part six True Heritage

 

            Harry leaned against the dank wall of the dining room in the Leaky Cauldron. Slowly, he slid to the floor and brought his knees up, rubbing his fingers on his temples. If only he hadn't stayed at home with Sirius and Sterling, if only he had come to Diagon Alley with Ginny, Remus, Ron and Hermione, none of this would have ever happened. Although he knew it wasn't in anyway his fault, Harry felt responsible for Tom's death and Ginny's kidnapping. Wasn't it enough the Voldemort had killed nearly everyone close to Harry and had denied him a happy childhood with his parents instead of with abusive maniacs determined to make his life a living hell? Obviously not.

 

A pair of feet enclosed in shiny dragonhide boots stopped in front of him. Harry looked up into Ron's troubled, bloodshot eyes. Ron extended a hand to Harry, who allowed his friend to pull him off the floor and out of the little sanctuary he had created for himself amid the chaos of Ministry workers and confused guests.

 

"Harry, there's a lady here who wants to talk to you. She thinks she can help us find Ginny." Ron said in a low voice. Harry looked at his friend blankly. Voldemort had Ginny again. Surely he intended to kill her this time. Harry knew that if Ginny died life would no longer be worth living to him.

 

"All right. Has Sirius and Sterling arrived yet?" he asked as he tried to brush the wrinkles from his rumpled shirt. Ron shook his head.

 

"Sirius has, but not Sterling." Ron said, an odd look on his face. Harry looked at his friend sharply.

 

"Well, where is he?" he asked. Ron looked down at his feet and twisted his wedding band around his finger.

 

“Harry, Sirius thinks perhaps it was Sterling who took Ginny." he said at last, clearly relieved to have said it. Harry shook his head.

 

“No. He wouldn't do that, why would he do that?" Harry asked, feeling panic rise in his voice. A cool voice answered from behind him and Harry whirled around to find a small, slim witch of Asian decent clad in emerald robes. Her short ebony hair was tucked behind her ears and she wore small, lavendar glasses.

 

"Sterling is Voldemort's son, Harry. What Sirius implied is the truth." she said quietly. Ron quietly excused himself and went back to Hermione, who had taken charge of the investigation, and working closely with other Aurors over several maps. Harry stared in stoney silence at the small witch.

 

"How do you know this?" he asked. The witch smiled.

 

"I raised Sterling. All through his childhood he bore the Dark Mark on his forehead, much like you bear Voldemort's scar." she said, lifting her hand to brush aside Harry's bangs. He stepped back quickly, not liking her touch.

 

"Who are you?" he asked warily. It seemed to him he was forever asking that question. The young witch smiled.

 

"I am Ruby Lupin, Remus' wife." she said. Harry stared at her in shock. In all the years he'd known Remus, he had never hinted at being married. Harry's mind was reeling with everything that had happened in the last five hours and he was beginning to feel slightly hysterical.

 

"Look, Mrs. Lupin, I'm not trying to be rude but unless you can tell me something that might help me find my fiancee, I really must excuse myself and get back to the search. Where Voldemort is concerned every moment is precious." Harry turned to walk away, but Ruby grabbed his shirtsleeve.

 

"Wait, a moment Harry. I can help you. Let me tell you a story, it won't take much time and it will help you in your search, I'm sure."  

 

Harry nodded slowly and turned back to Ruby. "All right, I'll hear you out." he said. Ruby nodded her thanks and began.

 

            "When Celeste died, Sirius went mad over her death. He blamed himself for it, not unlike how you blame yourself for the death of Ron's family and Tom and Ginny's kidnapping. He knew that Sterling wasn't his child, but he was determinded to love him anyway. However, Voldemort knew that he had a child somewhere in the world and he was determinded to find him. After much discussion with Remus and I, Sirius gave Sterling to us to raise. Remus and I lived in a small cottage hidden deep in the farthest forests of Britian, and we were certain Voldemort wouldn't be able to find Sterling there physically. But he did mentally. Somehow, Voldemort was able to invade Sterling's thoughts through his dreams. There's a certain spell you can cast to avert that, the Expectra Preventa, but I couldn't make it work. Often, Sterling would wake screaming for his father, and when I asked who his father was, he told me Voldemort."

 

"But what does this all mean?" Harry asked. Ruby looked grave.

 

"It means that at least subconsciously Sterling has always known his true heritage and that he will follow Voldemort. Voldemort has been training his son through his dreams ever since Sterling was a baby."

 

Harry stared at Ruby and then turned to go tell Hermione and Ron of what Ruby had said. They both looked at him as if he had lost it, and when he pointed to where Ruby had been, she was gone.

 

"That's odd. She was there a moment ago." Harry muttered. Ron looked at his friend with worry.

 

"We'll have to talk to Sirius about this. I mean, before we go after Sterling. Maybe Sterling was just angry and upset and he went to be by himself for a while." Hermione suggested in her practical way. Ron rolled his eyes behind her back and then groaned when she elbowed him in the stomach.

 

"I agree with Hermione. We'll check with Sirius before we go ahead. If it was Sterling who took Ginny, things will be different, very different." Harry said. His two best friends nodded in agreement and they set off through the crowd to find Sirius.

 

to be continued,,,,