DISCLAIMER: Roses are red, Violets are blue, I don't own, so please don't
sue. Hell, I don't even own my disclaimer! It belongs to someone else! I
am in no way affiliated with Harry Potter or any character, plot, or scene
that J.K. Rowlings. The only thing I own is the things you did get from
the Harry Potter series.
At some point while reading this story, you may want to read 'Still Waiting'. After this chapter would be a good time to read it.
A Family that Cares
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Harry sighed, rolling carefully out of his bed. He glanced over at the clock be his bed. 6:42 it blinked at him. 18 minutes before Aunt Petunia would come and start pounding on his door, demanding that he get up and make breakfast. Of course the breakfast would have to follow that diet chart that the Smeltings Nurse had sent along with Dudley's end of year report.
This year, she had informed the Dursleys that Dudley weighed more than he did the year before and the diet got stricter. His weight loss plan included an hour of exercise. So which type of exercise did Dudley choose to do? The kind that involved chasing Harry up and down the street. Harry decided that today, he would do something that he rarely ever did. He treated himself to a morning shower.
Harry stood in the hot water, letting it wash away all of his troubles. Letting the water clear his mind of everything, but the one thing he had feared since the start of summer holidays. Lord Voldemort. Harry knew that Voldemort had returned. Hell, the man took his blood so no one could tell him that he was delusional that night that Voldemort had so easily murdered Cedric Diggory.
Soon, Aunt Petunia was banging on the door, demanding that Harry stop wasting the water and get downstairs to cook breakfast. Harry sighed again and turned off the water. He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Wiping away the condensation on the mirror, he studied the reflection of himself. He was tall, but not as tall as his friend Ron. Harry only stood at 5'7" and he was built lanky, like his father. He had taken to working out that summer and now boasted some muscular arms, chest, and abdomen. His brown locks fell messily into his green eyes. He brushed it way, impatiently to reveal a lighting shaped scar on his forehead. Harry picked up his razor and shaved. Glancing at his hair again, he nodded his head in defeat. There was nothing he could do with it. He decided that he would get it cut before he left for school. Harry got dressed in some clothes that Hermione had sent him money to get. He would pay her back, of course, but with wizards' money, not muggle money.
Dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt and some tennis shoes, Harry made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he began to dutifully, chop grapefruits. He made sure to give Dudley the bigger piece when he sat down to eat. Let Dudley think that he was getting more food. It didn't matter. Harry had a stash of food hidden under a loose floorboard in his room. And he had the money that Hermione sent him. And of course the money he earned by mowing lawns and what not.
"What are you doing today, Dudley?" Uncle Vernon asked his son, ignoring his nephew.
"I'm off to see my girlfriend." Dudley answered, fingering the hairy caterpillar on his upper lip that he called a mustache. Harry snorted into his drink. Dudley's girlfriend was a twit who was dumber then she was ugly. And she was really ugly.
"What are you doing, boy?" Vernon grunted.
"I'm off to get my hair cut and then to work on Mrs. Twins' yard. I'm not expecting to be home before dinner." Harry answered, finishing the rest of his juice. "I'll be upstairs, finishing off a letter to Sirius and then I'll go. I may be going to see Ron, too." Harry got up and left the room.
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Harry walked into his room and immediately held up his hand to catch the gray, twittering tennis ball that was his best friend, Ron's owl. Harry untied the letter from Pig's leg and let the annoying thing go. It continued to bounce off of the walls and annoy his own owl, Hedwig.
'Harry,
Are you sill coming over today? Bill's bringing home that girlfriend that he's been talking about. You know, the one that he's "in love with" but no one knows who she is. That one. Anyway, I hope you're going to be here to meet her. Bring your things for school or we can have Charlie Apparate over and get it. Anyway, just send an answer with Pig. Like I said, I hope you'll be here to meet her. Bill wants you to be there too. "Harry's just as good as part of the family." He says. Hermione will be here too. Ginny wants you to be here too. Answer back, soon!
Ron'
Harry grabbed a pen and scribbled quickly,
"Ron,
I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've got to go get a haircut and to pick up some things, but I'll be home after noon. Have Charlie come one over around there and I'll make a run to the Johnson's and use their fireplace to get there. I'll see you later.
Harry"
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"I'm going to Ron's house to spend the rest of summer." Harry told his Uncle Vernon. Vernon didn't answer, just grunted. "His brother's coming later to get my trunk and things. I'm going to get my haircut and then I'll come back to finish packing. I'll see you later before I leave." Harry walked out of the door.
He wasn't exactly sure where to go to get his hair cut so he went to the first place he saw, Great Clips.
"How would you like your hair cut?" The woman greeted him.
"I'm not exactly sure." She didn't respond, but handed him a book instead.
