Harry Potter and The Relative of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

By Kali Horita

Chapter One

The Family Book

Harry Potter was lying in bed, waiting for his letter from Ron to arrive. The two Hogwarts students were not having the best summer, and started to write about who they thought the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher would be. Harry, looking around his room of what to do, thought that he might send yet another letter to Hermione, impatiently waiting for hers. Ron was taking longer than he expected to write, and just thought that it was his owl, Pigwidgeon or Errol. Hedwig was yet making a racket in the corner of his room, seeing the same owl before, when he received a letter from Ron earlier. Harry shushed her, looking at the door, hoping that Uncle Vernon would not find all these owls delivering letters to Harry's room. Harry quietly opened one of his windows and let Errol come inside. Errol landed on Harry's desk, making a better improvement rather than last time, when Errol bumped into Hedwig's cage making them both fall over.

Harry obtained the letter, and found it packed with a couple pieces of parchment.

Harry,

I hope that Snape won't be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That would be just horrible. Lupin was brilliant; even though he was a werewolf I could live with him. Just imagine if Lockhart came back… I doubt he would, unless he was under the Imperius curse or something… Well, I have to write fast. Ginny wants to say hi. See ya.

Ron

There was another piece of parchment with Ginny's handwriting scribbled over the paper.

Hello Harry! How's your summer been going? Ron's been just bored. Fred and George are working on their Joke Shop thanks to you! And Hermione will be coming here pretty soon! I think tomorrow! Well, the summer is almost over and I'm pretty much saving money for a pet! Something like Hermione's but something no one has. I might as well try for a cat. Anyway, Ron just remembered what he was going to say. Well, see you around!

P.S. I just remembered that we want to invite you over to our house this week some time! Ron will tell you more about it. He's getting impatient. Bye!

The last piece of parchment was full of Ron's handwriting.

Hey Harry, I just remembered that I overheard my mum and dad talking about a girl coming to school. Well, she's not a first year and she came from an orphanage. I don't know why my dad got a letter from Dumbledore but he says it was Ministry business. How could that be Ministry business? I mean, maybe she didn't have what it takes for being a witch. I don't know. But she's fifteen, Harry! Ginny's age! That's odd isn't it? Well, you should be getting a letter from Hermione, I just told her about it. Hopefully I'll see you soon.

Ron

P.S. I almost forgot. Would you like to come over to the Burrow tomorrow? It's late notice but Hermione's coming, too. Hope you will! See ya.

Harry hastily wrote back a reply full with excitement. But stopped. He had to ask the Dursleys first. Harry thought for a minute, thinking if he should ask now or later. Without deciding Harry opened the door and headed downstairs.

When Harry got to the last stair, he looked around and saw Dudley sitting on the couch sneaking a piece of chocolate cake. Looking around to see if Aunt Petunia was watching, Dudley started to eat the piece without noticing Harry. Dudley was on a diet and he wasn't supposed to be eating anything except for fruits, water, and only a scrap of chicken leg. Harry could hear Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia from the kitchen.

"Steven Hartwell. Pity, pity…" Aunt Petunia shook her head looking down at the newspaper her husband was holding.

"Who was he?" Uncle Vernon said aloud in a large strong voice, looking at the other side of the newspaper.

"On drugs." Aunt Petunia began, looking up at her husband.

"He was at a sleepover. Wanted to… you know…" Aunt Petunia gave him a look.

"Oh… So he did?"

"No, he didn't kill anyone, well, to say. He just started to cut his wrist with a knife…"

"Stupid if you ask me." Uncle Vernon started, getting up putting the newspaper down.

Harry then opened the door, thinking that it would be safe to ask Uncle Vernon.

"Uncle Vernon," Harry began, shutting the door behind him, "Is that alright if the Weasleys come pick me up tomorrow?"

"We're busy tomorrow." He said grabbing a cup of coffee, not looking at Harry.

"Oh… How about tonight?" Harry asked, thinking if the Weasleys wouldn't mind.

