Harry Potter and the Last Heir
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series or any of its characters...so don't sue me. I ain't got nuttin'. )
Chapter 1: An Unprofitable Day
Harry sat down on his bed and sighed. It was the last time he would ever sit on the bed; it was the last time he ever had to be in this house. A rush of something that resembled a sad feeling tried to bombard Harry, but he quickly pushed it away. It was clear to him - there was nothing about this house that he would miss, nothing. As Harry went to lie down a horse-faced woman appeared in the doorway.
"Dinner is ready." Harry's Aunt Petunia said, reluctantly. Then she left, almost as quickly and silently as she had come. Harry forced himself up from the bed. Although he was exhausted from the day he could not deny the towering presence of hunger in his stomach. Making his way down the stairs Harry could hear a loud, boisterous voice booming from the table. Harry quickly recognized it as his uncle Vernon's. 'Must've just gotten in.' Harry thought absent mindedly to himself as he crossed the kitchen, quickly dismissing the thought from his head.
"Harry would you get the salt for me?" Aunt Petunia said, trying to sound pleasant, almost as Harry had sat himself down. He sighed and carried his tired body to the counter to pick up the table salt for his, what he now presumed, lazy aunt.
"Here." Harry said as he handed his aunt the table salt, nearly throwing it at her: Partially out of frustation, but mostly out of exhaustion. He noticed his uncle mumbling to his aunt, and then suddenly noticed the lack of a certain table-mate: his cousin, Dudley.
"Where's Dudley?" Harry asked, almost as though he really cared.
"He's staying the night with a friend." Petunia answered with a fake smile on her horse-like face.
"Oh." Harry said, simply. He didn't want Dudley here on his last night anyway. Uncle Vernon, whose face was quite the opposite to Petunia's, large and round, had been watching Harry very closely since he had made his way downstairs.
"What have you been up to, boy?" Vernon, who had no trace of subtlety said, nearly shouting at Harry.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, calmly, while still eating, although he knew exactly what his uncle Vernon meant.
"Where have you been going lately? You leave early in the morning, you take that broom-thing, and that-that contraption-"
"You mean, my wand?" Harry did his best to hide the smile that was growing inside of him, as he cut his uncle off. Vernon began to swell with anger.
"Yes, that thing." Vernon bellowed.
"Vernon dear, please, don't shout at the table. Honestly, what will the neighbors think if they hear you." Petunia said, as she served herself some more mashed potatoes. Harry spoke slowly and chose his words carefully, so as not to give his aunt and uncle any idea of what he was really doing. Not that they cared about him or his safety anyway.
"I've had business to take care of." Vernon stopped eating.
"Business?"
"Yes." Harry answered. A loud roar of laughter came from Uncle Vernon, but Petunia acted as though she hadn't heard what Harry had said.
"It's no matter Vernon, he's leaving tomorrow anyway - for good." Petunia said, quite solemnly.
"What?" Vernon questioned.
"You mean...you're leaving? Why?" He asked, a very skeptic look on his face.
"I turn 17 tomorrow, and after that I have no need to live with you here anymore." Harry, who had long grown tired of the conversation decided that his meal wasn't worth the questions he would have to endure from his uncle. So, he left the table without saying anything else. But as he left he could hear the sound of his aunt Petunia explaining things to a very stunned, yet quite exuberant Uncle Vernon.
Harry quickly threw open his door, slammed it shut, then threw himself onto the bed. He felt frustrated, but was unsure why. Was it because of Uncle Vernon's questioning manner? Or did it have to do with something he brought up, something deeper. Perhaps it was the fruitless day he just had.
He had gotten up at 5 o'clock that morning, just like he did, every morning, got dressed and made his way silently downstairs, so as not to disturb the Dursleys, broom and wand in hand. He made sure no muggles were in his view as Harry got on his broom and kicked off hard from the ground. He flew to a Diagon Alley to meet Hermione and Ron for their daily expeditions of Voldemort's horcruxes. They had all agreed that they would do this, everyday, in exchange for Harry agreeing to come back to school, despite the situations. Harry, who didn't mind the idea too much, agreed, but was unsure whether it would be enough. Then, Ron and Hermione threw in Holidays "as an added bonus". They searched through every place they could find in the magical world, given the allotted time, that might give them a lead on the horcruxes, but they found nothing.
Earlier that summer they had sucessfully confiscated the necklace that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin at Grimmauld Place and destroyed it. They asked members of the Order about it, and questioned the fake locket Harry and Dumbledore had found they previous year. They confirmed that the initials "R.A.B." had indeed been Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother who had taken the locket and replaced it with the fake one, thus dying for his acts of repentance.
So, the Order had sucessfully gotten rid of three out of the seven horcruxes: the diary, the ring, and now, the locket. Harry couldn't help but feel like he hadn't done enough for Dumbledore yet, promising himself he would do all he could to gain more information on the horcruxes, even at school. Even if it meant missing a couple of classes.
Harry, who was now dozing off on his bed let his mind rest on thoughts of school: on thoughts of quiddich; on thoughts of his friends; on thoughts of no more classes with the dreadful Professor Snape; on thoughts of the great, care-free year he wished laid in front of him. And with those thoughts Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, fell asleep.
That was pretty short, and a little slow, but I wanted to do a little intro before I get deeper into the story. More to come soon! D