From the moment Harry stepped foot in number 4 Privet drive, his summer was hell. His Uncle apparently didn't appreciate the fact that four wizards had threatened him. Rather than ignoring him completely as he had previous summers, Vernon made it a special point to make Harry's summer a living hell.
It was three weeks into his break, and he had a few bruises and sore ribs to show for it. It turned out Vernon lost his job, and he decided it was easiest to take any anger out on Harry. First time Vernon hit him, Harry hit back. He learned the hard way that it wasn't such a good idea. Vernon was, after all, twice his size.
Harry almost wrote to the order to tell them that first time but as he dipped the quill in the ink, he began thinking. Did he really want them to know? Yeah, that would sound great. Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived being beat on by his Uncle. The boy who was supposed to take on the Dark Lord can't even take on forty-year-old muggle. He dropped the quill and considered writing to the order as not an option.
Now, he lay on his bed trying to sleep, something that he found was very hard to do lately. Between arriving owls, his Uncle's violent rants, and the nightmares, he was lucky to sleep at all. Of all of them, the nightmares were the worst. Countless times, in Harry's head, Sirius fell through that veil. That wasn't the worst of the dream. The worst was when he could hear Sirius' voice yelling out at Harry from behind it, blaming him. And whenever he woke with a scream, Vernon would come to 'shut him up.'
There was a usual tap at the window meaning he had another person writing to him. He opened the window and an owl flew in. He sighed in aggravation as he took the letter from the owl. He was fed up with owls. He didn't mind the first few, but then he started getting at least five a day. It was enough to drive anyone mad. The owl hooted softly and flew back out the window. Harry open the letter and skimmed over it. It said much the same thing as they all did. 'How are you doing...hope all is good...blah blah blah...From Remus' Harry took out a quill, ink, and parchment. It was the third day and he had to write back.
Dear whoever gets this damn letter,
I am great! Terrific! It's so much fun here at the Dursley's. I am having the time of my life! So glad I get to come here every summer! It's abso-fucking-lutely fantastic!
Harry
He had taken to writing these sarcastic letters to them. He handed the scrap of paper to Hedwig, "Here, take this to any member of the order."
He desperately wanted to break or throw something. He settled on taking out some parchment and beginning to write another letter about exactly how he was feeling. He made sure to include the nightmares, lack of sleep and food, and his Uncle's violent rampages. When he finished the letter, he crumpled it up and tossed it into the corner of his room. It felt rather good to write it all out like that, but there was no way he was sending it to anyone. He didn't intend to from the start of it.
The next morning, Hedwig carried five letters in response to his. He took them all and opened one of them. It was a short one from Hermione.
Harry,
Mrs. Weasley was the one to receive your letter. She was really upset. Everyone is worried about you. They're coming for you right after your birthday.
Hermione
Harry tossed it in his garbage bin along with the unopened rest. He knew they all were going to say the same thing. Maybe a few with tellings-off for his mouth. He didn't care. He could care less about anything anymore.
He opened his door and took a look around. The Dursleys bedroom door was shut and he could hear Vernon's snores. He figured now would be a good time to sneak something to eat. He wasn't allowed to eat anything in the house now that Vernon lost his job. He relied on sneaking something every morning.
He hurriedly took some bread and lunchmeat, making a sandwich. He ate it quickly and pocketed a can of the soda that was in the fridge. They'd never know it was Harry. It wasn't like they kept count of anything. That was impossible with Dudley eating so often. He decided he'd better get back to his room, before Vernon woke.
As he passed Dudley's room, he stopped. The door was half open. Dudley was asleep in his bed. After a quick silent debate with himself, Harry squeezed through the opening and walked straight for the closet. He slowly opened the door. He reached up to the shelf of board games, and brought down the Monopoly game. He lifted the lid and found what he was looking for. There were about ten packs of cigarettes inside. He took everyone of them and shoved the monopoly game back on the shelf.
