IMPORTANT: There will be mentions of new characters, but the story will eventually be centred at Hogwarts without them. The important people at Hogwarts will be SNAPE and THE MALFOYS, but also the other HP characters we already know about.
Warnings: This is going to contain mention of suicide and suicide thoughts, addictions such as drug use/ alcoholism and language. The story might be considered depressing, but be assured; there are a lot of humor and light conversation as well.
Notes: This is set after the fifth book's ending. Be ready for an emotional ride. Slight ooc from Harry's side.
Disclaimer: I don't own the HP characters, and unfortunately I do not make any money by writing this ;)
This is dedicated to "Móri".
THE SUN GOES DOWN
-CHAPTER ONE-
by Pure Black
BETA: Medusa
INFO: www. live journal. com / users/ draycious
A lonely teenager sat on the black faded park bench in the little park located in the middle of a nice little neighbourhood. The teenager was smoking while looking extremely relaxed and at easy with his surroundings. He didn't seem to mind the darkness, or as dark as a late July night could get. Once in a while he let the ashes from his cigarette fall on to the grassy ground. After a while he had smoked the whole cigarette. That's when he stood up and began to walk. He threw the cigarette carelessly over his shoulder as he went down the road and disappeared in the shadows. The park was located in Surrey, England. It wasn't very far away from Privet Drive where the teenager lived with his relatives over the summers.
The moon was bright tonight but it wasn't full. The stars were twinkling up in the dark sky and that wasn't an usual phenomena while it was summer. A cool breeze swept around in air once in a while. It rustled the tree crowns and made the shadowed bushes move like dancing shadows. The teen's black, slightly curly hair kept falling into his eyes, which he removed behind his ear each time with an impatient gesture. The teenager walked over to the other side of the park. He sat down on a lonely swing already set in motion by the wind.
"There you are!" The teen on the swing looked up quickly when he heard the voice calling out.
"I didn't think you'd come," he said softly as he went back to his relaxed pose, and leaned his head against the metallic chain attached to the swing.
"I'm always true to my word Harry!" said the other young man and sat down in the swing next to Harry. Harry, yeah. He was no ordinary teenager but a celebrity named Harry Potter, currently 15 years old but he'd soon turn 16 if he lived to see the day.
"Don't tell me that! You're the most irresponsible person I've ever met!" Harry cried incredulous. The other man looked at him heatedly and argued against that statement.
"That's not true and you know it! Besides, did you ever consider your cousin before opening that big mouth of yours?"
"Grow up Diablo!" Harry laughed. He never took their little arguments or rather, word sparring, seriously. It was just a game to him, something that kept him sane through the long boring days and nights he had to stay with the muggles. The young man named Diablo Sanzes smiled but didn't respond. They sat in silence for a while until Harry looked up.
"Did you really think I'd count Dudley? I don't even consider him as human!" he said slowly, faking a serious and thoughtful voice. Diablo laughed a rich laugh which many might consider contagious.
"Shut up Harry! You're driving me crazy!" Diablo tried to sneer but he didn't quite manage to pull it off since his body kept betraying him with chuckles.
"Well It's true isn't it? He's more like a pig!" Harry continued and Diablo shook his head. Neither one of them held much love for Dudley Dursley. Not only did they both find Dudley's looks irritating, but his persona was just as rotten as the many fat things his stomach were digesting, and he was also an egomaniac asshole.
"Or an elephant. Honestly!" Diablo said and rolled his eyes. It felt good to badmouth Dudley, since neither thing they spoke were far from the truth. The wind caught both young men's black hair. Diablo leaned over and poked Harry in the ribs.
"You're way to thin!" Diablo said and turned serious.
"Am not!" Harry immediately said and pouted like a small child. It was his way of defending himself. If it would have been any other person, like Hermione or Ron he would have used aggressive defence, but he was way past that behaviour with Diablo.
"Yes you are!" Diablo said forcefully and gave him a 'don't you dare bullshit me' look which shut Harry up." Didn't the gang give you food?" Diablo continued, in a much softer voice. Harry glared at him.
"Yes they did. What did you expect, huh? They've been trying to stuff me to death! I think my stomach is going to explode if this continues," he whined and Diablo shook his head.
"Seriously now," he said and his dark eyes looked deep into emerald ones. "The muggles are jerks. They should be locked up for child abuse! What if you didn't have me or the other guys? You'd starve to death!" Harry was looking defeated when he heard that. He sat with his head bowed until his eyes went cold.
"Let's change it then, shall we?" he said and with those words a fire lit in his eyes. He was ready to break up the old habits. He was no longer afraid of taking control over his life. He had been obedient to Dumbledore all those years, but this year was different. This time he had found something worth to change for. He had found a true friend in Diablo, and that was just the push he needed to get out of the hellhole Dumbledore called protection. Harry left Diablo without another word. Dark eyes followed Harry's every move down the street, they were worried but wouldn't interfere with Harry's plans. He would wait out there, and be there to comfort the green eyes teenager when the shit hit the fan.
