A/N: Hallo again! So this is the story as promised in Two Sides. It has nothing to do with Two Sides and follows a completely different storyline. You'll notice there's no pairing mentioned and it's rather simple why. I haven't decided. Which means. of course, that after a couple of more chapters I'll be asking you guys to help me with that. Just a small note, I'm afraid Two Sides takes precedence so the updates on LLL will be only after an update in Two Sides. Don't worry, they'll be up soon enough! Please do review, whether good, lousy, a word, two, a couple of thousand, anything. Helps me know what you guys want and if you've a good suggestion, trust me, it goes straight in there. Enough said, enjoy!
CHAPTER 1
An eye snapped opened in the middle of the night, pupil dilated as it darted around the dark and silent room. Seeing nothing, the eye slowly closed as the owner's heart settled back into its usual rhythm. A soft sigh escaped numb lips that had been bitten hard in an effort to refrain from crying out. A hand scrabbled around on the small bedside table before it closed around the cold frames of round, wire rimmed glasses and a leg swung out of the sweat soaked sheets. Harry Potter poured himself a glass of water, half frozen from lying on the window sill the entire night as he opened the window letting the brisk night air wash over his face, welcoming the slight sting. A sudden whoosh and darting of shadows later a snowy white owl with glowing green eyes was perched on his shoulder, rubbing its neck against a lean and high cheek.
"Hedwig," Harry said softly as he stroked his owl's incredibly soft head, "how goes the hunt?"
Hedwig gave a very soft hoot and transferred herself to the improvised perch Harry had fixed for her next to the window. Owl and boy stared out at the clear skies with the stars shining down on them until the first hints of pink gold flashed across the sky. A sharp knock on the door broke the spell and Harry stretched, trying to ease the stiffness in his neck; a result of standing immobile in the cold for so long. Hedwig gave a sleepy little hoot before tucking her head under her wing. Harry looked at her fondly for a few moments before preparing for yet another day at the Dursleys.
Breakfast and chores were taken of by eleven and Aunt Petunia had popped over to the new neighbours' across the street for an afternoon of pleasant bridge. Dudley had already met with some friends and disappeared early on. Harry yawned and shuffled upstairs to get a start on the essay Snape had assigned on the properties of boomslang skin and it's uses. He sat down on his bed, spreading his books and parchment around him as he scratched his head with a quill, wondering where to start. His eyes strayed to the open trunk by his bedside where his broom was sticking out and sighed.
He remembered a lazy summer evening under the large oak in front of the lake, his Firebolt by his side and Hedwig on his stomach after the endless hours he had spent in the library with Hermione, researching obscure spells and tricky charms, anything to give him an edge over the other competitors of the Tri-Wizard Cup.
He sat for a moment, eyes half closed as a stray beam of sunlight warmed his cheek. He popped his lips as he breathed out. Figuring he'd be better off leaving Snape for last, he went downstairs. He moved around the kitchen, preparing lunch for the Dursleys before snagging a couple of books on his way out. The door closed behind him and a small click indicated that the lock was in place as he made his way to the Park. Chuckling as he pictured Ron's horrified expression at him taking a book outside saying that kind of behaviour was indecent of anyone except Hermione.
Now that Voldemort was back, the Order had come to the decision that Hermione and her family, being as close to Harry as they were, would need to go into hiding. Of course the usual course was to set up wards and throw up and all kinds of enchantments and magical snares around the house but in the case of the Grangers it would have been of little use seeing as they would have been unable to defend themselves while the wards were attacked and brought down. Hermione, formidable though she may be with the wand, agreed quickly to the Order's offer for her parents' sake.
As he passed various houses, he was greeted by loud calls and excitedly grinning children. Since he had taken to sitting so close to the park, Dudley and his gang refused to have anything to do with it. He gave a small smile and a little wave as he walked on. Reaching his favourite spot under the tree, Harry slumped against the trunk and crossed his legs, head already buried in his book.
