Hermione was right about more than one thing. The spell had worn off by the next
morning and a lot of the girls were looking very pale as though they regretted
something they had just done. And Harry was allowed stay on the Quidditch team
to his great surprise. Unfortunately most people believed Harry had lost his
touch and that he was no longer the greatest seeker.
Easter came quickly but people didn’t stay as they usually did. Over half of
the school boarded the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmead and returned to Kings Cross.
As at Christmas, the Weasleys and the Grangers stayed and Harry had no choice.
They all knew where they were safer.
They had plenty of work to keep
them busy over the holidays. Prof. Figg gave them a report on the changes in
Defence Against the Dark Arts since the founding of Hogwarts and it had to be as
long as the writer was tall which was particularly unfortunate for Ron who was
taller than most people in the year.
‘We could always shrink ourselves to two inches tall,’ Ron said one day in
the common room lying on the ground trying to measure out a piece of parchment
to the same length as he was. He’d only managed to write from the floor to his
knees. ‘Then we’d only have to write a few lines. Know a good spell
Hermione?’
‘You know I’m not going to give you a spell for that sort of thing,’ said
Hermione. ‘Its all for the OWLs. It will do you good. You’ll be writing a
lot more in the actual exam. You have to get used to it.’
Most of the other teachers had been a lot kinder and felt that study was enough
for them to be doing. They didn’t know about all Harry had to learn for the
Order. The spells and hexes were getting more and more difficult. He was glad he
didn’t have to learn to Disapparate. Not only would it be very difficult but
also he wasn’t to keen on having no body for a second - What would happen if
the apparation went wrong? Would he have no body and just walk around like an
invisible ghost or would he just not exist?
On the evening of Easter Sunday Harry headed down to the forth floor and entered
the chamber of Godric through the opening behind Merlin.
Once again the rest of the Order were already there and waiting. Dumbledore
started the meeting as usual.
‘Firstly,’ he said, ‘there is more grievous news I have to announce.
Justin Finch Fletchly was killed this morning.’ There was a murmur around the
room. Harry’s stomach gave an almighty turn inside of him. ‘I am not sure if
it was Voldemort or one of his followers. We must all be strong at this point.
Don’t let Lord Voldemort get us as he has other people.’
There were some murmurs of agreement from Sirius, Moody and Hagrid.
‘It is time, I believe,’ continued Dumbledore, ‘that a secret be told. I
am the only living person who knows about it and that is why a feel it is time
that the Order is told about it. It is known as the Evans’ Secret.
‘Many years before I was born it was seen by some of the greatest crystal
gazers that “a man of great wisdom will contain the secret to ending an evil
so great people will fear to speak its name.” I am that man. For many years
people wondered what evil this could be and who held the secret. But people have
realised that this “evil” is Voldemort. Very few people know who the holder
of this secret is. One of them is unfortunately Voldemort. I have not found the
secret, though I have searched for it countless of times. Voldemort found out at
quite a young age that I was to put an end to his evil doings and has wanted to
kill me ever since, though he also fears what I could do to him. He will stop at
nothing in his fight for power. As a result the secret needed to be kept safe
and so did the only person who would be able to retrieve it. And so it was
decided I would be put under the safest spell in the wizarding world – I would
have a secret keeper. The problem was who would be trustworthy enough to be my
secret keeper. The answer was simple - the Evans – the family of Lily
Potter.’
Harry looked up at this. He wasn’t ready to take in more surprises at
the moment. He had too much on his mind what with the OWLs and everything. He
was too tired from study to learn anything about his family’s past. He was too
tired to take any shocks that he could sense were coming.
‘The Evans have been respected in the wizarding world for many
centuries. Each girl to be born would keep Evan as her surname. The youngest
girl would become my secret keeper when the previous one died. All Evans girls
were witches except for two – Rose Evans, Lily’s mother, and Petunia Evans,
Lily’s sister. Rose was terribly disappointed when she failed to be accepted
into Hogwarts and so were her parents. She now could not be a secret keeper.
Rose was sixteen when her mother, Ivy, had another child. Her name was Myrtle
and from the moment she was born everyone knew that she had outstanding magical
talents lurking somewhere inside her. There was no doubt about her getting into
Hogwarts.