Harry strutted inside the house number four on Privet Drive. He was determined to get out of there tonight. He would not let his uncle or anyone else stop him, and he would not allow them to keep his own free will crushed beneath their shoes as if it wasn't worth anything. When he turned to face himself in the mirror he felt a small twinge of fear mixed with panic and he knew that if he stayed in the hall any longer he wouldn't be able to go through with it. He took a deep breath and firmly reminded himself that he was worth so much more than this life he lived now, and with that thought he squashed the feeling of panic and began to walk towards the living room where he know the family would be.
"Boy? Is that you?" Vernon yelled from the living room.
"Ya!" he yelled lazily.
"Don't you dare use that tone with me boy!" Vernon's angry voice warned him and he could almos see the mans face getting a deeper shade of purple. Harry shrugged even if none could see that he did. He stopped just around the corner from the living room. He hesitated and looked towards the living room, then he spun around and began to walk upstairs. His hands shook slightly, he couldn't do it! Now wasn't the time to confront his relatives, he needed to calm down, take a shower and think things through one more time. Ever since Sirius's death he hadn't been the same, and he was almost afraid of making decisions which might have seemed like nothing to him only a year ago. Now he was thinking twice before drinking a fucking glass of water, simply because he was afraid of making the wrong decision just like he had done with Sirius. His death had fucked him up much more than anyone would ever know…
He went upstairs and decided to have that shower he had been thinking about earlier. Perhaps it would help him clear his mind somewhat. He could hear Dudley snore from his room when he passed by. He shrugged, what did he care about what Dudley did?
He could do pretty much what he liked these days, the Dursley's didn't dare forbid him to do things because they now knew they were being watched by 'his kind'. Yet they could still cut off his food and they gladly did.
After the long shower he had managed to once again reassure himself that he needed to leave the house and leave all the painful memories behind him. He would never get free from his haunting past and Sirius if he stayed here.
"Vernon?" he asked when he entered the living room. He wore a simple set of jeans and a royal blue t-shirt. Perhaps the T-shirt would have looked more stunning on him if his eyes were blue too, but as it were he didn't have much to choose from. Diablo had given him the clothes as an early birthday present, thank god for that! Sometimes he wondered if Diablo was real, or simply an illusion his crazy mind had come up with.
"Vernon!" he said, sharply this time. He received a grunt.
"Well that was very articulate!" he said sarcastically and crossed his arms over his blue dressed chest. He sounded a lot more sure of himself than he really was. He felt all shaky on the inside. He glanced down at his hand and realised his insecurities didn't show on the outside.
"What do you want?" Vernon asked sourly, unable to ignore him any longer.
"I don't want anything. I'm just going to inform you that I'm leaving tomorrow. Not that you care. Please save your happy little dance of joy until I'm gone, you're making me feel so unloved," he said coldly when he saw Vernon and Petunia's faces light up and the words 'I'm leaving'. He turned on his heals and marched out. He breathed out, that hadn't been so hard. He had expected at least Vernon to explode and perhaps slap him around a bit, not because he was leaving, but because his guarding "freaks" might think Vernon had pushed him into going. Apparently he had painted the devil on the door without truly seeing him.
Now he had some work to do. He went upstairs again and slipped into his room almost soundlessly. He kicked his trunk open and began to toss out all the clothes that the Dursleys' had given him. There would be no more of those where he was going! He wouldn't be in need for them anymore. As it were he had decent clothes on him right now, and he'd get even more tomorrow. He was still wearing his shoes inside the house. He wore them mostly because he didn't want to dirty his feet. Dudley and Vernon always kept their shoes on and dragged the shit from the streets inside the house. They wore shoes almost always because both were too fat to bend down and put them off and on more than once a day. Petunia hadn't been happy about it, but relented reluctantly when her little "diddykins" threw another of his famous tantrums.
"Hmm, let's see... Potion, potion, history, potion, transfiguration and potion again..." he murmured lowly to himself as he tossed the books onto the ugly pile of clothing in the corner of the room.
He had to keep his trunk light and spacey. Besides, he wouldn't be needing those things from tomorrow and there on. With some sort of grim satisfaction he added his school robes onto the growing pile. They were too small; he had grown a bit on the height so when he had them on he wasn't a pretty sight. He'd just have to buy some new when he got the time. Apart from that it also felt good to throw them away, they too had to many memories in them. He just wanted to start fresh with everything new. With that thought in mind he slammed the trunk shut and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day, and perhaps he would finally be free and maybe he could say he was truly fine sometime in the future.