He had seen Dudley hiding them just a few days ago. It wasn't the first time he swiped them off Dudley. The greatest part of it all was that Dudley couldn't say a word. If he did, his parents would know he was smoking and Dudley couldn't let that happen.
Harry dropped all the packs, but one, into his trunk, burying them at the bottom under his clothes. He took one of them out and lit it.
"One of the few good muggle things," he mused, taking a drag. He wasn't sure why he did it. Probably the fact that he knew he shouldn't. He was sure they'd have something to say about it when he lit up at Grimmauld place.
As he sat there, another bird flew into his room, carrying a letter. He didn't bother to read it or even see who it was from. He dropped it into the garbage bin with the rest.
"Wish they'd fucking stop sending me shit. Thought they'd take a hint. Don't want to talk to a damn one of them," he muttered. They bird gave a loud hoot before leaving.
"BOY!" Vernon roared, "THOSE DAMN BIRDS! YOU WOKE ME UP AGAIN!"
Heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. Harry quickly crushed the cigarette into the desk and dropped it in the bin, before Vernon saw could see it. The door flew open and a second later Harry was flung out of the chair he sat in and Vernon kicked him fiercely in his side. Harry held his breath so he wouldn't cry out. He wasn't going to give Vernon that pleasure, no matter how bad it hurt. Another kick sent Harry's head into the desk leg. He felt a warm trickle down the side of his head onto his neck. His Uncle must have thought that was enough because he left, slamming the door.
Harry sat up, cursing. He felt the side of his head and his hand met blood. His head hurt, but he was rather used to head pain. He thought his side hurt worse than anything. It was screaming in protest to movement as he reached into his trunk and pulled out an old t-shirt. He balled it up and held it at his head to stop the flow. With his free hand, he took another cigarette and lit it.
For the next few days, it was much the same thing. The occasional pounding from Vernon and those never ceasing dreams. Every letter that came in was thrown into the bin unopened. He wrote no more letters to anyone, unless you counted the ones he never intended to send about how things really were. He didn't care about that whole a letter every three days thing. It was now day four. He took to not moving from his room, not even to get food. Whereas last time his room was a mess, this time everything stayed in his trunk. He didn't bother to try to keep himself occupied. It was a waste.
He was now tending to the gashes in his left arm. When Vernon came in that morning, he thought throwing Harry into a lamp would be a good idea. Harry was rather glad he did. Usually if blood appeared, Vernon left, so that cut it short. He was pulling the glass out of his skin, blood trickling down his arm.
A loud crack made Harry jump to his feet, wand drawn. He stumbled to his door and peered out. He saw no one, but heard a familiar voice from downstairs.
"Where is Harry?" Lupin asked.
"The boy is upstairs. Take him and leave," Vernon said angrily.
Harry heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He closed his door and locked it. His heart beating fast as he rummaged through his trunk for a long sleeve shirt to throw on to hide his cuts. No one could know what was happening. He found a black t-shirt and pulled it on quickly.
"Harry?" came Lupin's voice from outside. Harry ignored him. He shoved the bloody t-shirt into his trunk and snapped it shut as the door handle was tried.
"Harry, open the door," Lupin said.
"Go the fuck away!" Harry snapped as he pocketed his cigarettes. Lupin opened the door with his wand. Harry resolutely kept his face blank as Lupin tried to read it.
"Did you want something?" Harry asked.
"You haven't been writing," Lupin ignored Harry's attitude, "Wanted to make sure everything was alright. You know, after what happened..."
"Well, I'm fine. Leave," Harry said.
"Excuse me for saying do, but I do not think you are fine," Lupin said.
"Do you really think that I give a fuck what you think?" Harry asked. Lupin seemed to be at a loss for what to say. He obviously didn't expect Harry to be snapping at him like that. He chose to ignore Harry's comment.
"Why don't you get packed so we can leave," he suggested.
"Oh yay! I'm so excited! I get to go be with all my friends!" Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Again, Lupin looked taken aback.
"Would you rather stay here?" he asked.