"Mmm… I guess so…" Uncle Vernon grumbled.

"Okay… I'll tell them." Harry began and when he was about to set foot out the door Uncle Vernon stopped him.

"What time?"

"I'm not sure… I'll ask."

"Hurry, boy. My game's going to be on and I DON'T want to miss it."

Harry nodded his head and set out the door.

"Should he get his stuff, Vernon?" Aunt Petunia asked when Harry was half way up the stairs.

"Mmm… I suppose so…"

"Boy, get down here!" Yelled Uncle Vernon before Harry opened up his bedroom door. He hurried downstairs and found Uncle Vernon unlocking the cupboard under the stairs to where Harry's belongings for Hogwarts were.

"Get your stuff and hurry back up. No funny stuff, you here?" He said and Harry nodded. Uncle Vernon left him and entered the kitchen.

Harry entered the cupboard which was very small to him now as the last time he was in there was when he was eleven. When he was digging through the cupboard he found that all his belongings where thrown in there. Once he got the last of it out, he found a picture book at the very top of the cupboard that fell. He opened it up slightly and found still pictures of two little girls; one with brown hair and one with red. He turned the page and realized that this was his Mother's photo book. He decided that the Dursleys wouldn't mind if he kept them, as they would never look in the dusty cupboard again. Harry looked to see if anybody was around and didn't even realize Dudley wasn't there. He carefully put the book into his bag and closed the cupboard door. Once he was done loading everything into his room, he responded to the rest of Ron's letter hastily onto a piece of parchment to Ron. Errol was gone by now and only Hedwig was there turning her head to gaze at Harry, slightly.

Harry stared at the clock on his bedside table and saw that it was six. He had thirty more minutes until Uncle Vernon's game was about to start. Sticking a wire into the lock to Hedwig's cage as he has done before, Hedwig was now jumping up and down in her cage. Harry shushed her once again and when the lock was opened she hurriedly jumped out and began to soar around the room.

"Okay, Hedwig. Send this letter to Ron," he began when Hedwig landed on his chair, stretching her wings. "Do this as quick as you can. Hurry back with a response. We only got thirty minutes." As soon as Harry attached the letter to her leg, she started to soar about the room again. Hedwig gave her an okay and she started to fly outside towards the Burrow. Harry watched her till she was only a small speck in the sky, and then started to search for the photo book.

When he found it, he opened it up to the first page once again. He looked around at the photos that were only pictures of his mom and Aunt Petunia; he looked at the next few pages that were of his dad and his mum. There were little captions of writing that said: Our wedding. Underneath was a picture of James and Lily, kissing. Harry smiled and turned the page. He saw pictures of himself, as a baby. Our baby, it read, He looks like James with my eyes. Harry turned the page again. And he found pictures of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's wedding. My sister's wedding, it read, She is so pretty. Harry thought to himself, I guess my mum didn't really notice that Aunt Petunia hated her. Then the next few pages were pictures of James's friends. Sirius and Lupin were smiling, and James was holding Lily with one arm. There was only one picture of Peter Pettigrew. He had all his fingers, and he didn't look so dirty. The next few pages were of Lily's friends, which ended the book. When he looked up he saw that it was six ten and that Hedwig had arrived with a letter from Ron.

Harry,

My parents say its ok. Mum is coming by soon. It should be some time after you receive this.

Ron

Harry put the letter back in its envelope and started to rearrange his possessions. In a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. Harry dragged his belongings downstairs and saw Mrs. Weasley standing at the door, talking to Aunt Petunia.

"We'll just drop him off at Hogwarts and he'll be back with you at the end of the year." Mrs. Weasley explained. Aunt Petunia nodded and Harry came forward.

"Well, we better must be going Harry, it's getting dark." Said Mrs. Weasley and Harry brought out his trunk, rolling it along the floor.

"Bye." Said Mrs. Weasley. Aunt Petunia nodded and she closed the door.

"Well, how are you Harry, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Fine, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry, glad that he was out of the Dursleys.