When he woke up the next morning he walked down to the kitchen, determined to get something to eat. A most ungraceful picture met him. Petunia was having her nose almost plastered to the newspaper. She read about gossip as usual, then there was Dudley. Dudley was roaming through the fridge in the hope of finding something very fat to eat, there was no doubt about it. Everyone had given up on Dudley's diet a long time ago. That's good, let him stuff himself to death! Harry had said with glee when Petunia announced the news. He had had to run quite a lot that day to escape the Dursleys' wrath for his voiced opinion. Harry shook his head at the memory and his eyes wandered over to Vernon. He hid a disgusted grimace.
"Jesus Christ Vernon! The mere look of you makes me want to heave!" he said loudly and by that he effectively announced his presence. Vernon was too shocked to shout at him. He never expected the boy to grow a backbone.
"Excuse me, what was that?" Vernon managed to splutter out together with bacon and egg.
Harry crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Vernon. "You've got that... thing, on your face. I mean, can't you even stuff all that food in the right place?" Harry asked and surveyed Vernon with criticism. Vernon stood up and took a step towards him in a way that he probably thought was threatening but Harry just smirked at him. He knew that it would annoy the fat man.
"Now you listen close here boy, and I mean it! I do NOT tolerate having you here in our home voicing your stupidity. If you have to stay here you shall be polite and show some respect!" Vernon growled.
"What's your rules?" Harry murmured in a low voice.
"WHA-" Vernon began but Harry silenced him with a look.
He took a step forward while all he really wanted was to flee out the door. He had to pull this off, or else he would never forgive himself. He hated these muggles, and he would give them a piece of his mind before he left. He had faced worse people before, like Voldemort. Muggles shouldn't frighten him. Therefore he continued. "Now there Vernon. There's no need to get excited so early in the morning. After all, I'll be leaving from here within an hour," he said tauntingly.
"Eat breakfast and hurry out of here! The faster the better!" Petunia intervened before things got ugly. Vernon looked like he would do nothing rather than beat his nephew into a pulp, and Harry decided to take the free ticket out of trouble, which Petunia had provided him, so he backed down… for now.
Harry nodded to his aunt and took a toast with butter and ham. He also took a glass of milk and stole Dudley's cherry pie slice he had only just taken out from the fridge. Despite the family's protests he left the kitchen and went to his messy room. He ate his stolen pie and the toast quickly before making sure the trunk was closed. He opened Hedwig's cage and let her out. She settled down on his arm and he spoke to her, knowing she would understand him.
"Now listen girl. I'm going to a place, which is not for you. Go to Ron or Hermione. They'll take care of you, I'm sure of it," he said. Headwig looked at him in disapproval but hooted and left never the less. Harry exhaled. Now he had one less problem to take care off.
"I shall be going then," he said to no one in particular. He lifted his not heavy trunk and began to walk down the stairs. The three Dursleys' met him in the hall. They didn't stand there to see him off, but because they wanted to know what would happen next. Harry hadn't expected anything less from them.
"Are you coming back next summer? I sure hope not you ungrateful brat!" Vernon spat. Harry threw the front door open and half way out he turned around.
"I don't want to go here but I have too. But relax, after next summer you won't see me again unless I decide to come back and kill you," he said evilly and left the house laughing at their scared faces.
Once outside some people from the gang came in a luxurious black sport car convertable. For the first time he felt free. When he had first befriended Diablo the last summer he stayed here, he had never through it would lead to this; new friend and a new life. His connection with Diablo had only grown since that faithful day one year ago, and he was glad he had gotten the opportunity to have something good in his life. With all the shit that had went down with Voldemort and all, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. He didn't take life for granted, he didn't expect anything to last. Some days he wasn't even sure if he was sane, it felt like he was living in a dream world sometimes, what if non of this was real?
Diablo had told him he wasn't crazy, but he sure as hell started to crack. All he needed was a break, to get a way from everything. He needed to get a way from all the memories and all the expectations. That's what he was finally doing now. Getting away.
"Oi! Harry! C'mon, jump inside!" the driver Thiefy Anderzon shouted to him.
Harry grinned and climbed into the backseat and squeezed down in between two girls. One was blonde and the other brown haired. A male sat in the front seat next to the driver. He turned around to met Harry.
"Like it in the back?"
"Sure thing Missne!" Harry smiled and jokingly laid an arm around each girl. He stuck his tongue out and Missne smirked and turned around. Harry released the girls who rolled their eyes at his display, they knew he was just fooling around.
"Hey Florence! Where's Diablo? I thought he'd come," Harry said when he realised his friend wasn't there with them. He felt slightly disappointed, but shook it off. He was sure Diablo had his reasons for his absence.
"He's doing business," she answered.
"Being a lazy ass in other words," came Missne's dry voice from the front. The girl to the left of him nodded.
"I agree with you there!" said the brunette called Evelyn.
"That's a first!" said Thiefy.
"Shut your gob!" Evelyn snapped playfully.
