Harry Potter and Operation Riddle

By Michael Cornfoot

Chapter one: At Home with the Dursleys

The Hogwarts express slowly pulled into platform nine and three quarters at Kings Cross station. The mood was very somber and quiet. This feeling seemed to flow out of every student and parent alike. It seemed to even flow out of the walls. It was a sharp contrast for most of them who last September had boarded the same train in high spirits only to return home with those spirits whisked away from them by the sudden death of their former headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore.

Harry met with members of the order, including Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus and Tonks, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Granger who were also at the station, and were in deep conversation with the Weasley family. Harry wished he could have been adopted by a family like the Weasley's and had a care-free life without being famous, without being special, just being Harry, a green eyed, black haired boy who had a loving family, and would still have Ginny Weasley as a girlfriend, which was something within Harry's power to change.

All the adults had come to take their children home, apart from Remus and Tonks who were going to take Harry back to Privet drive, something that Harry had not wanted to do, except he felt compelled to do because he had promised Dumbledore the previous summer that he would return one more time to keep the wards in place around his Muggle relatives home for the summer. Harry still wanted to honor this promise even though the headmaster was dead. Harry knew that he would do anything that he had asked of him, well almost, even if it seemed odd at the time that was how much Harry had trusted Dumbledore.

They all said their somber good byes, and hugs, especially with Mrs. Weasley and the golden trio before slowly heading towards the barrier and heading off in their own direction. Nobody wanted to be parted; as they were all still grieving and all wanted to remain together to help protect each other but plans were already in motion for the summer.

However, without anyone noticing, Harry slipped a letter into Ginny's pocket for her to open when she got home, before Harry rejoined Remus and Tonks on their trek to platform three where they were going to catch a commuter train to Surrey which also stopped on the outskirt station of Little Whinging. Harry had worked for a long time after he had realized that what he had done to Ginny was very stupid and that he should get back together with her, but to Harry's horror, she was avoiding him like the black death, which made Harry come up with this other plan.

Harry didn't mind traveling by train, even though he had spent most of the day on the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Hermione, as he didn't really want to meet again with his Aunt or Uncle. Tonks and Remus kept their eyes open for unusual activity amongst the Muggle crowd while they made their way to the platform where the train would be waiting for them. Harry was used to Muggle transport, having used it all of his life, but found it rather slow compared to the flew network, or appiration. It was starting to get to Harry, and made him wish that he had his appiration license so that he could quite literally "pop" home, but it wasn't his birthday for another two months, and he didn't want to find himself in front of another trial where the ministry would blackmail him into working for them.

Harry had informed his relatives that he would be returning home today only to receive a reply from them a day later telling Harry that they would not pick Harry up with such little notice and on a whim, and that he had to make his own way back to the house, but to make sure that the neighbors did not see him, and that none of his kind came with him to disgrace the Dursley reputation, which was so prized in the area, even though none of the neighbors would normally care if the Dursleys didn't start half of the rumors to begin with.

Harry passed this information onto Professor McGonagall to find that she had already anticipated this response and had already made other arrangements for him to get back to Privet Drive and that he would find out at King's Cross what the details where as they were still being finalized with the order, which was practically being rebuilt since the death of Dumbledore, which included a new secret keeper, re initiating all of the members after, of course, interrogating them to make sure that they were who they said they were as well as making sure that each one of them were on the side of light, instead of a death eater of one of their sympathizers.

Harry thought back to what had happened over the last few days. He had attended the funeral of his mentor, received a vow from his two best friends that they would follow him to the ends of the earth and helps him in his quest, and had o break up with the most wonderful young woman in the world (Ginny for all those new readers out there)

Harry felt the tears well up in his eyes. His life was so unfair. Everyone he had loved had been taken away from him or had a threat of death hanging over them. Life was so unfair to Harry. He wanted to be normal and just Harry who had a loving family and his Girlfriend in his life, but he didn't because of a homicidal maniac who was out to get him and everybody that he knew and love. His parents, his grandparents, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore; they were all murdered because of their beliefs and way of life, as well as the fact that they were all connected to a young wizard called Harry Potter.