"Well, Harry have you eaten dinner yet?" Mrs. Weasley asked when they were about a few yards away from the Dursleys house.

"No."

"Harry! What do they do to you? Starve you to death?" Harry laughed.

"So, how do we get back home, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked, but Harry had a hunch.

"Portkey of course." She said looking straight ahead at the park. She smiled and winked at Harry. They both walked over to a piece of plastic paper.

"On my count," she whispered, "One, two, three." When they both tapped the plastic they swirled around and found themselves holding the piece of plastic in the front yard of the Burrow.

"Phew. That was dizzy," said Mrs. Weasley putting the piece of plastic into the shed.

"Come on in, Harry. It's chilly out here and I want you to have a fulfilling meal." She beamed up at him.

When they entered inside the Burrow, Harry sat down at the table while Mrs. Weasley started cooking up some chicken soup, cut up a nice salad, and poured some tea. As soon as Harry sat down, he heard thumping coming from the stairs. Harry turned around.

Ron landed with a thud with Ginny right behind him. Harry smiled.

"Harry." Ginny said hugging him. "It's been a long time."

"Not really Ginny," said Ron, sitting besides Harry as Mrs. Weasley set a bowl of soup by Ron, Ginny, and Harry. As they started to eat down the boiling soup, the twins walked into the kitchen talking about the Joke Shop.

"So, we're going to have to nick him…"

"What do you mean nick him, he's the best one so far!" George exclaimed.

"George and Fred have been trying to nick people all afternoon." Ginny said between sips of tea.

"You wouldn't believe how many people they're getting," said Ron. "They've got about… Twenty people already…"

"More than that." Ginny replied, setting down her mug. "Some are not even good enough."

Harry didn't understand. "What do you mean by 'not even good enough'?"

"They're doing tests."

"Weird if you ask me," Ron replied starting to eat his salad.

"Not as weird as you, Ronald." Said George slapping his brother on the head.

"Sending secret letters to your secret admirer," said Fred sitting across from Harry.

"Hey, when did Harry get here? I thought he was coming tomorrow." George noticed.

"Just now George. Eat up before it gets cold." Mrs. Weasley put down bowls in front of the twins.

"So, what about his secret admirer?" Harry asked looking up at the twins.

"It's nothing," replied Ron, red in the face.

"Actually," started Fred, in between bites, "about every day he receives at least 2 letters from a girl."

Harry stared at Ron. Could Hermione and Ron be actually moving it along?

"I know what you're thinking." Fred looked at Harry, as Ron got up to put his dish in the sink. "It isn't." He whispered.

Harry was surprised. He always knew that Ron was always hiding his feelings, and Hermione wasn't going to show how she felt. But maybe Ron was trying to make her jealous? Or was this a real relationship with another girl?

As soon as Ron sat back down, Harry got up to put his dish in the sink. Once they were done, they went upstairs into Ron's bedroom, which was a mess. Letters were flung around across the floor and shirts and pant sizes that were too small to even fit him anymore were scattered around the room.

"It's messy." Ron said as he stumbled across the room. "But, I'll clean it up… Eventually." Ron sat at his desk, gazing out at the sky. Waiting for something to happen, Harry picked up a letter that was from Ron's secret admirer.

Ron,

I know I haven't written to you in a long time, I'm sorry. But my mom has been out of town and has to bring me with her. We have been visiting my grandma in London. I wish to see you. I haven't seen you in a long time. Well, mom is yelling at me for how many owls I've been sending to you and the neighbors are getting suspicious. This is my last one for now. I'll send one later today. Bye, Ronald.

Darian

There were many pieces of parchment scattered all over the room, Harry saw as he tried to step on open patches of the floor. Ron opened up a drawer in his desk and looked over through a piece of parchment. There was a tap on the window and there was a bird floating, tapping on the window with its beak. Ron opened it up and the bird landed on his desk. Harry didn't talk to Ron throughout the whole time, while Ron was scanning through the letter.

"Is that from your secret admirer?" Harry asked, walking towards Ron.