"There a quite a few other places I'd rather stay. But given the choice between Grimmauld Place and here, I would rather here," Harry snapped.
"Not Grimmauld Place. I thought maybe you'd want to come to my place," Lupin said.
"I don't fucking want to go anywhere," Harry said.
"It's either my place or Grimmauld Place. You have no other options," Lupin said, "And watch your mouth along with losing that attitude. It won't get you anywhere."
"Shit, maybe I should fucking keep it, seeing as I sure as hell don't want to get any fucking where," Harry came back with, purposely layering it with curses to spite him.
"I'd much rather if you came of your own accord, but if I have to, I will force you," Lupin said.
"Fuck you," Harry said simply, taking the pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"You're smoking now?" Lupin asked reprovingly. Harry put one to his lips and lit it in response. He was taken by surprise when it was ripped out of his mouth.
"I don't think so," he said. Harry laughed.
"And who's going to stop me? You? I sure as hell don't have to listen to you. Or anyone for that matter. Not like you all really care," Harry spat. He sat back on his bed and lit another cigarette. Lupin paid no attention to it this time.
"I see you've been reading our letters," Lupin muttered, taking notice of the overfull bin. He grabbed a few envelopes from the top, "Let's see just how much everyone doesn't care about you."
Harry shrugged as Lupin opened the first one and began reading it aloud, "This one's from Hermione...Dear Harry, I'm really worried about you...that sounds like she doesn't care...I wish you were here with us now instead of at the Dursley's. I know it must be hard..."
Lupin continued to read through. Then he put it down and picked up another and began reading that one, too. Harry barely listened to a word of it. He lay back with his eyes closed, smoking. After the second letter, Lupin was silent. After a few seconds of the silence, Harry opened his eyes. His heart jumped into his throat as he saw Lupin reading a familiar crumpled piece of parchment. He jumped up and snatched it from Lupin's hands.
"YOU ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Harry roared.
"Harry--" Lupin began.
"I HATE YOU!" Harry yelled furiously. He was caught between punching Lupin in the face and breaking down into tears. He decided on getting away. He took off out his door, not caring where he was going. He made it as far as the stairs when Lupin grabbed his arm. Harry bit his lip, as it was the arm that was cut from the lamp. He probably could have made it further if his side wasn't feeling about to bust with every step he took.
"Harry, we need to talk," Lupin said.
"How much did you read?" Harry asked angrily, taking Lupin's hand off him. He took a look at the letter himself, to see exactly what Lupin had read.
"Enough. The first two paragraphs," Lupin said. Harry looked quickly and saw it was only the nightmares he read about. He almost sighed in relief when he realized Lupin didn't know about his Uncle.
"It wasn't any of your business. You had no right," Harry said in a forced calm voice.
"I'm sorry," Lupin apologized. Harry shoved past him, back to his room. As Lupin tried to follow, Harry slammed the door in his face and locked it. More to show how pissed he was than keep him out. He knew Lupin would be able to open it. And he did. Harry still had to fight the impulse to hit him.
"Take a hint. I don't fucking want to see you! Leave!" Harry spat.
"I'm not putting up with anymore of this," Lupin took a step toward him and grabbed his arm, causing Harry to wince. Lupin took from his pocket an old chess piece and forced it into Harry's hand. Harry felt a tug behind his navel and a moment later found himself standing in an unfamiliar kitchen, though he could guess where he was. Lupin let go of his arm, and Harry glared at him.
"Harry," Lupin said quietly. He was looking at the palm of his hand. A red smear was on it. Harry unconsciously held his arm. Lupin looked from his hand to Harry's arm.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I got a cut," Harry said quickly, "You probably broke it open when you grabbed it."
"Let me see it. I can fix it for you," Lupin said.
"It's fine," Harry said.
"I could heal it quick," Lupin said.
"I said it's fine!" Harry snapped. "Well, you got me here. Now what?"
"I'll show you your room," Lupin said.