Harry rolled his eyes. Perhaps sometimes he was the sane one, and the others were insane. He hadn't decided on that one yet. Evelyn and Missne was known for always having disagreements. Thiefy was often the one to brake them apart when a fight broke out. Maybe it was because he came from the gang world in the USA. He had been a leader for a gang called Loaded. There had been around 30 people, so the gang was pretty big. That was, until a big fight broke out with another gang. Thiefy was the only one left to tell the tale of what really went down, but he never spoke about it. So he came to England. Harry had since long ago realised Thiefy had left USA behind him to forget, to start a new.
"It's going to be so much fun having you with us!" Florence said brightly. They had tried to convince them to join them ever since Diablo had introduced him to them, but he had never had the courage to leave the Dursley's. He might not like them, but they were his only safety net in the muggle world, and at least with them he had someplace to stay. He didn't want to end up on the streets. Not that that would actually happen, but it was still a worry he had in the back of his mind. Now he was finally over it.
They were on their way to Florence's home right now. She owned a mansion; where the gang lived. She did well on her own; she's 20 years old and has almost no contact with her family. Harry closed his eyes and felt the morning breeze against his face when they were rolling down the highway in the convertable. The sun began to rise and he got a wonderful feeling of being alive and free for a change. He felt a hand in his hair. He liked the sensation it gave him. It told him that he was wanted. Loved by a friend.
"I can't believe how lucky I am to have you guys!" he exclaimed aloud without opening his eyes. He couldn't help himself, he had to tell them that.
"We're lucky to have you too. Remember how we met?" Florence asked.
He smiled and thought back to where he first met them.
-- Without thinking he had only ordered for himself and sat down in a chair at a small table for one not far from the couple. He was seated in a position where he could watch them easily without being too obvious about it. He observed them and he soon realised that they were both looking uncomfortable with each other as if they had only just had a row. After a while a Spanish looking guy entered and the 'couple' lit up. "Diablo! Thank God you're here! You know, you usually aren't late!" said the blonde woman relieved. "I'm sorry. An idiot called Dursley or something held me up down at the office..." Harry heard him say. That's when he realised they were talking about Vernon. He blushed when all three of them suddenly turned around and caught him staring at them. "Hey you!" the one called Diablo said. "Who? Me?" he asked. "Yeah you! Come over here! Bring your stuff, we wish to talk to you." "Um... OK." So he had slowly moved over to them without really knowing why. In retrospect he had probably figured he had had nothing to loose. Yet it was the best thing he had ever done, soon got to know each other...
He was in the back seat of Vernon's car on his way to Vernon's work. He had to help Vernon with carrying cardboard boxes filled with paper. They were big and heavy too and Vernon didn't have the stamina to do it himself. During lunchtime Vernon sent him of to buy them lunch. Vernon had to make sure he ate lunch since he didn't want any of his colleagues to become suspicious of them. Harry went to a small coffee shop to buy some sandwiches and something to drink. The first thing he noticed was a pretty blonde woman. He couldn't help but to smile to her. She smiled back and waved. That's when a black haired man, with long curly hair that you really wanted to touch, turned around in his chair and looked at him with narrowed grey eyes. That's when he got a funny feeling about the pair. But he shrugged it off.
--
"Yes. I remember," he told Florence.
"How did the Dursley's take the news about you leaving?" Missne asked curiously.
Harry laughed dryly. "Pretty well actually," he murmured. Louder he said: "They're probably calling everyone they know so they can throw a party tonight already to celebrate my departure," he said dryly and the others laughed.
"Poor you! I know how it is to have shitty relatives," Florence said and patted his arms.
"Don't we all?" Thiefy asked and the others said amen to that. They were all drawn and held together by one thing; a shitty home life. That's what they had in common and together they took care of each other and made sure they became your family. Harry inspected Theify's brown hair. Something was different with it today...
"Hey! You've made honey blonde strikes!" he burst out.
Thiefy smiled brightly, showing off his one million dollar smile. "Yeah! Tamara decided to use me as her test rabbit. You know how she is, she's all into fashion and beauty things or whatever they call it. I can never get it straight!" He said and waved his hand around.
"I know what you mean. I'm not surprised you didn't manage to escape her either. She's got a temper that one. Yet she's only 15 and unmarried. But then again, she comes from the US and has blue hair..." said Florence and trailed off, making Evelyn laugh.
"Now wait a minute! There's nothing wrong with the US! I'm from there!" Thiefy said, clearly offended. He was a real patriot when he wanted to be.
"I meant nothing bad," Florence defended herself.
"The only one Tamara hasn't managed to do anything funny with is actually Missne and you Harry," Evelyn cut in before another verbal fight could break loose.
"Quite true. I believe that she's got too much respect for you guys," Theify told them.
"Probably because I'm new," Harry said dismissingly. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, he wasn't more special than anyone else.
"Oh yeah? I would think it's because you're the saviour of our world and everything that you've done. That's respect man! Judging from everything you have told us so far you can easily kill her."