How long he sat there, green eyes flitting across the page, he didn't know but quite suddenly it was dark. The last sounds of children playing faded and the silence startled Harry who looked up quickly, hand reaching for his wand which he wore on a specially crafted holster on his left forearm; a gift from Fleur last Christmas. Relaxing, he raked a hand through his scruffy hair as he got to his feet, shifting the books to his left hand. He began walking back to Number 4 enjoying the evening breeze.
The further darkening of the skies made Harry realise he was going to be late, Hedwig would normally be back from Fleur in a little while and Harry didn't want her coming to find him when he was in the middle of the street and he knew she was impatient enough for it to be a real threat. He hurried along, slipping into a side alley to cut across some yards and was making his way rapidly through a narrow, isolated alley with a tall hedge on one side and the side of a house on the other when he saw Dudley. His cousin was leaning against the wall, pulling on a cigarette, smoke curling around him. As Harry drew closer, Dudley looked up and his eyes widened. Harry simply waited for the large boy to move since the alley was too small for him to push past without unnecessary contact. Dudley's eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell mum," he said, "it isn…."
"It isn't any of my concern, Dudley. Now, if you would just step aside," cut in Harry coolly as he made to brush past but Dudley blocked him.
"That was too quick, you're just going to run back and tell Mum, I know you!"
Harry sighed, exasperated, "Look Dudley, I'm expecting a letter and I'm going to have to ask you to move. I won't be telling Aunt Petunia anything. Like I said, it isn't any of my business."
Dudley glared at him suspiciously before stepping a little to the side. The minute Harry passed, however, Dudley followed. Hearing the footsteps behind him made Harry pause and look back, eyebrow raised.
"I'm coming with you, just to be sure. Don't trust you s'matter of fact."
Harry shook his head slightly before a gleam came into his eyes. Dudley wanted to follow him, did he? Well, considering that he was planning to cut across a lot of gardens and the neighbours were always angry when someone jumped their fences, well, Dudley brought it onto himself.
Turning back without a word, Harry was about to take a step when the temperature on this fine summer evening plummeted. The drop was so severe that frost began to crackle on his glasses. The cold was almost unbearable as it seeped into his bones in an all too familiar manner and suddenly Harry knew what was coming. He wheeled around, wand in hand as he squinted at the dark skies, trying to make out motion or catch a glimpse of a tattered black cloak flapping about in the wind. Dudley squeaked and his eyes widened in fear as he saw what he thought was Harry's wand pointed at him. The slow feeling of cold dread and fear inching its way towards his heart and the murderous expression on Harry's face was enough to convince him that he shouldn't have pushed his cousin even that tiny amount he had. Before the freak could perpetuate anything worse, Dudley cowered at Harry's feet, now blabbering through the fear and the feeling of happiness being sucked out of him. He could almost feel his happy thoughts, feelings and memories being sucked out of his mind and this terrified him more than ever as he began to rock violently on the ground, pleading, begging for it to stop. But Harry paid his large cousin no mind.
Two tall, cloaked figures floated down at the end of the narrow alley, their breath rattling as they floated eerily toward the fallen boy and the other, their target. Harry stood his ground, jaw clenched, his eyes chips of green ice as he watched the dementors close in on them. He knew casting the Patronus was a dual edged blade. The dementors would be repelled but the Ministry would be swooping down on him within moments. He was not so naïve as to believe that the Ministry or rather the Minister did not have a hankering for him being rendered impotent. Expulsion for underage magic and a snap of the wand would go a long way in doing just that. Another thought that struck him was that perhaps the dementors were not on a random date looking for a good place to eat. They might have been sent in order to scare him into using magic, in which case they would not harm him or his cousin. And so Harry waited.