"When you see something you like, tell me and I'll get right on to cutting your hair." Harry sat down on one of the hard, plastic chairs and began to flip through the pages. Finally, he saw something simple and easy for him. (A/N: if you've seen Princess Diaries, think Michael's hair cut while they were in Doc Motors Auto Repair. That's what I'm seeing.) After getting his hair cut, Harry went to the local corner shop and picked up a collection of batteries, some for Mr. Weasley, who collected them, and a bunch of AA batteries for his portable CD player.
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"I'm back." Harry called to no one in particular when he entered the house. He shrugged and charged up the stairs. Harry found an owl sitting in his room. It was one of the school owls. Harry took the letter from its leg and let it leave.
"Harry,
I have checked and found that Portable CD players do in fact work at Hogwarts.
Professor Dumbledore."
Harry smiled. He wanted to be able to bring his CDs to school he just wasn't sure if they would work because of all the magic. Working quickly because he only had a few hours before Charlie came for him, Harry packed his things into this trunk. All of his precious things went in first, his Invisibility Cloak, his Firebolt, the map that Fred and George gave him, and the photo album that Hagrid gave him, then his school things.
Glancing at his clock again, for the eighth time in the last hour, Harry stood and peeled back the loose floorboard, taking out a nice meat pie. He was eating when Charlie finally appeared.
"'Lo, Charlie." Harry said, shaking the hand of Charlie Weasley. He could feel all the blisters and calluses on his hand. Working with dragons must be tough. "I've got to make a run downstairs and tell them."
"I'll come with you." Charlie grinned. "I've been wanting to see this git that Fred and George keep telling me to fed Canary Creams to."
"Dudley? I'm not sure if he's home." Harry lead Charlie down the stairs and into the kitchen where Petunia was cooking, Vernon was reading, and Dudley and his girlfriend were eating.
"Who is he?" Vernon asked, looking up at Charlie.
"This is Charlie. He's Ron's brother."
"Hello." Charlie held his hand out to Uncle Vernon. Vernon stared at his hand for a minute before shaking it. "I'll be taking Harry back home. He'll be staying with us for the rest of the summer holiday and I'll make sure he gets to school. If I don't, my mother will."
"Very well." Vernon said. "Go on. Leave."
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"Very nice man." Charlie said with distaste. "Looking at me like I'm diseased."
"At least he didn't start throwing things at you."
"True. I'll take your things and you go on over to the Johnson's and use their fireplace." Charlie Apparated, taking Harry's trunk and owl. Harry ran all the way down the stairs and down the street. Mrs. Johnson let him in and he went straight to the fire and threw in the Floo Powder.
"THE BURROW!" Harry yelled, leaving Privet Drive at last.
At some point while reading this story, you may want to read 'Still Waiting'. After this chapter would be a good time to read it.
A Family that Cares
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Harry sighed, rolling carefully out of his bed. He glanced over at the clock be his bed. 6:42 it blinked at him. 18 minutes before Aunt Petunia would come and start pounding on his door, demanding that he get up and make breakfast. Of course the breakfast would have to follow that diet chart that the Smeltings Nurse had sent along with Dudley's end of year report.
This year, she had informed the Dursleys that Dudley weighed more than he did the year before and the diet got stricter. His weight loss plan included an hour of exercise. So which type of exercise did Dudley choose to do? The kind that involved chasing Harry up and down the street. Harry decided that today, he would do something that he rarely ever did. He treated himself to a morning shower.
Harry stood in the hot water, letting it wash away all of his troubles. Letting the water clear his mind of everything, but the one thing he had feared since the start of summer holidays. Lord Voldemort. Harry knew that Voldemort had returned. Hell, the man took his blood so no one could tell him that he was delusional that night that Voldemort had so easily murdered Cedric Diggory.
Soon, Aunt Petunia was banging on the door, demanding that Harry stop wasting the water and get downstairs to cook breakfast. Harry sighed again and turned off the water. He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Wiping away the condensation on the mirror, he studied the reflection of himself. He was tall, but not as tall as his friend Ron. Harry only stood at 5'7" and he was built lanky, like his father. He had taken to working out that summer and now boasted some muscular arms, chest, and abdomen. His brown locks fell messily into his green eyes. He brushed it way, impatiently to reveal a lighting shaped scar on his forehead. Harry picked up his razor and shaved. Glancing at his hair again, he nodded his head in defeat. There was nothing he could do with it. He decided that he would get it cut before he left for school. Harry got dressed in some clothes that Hermione had sent him money to get. He would pay her back, of course, but with wizards' money, not muggle money.
Dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt and some tennis shoes, Harry made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he began to dutifully, chop grapefruits. He made sure to give Dudley the bigger piece when he sat down to eat. Let Dudley think that he was getting more food. It didn't matter. Harry had a stash of food hidden under a loose floorboard in his room. And he had the money that Hermione sent him. And of course the money he earned by mowing lawns and what not.