"I wouldn't kill her!" Harry cried outraged to Theify. He couldn't believe he even said that!
"We know silly! But you've have more authority than you yourself realise," Florence told him and their eyes met in the rear mirror. Harry nodded grudgingly.
"Perhaps," he murmured. "Doesn't seem to stop Snape, Malfoy and the Dursley's from despising me and being assholes," he added.
"It doesn't always work on everyone," Missne reasoned. He was always the one to add the reason into a conversation. For as long as Harry had known the man he had never been wrong, not about one single thing!
"That's right!" Theify said knowingly. He had been a leader after all, and knew a thing or two about leadership and authority.
"Yeah you really should know! You've been an right asshole yourself!" Evelyn bitched to Theify.
"Not to you guys!" Thiefy said hurriedly before anyone else could agree with that. Harry smirked when he realised that Theify would have to work hard if he wanted everyone to disagree with Evelyn. He knew Theify could be an asshole, whether he did it on purpose or not.
"Of course not. But you are to people you don't like," said Missne.
"I suppose... But hey! Who isn't?" Theify said lazily and Harry laughed heartily. It was so true! He loved these people, everyone had their own style and manors and no one would judge the other for it. Their conversation paused for a while, and everyone was quiet and enjoyed the sunny day.
"You know Harry, now that you're living with us you'll have to help us during the full moons," Florence told him after a while. Harry was surprised into silence. From Florence's tone one would think he didn't want to help, but he did! He hurried to assure them all he was indeed willing to help out.
"Of course I will! I never said I wouldn't! Besides, Tamara isn't the only werewolf that I know. I believe I told you about Remus Lupin, didn't I? " He asked the others. They nodded.
Missne turned around again. Harry briefly wondered if the man wouldn't crack his neck if he did that one more time. The position looked very uncomfortable. If it would have been he would have spoken without turning around and look at the person, but this was Missne. He always wanted to look at the person he spoke to.
"Yes you did tell us about him. Perhaps we should get some things clear right away; You don't have to help us out every full moon, we usually take turns doing that. The only reason why Florence asked you too is because Tamara is very touchy on the subject. If you don't help me the next full moon she'll think you hate her or something. She's very irrational and paranoid when it comes to the werewolf issue," Missne explained calmly and Harry nodded in understanding. He could only imagine what it would feel like. In a way he supposed Remus was a bit like Tamara, Lupin was quite paranoid when it came to people finding out about his condition.
"Indeed. She is very unreasonable when it comes to the wolf side of her. So the best you could to is to show her that you're not afraid of her during the moon," Thiefy told him and in Harry's ears it sounded like Thiefy spoke from experience. Come to think about it he probably did. The brown haired man had a certain knack for getting mixed up in the middle of an misunderstanding.
"I'll keep it in mind," Harry promised them all. It would be less of a hassle if he did.
"Good because the full moon is tomorrow," Florence reminded him.
"It is? Maybe it is, I'm a bit disorientated of the dates. I always am when I'm at the Dursleys. Fortunately I've got you to keep me informed. So am I going to help you guys with her tomorrow? What exactly am I supposed to do?" he asked curiously. He had no idea what they had in mind.
"It's going to be just you and me tomorrow," Missne said. "After she's transformed back she is often a bit gone, drugged almost. We need to get her to bed and make she drinks some pepper up potion."
"Alright. That's fine," he said. He had expected something complicated, but this was easy! It almost sounded a bit boring, but he kept that part to himself.
"Have you had any breakfast yet?" Evelyn asked.
"Don't start!" he groaned.
"Well?" Evelyn asked him sternly. He nodded.
"Yes I did eat breakfast!" he said darkly, but he suspected they wouldn't believe him.
She looked at him sceptically and Harry tried hard not top fret underneath her piercing gaze. "I'm sure you can stuff down some more. We're going to McDonalds," Florence finally decided. No one else could say anything about it, since she was at the wheels.
"Oh good, fast food! Exactly what he needs!" Missne said sarcastically while turned to Florence.
"Oh shut up you big poof! At least it's going to fatten him up a bit," Evelyn said from the backseat. She was all games when it came to feeding Harry, never mind the last one mentioned hated it with passion. He could very well feed himself he only he wanted to, he wasn't incompetent!
"I am no poof!" he could hear Missne's indignant voice murmur quietly. Whether Evelyn heard or not Harry could not tell. At least she showed no sign to have done so. Harry sighed and relaxed once more when it occurred to him that no conversation was going to account. They arrived at the Mc Donalds way too soon. He wasn't hungry at all and didn't really want to enter the place.
"Shit!" he murmured under his breath when they dragged him out of the car and inside the Mc Donalds.
"Don't worry. I'll keep them down on earth," Missne said in a low voice when he saw Harry looking over at the girls darkly. They didn't seem to notice through. They were busy ordering tons of food for him. He and Missne were sitting at a table big enough for all of them, waiting for the rest to bring their food.