It seemed an eternity as the dementors glided forward and Harry had a hard time keeping his hand from shaking with each passing second. His happy thought, his link of power to the charm, however, grew stronger for he could hear his parents again. For Harry, that was enough and that was what made him stronger in the face of a dementor. It was not truly happy and so the dementors could not touch it but it was something Harry cherished and he had long since realised that magic was not as structured as his teachers made it out to be. If the intention of the dementors was to scare him into casting, Harry figured they were doing a pretty good job for they were close enough for him to be able to discern a rotting, clammy hand emerge from under the cloak of one and reach for Dudley. Dudley gasped and shook, petrified as the being of despair was within touching distance and still Harry waited, now trembling himself and unsure of just how much longer he could hold off until a dementor lunged and latched onto Dudley's face whose desperate screams almost paralysed Harry.
"Expecto Patronum" he whispered, stumbling back. A thin mist shot out of the end of his wand and pushed the dementor on Dudley a few feet before fading out. "Expecto Patronum!" he tried again and this time the other dementor simply brushed it aside, all the while Dudley's screams reverberating in the alley. All of a sudden, a faint voice spoke in his head.
"Go, take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!"
And Harry straightened, a fierce pounding in his head as cold fury filled him. Fury that his only memories of his parents were so vile, fury that he had let himself be brought to this simply because he feared an underage magic warning and fury that the Lord Voldemort was still alive.
"Expecto Patronum" ,a voice quiet as the wind, bearing more menace and venom than the residents of Privet Drive would ever care to hear in their entire life whispered.
A brilliant white light erupted, soaking the entire alley in an unearthly glow as a silvery stag clattered into being. Globes of white light pulsed in waves from the stag as silver flames licked at its mouth. Snorting, it lowered its great antlered head and charged without warning at the two dementors that glided back quickly. The stag reached the closest one and with a disdainful toss of its head, sent it flying into the night sky with a terrible, keening noise. The second one tried to escape but the stag was too fast and antlers gored the fleeing cloak in the back, exploding through the front. The dementor keened horribly, a black sound before it slowly disintegrated, finally vanishing in a puff of smoke. The stag then reared up to turn in the narrow space as it clattered back to where Harry was waiting, ignoring the sobbing boy at his feet.
"Prongs" he said quietly as the stag breathed on the top of his head before fading away and leaving the previously narrow alley suddenly very large and empty. Harry tried to get the large boy to stop crying and get up but Dudley was having none of it. Every attempt made him cry that much harder until Harry finally gave up. Just as he raised his wand again to stun the idiot and levitate him back to the house, a non-descript brown spotted owl flew straight at him and pecked him on the side of his head, hard.
"Ow!" muttered Harry, rubbing his temple with one hand and tapped the owl with the other. He watched as the brown owl morphed before his eyes into a bright, snowy white. What scared him though were the glowing eyes that glared him and he was just about to duck a nasty peck when Mrs Figg came running to him, hair flying, a batty old dressing gown flapping in the breeze.
Confined to the house after the attack by the dementors on Dumbledore's instructions as he sorted out the mess at the Ministry, Harry had read Fleur's letter twice, smiling slightly at her obvious annoyance at Hedwig's antics. Although Dumbledore had apparently forbidden her or anyone else from writing to Harry for fear of the letter being intercepted and sensitive information being compromised, Fleur had agreed that Hedwig's inherent paranoia that rivalled Moody's was more than what anyone would expect and account for and Harry had been forced to agree. He had seen the damn owl swoop into a dark corner and double back thrice in a matter of a few hundred feet when he had placed a tracking and supersensory charm on her out of curiosity one day.
Reading from Fleur's letter Hedwig had apparently taken to swooping around Headquarters in her great barn owl disguise lately, scaring people left right, centre and sneaking up on Hermione in her usual form while she waited for Hermione to finish her letter. Also, she had developed a rather morbid hobby of covering Ron with dozens of dead spiders as he slept and Hermione had great big bags under her eyes having now awoken to hysterical high pitched screams three mornings in a row. She was begging Harry to tell Hedwig to stop and Harry, while not particularly keen on telling his beloved owl anything had a plan to make it all stop. Thanks to Fleur's little inclusion at the end.
