Chapter One
The Summer Holidays Begin.
Harry Potter sat on his bed at Number 4 Privet drive,
staring unseeing out of the window. He had sat like
this for most of the 5 days he had been back from
Hogwarts, trying not to face the emptiness in his
soul. Sirius was gone and Dumbledore had told Harry
there was no way he could come back out of that veil.
Sirius, who had loved Harry and been almost like a
father to him in the 2 years since Harry had
discovered the truth about his parent's deaths. It
didn't seem fair that after all that had happened to
Harry - losing his parents, having to watch Cedric
DIGGORY die, having most of the wizarding world think
he was a nutter, not to mention all the times he had
faced Voldemort - he had lost Sirius as well. And it
was my fault! thought Harry angrily, wishing yet again
that he had never gone to the ministry that day. He
had put his friends in danger and lost Sirius and none
of it should have happened. He was so angry at himself
for that!
Darkness! that was what was surrounding him just at the moment. his soul was drowning in darkness. He didn't think
he'd ever smile again, not ever. I must truly be bad, truly be evil for this to happen! he told himself. Harry
shook his head. This wouldn't do, he couldn't stay here in this room, in this state forever! It was tempting
though, oh so tempting.
Harry tried to think about something else, thoughts of
Sirius were too painful and he wished he could just
pretend that none of it had ever happened. He wished
he was back at Hogwarts, where classes would have
helped keep his mind off things. He was stuck here in
Privet Drive and his Aunt and Uncle were pretending he
wasn't there. He had no one to talk to, and for some
reason or other Ron and Hermione weren't very
communicative, maybe they didn't want to say anything
that would upset him Harry thought.
Jumping up Harry decided he couldn't sit there
anymore, his thoughts just kept going round and round
and he felt more depressed the longer he sat there. The darkness around him was getting thicker. He had to do
something, anything!
Harry stepped out of his room and was just about to pass Dudley's room when he noticed the door was open and Dudley was sitting on his bed staring out the window as Harry had been doing. He had a bar of chocolate in his hand which he had opened, but he didn't seem too interested in eating it. It must be getting gooey and sticky by now Harry thought, wondering how long his cousin had been holding it like that. Harry had heard Dudley having bad dreams since he had been back from Hogwarts. He figured it was because of the dementor attack that Dudley had witnessed the previous summer. After all Dudley had been horribly shocked. Harry didn't blame him. Maybe I should talk to him. He shuddered as that thought occurred to him. Harry really didn't like Dudley, but seeing his cousin looking so dejected and depressed was a far cry from the arrogant git who had spent most of his life using Harry for a punching bag or sitting on him. Harry thought he'd even lost weight. He half expected Dudley to say something horrible or even throw something at him, but all of a sudden, he felt he had to explain that he had tried to stop the dementors from attacking him. Why must I always try to save everybody? he asked himself. He took a deep breath and walked closer to Dudley's door.
"Hi Dudley," he ventured, not sure what his cousin's reaction would be.
"O it's you," Dudley answered expressionlessly, "You can come in if you want,"
What? he wants me to come in? Maybe I'm delusional Harry thought. Not quite trusting that what he heard was really real, Harry stepped nearer the door.
"Uh, thanks," said Harry. When Dudley just sat and waited, he ventured in and sat on the bed.
"You want some?" asked Dudley, breaking the chocolate bar in half and handing a sticky mess to Harry. This is really weird. Maybe the dementors did something to his brain! Harry mused. Still Dudley was being unusually nice. Strange, but still, anything was better than sitting and brooding about the events at the ministry. He really didn't want the chocolate but not wanting to refuse Harry took it and bit into it.
"Do you like this music?" Dudley asked.
"It's very loud," answered Harry.
"What music do your sort listen to anyway?" asked the bigger boy curiously
What? he's asking me about "my sort? Harry could hardly believe his ears. He heard himself answering Dudley however. "O different people like different things I guess," said Harry, "We have our own groups like ..."