"You say that as if you think I'm going to stay here," Harry muttered, "Where's the bathroom?"
"You are staying. And it's at the top of the stairs," Lupin said.
"Funny thing, though. I'm not," Harry said. He turned and climbed the stairs. He locked the bathroom door and pulled the sleeve up on his shirt. He turned on the water and rinsed the blood away. His could see that there were still a few pieces of glass imbedded into his arm. Deeper than at first, thanks to Lupin.
He tried to pull them out with his fingers, managing to get the bigger pieces out. The smaller ones were harder to get. He searched through Lupin's bathroom in search of tweezers. He found them in the cabinet above the sink. It wasn't exactly the most painless thing to remove glass shards from his skin. He pulled them out quickly and dropped them into the garbage. He rinsed his arm again and pulled the sleeve back down before going back downstairs.
"Where's my shit?" he asked Lupin.
"Watch your mouth. It's in your room. I got it while you were in the bathroom," he answered.
"No, I'll curse as I please. Where's my room?" Harry asked.
"You'll do as I tell you," Lupin said.
"Where's my room?" Harry repeated. He wasn't in the mood for snapping back and forth with Lupin.
"Second door on the left," he said. As Harry turned to leave, his eyes fell on the fireplace and an idea sprung into his head. He climbed the stairs and walked into the room. He opened his trunk and took from it his invisible cloak. He'd have to leave it. He grabbed his broom from it, no way that was being left behind. He threw the cloak over himself and the broom and crept down the hall and stairs.
Lupin was sitting at the table with a cup of tea. Harry grinned as he thought of Lupin's reaction. He quietly tiptoed across to the fireplace. He decided on doing it fast rather than trying to do it quiet and slow. Lupin was bound to know any way. Harry was just counting on a head start. He snatched a handful of the powder and threw it in. The fireplace blazed green Harry jumped inside and yelled out "Diagon Alley!"
Before he was whisked away, he saw Remus' shocked face staring at him. He emerged at the Leaky Cauldron and saw several people look towards the fireplace in surprise at it blazing up green and no one coming out. He crept along and hid in a corner watching for Lupin to come
It was three weeks into his break, and he had a few bruises and sore ribs to show for it. It turned out Vernon lost his job, and he decided it was easiest to take any anger out on Harry. First time Vernon hit him, Harry hit back. He learned the hard way that it wasn't such a good idea. Vernon was, after all, twice his size.
Harry almost wrote to the order to tell them that first time but as he dipped the quill in the ink, he began thinking. Did he really want them to know? Yeah, that would sound great. Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived being beat on by his Uncle. The boy who was supposed to take on the Dark Lord can't even take on forty-year-old muggle. He dropped the quill and considered writing to the order as not an option.
Now, he lay on his bed trying to sleep, something that he found was very hard to do lately. Between arriving owls, his Uncle's violent rants, and the nightmares, he was lucky to sleep at all. Of all of them, the nightmares were the worst. Countless times, in Harry's head, Sirius fell through that veil. That wasn't the worst of the dream. The worst was when he could hear Sirius' voice yelling out at Harry from behind it, blaming him. And whenever he woke with a scream, Vernon would come to 'shut him up.'
There was a usual tap at the window meaning he had another person writing to him. He opened the window and an owl flew in. He sighed in aggravation as he took the letter from the owl. He was fed up with owls. He didn't mind the first few, but then he started getting at least five a day. It was enough to drive anyone mad. The owl hooted softly and flew back out the window. Harry open the letter and skimmed over it. It said much the same thing as they all did. 'How are you doing...hope all is good...blah blah blah...From Remus' Harry took out a quill, ink, and parchment. It was the third day and he had to write back.
Dear whoever gets this damn letter,
I am great! Terrific! It's so much fun here at the Dursley's. I am having the time of my life! So glad I get to come here every summer! It's abso-fucking-lutely fantastic!
Harry
He had taken to writing these sarcastic letters to them. He handed the scrap of paper to Hedwig, "Here, take this to any member of the order."