Hermione had been cooped up at Headquarters for two weeks and she already felt it two weeks too many. Admittedly Fred and George were fun and the Library was to die for but she loathed having to rub shoulders with the younger Weasleys; namely Ron and Ginny along with Molly and Percy. Add to that Professor Snape's constant presence irked her. She had no idea why Harry was so tolerant of him, especially when he went out of his way to make Harry's life hell but she was thoroughly annoyed with the unprofessional conduct exhibited by the Potions Master. As a result she confined herself to her room, the Library or her parent's room whenever they were free, generally clutching a stack of books. She desperately wished Harry were here. Somehow it didn't feel right leaving Harry cooped up with those horrible relatives of his, isolated from the magical world and all his friends.
She reflected on the changes in Harry's personality in the Fourth year since meeting Fleur. Oh, he was perfectly charming and had a quick smile for the majority of the student population and the Professors, with the obvious exception of Snape, positively adored him but he that was all there was to it, charm, a facile smile and a few warm words in that quiet, unassuming manner of his.
"Oi, Mum's been looking for you. She says to get you into the kitchen, there's a meeting on," Ron poked his head through the library door. Hermione gave a nod," I'll be there soon as I put away these books."
Hermione sighed. No doubt this was going to be about Harry. Now that everyone knew he had fought off one dementor and vaporized another alone when an Order member was supposed to be on guard, there were debates almost twice a day regarding the best course of action. Should they bring him to Headquarters? Wasn't it safer at the Dursleys, what with the wards and all? Should they find out what he wanted? It went on. Unfortunately for Harry, she was one of the few along with Fleur that knew him well enough to know what he might want and she was also one of the few whom no one ever took seriously. 'She's only fifteen after all.' Unfortunately, Fleur wasn't around all that much to convince them otherwise although she had made significant progress when she'd turned on her allure. Until Mrs Weasley realized, that is.
Slamming her books shut, she stalked to the door, determined to shout if she had to in order to be heard and tell them once and for all that if they didn't take steps to remove Harry from the Dursleys, she would. The kitchen was already full when she walked in and she had to wait as one of the twins pushed Tonks roughly to the side in order to make space for her. Tonks casually cast a stinging hex on the offending twin's bum who yelped and gave a watery glare. Taking her seat, she noted that Sirius Black was at the head while Molly Weasley was at the other end and by the looks of it, sparks had already flown. Fleur was once again absent from the table. She sighed and rubbed her head. This was going to be a long night.
"So," Sirius began, "I believe everyone knows why we are here. The situation with Harry is increasing in its urgency and we still haven't come to an agreeable solution! This is primarily because some members," here he paused and gave a very pointed look to Mrs Weasley," are reluctant to act against the express wishes of Albus bloody Dumbledore as opposed to doing what's right. I hope yo…"
"Precisely what are you implying, Sirius?" Mrs Weasley's voice snapped like a whip," Surely even you can't be as dense as to believe you know better than the Headmaster? In all these years of leading the Order, he has never once…"
"I'll have you know, woman that I'm his Godfather and any decision with regards to Harry's personal life is to be ultimately mine and I have just about had enough of people trying to convince me otherwise! You of all people should recognize it for the cruelty it is to leave him at those pathetic excuses for relatives, dense or otherwise!"
"I think Sirius is right! Harry needs us and Headquarters is safe as can be! For Heaven's sake, we're here because it's as safe as it is! Not to mention Harry needs his friends!" Hermione managed to get in before she was interrupted by Lupin.
"I think Harry is old enough to understand that sacrifices must be made to ensure his safety! He has endured situations that no normal witch or wizard could have ever dreamed of getting themselves into, let alone surviving. A little loneliness seems quite tame in comparison," said Lupin firmly.