"Thanks. Those two will send me to an early grave you know," Harry whispered. Thiefy showed up behind him and made him jump at the unexpected visit. Theify chuckled and said:
"Never say never!" he said. "You might get killed by something less divine than them, say a stinky kiss from Snape perhaps?" he said and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Urgh! Shut up, stop giving me all those images!" Harry complained.
Missne nodded. "Yeah shut up Thiefy, I don't need to loose my appetite before I've even had the chance to eat! Besides, I agree with Harry, those are driving me insane."
"Yo, did you forget our wolf back home?" Thiefy asked with raised eyebrows and pointed at his hair. It looked good at him but Harry had heard of Tamara's hair adventures and experiments. Diablo had experienced how an experiment gone awry could look like. Most common people knew that you shouldn't try to dye black hair blonde, because it would end up looking yellow. Tamara however didn't belong to the most common people, so Diablo had once ended up with yellow hair. Needless to say neither off them were too pleased about the result, but at least Tamara learned you're supposed to use bleach before you color it if you've got black hair and want it blonde.
"I wish that I could," Missne said dispassionately.
"What are you talking about guys?" Evelyn asked when she joined their table. She carried an overloaded tray full of hamburgers and fries.
"Nothing special. Why don't you take a seat?" Thiefy asked lightly.
"You know, you three aren't exactly gentlemen. Usually it's the men who carries the food," Florence pointed out when she joined them. She too had an overloaded tray but this one was full of drinks.
"Here, let me help you," Harry offered her and took the tray so she could sit down. He began to hand out all the drinks to the right persons.
"Thanks Harry. At least someone has manners, compared to others," she said and looked at Missne and Thiefy. Missne seemed unwilling to offer any help at all to Evelyn so it fell upon Theify.
"You're such a lazy ass Missne!" Thiefy teased him and threw a burger at him, which much to Theify's disappointment, Missne caught easily with a superior smirk.
"At least I ain't talking with banana oil," Missne said dryly and took a bite out of his hamburger.
"Banana what?" Harry asked confused.
"That one uses his tongue to get what he wants out of people as well as getting out of trouble," Missne said and nodded at Thiefy. Now Harry was even more confused.
"What? He gives people blowjobs?" he asked confusedly. The girls cracked up laughing. Even Missne joined the choir.
"Hey! I do not! I'm not some fucking block head!" Theify cried. Harry didn't understand what that meant either, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Either way he didn't ask. Missne managed to calm down after a while so he could explain himself since Harry was waiting for it.
"What I meant was that he uses flattery to get out of some tight situations. He's such a suck up!" he explained to Harry.
"Yeah, he can charm a nun out of her knickers!" Florence agreed.
"Oh. Geez, you really had me on there!" Harry laughed. How the hell was he supposed to know that banana oil meant flattery or bullshit? He thought they meant sperm, but as far as he was concerned, Theify wasn't gay. Not that he minded if he was, he had no problem with that sort of thing.
"Here you go Harry, one QP, one Big Mac, one coke, one pie, one bag of carrots (AN: you can find those in Europe.) Oh! And here's your juice!" Evelyn said and put it all in front of him. He looked at it in dismay. She had to be kidding him!
"And how exactly do you suggest I'll eat all this?" he asked her and poked one of the burgers.
"Stop being such a baby!" Florence told him.
Missne shook his head at them. "Girls, have you ever thought about what harm this could do him? Starved people are not supposed to eat a huge amount of food. They need to accustom their bodies with small portions first. If not their body could go into a state of shock and they'll die," Missne said calmly but sternly at the same time. Florence and Evelyn were looking horrified when they heard that. They obviously hadn't thought about that.
"We didn't think of that!" Florence admitted.
Evelyn relented. "Alright then Harry, eat your QP, your juice and the carrots," Evelyn told him. He didn't like to be ordered around, but on the other hand it would be more kindly to his ears to simply shut up and do it. God, he was whipped!
"No fries for you, they're too fat. We don't want you in a shock!" Florence said and snatched them away from him.
"But!" he protested. Both women glared at him. He gave up immediately… even if the fries were the best part of it.
"Fine!" he said exhausted. He watched a family which were seated a few tables away as he ate. They were a couple with two small boys. They seemed to have a hell of a time too keep the boys eating instead of playing around.
"I'm happy that I don't have to deal with that yet," Florence commented as she saw what he was looking at.
"I don't know about that. You've always got Missne and Evelyn!" he joked. She laughed.
"So true! I thought that it was just a period they had to go through but I was apparently wrong!"
"Obviously," he said and ate another carrot.
He watched Evelyn and Theify talk excitedly about an upcoming concert. Missne was in his own little world, looking at a mature woman a few tables away. Harry rolled his eyes. Missne had always had an eye for beauty. He secretly thought that it annoyed Florence but he couldn't see why because she dated rich attractive guys. Then again, no one liked said boyfriend. Since he had never met him he didn't think it was fair for him to make a judgement, but he had a feeling he would agree with the rest of them.