"Dudley!" Uncle Vernon called from downstairs.
"uh o, you better get out of here," Dudley said quietly. Harry got up and quickly went back to his own room. He wondered about that little chat with his cousin, Dudley had been more friendly than Harry could ever remember him being. What was going on, he wondered yet again! Maybe Dudley was going to be nice to him before he punched him until he was a bloody mess. That didn't make sense though. Maybe the dementors have scared some sense in to him, he mused.
A few more boring, dark oppressive days and nights passed for Harry. He
tried studying but nothing seemed to interest him
much. He wrote letters to his friends but he didn't
talk much about the feelings churning inside him. He
wished he had Dumbledore's pensieve so he could just get
all thoughts of Sirius out of his mind, then he would
feel so much better, or would he? Harry didn't want to
pretend that Sirius had never been a part of his life,
he just wished he could forget that his Godfather was
dead and that it was his own damn fault! It would be
so much easier to imagine him alive, hiding from the
ministry somewhere like he had been 2 years ago before
Harry's letter telling about his scar hurting had
brought Sirius back to England. Damn, Harry thought,
what if he had never wrote that letter and Sirius had
stayed in hiding somewhere, would he have been forced
to return to that horrible house in Grimmauld place?
Would Sirius even now be alive? But then Harry would
not have spent time with his Godfather and got to know
him like he had. Anyway, Harry thought, there was no
way Sirius would have stayed far away once Harry's
name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Sirius had loved
and cared about Harry, he could take comfort in that,
but it hurt so much to lose that after such a short
time. Other people had families but Harry had lost his
parents and now Sirius and there was nobody left
except his friends. Dumbledore cared about him, but
Harry was still so angry at the headmaster that he
didn't care. Harry knew that what had happened to
Sirius wasn't Dumbledore's fault, but Harry couldn't
help the resentment he felt that Dumbledore couldn't
somehow have stopped Sirius from dying, or in some way
bring him back from the veil. Surely the greatest
wizard of the age would be able to do that, Harry
thought. "Why must you keep prattling on?" He asked himself under his breath. He should know by now, that nothing
ever went right for Harry Potter. Nothing ever would. Everything he touched would be ruined... would be...
Harry's bedroom door opened suddenly and Uncle Vernon
stood there. He entered without asking and slammed it
shut behind him.
Harry didn't even look up. He just couldn't fight anymore. Didn't care. Uncle Vernon was sneering at him now.
"I want to talk to you, boy," he said, glaring at Harry. O what now, Harry thought. He supposed he'd better at least pretend to pay attention. He wanted to tell his uncle to get out, to never come back in to his room, to just go jump!
"What about?" he asked instead.
"Your Aunt and Dudley and I have been asked to have dinner with my boss, there's talk that I could get a promotion," his uncle said smugly.
"O, um, congratulations," Harry said.
" Don't you be disrespectful boy! anyway, we're going to dinner tomorrow night. You will stay locked in your room and you will not leave it under any circumstances, not even if the house catches fire, do I make myself clear boy?" Uncle Vernon moved his face close to Harry's.
"I understand," Harry answered quietly, not in the mood for an argument with Uncle Vernon.
Don't think I don't know you and your nasty friends
played a trick on us last year, all England best kept
lawn competition indeed"
Harry shuddered. That day held wonderful memories for him. Someone had come and took him away from this place. Ok
so the trip on the brooms could have been the trip from hell, but at the end Harry got to be with his Godfather...
"That wasn't my doing," Harry said trying to shut out thought of Sirius and the fact that he would never again see him.
"I don't care who's doing it was, you stay right here in this room tomorrow night, if I find just one broken glass you'll be locked in here for the rest of the summer!"
A little of Harry's fight raised it's head. He couldn't fight this man though.I wonder what mad eye would have to
say about that?
Harry wanted to say. Instead he just sighed and said,
"Yes uncle Vernon," .
A/N: review please