He desperately wanted to break or throw something. He settled on taking out some parchment and beginning to write another letter about exactly how he was feeling. He made sure to include the nightmares, lack of sleep and food, and his Uncle's violent rampages. When he finished the letter, he crumpled it up and tossed it into the corner of his room. It felt rather good to write it all out like that, but there was no way he was sending it to anyone. He didn't intend to from the start of it.
The next morning, Hedwig carried five letters in response to his. He took them all and opened one of them. It was a short one from Hermione.
Harry,
Mrs. Weasley was the one to receive your letter. She was really upset. Everyone is worried about you. They're coming for you right after your birthday.
Hermione
Harry tossed it in his garbage bin along with the unopened rest. He knew they all were going to say the same thing. Maybe a few with tellings-off for his mouth. He didn't care. He could care less about anything anymore.
He opened his door and took a look around. The Dursleys bedroom door was shut and he could hear Vernon's snores. He figured now would be a good time to sneak something to eat. He wasn't allowed to eat anything in the house now that Vernon lost his job. He relied on sneaking something every morning.
He hurriedly took some bread and lunchmeat, making a sandwich. He ate it quickly and pocketed a can of the soda that was in the fridge. They'd never know it was Harry. It wasn't like they kept count of anything. That was impossible with Dudley eating so often. He decided he'd better get back to his room, before Vernon woke.
As he passed Dudley's room, he stopped. The door was half open. Dudley was asleep in his bed. After a quick silent debate with himself, Harry squeezed through the opening and walked straight for the closet. He slowly opened the door. He reached up to the shelf of board games, and brought down the Monopoly game. He lifted the lid and found what he was looking for. There were about ten packs of cigarettes inside. He took everyone of them and shoved the monopoly game back on the shelf.
He had seen Dudley hiding them just a few days ago. It wasn't the first time he swiped them off Dudley. The greatest part of it all was that Dudley couldn't say a word. If he did, his parents would know he was smoking and Dudley couldn't let that happen.
Harry dropped all the packs, but one, into his trunk, burying them at the bottom under his clothes. He took one of them out and lit it.
"One of the few good muggle things," he mused, taking a drag. He wasn't sure why he did it. Probably the fact that he knew he shouldn't. He was sure they'd have something to say about it when he lit up at Grimmauld place.
As he sat there, another bird flew into his room, carrying a letter. He didn't bother to read it or even see who it was from. He dropped it into the garbage bin with the rest.
"Wish they'd fucking stop sending me shit. Thought they'd take a hint. Don't want to talk to a damn one of them," he muttered. They bird gave a loud hoot before leaving.
"BOY!" Vernon roared, "THOSE DAMN BIRDS! YOU WOKE ME UP AGAIN!"
Heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. Harry quickly crushed the cigarette into the desk and dropped it in the bin, before Vernon saw could see it. The door flew open and a second later Harry was flung out of the chair he sat in and Vernon kicked him fiercely in his side. Harry held his breath so he wouldn't cry out. He wasn't going to give Vernon that pleasure, no matter how bad it hurt. Another kick sent Harry's head into the desk leg. He felt a warm trickle down the side of his head onto his neck. His Uncle must have thought that was enough because he left, slamming the door.
Harry sat up, cursing. He felt the side of his head and his hand met blood. His head hurt, but he was rather used to head pain. He thought his side hurt worse than anything. It was screaming in protest to movement as he reached into his trunk and pulled out an old t-shirt. He balled it up and held it at his head to stop the flow. With his free hand, he took another cigarette and lit it.
For the next few days, it was much the same thing. The occasional pounding from Vernon and those never ceasing dreams. Every letter that came in was thrown into the bin unopened. He wrote no more letters to anyone, unless you counted the ones he never intended to send about how things really were. He didn't care about that whole a letter every three days thing. It was now day four. He took to not moving from his room, not even to get food. Whereas last time his room was a mess, this time everything stayed in his trunk. He didn't bother to try to keep himself occupied. It was a waste.