After they had eaten they all got back to the car and continued their ride home. Harry looked at the manor with awe written all over his face even if he had been there before. It never ceased to amaze him.
"Shit! It's such a sight!" he told the others.
"We know," said Theify in the same old easy going tone he always used.
They drove through the big black gates and continued on the road up to the house. Harry looked out over the grounds. There were big lawns, perfectly green. Some trees and trimmed bushes were planted in perfect harmony. It looked very snazzy. He could see a bit of the swimming pool's blue water stetch out from behind the enormous house. There were water foundations on the front too, such as a small river down to the left, near a little green forest, or the fountains infront of the house. All in all; it was beautiful.
He gazed up at the white painted house with big white marble steps. The big two doors in dark oak wood opened soundlessly and Diablo stepped out. He took a step back in surprise to see them before he grinned widely and waved. Harry waved back. Theify parked the car down the front steps.
"Hi Guys! Harry! What a surprise to see you, back so soon?" Diablo said and opened the backdoor so Florence and Har could get out. Evelyn used the other side.
"Thanks for the service," Missne said sarcastically when he opened his door by himself. Diablo just waved at him in dismissal. Missne scowled deeply and stormed up the steps to the door.
"I'll be in my room," threw over his shoulder to the rest of them and left. Harry noticed that the others didn't seem to care so neither did he.
"It's great to finally have you here! You'll have your usual room of course. Theify, do you mind to take his trunk to his room? Good!" Diablo said without waiting for an answer. Harry smiled in apology to Theify, but he just grinned and took it in a stride. Diablo tended to get bossy whenever someone came for a visit but the others were used to it by now.
"Evelyn, Tamara is in the pool in the backyard, she wishes to see you, and Florence, my brother wants your help. I didn't ask why but he's in his room so you can go see for yourself," Diablo told the others who nodded and dropped off one by one. Soon Harry and Diablo were the only ones left outside. Diablo laid and arm around Harry's shoulders and led him inside.
"Have they spoken to you about Tamara?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes they did. I totally understand, no problem," he said and let himself be led to a sofa in the living room on the first floor. The house had three floors plus a basement and attic, as well as a garage on the outside and a stable with horses and a pool house.
"Are you sure you're OK with it because I understand if you don't wish to be near this place during the full moons," Diablo asked him seriously and Harry hurriedly shook his head. He wanted no misunderstandings regarding the werewolf subject and made sure to make his point clear.
"No, honestly. I'm all right with it. She's not the only werewolf I know, remember?" he said.
"Alright," Diablo said with a nod and watched the unlit fireplace thoughtfully. Just seeing the fireplace reminded Harry of something he really wanted to do; go shopping.
"I was thinking, is it alright with you if I go and but myself some new clothes today or shall I use those rags I already have up in my room?" Harry asked. It didn't really matter to him which day of the week he went shopping, if only it happened soon.
"You should defiantly go shopping today!" Diablo decided. "I've seen those rags you call clothes, and you really ought to have something that fits you. Perhaps you and I should go shopping now before the girls arrive." he suggested and Harry thought that sounded like a splendid idea.
"Sounds good," Harry said quickly and got up on his feet and took some floo powder from a small silver box above the fireplace. Diablo lit the fire for him since he didn't have his wand nearby. He could use magic inside the manor since there were a several wards surrounding the place, protecting and hiding it from other wizards contrary to Hogwarts which was hidden from muggles. Harry suspected half of the wards weren't exactly legal, but since they served his purposed he didn't ask about it.
"Diagon Alley!" he said clearly after the fire was lit and the powder inside. He disappeared and was spinning around until he was spit out in the Leaky Cauldron. He managed to land on his feet for once and was quite happy for it since he didn't want any attention drawn upon himself. Shortly after Diablo stumbled out from the fireplace and Harry felt with him as Diablo barely managed to keep himself upright.
"Shit I hate that!" he growled to Harry who whole heartily agreed with him.
"I know how you feel," he said sympathetically while looking around in the room. People in the room didn't pay any attention to them.
"Yeah," Diablo said with an amused grin. "So I've been told. Come on now let's go, we'll do a raid in the muggle world, the longer we stay here the bigger is the risk for someone to recognise you, and we certainly don't want anyone to do that now, do we?" Diablo said and led the way out.
Harry didn't bother to answer him, and he knew that Diablo didn't expect him to. It was just the way Diablo functioned. He always talked but never really expected an answer. Diablo just assumed what the answer would be. This sort of act made some people think Diablo was arrogant and self centred, but Harry knew better. Diablo's brother Antonio was nothing like Diablo. Antiono always waited for answers. He took his time and was always calm and collected. The two of them were like night and day.