"Uh… No, it's from Hermione." Ron said.

"It is?" Harry was shocked.

"Uh… Yeah. She says she isn't able to come because… She has a dentist appointment with her parents…" Ron lied.

"Can I see?" Harry asked, suspiciously.

"Uh," but before Ron could say anything else Harry grabbed the letter out of his hands.

Harry scanned through the letter and said, "Uh huh…" He thrust it into Ron's hands.

"Okay, so maybe it isn't."

"It definitely isn't." Harry said sitting on his bed. There was silence for a while and then Mrs. Weasley came in with Harry's luggage.

"Harry, dear, here's your luggage."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry as he took his luggage. Mrs. Weasley gave one glance around the room and sighed.

"Ronald, clean your room."

"I will…"

"Ronald!"

"Okay," said Ron as he picked up his letters and hastily put them into his drawer. Mrs. Weasley left, looking concerned.

Ron didn't seem to be his usual self. He kind of changed as he had… a girlfriend? That didn't sound exactly right…

It was quite quiet when Ron scribbled on parchment, and attached the letter to the owl's leg. It flew off rather quickly and Ron closed the window. He turned around and saw Harry staring at him.

"Uh… So, about the new girl…" Ron started, not looking into Harry's eyes. There was silence for a while. Harry kept staring at Ron, as Ron kept looking down at the floor.

"She's uh... I heard from dad today that she came to the ministry." Ron looked up, into Harry's eyes.

"Umm… Anyway, do you want to go see what Fred and George are up to?" Ron asked, changing the subject, while getting up.

"Uh… Sure." Harry got up and followed Ron into the next room. Fred and George were working on a project. It was a toy cannon and they were looking through the peephole.

"It works," said George, as he put it down, examining it.

"Sees through anything."

"Yep."

"Hey, what are you two up to?" Ron asked as he sat on a chair.

"Just making another one of our amazing projects." Fred said with enthusiasm.

"Want to check it out?"

"Sure," said Ron taking the canon. He looked through it and saw the floor through the

bed.

"How about clothes?" Ron asked handing the canon back.

"Sure," said George grabbing one of his sweaters, and looking through the canon.

Ron smirked.

"Ron, I am not giving you one of these if mum-"

"Mum's not going to find out. Is she?" Ron turned to Fred.

"Just give it to me on the train."

"…Alright then… But you better not do anything bad!"

"Okay," said Ron and he headed out of the room.

The rest of the week wasn't going so well for Ron and Harry. Ron seemed to forget about it and Harry just seemed to stay quiet for a while. Hermione came over and everybody seemed to cheer up, especially Ginny who was bored out of her mind. Soon, they got their Hogwarts letters and Harry was Quidditch captain!

They all eventually went to Diagon Alley on the weekend, and got every thing they needed. Ron got better dress robes, Harry got some new polisher for his broom, and Hermione got more books.

The last and final day arrived, and everybody boarded onto the train.

"Fred, George. I expect better from you two! Flunking the seventh year!" Mrs. Weasley shouted over the train's whistle.

"We will, Mum," replied George.

"And Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, walking over to Harry's head which was sticking out of the window.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Dumbledore told me to tell you that he wishes to see you after the sorting. Is that all right, dear?"

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley."

"He likes lemon drops! Now, have a good year, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry smiled and the train started to leave.

"Now Ron," Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Don't get too involved in this relationship!"

"Yes, Mum…" Ron blushed, sticking his head back in the window and shutting it.

Harry was looking around for a seat, when he couldn't find any and saw Neville alone in a compartment.

"Hey, Neville," said Harry, sitting down next to him.
"Hey."

"How has your summer been?"

"Pretty good."

"I got to go to the prefects' compartment. See ya later, Harry." Ron said and he headed up front.

"Yeah me too. Bye, Harry," agreed Hermione and she headed in the same direction.

Soon, Neville and Harry sat together in the compartment and started talking about the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. Soon they were arriving at Hogwarts and everybody was in their robes.