Harry could cope with being Voldermort's number one target, and could even cope with loosing the final battle, but could never cope if any more loved ones were taken from him, he would not allow it, and would rather die in their place. Harry knew that he must try any method to try to kill Voldermort before he could kill anyone else, especially those that he loved. He knew that Voldermort would get even worse now that he still lived and posed a threat to him, even though he did not know the full prophecy, unlike Harry. He knew that Voldermort would resort to any method to try to kill Harry in person, who was the last Potter alive, the last descendant of the Potter name, honorary member of the Weasley family, and a famous, rich wizard, not to mention that he was one of Hogwarts "Hotties."

Harry thought back to the letter that he had put in Ginny's pocket before they left the platform. He had prepared it just before they had left Hogwarts, and it was something that he wanted Ginny to have. Harry had told Ron and Hermione after the funeral that he had split up with Ginny and they had both called him a complete idiot. Harry had not been expecting this response, especially from Ron, who was Ginny's own brother. Harry was sure that Ron would stand by his decision, but Ron had told Harry that she was still a major threat from Voldermort, as Malfoy and Snape both knew that he was dating Ginny and they both knew his true feelings for her, not to mention that she was a Weasley and that alone would put her pretty high on any death eater list. Ron also told Harry that him dumping her would leave her more vulnerable to Voldermort as he would not be there to protect her, even though he was not going back to Hogwarts, Harry would still be able to protect her, at least in part, by being her boyfriend as it would scare the junior death eaters at least in part who had already seen Harry's power.
On the envelope, Harry had told Ginny to only open the envelope when she was alone, but as soon as she opened it, confetti would fly out and stick to her. It was a daft joke, but Harry needed for her to be in a slightly good mood to read his letter.

Harry knew that this would drive her mad or make her laugh. Harry just hoped that she would laugh as he knew that she was extremely upset at the moment with all the things that had been happening, with Dumbledore's death and then Harry splitting up with her, for which he would be eternally sorry for. He only hoped that she would take him back.

Inside the envelope, Harry had put a charm as well as a letter. The charm would conjure hundreds of roses and lilies, which he knew were Ginny's favorite flowers. Harry hoped that this would at least allow Harry to make up with her, and that she would be his girlfriend again, even if he was not forgiven for his stupid behavior. Harry hoped that Ginny's feelings towards him hadn't changed. He didn't know how he would cope if he had lost Ginny forever.

Harry couldn't cope with being apart from Ginny and had decided before he had left Hogwarts that he was going to write her a letter telling her how much of a prat he was and how much he wanted her back. After Harry had broken up with Ginny, he realised just how much Ginny was a part of him and how much he loved her. Harry knew that he wanted to spend every day of the rest of his life with Ginny and knew that he wanted to marry her. Even though he had Ginny had only been dating over the past few weeks, their feelings for each other had grown so quickly. It scared Harry that his feelings for her were so strong. He had never had any feelings like this before and didn't know what to do about them or how to express them. Harry had noticed one night that his body had even reacted in some way to a very, very erotic dream that he was having about Ginny. He had never had such a dream before and had wondered if it were normal to want to do the things in his dream in real life or if it was some weird fantasy. Harry couldn't talk to his form mates for fear of being laughed at and he especially couldn't talk to Ron about it as it involved his sister, so Harry was stuck. What should he do? Was this normal for Harry to have these bodily reactions when he was thinking about Ginny? What if it wasn't normal? Harry thought back to the letter that he had wrote and wondered if it would work.

Dear Ginny

I'm so sorry for the way that I have treated you since the funeral. It was unfair, foolish and very stupid. I should not have broken up with you for your safety and I know now that you would be in the same danger without me as you would with me. Even though you being with me would drive me insane with worry over your safety, I know (after encountering it) that you could look after yourself.

I love you. So much that I can't show you, no matter what I do. Over the past few weeks, you have taught me how to start showing my feelings towards you, which has been more difficult to learn, even more than the spells from NEWT level at Hogwarts. This has been the way of life for me, to suppress my emotions, move on and protect others. I would call it nobility and courage, you would call it stupidity and I agree with you. I have been so stupid over this whole thing. Being with you in a relationship has been the most wonderful of things which I have encountered, and even outweighs flying and the magical world itself.