"All this is a load of dragon dung and Merlin would be the first to admit it's more cockeyed than his bloody…"
"TONKS! There are children present!"
Tonks simply morphed her vocal chords into something more powerful.
"…ask him what he bloody wants! I can't see why you lot won't just ask! I mean it isn't like you'll be disturbing him, like we're going to walk in on him boinking some Veela! (She mouthed 'Fleur')! He's right there! And if he wants out, hell, I'll strap him to my legs and cover him under my damn skirt to keep him safe if I have to, god knows he's attractive enough…"
"TONKS, WILL YOU STOP?!"
Mundungus Fletcher choked into his Firewhiskey as he saw Tonks make a rather rude gesture and coughed up the smoky liquid right into Rons face who gave an angry exclamation as the potent alcohol caused his nose to sting.
Mrs Weasley and Sirius had now taken to shouting at each other from across the table paying no heed to anyone else and Mr Weasley was trying to keep the wins from vanishing Felicity's robes again.
BANG!
All eyes swivelled to where Mad-Eye Moody sat, his magical eye whizzing around, looking at each of them in turn while the other glared at them.
"Get a grip on yourselves! Dumber than a bunch of trolls and louder than banshees you lot! Dumbledore's given his orders! Now seeing as he's the head of this little Order we have going here, we're supposed to be following them. But if you think you'd make a better leader than 'Albus bloody Dumbledore', WELL GO RIGHT AHEAD!"
Many in the room flinched as the last words were roared by the aged and heavily scarred ex-Auror with the magical eye and wooden stump for a leg though no one made a sound. Moody eyed them grimly.
"Just as I thought. Now, I was led to believe there was some actual business to take care of?"
Lupin, Sirius and the Weasleys looked a little guilty at that and made to shoo Hermione, Ron and Ginny out when Hermione spoke out.
"Professor Moody, I really think you should consider Harry's situation. He's not going to like this."
Moody's eyes flicked to her, both of them.
"I appreciate it Miss Granger, but Potter's hearing isn't for another week. We'll extract him when we need to and not before" he said gruffly and suddenly Hermione was glad Fleur had done what she had did.
"Do tell when that would be, Mad Eye. I must confess I find myself immensely curious."
The entire room froze as a lean boy of average height, tousled black hair and a peculiar scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead peered at Mad Eye through cool green eyes behind a pair of old wire rimmed round glasses. Harry leaned casually against the doorway with Hedwig in her true form perched on his shoulder and a wand held loosely in his hand.
It was one of those stunned silences you always read about as about seventeen pairs of eyes stared in shock at the lounging figure in the doorway. Mad Eye was the first to recover, however and he whipped his wand out, levelling it between Harry's eyes. There was a flurry of movement and Harry found himself looking at the points of sixteen wands, all aimed at his head and chest except for Tonks' who had aimed, well, considerably lower and Hermione who was suddenly stifling a laugh.
"Prove yourself!" said Mad Eye harshly, his wand steady.
Harry raised a cool eyebrow, "Very well. Ask away."
Lupin began but Tonks cut in quickly, "Where's that birthmark I've got that looks like a teddy bear?"
Harry grinned, "That was no teddy bear. Your heart shaped birthmark is just below your left breast."
Tonks pulled her one shouldered blue T-shirt with a finger and peeked inside. She dropped her wand and shrugged, "Cool enough."
Some of the members laughed and lowered their wands, Sirius and Lupin looked torn while Mad Eye just grunted and kept a grip on his wand. Ron and Hermione were a bright red and the twins looked like Christmas had come early. Mrs Weasley's face was a sight to behold.
"Tonks…" she began dangerously and Arthur Weasley hurriedly stepped in.