He was now tending to the gashes in his left arm. When Vernon came in that morning, he thought throwing Harry into a lamp would be a good idea. Harry was rather glad he did. Usually if blood appeared, Vernon left, so that cut it short. He was pulling the glass out of his skin, blood trickling down his arm.
A loud crack made Harry jump to his feet, wand drawn. He stumbled to his door and peered out. He saw no one, but heard a familiar voice from downstairs.
"Where is Harry?" Lupin asked.
"The boy is upstairs. Take him and leave," Vernon said angrily.
Harry heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He closed his door and locked it. His heart beating fast as he rummaged through his trunk for a long sleeve shirt to throw on to hide his cuts. No one could know what was happening. He found a black t-shirt and pulled it on quickly.
"Harry?" came Lupin's voice from outside. Harry ignored him. He shoved the bloody t-shirt into his trunk and snapped it shut as the door handle was tried.
"Harry, open the door," Lupin said.
"Go the fuck away!" Harry snapped as he pocketed his cigarettes. Lupin opened the door with his wand. Harry resolutely kept his face blank as Lupin tried to read it.
"Did you want something?" Harry asked.
"You haven't been writing," Lupin ignored Harry's attitude, "Wanted to make sure everything was alright. You know, after what happened..."
"Well, I'm fine. Leave," Harry said.
"Excuse me for saying do, but I do not think you are fine," Lupin said.
"Do you really think that I give a fuck what you think?" Harry asked. Lupin seemed to be at a loss for what to say. He obviously didn't expect Harry to be snapping at him like that. He chose to ignore Harry's comment.
"Why don't you get packed so we can leave," he suggested.
"Oh yay! I'm so excited! I get to go be with all my friends!" Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Again, Lupin looked taken aback.
"Would you rather stay here?" he asked.
"There a quite a few other places I'd rather stay. But given the choice between Grimmauld Place and here, I would rather here," Harry snapped.
"Not Grimmauld Place. I thought maybe you'd want to come to my place," Lupin said.
"I don't fucking want to go anywhere," Harry said.
"It's either my place or Grimmauld Place. You have no other options," Lupin said, "And watch your mouth along with losing that attitude. It won't get you anywhere."
"Shit, maybe I should fucking keep it, seeing as I sure as hell don't want to get any fucking where," Harry came back with, purposely layering it with curses to spite him.
"I'd much rather if you came of your own accord, but if I have to, I will force you," Lupin said.
"Fuck you," Harry said simply, taking the pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"You're smoking now?" Lupin asked reprovingly. Harry put one to his lips and lit it in response. He was taken by surprise when it was ripped out of his mouth.
"I don't think so," he said. Harry laughed.
"And who's going to stop me? You? I sure as hell don't have to listen to you. Or anyone for that matter. Not like you all really care," Harry spat. He sat back on his bed and lit another cigarette. Lupin paid no attention to it this time.
"I see you've been reading our letters," Lupin muttered, taking notice of the overfull bin. He grabbed a few envelopes from the top, "Let's see just how much everyone doesn't care about you."
Harry shrugged as Lupin opened the first one and began reading it aloud, "This one's from Hermione...Dear Harry, I'm really worried about you...that sounds like she doesn't care...I wish you were here with us now instead of at the Dursley's. I know it must be hard..."
Lupin continued to read through. Then he put it down and picked up another and began reading that one, too. Harry barely listened to a word of it. He lay back with his eyes closed, smoking. After the second letter, Lupin was silent. After a few seconds of the silence, Harry opened his eyes. His heart jumped into his throat as he saw Lupin reading a familiar crumpled piece of parchment. He jumped up and snatched it from Lupin's hands.
"YOU ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Harry roared.
"Harry--" Lupin began.