Harry was led by Diablo to the most expensive looking store in sight. It made Harry a bit uncomfortable since he felt very out of place with the clothes he was currently wearing. Diablo looked more familiar to the place, he was all dressed up in design brands and what not.
"Er... Diablo? Perhaps we should choose a more, you know, standard place?" he asked hesitantly but as usual Diablo thought something else entirely.
"Nonsense my friend! We've got the money!" Diablo hollered and dragged him inside the store.
"Do we?" he asked surprised. He didn't know where Diablo could have found out about his financial status.
"Of course! When you turned 16 you got access to all your money! You're rich!" he said and threw away a shirt he had looked at. The store clerks offered their serviced but Diablo waved them away. It appeared he didn't trust anyone but himself with the task of clothing Harry correctly. For the third time since their departure form their home Harry began to suspect he made a bad choice in going with Diablo. He acted like a flamboyant homosexual, a side of Diablo which he rarely saw and didn't miss when it wasn't there.
"I don't understand. I already have all my money and I can use all of it," he protested. He had seen the gold in his vault with his own eyes for God's sake! Diablo stopped in mid-movement.
"Are you telling me that you don't know?" he asked surprised.
"Know what?" Harry asked with a hint of irritation. He really hated it when people knew things he didn't.
"The money you've seen in your vault is only a small amount of your assets! It's a standard thing in the magical world. Everyone is getting their full share when they've turned 16. I can't believe no one have told you that!" He said aghast and Harry's mood darkened considerably.
"Neither can I," Harry murmured darkly. Fuck, he was even angrier at Dumbledore and the Order than before. They would hear of this once they met again!
Diablo shrugged lightly and tried to lighten the mood. "Ah well, now you know. If I'm not mistaking there are a lot of money in the vault you've already got?" Diablo asked and fished shamelessly for information.
"I own 300 000 galleons," he admitted grudgingly. He had never been big on discussing money since it seemed to be such an explosive subject with Ron and the Dursley's and the whole world in general.
"Indeed," Diablo said brightly. What did you have when you first saw your vault?"
"I had 301 000 when I first saw the money." He remembered having asked when he was eleven.
"Alright then. Let's see now… Gelleons are worth 11 times as much as one muggle pound… 301 000 x 11 331 1000 and minus 1000. That's 3310000 pounds!" Diablo let out a low whistle.
"Shit," Harry said amazed. He didn't even know half of all the things he should know, Diablo proved him that again and again. He had never been interested in money, but now Diablo had really opened up his eyes. He could afford to spoil himself every once in a while and not even be remotely close to broke! Besides that he still had Sirius money to add, but he didn't tell Diablo that. He wanted to keep a few secrets to himself and he was sure Diablo did the same to him.
"I've always known the Potter's had a lot of money. They're an old family," Diablo continued as he moved on to a stand with jeans.
"It doesn't mean anything. I mean, a new family could be richer than me while an old family could run out of money," Harry reasoned.
"Quite true," Diablo admitted. Harry was overthrown with shirts and pants Diablo picked out for him. Apparently Diablo thought that everything looked fabulous. He was acting quite gay. But by all means, it didn't mean that he was.
"Okay Diablo, stop. STOP!" he yelled when Diablo tried to make him try on about a hundred more sweaters.
"Fine! I think you've got enough cloths by now anyway," Diablo said sourly and crossed his arms.
"I really agree!" Harry breathed. He was exhausted and wanted to go home but he knew there would be a lot of others shops to go to before he could escape Diablo's clutches.
"Stop being such a spoil sport! Let's go pay," Diablo said and dragged him away once again. That's how it continued to be in all the shops they went to.
"No more places. Please! I'm exhausted!" Harry whined when they had been in what felt like thousands of stores and Diablo didn't seem to be anywhere close to getting tired. Diablo eyed him critically.
"Alright. I think you'll do," he finally said. Harry sighed in relief.
"Um... What place should we floo home from?" he asked Diablo. Diablo stopped in mid-movement again and wrinkled his forehead in thought.
"Hmm, I think it's safe to use the cauldron again. I don't think anyone will notice you. Besides, there are so many people in there we'll just be a face among the rest."
"Sounds good to me. It's close and all. It feels like I've run a couple of miles!"
"You're such a whiny brat! You're certainly out of shape if this tires you," Diablo said and pointed a long finger into Harry's chest. "You, my friend, need to work out I believe," he finished and Harry groaned.
"Don't remind me!"
"Oh but I will. We do have a gym behind the stable in a newly built house."
"We do?" Harry asked confused. He hadn't seen it before and he thought it would have been hard to miss.
"Yes. We built it during the four weeks you stayed at the Dursley's."
"That explains it!" Harry said relieved. At least now he knew he wasn't crazy, there hadn't been any building there before!
"Yeah it does. Quiet now. We don't wish to draw any attention to ourselves!" Diablo warned him and stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry followed quietly. They managed to floo home without any mishaps on the way.