‘Two days after her birth, Ivy died. Without a secret keeper I am no
longer protected. Myrtle was immediately made my secret keeper – a secret
keeper can be any age once they have seen the person whose secret they are
keeping. Unfortunately Myrtle was killed in this very school at the young age of
fourteen. She was killed by the Basilisk that once ruled the Chamber of
Secrets.’ Dumbledore glanced quickly over at Harry who had killed the snake in
his second year at Hogwarts, and then continued. ‘Lord Voldemort, who had just
found out about the Evans secret, set the snake on her. She is the same Myrtle
as haunts the girls’ bathroom on the second floor and who is, I believe, known
by the students as ‘Moaning Myrtle’.
Harry nearly choked when he heard this. You would think after all the
times I’ve been in there she would have told me, Harry thought.
‘And so,’ Dumbledore continued ‘a new secret keeper was needed.
Lily Evans, the witch daughter of Rose was now three and so she became the new
secret keeper. Voldemort then killed her many years later. There was no girl
Evans left and so it was time that the tradition was changed.’
Dumbledore turned to face Harry. ‘You are my newest secret keeper, Harry,’
he said. ‘The secret is now called the Potter Secret.’
Harry was glad to see that every other member of the Order were just as
flabbergasted as he was. When he finally came to his senses he needed to ask
Dumbledore something he didn’t quite understand.
‘Albus,’ he said. ‘When Voldemort rose again last year, he said he
hadn’t wanted to kill my mum. But if he knew she was a secret keeper why would
he not want to kill her?’
‘That, Harry,’ said Dumbledore, ‘is something I can’t explain.’
‘And another thing, Albus,’ said Harry wondering whether he should ask this
next question or not. But it was out before he had finished deciding. ‘How
long have people been your secret keeper?’
Harry immediately knew he had just been quite rude. Aunt Petunia had always been
very strict about asking personal questions. ‘Don’t be poking your nose
where its not wanted,’ she would say shrilly.
‘You may have heard people say,’ said Dumbledore, ‘that Lord Voldemort has
not enough human left in him to die. Well in ways I am similar to Lord
Voldemort. Age does not bother me, and illnesses and sickness seems to ignore
me. That is how I have been guarded by so many generations of your family. But,
remember this, Harry. I am not immortal. A simple spell may be sufficient enough
to kill me.’
***
As soon as the meeting had finished, instead of going back to the Gryffindor
Tower and having some much needed sleep, Harry went straight to the girls’
toilets on the second floor where Moaning Myrtle lived in the u-bend of a pipe.
Myrtle seemed to be in a very good mood today.
‘Hello!’ she said cheerfully when he entered as though Harry entering a
girls bathroom was a regular occurrence.
‘Myrtle, do you know who I am?’ he asked getting straight to the point.
‘Oh! I love this game!’ she said brightly. ‘Ok. Are you a man or a
woman?’ Myrtle seemed to think Harry was playing ’20 Questions’ but Harry
was in no mood for a game.
‘This isn’t a game,’ he said losing his patients a bit.
‘Oh fine,’ said Myrtle bitterly. ‘No one ever wants to play with
Myrtle…’
‘No I didn’t mean I like that,’ said Harry quickly no wanting her to start
balling. ‘Its just, I’m Harry Potter…’
‘And?’ asked Myrtle.
‘And you’re Myrtle Evens. Isn’t that right?’ Harry said hoping she would
catch on.
‘Oh I get you!’ said Myrtle happily. ‘But I can’t marry you.’
‘What?’ asked Harry astounded. ‘No you’ve…’
‘I’m your grand-aunt,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t feel right marrying
you.’
‘I don’t want to marry you,’ said Harry angrily but relieved that she had
finally told him what he wanted to know. ‘Why didn’t you tell me, all the
times I’ve been in here?’
‘Uhh,’ she said shrugging her shoulders. ‘I suppose I just wanted the
right time to tell you.’
‘And this is the right time?’ said Harry thinking it couldn’t possibly be.
‘Well of course not,’ said Myrtle a bit happier than a minute ago. ‘I was
going to tell you next time you came in to make a potion.’
‘We don’t do that anymore,’ said Harry. ‘We’ve grown out of that.’
‘Oh I get it,’ said Myrtle crossly. ‘Find a better place to make potions.
Myrtle’s toilet isn’t good enough for the little threesome, is it not?’
And with that she went back to her u-bend in the toilet and started sobbing.