Harry Potter and the Death Awakener

Chapter Ten: Questions

Three days later when Harry woke up in Grimmauld Place, he went down the stairs to the kitchen. The smells of breakfast wafted up through the whole house. As Harry sat down at the kitchen table, Kreacher put a mug of steaming hot liquid and today's Daily Prophet, as well as the previous days', in front of him.

"Thank you, Kreacher," Harry said. He took a sip of the drink and read the headline of the paper from a few days ago as Kreacher left the room. Harry choked on his drink and cursed loudly, spitting his tea everywhere.

"Two More Graves Robbed."

He continued to read the article which stated, " Last night, somewhere between the hours of midnight and dawn, two more graves were robbed. The graves of Remus Lupin and Nymphdora Tonks Lupin were dug up and left empty. Three figures were seen leaving the cemetery. A tall dark silhouette was spotted leaving the area and then ten minutes later two more people left the site. Our witness describes the...."

Harry couldn't believe it. He threw the paper back on the table and in the process, he knocked his mug over. He spit out another string of curses as the hot liquid seeped into all three papers. Harry rushed to the sink and grabbed a wet dish cloth. He hurriedly cleaned the mess up before Kreacher came in and scolded him.

  How could he have missed this? Could this be connected to his parents? Their graves had been left empty too. Does that mean Remus and Tonks are out there, wondering around confused? How could bodies that have long been cold and dead suddenly walk once again? He had so many questions and no one who could answer them.

Harry looked back to the hallway where he heard footsteps. Lily and James were standing there watching him. James smirked at him from the doorframe and said, "You've got an impressive mouth on you!" Harry's face grew warm with color as he wiped down the rest of the table.

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked, quickly changing the subject. He tossed the rag back into the sink and faced them again.

"We haven't seen you much since you've been at work most of the days and we thought it'd be a good idea to see you off," Lily said.

"We thought it was a good idea to get up early? I think you meant that you thought it was a good idea," James grumbled. Harry could tell he wasn't a morning person.

They walked into the kitchen and sat across from Harry. Kreacher had returned to the room and put a plate of food in front of them. Lily and James dug in.

  Harry still wasn't used to having them here. He was happy and excited that they were here and breathing, but it should be impossible that they're alive at all. He still couldn't wrap his mind around how it all happened.

  "Are you positive that you have no idea how you are here?" Harry asked for the millionth time.

  "Like we said, we woke up in a hole in the ground. We are just as confused as you are, Harry," Lily said.

"We're lucky McGonagall found us or who knows what would happened!" James said.

"Are you sure you didn't see-"

  Right at that moment, the grandfather clock in the hall struck six. It was time for Harry to head to the Ministry. Today was the day when he would take his Auror exam

  "I've got to go. My test starts in fifteen minutes," Harry said. He got up and walked around the table to kiss his mother's cheek. James patted him hard on his back as he passed.

  "Good luck, son!" James called after him as Harry went down the hall. He threw the door open and apparated off the front step.

When he landed in the Ministry, Harry was met by Calista. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Calista said, "Yes I read the papers, but now's not the time to worry about that. You need to hurry, Potter, or you're going to miss the exam!"

Calista pushed him through a series of doors so fast he nearly fell flat on his face, not once, but twice. When they reached the last door, Calista shouted, "Good luck!" and shoved him through the door with a grunt.

Harry took in a deep breath and held it. He spun on his heel and was greeted with a dark room. He slowly released his breath and plunged into the darkness.