"What are you doing today, Dudley?" Uncle Vernon asked his son, ignoring his nephew.
"I'm off to see my girlfriend." Dudley answered, fingering the hairy caterpillar on his upper lip that he called a mustache. Harry snorted into his drink. Dudley's girlfriend was a twit who was dumber then she was ugly. And she was really ugly.
"What are you doing, boy?" Vernon grunted.
"I'm off to get my hair cut and then to work on Mrs. Twins' yard. I'm not expecting to be home before dinner." Harry answered, finishing the rest of his juice. "I'll be upstairs, finishing off a letter to Sirius and then I'll go. I may be going to see Ron, too." Harry got up and left the room.
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Harry walked into his room and immediately held up his hand to catch the gray, twittering tennis ball that was his best friend, Ron's owl. Harry untied the letter from Pig's leg and let the annoying thing go. It continued to bounce off of the walls and annoy his own owl, Hedwig.
'Harry,
Are you sill coming over today? Bill's bringing home that girlfriend that he's been talking about. You know, the one that he's "in love with" but no one knows who she is. That one. Anyway, I hope you're going to be here to meet her. Bring your things for school or we can have Charlie Apparate over and get it. Anyway, just send an answer with Pig. Like I said, I hope you'll be here to meet her. Bill wants you to be there too. "Harry's just as good as part of the family." He says. Hermione will be here too. Ginny wants you to be here too. Answer back, soon!
Ron'
Harry grabbed a pen and scribbled quickly,
"Ron,
I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've got to go get a haircut and to pick up some things, but I'll be home after noon. Have Charlie come one over around there and I'll make a run to the Johnson's and use their fireplace to get there. I'll see you later.
Harry"
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"I'm going to Ron's house to spend the rest of summer." Harry told his Uncle Vernon. Vernon didn't answer, just grunted. "His brother's coming later to get my trunk and things. I'm going to get my haircut and then I'll come back to finish packing. I'll see you later before I leave." Harry walked out of the door.
He wasn't exactly sure where to go to get his hair cut so he went to the first place he saw, Great Clips.
"How would you like your hair cut?" The woman greeted him.
"I'm not exactly sure." She didn't respond, but handed him a book instead.
"When you see something you like, tell me and I'll get right on to cutting your hair." Harry sat down on one of the hard, plastic chairs and began to flip through the pages. Finally, he saw something simple and easy for him. (A/N: if you've seen Princess Diaries, think Michael's hair cut while they were in Doc Motors Auto Repair. That's what I'm seeing.) After getting his hair cut, Harry went to the local corner shop and picked up a collection of batteries, some for Mr. Weasley, who collected them, and a bunch of AA batteries for his portable CD player.
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"I'm back." Harry called to no one in particular when he entered the house. He shrugged and charged up the stairs. Harry found an owl sitting in his room. It was one of the school owls. Harry took the letter from its leg and let it leave.
"Harry,
I have checked and found that Portable CD players do in fact work at Hogwarts.
Professor Dumbledore."
Harry smiled. He wanted to be able to bring his CDs to school he just wasn't sure if they would work because of all the magic. Working quickly because he only had a few hours before Charlie came for him, Harry packed his things into this trunk. All of his precious things went in first, his Invisibility Cloak, his Firebolt, the map that Fred and George gave him, and the photo album that Hagrid gave him, then his school things.
Glancing at his clock again, for the eighth time in the last hour, Harry stood and peeled back the loose floorboard, taking out a nice meat pie. He was eating when Charlie finally appeared.
"'Lo, Charlie." Harry said, shaking the hand of Charlie Weasley. He could feel all the blisters and calluses on his hand. Working with dragons must be tough. "I've got to make a run downstairs and tell them."
"I'll come with you." Charlie grinned. "I've been wanting to see this git that Fred and George keep telling me to fed Canary Creams to."
"Dudley? I'm not sure if he's home." Harry lead Charlie down the stairs and into the kitchen where Petunia was cooking, Vernon was reading, and Dudley and his girlfriend were eating.
"Who is he?" Vernon asked, looking up at Charlie.
"This is Charlie. He's Ron's brother."
"Hello." Charlie held his hand out to Uncle Vernon. Vernon stared at his hand for a minute before shaking it. "I'll be taking Harry back home. He'll be staying with us for the rest of the summer holiday and I'll make sure he gets to school. If I don't, my mother will."
"Very well." Vernon said. "Go on. Leave."
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"Very nice man." Charlie said with distaste. "Looking at me like I'm diseased."
"At least he didn't start throwing things at you."
"True. I'll take your things and you go on over to the Johnson's and use their fireplace." Charlie Apparated, taking Harry's trunk and owl. Harry ran all the way down the stairs and down the street. Mrs. Johnson let him in and he went straight to the fire and threw in the Floo Powder.
"THE BURROW!" Harry yelled, leaving Privet Drive at last.