"I HATE YOU!" Harry yelled furiously. He was caught between punching Lupin in the face and breaking down into tears. He decided on getting away. He took off out his door, not caring where he was going. He made it as far as the stairs when Lupin grabbed his arm. Harry bit his lip, as it was the arm that was cut from the lamp. He probably could have made it further if his side wasn't feeling about to bust with every step he took.
"Harry, we need to talk," Lupin said.
"How much did you read?" Harry asked angrily, taking Lupin's hand off him. He took a look at the letter himself, to see exactly what Lupin had read.
"Enough. The first two paragraphs," Lupin said. Harry looked quickly and saw it was only the nightmares he read about. He almost sighed in relief when he realized Lupin didn't know about his Uncle.
"It wasn't any of your business. You had no right," Harry said in a forced calm voice.
"I'm sorry," Lupin apologized. Harry shoved past him, back to his room. As Lupin tried to follow, Harry slammed the door in his face and locked it. More to show how pissed he was than keep him out. He knew Lupin would be able to open it. And he did. Harry still had to fight the impulse to hit him.
"Take a hint. I don't fucking want to see you! Leave!" Harry spat.
"I'm not putting up with anymore of this," Lupin took a step toward him and grabbed his arm, causing Harry to wince. Lupin took from his pocket an old chess piece and forced it into Harry's hand. Harry felt a tug behind his navel and a moment later found himself standing in an unfamiliar kitchen, though he could guess where he was. Lupin let go of his arm, and Harry glared at him.
"Harry," Lupin said quietly. He was looking at the palm of his hand. A red smear was on it. Harry unconsciously held his arm. Lupin looked from his hand to Harry's arm.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I got a cut," Harry said quickly, "You probably broke it open when you grabbed it."
"Let me see it. I can fix it for you," Lupin said.
"It's fine," Harry said.
"I could heal it quick," Lupin said.
"I said it's fine!" Harry snapped. "Well, you got me here. Now what?"
"I'll show you your room," Lupin said.
"You say that as if you think I'm going to stay here," Harry muttered, "Where's the bathroom?"
"You are staying. And it's at the top of the stairs," Lupin said.
"Funny thing, though. I'm not," Harry said. He turned and climbed the stairs. He locked the bathroom door and pulled the sleeve up on his shirt. He turned on the water and rinsed the blood away. His could see that there were still a few pieces of glass imbedded into his arm. Deeper than at first, thanks to Lupin.
He tried to pull them out with his fingers, managing to get the bigger pieces out. The smaller ones were harder to get. He searched through Lupin's bathroom in search of tweezers. He found them in the cabinet above the sink. It wasn't exactly the most painless thing to remove glass shards from his skin. He pulled them out quickly and dropped them into the garbage. He rinsed his arm again and pulled the sleeve back down before going back downstairs.
"Where's my shit?" he asked Lupin.
"Watch your mouth. It's in your room. I got it while you were in the bathroom," he answered.
"No, I'll curse as I please. Where's my room?" Harry asked.
"You'll do as I tell you," Lupin said.
"Where's my room?" Harry repeated. He wasn't in the mood for snapping back and forth with Lupin.
"Second door on the left," he said. As Harry turned to leave, his eyes fell on the fireplace and an idea sprung into his head. He climbed the stairs and walked into the room. He opened his trunk and took from it his invisible cloak. He'd have to leave it. He grabbed his broom from it, no way that was being left behind. He threw the cloak over himself and the broom and crept down the hall and stairs.
Lupin was sitting at the table with a cup of tea. Harry grinned as he thought of Lupin's reaction. He quietly tiptoed across to the fireplace. He decided on doing it fast rather than trying to do it quiet and slow. Lupin was bound to know any way. Harry was just counting on a head start. He snatched a handful of the powder and threw it in. The fireplace blazed green Harry jumped inside and yelled out "Diagon Alley!"
Before he was whisked away, he saw Remus' shocked face staring at him. He emerged at the Leaky Cauldron and saw several people look towards the fireplace in surprise at it blazing up green and no one coming out. He crept along and hid in a corner watching for Lupin to come