Harry Potter and the Riddle House
Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership whatsoever of the Harry Potter concept. That honour is bestowed to Joanne Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing.
Timeframe: Beginning directly after Order of the Phoenix therefore it is important that you've read that book first.
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Chapter 1: A MUGGLE SUMMER!
The days went by and the nights came fast and Harry Potter lived his life, a young man with a destiny he feared would one-day come to pass. So much had occurred since the day Harry had discovered he was a wizard, and much of the flurry, and the excitement of knowing who he was had well and truly gone. Now all that layed in his mind was knowledge, and fear; no not fear but dread about a destiny prophesised before his birth
Harry James Potter, the boy who lived (or so the Daily Prophet called him) was sitting up in bed on a bright and sunny morning at Privet Drive, Surrey, only a couple of weeks after leaving the wizard school he called his home. It was the beginning of yet another summer spent at Privet Drive, and there was still many weeks to go before he would leave for a year spent studying magic in a world that he was currently detached from.
There was a knock at his door, and it was very feint. Since arriving back at Privet Drive, there had been a change of mood in the way Harry's Uncle Vernon and Aunt Pertunia treated him. Instead of neglecting him and treating him like vermon, they simply decided to ignore him or more importantly they left him to himself. This was quite all right with Harry, whom didn't feel like talking to anyone, and especially not the Dursleys.
"Harry, Petunia and I are going out for the day. If you leave the house, make sure everything's turned off and the house locked." Uncle Vernon spoke slowly and sternly through the door, his voice not the usual booming yells he had been used to in the past.
Harry didn't speak and only nodded to himself and quickly got out of his bed. He grabbed a pair of dirty looking jeans of his desk and a light blue T-Shirt that didn't quite reach his jeans, showing the smallest bit of mid-drift. It was a rough and edgy look that Harry had sported throughout the summer, not really caring what he looked like. Then he grabbed his backpack out of his closet and pulled a brown belt out and put it on too. Then he grabbed his wallet, shoved it in his back pocket and went out of the door.
20 minutes later after having walked to Surrey Train Station Harry walked on to the London Underground train and headed into the city for the day. Careful not to be recognised, Harry now wore a baseball cap on backward which was covering his scar and contact lenses so to blend into the muggle punk look sported by many Londoner's on the train. He sat with Dudley's Walkman in his hand and earphones in his ears, listening with the volume turned up load and heavy metal music playing.
The train slowly began to stop half an hour later at one of the many London train stations and Harry got up and left. Moving through the station, Harry finally made it through to the street and then he crossed the busy road. Once across, Harry quickly passed various shoppers who chatted about the many sales and businessman who walked around oblivious to the world around them on mobile phones.
Finally Harry stopped five-minutes later at a cafe and walked strait up to the counter and surprisingly proceeded behind the counter and through the staff door. Harry had gotten himself a muggle job for the summer and was going to be working their today for muggle money, handed to him through the back door. Nobody knew this fact and that was exactly how Harry intended it to stay.
~*~*~
With the understanding that came with the knowledge of his connection to Voldemort finally known to Harry, initially he didn't really know what he was supposed to do next. He certainly didn't want to talk to anyone he cared about and uncover the unbearable truth of his livelihood to them. He definitely didn't want to delve into his painful feeling over Sirius and the loneliness he now felt with his most-closest family bond severed. More importantly, Harry didn't want to spend his days alone deep in thought with no control, no focus and only time available at his disposal. Harry wanted to forget everything and not be found.
Harry was increasingly wired. He didn't sleep any more out of fear that Voldemort may torture him in his sleep and there was no way Harry could close of his mind while alone and this was why he decided to look for a job. He needed a distraction so he could focus his mind elsewhere, where he could feel the pain less and since he couldn't be part of the wizard world (and he didn't really want to be at the moment), Harry decided to get away from Surrey. He found himself a job as a cleaner at a cafe and made money to spend while in the city, which he used on the days he didn't work to go see movies and kick back in London.
So far all Harry had done was see a couple of movies and buy cigarettes (which he bought to relax him) and train tickets in and out of the city. He had only been working a week and there was still a long time to go before he went back to school. Although Harry loved the wizard world, right now he didn't want to be part of it and he didn't want to go back to school. He was being followed everywhere by an order member he knew, yet none of them inter-feared with his life as it was obvious Harry was simply trying to deal with everything in his life. He spent his days being someone he wasn't, and he needed time to deal.
It was now the third week and Harry hadn't spoken once to any of his friend's. Ron and Hermione had both sent owls and Hermione had even sent a letter addressed properly (and with only one stamp) to Harry through the Muggle Postal Service and although Harry had replied, his messages were vague and short and they were tedious. He wrote them so they wouldn't worry or fuss over him. He didn't want anyone from the wizarding world to come into his life right then and make him feel everything he was feeling. He just wasn't ready.
At the end of the workday, Harry grabbed his backpack and left. He got on the train and left, looking into darkness out the windows. It was late and he didn't care, so he put Dudley's earphones on and began listening to a CD he'd brought. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes, which he had closed while listening to the music and held on to his wand in his back pocket as he swung around defensively. To his surprise a girl was sitting smiling at him.
"You have good taste in music," said the girl who looked around 15 with light brown hair which was strait and lightly tanned skin. She had blue eyes and they twinkled as she looked at him.
"Yeah, you like the song?" Harry inquired, trying to sound like a normal muggle teenage boy.
"Yeah like totally. I mean your listening to Oasis and everyone loves them here!" The girl answered Harry and he finally let go of his wand. "Oh, I'm Kelly!"
"Oh I'm...Daniel. " Harry finished and then looked down uncomfortably.
"So what are you doing alone on the train tonight. Cause there's this party and the thing is you gotta invite someone you don't know to the party. It like scavenger hunts gone wild. Anyway, I want you to be my stranger so would you like to come!"
Harry looked up and thought about the offer he was presented. After a second he answered. "Yeah, why not!" After that, he moved around to sit next to her and they chattered about everything and nothing until they reached the party.