"I'm sure this can be continued later, for now Harry must be tired and I'm sure we'd all like to know how exactly he managed to turn up here because if he could find us, I'm inclined to believe we're not as safe as we think"
At this the members nodded and leaned forward, looking at Harry expectantly. Except, there were two Harrys. They blinked in confusion for a moment before Hermione noticed Tonks wasn't around and sighed. Mad Eye pinched the bridge of his nose as he growled, "Nymphadora!"
Tonks sat back with in her regular form but kept the messy black hair, only longer, pouting.
Towards the end of Harry's explanation Hermione and Tonks were beaming, Ron was quiet and Ginny was in a right state. The others weren't all that much impressed either with the exception of Sirius and the twins. Mundungus, of course, was already asleep and couldn't be counted. Finally Mad Eye stowed his wand away and relaxed.
"French, I tell you", he grunted, "Well, I'm off to inform Dumbledore about this.. development and I dare say he'll want a word with Delacour once she's back from her mission in the Veela colony. Make sure she stays", he stomped off.
Harry was greeted by everyone and after a long round of handshakes and pats, found himself wedged between Hermione and Tonks with Ron and Ginny across him. Hermione had linked her arm around his companionably.
"I take it Fleur's charms didn't affect the note, then?" asked Hermione immediately.
"No, they were very good", Harry smiled as he remembered a note stuck at the very end of the parchment in an oddly familiar narrow, slanted handwriting with flamboyant loops; The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Tonks was far more interested in the dementors.
"Did your stag really destroy it?" she demanded brusquely to which Harry simply nodded. She frowned as she sat back, "Interesting that. One would have thought…" she trailed off and Harry was just about to ask her what she meant by that when Ginny jumped in.
"Hi Harry, good flight then? Wish I could've had a midnight jaunt across London on a Firebolt."
Harry nodded absentmindedly as he remembered he had to put away his things, "Yeah, it was freezing though and I had to use a warming charm to unstick my hands from the handle when I landed within the wards. But flying over the Eye made it worth it all and more."
"I'm definitely coming with you the next time you decide to run loose!" said Ginny, playing with a strand of the flames on her head. Tonks snorted, coming out of her reverie.
"Harry's gonna be calling me, babe. He knows the sights will be, let's just say it'll be hot enough to keep his hands from freezing on the handle."
Ginny glared at Tonks as Hermione giggled. Ignoring them, Harry turned to Ron.
"You're rather quiet, Ron. Are you alright?"
The red head looked up, "Oh, remembered me at last, have you?" and got up and stalked out of the room, his face a rough purple.
Harry's face hardened for an instant and only Hermione, who had been expecting this and was glancing at Harry anxiously caught it before Harry's face smoothened and took on a confused air.
"Let it go, Harry. He hasn't been himself lately. You know, with Fleur around here so much and the twins making sure they tease him whenever they're in the room together, it's been tough", Ginny sighed as she watched her brother clump up the stairs.
Harry gave her a small smile, " That's probably it" and Hermione let out an uneasy breath. Harry did seem alright but that that look on his face…
"Aw, he's just mad 'cos Harry got to see my twins and he didn't. Well, not mine but I'd morphed into Hermione here the other day and…"
Tonks was wincing every time she sat for the next two days.
Harry was lying in his bed staring up at the ceiling, tired after the long day when he sensed a disturbance in the magical energy around him. He was crouched in the corner, facing the door, wand out in a flash, his heart pounding as he waited in the dark when there was a brilliant flash of gold and a piece of parchment fluttered as it fell through the air. Harry stepped forward and snagged it before it hit the ground and with a wave of his hand, lit the lamps. Squinting at the now familiar narrow, slanting handwriting with the loopy flourish, he made out two words;
I'm disappointed.
Crushing the note, a sudden wind blew across the room, extinguishing the lamps and the parchment whipped out of his hand, vanishing in a burst of green-gold flames. The same kind of flames that smouldered in two orbs below a shock of messy, dark hair and a scar in the shape of a lightening bolt.