn't take as long as this one; it's already half written! Hope you like this one!