Harry Potter and the Order of Dawn

Chapter 1 : House Elves

The ride back to Privet Drive was silent. The tension between the two occupants was thick, a butter type of thick. "Boy!" His Uncle had suddenly spluttered, sending copious amounts of spittle at Harry. " Your freak friends may have threatened us normal people but you'll soon see what we make of that. However, as long as you don't bring any of your freakiness into our household we'll give you a chance. But if you do..." He let his words hang ominously.

The few weeks after that unpleasant occasion were largely uneventful, nothing happened with broke the stupor of life in Privet Drive. His so-called friends had only sent him one short note, which announced that Ron and Hermione had (finally) got together. 'They're probably too wrapped up in each other to think about me' he thought bitterly. These days Harry thought about a lot of things. Mainly he thought about the Department of Mysteries fiasco. When he closed his eyes he could see the even playing back in slow motion, the stand-off, the duel and Sirius... his Godfather who had been knocked into the Veil of Death by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange's Stunner. He felt remorseful for his actions against her soon after, his attempted casting of the Cruciatus curse on her was uncalled for and now he felt that she shouldn't have to take any of the blame. He believed the people to blame were the Old Fool who was also know as 'the Lord of Light', and Voldemort, 'the Lord of Darkness', both of whom had fanatic loyalty from their followers. He had come to the conclusion after much thought that there was no light or dark, only power and those powerful enough to grasp it and that both the light and dark were both dangerous extremes comparable to Stalins Communist and Hitlers Fascist rule.

The Dursleys dull routine had been broken one morning by the sight of a regal looking owl flying through the front window. His relatives reactions were as expected, his aunt had dropped the plate she had been holding and fainted, his cousin promptly fell off his chair in surprise which caused a minor earthquake and his uncle had gone a shocking shade of pruce. The owl, ignoring his relatives reactions had flown over to Harry and settled on his shoulder, holding out its leg for Harry to remove its letter. Harry kindly stroked the Owl as he removed the letter, which bore the Gringotts crest. Harry stared at it with apprehension, wondering if ignorance would be better than the pain of knowledge. Harry jumped at the sound of his Uncles fist slamming on the table. "BOY!" His Uncle yelled, "Get to your room while I think of a popper punishment for your transgression". Not wanting to provoke them while they were in a 'delicate' mood, he complied, quietly making his way up to his room, taking care to step over the creaking stair.

Harry sighed as he flopped down on his bed. His punishment, he thought to himself, would no doubt be most unpleasant. Hopefully he'd just be locked in his room for the rest of summer. The Gringotts letter lay crumpled in Harry's hand; its green seal began to melt into his fingers. With a cry he wiped his wax-coated hand on his overly large trousers which were being held up by a length of frayed twine. With an apprehensive sigh he peeled back the remainder of the seal and opened the letter.

Mr Potter,
Your presence is required for matters concerning the last will and testament of one Lord Sirius Orion Black. Please use the portkey enclosed to make your way to Gringotts, London on the 15th of July at 10.45am. We will then be able to carry out the reading of the will and other matters concerning the Potter Estate.
Regards,
Shoehorn Head of Inheritance Gringotts, London

A tear silently streaked down Harry's cheek. He gasped. Pain that had been bottled up for years was threatening to burst forth. Hedwig hooted her support; she could see the pain in her master's eyes. Harry smiled crookedly as he lifted her out of her cage and onto her shoulder. Hedwig fondly nibbled his ear. "Thanks Hedwig," he said "Of all my friends you're the only one who has never betrayed me, and you've seen me at my worst". A resounding 'Pop' broke the comfortable silence which both Harry and Hedwig had settled into.

"Master Harry Potter Sir", An Unidentified-House-Elf-Wearing-A-Pillow-Case squeaked, "Cooky has been hearing of his greatness, so it is an honor to be in his presence". Harry looked on dumbly as the House-Elf, Cooky, addressed him oddly like Dobby would have. "Cooky's Mistress is sending Cooky to give a letter to Master Harry Potter Sir", Harry now noted the envelope with elegant script, which Cooky was holding out for Harry to take. Before Harry could move to receive the letter, a series of thumps ascended the staircase and stopped outside Harry's room. Harry gulped, he knew he didn't want to be part of the scene about to unfold. Uncle Vernon was drunk. His red face twisted into a sneer as his beady eyes darted from Harry to Cooky and then back to Harry. Uncle Vernon's hand shot out and grabbed Hedwig by the neck while Harry looked on with horror. Quietly Cooky placed the letter in Harry's pocket and popped away again, not wanting to be in the confrontation. Harry slept at his Uncle planning to use tooth and nail to save his friend. Unfortunately for Harry, Vernon's meaty fist had at the same time decided to fly at Harry. He was flung back through a wall, as the Dursleys at cut some corners while having their house built, and down the stairs. He groaned. Darkness was ebbing at the edge of his vision as his Uncle clomped down the stairs.

"I'll teach you Boy", his Uncle said with a sneer. His meaty fist curled around Hedwig's neck and with a resounding crack he broke her neck, killing her instantly.

"HEDWIIIIIG!" Harry felt something within him snap. He felt detached from everything around him. 'Is this death?' he thought to himself. Everything seemed calm and serene. From his Uncle's point of view everything was different. Vernon's half-dead freak of a nephew, who had blood coagulating on the side of his face, was now standing. If you could really call floating a foot above the ground standing. The Boy's eyes, which were normally a vibrant green were now a piercing silver which emitted a faint light over the otherwise dark Number 4 Privet Drive. Vernon shrunk back in fear as the objects started emitting the same light as the Freak's eyes. Suddenly a bright flash of light illuminated Privet Drive and Number 4 seemed to disintegrate. First the roof and then the walls fell compounding onto each other. A huge fireball erupted as the gas line was breached, setting fire to the surrounding area.

Tonks was having a bad day as she apperated into Privet Drive to take over from Mundungus Fletcher. It just couldn't get any worse she told herself, not only had Dumbledor made her go on a spy mission while she was still recovering but Fudge, looking for a scapegoat for the Department of Mysteries, had fired her. Apparently the only reason she was hired as an Auror was because she was a Metamorphmagus. She stopped dead, her day had just got much worse. The smoldering wreckage of Number 4 filled her view. Harry was lying on the ground unmoving but clearly breathing. Tonks ran up to him and after checking his vital signs just to be sure Appearated away with him.

A/N : This is my first fic, which is being co-written by Duffman. I've got some interesting ideas for the future, but you'll have to wait to see those. I'll probably update in about a week, but it really depends on how I'm feeling and how busy I am.