I miss being your boyfriend so much.

You are the best thing that has happened to me... ever. You are my soul mate and you are the most wonderful, beautiful, most intelligent woman out there. And I mean every word of it. You are so beautiful to me and you mean everything to me.

Just seeing you entering the room brightens my day no end. Your smile distracts me for hours and hours. Your touch makes my skin tingle for days at a time; so much that I can't concentrate or even think properly.

I know that you probably can't forgive me but I'm begging forgiveness from you.

Even if we can not be together any more because I've hurt you too much, can we at least still be friends?

I value your friendship so much, especially over the past year, and I would hate to loose you even as that because of my stupid actions.

Love

Harry

Harry thought that Ginny would be opening the letter any minute and hoped that she liked it. Harry hoped that Ginny would accept his apology, and at least be friends with him again, but Harry wanted so much more. He had let his mind wander and imagined himself married to Ginny and having a family with her. Harry wanted a family so much, but only wanted it with Ginny, the young woman he now knew that he loved with all his heart. Harry then wondered about how a family was created. Harry had never found out how. He had suspicions but he had never plucked up the courage to ask anyone. Harry's mind wondered back to who he could have asked. His dad, Sirius, Lupin, Mr. Weasley. He figured that if he survived this whole ordeal and was with Ginny again, then he would find out how.

Harry was going to apologies to Ginny at school but she had been avoiding him like the plague, so Harry thought that this would be the next best thing and would also allow her to think before she had a run in with Harry again. This made Harry extremely nervous. He knew that Ginny must be very upset with him. Had Harry ruined everything that he had with Ginny? Did he loose her forever in any capacity?

Harry snapped out of his thoughts as he was led into a train carriage on the platform that would take Harry to his aunt and uncle for the summer, with the promise that he would be able to leave well before his birthday at the end of July - which was seven weeks away. Seven Weeks!!

Harry didn't know how he would cope with it all. Even though Harry knew that he had coped with longer in the past before he knew about the magical world, it was because of the magical world that made it so hard to stay with his abusive relatives, who would sooner spit than have Harry stay with him. Harry didn't belong with them any more; he belonged in the world of Magic where a swish of a wand could do almost anything.

Harry hated his relatives so much and would rather buy his own place than live there at Privet Drive, but Harry had made a promise to his former headmaster that he would return one more time before his seventeenth birthday to keep the spell active so that he and the Dursleys would be safe.

Harry decided that after his seventeenth birthday, he would go and look for his own place that he could call home. He didn't want to go back to his godfather's old house if he could help it, nor rely on Mrs. Weasley to provide for him. Harry felt that it was time for a bit of independence, where he could make all of the decisions about what he did and when.

Harry desired independence so much that he cold taste it. It felt exactly the same as when he was in third year and Sirius had offered him a place to stay, before he had to go on the run. Harry enjoyed it, the feel that he was nearly free, and able to dictate his own future.

However, Harry did not let the idea overwhelm him too much. He knew that property prices in the Muggle world were increasing every day and wondered whether the same thing was happening in the Wizarding world. He also wondered whether he actually owned what was left of Goodrich's Hollow, and whether he could build a place there, or if it was still a crime scene after all these years. Harry wanted to visit to make sure and to see where his life had started.

"Harry, hold up a sec," Remus said, stopping at the front door of Number Four, Privet Drive. Harry looked at him questioningly, wondering why Remus had stopped him. "There will be two inspections a day during the summer. One at 8 am and one at 8 pm. This is just so you can pass on any information to us that you might come across and for us to do the same with you. It will also be a better way for you to communicate with everyone, even the Weasley's," Remus said.

Harry nodded, knowing that he would prefer the members of the order visiting him twice a day, instead of hiding and never coming round as well as keeping all the information hidden from him. Harry knew that his relatives wouldn't like it at all, and his uncle would lash out at him for it, but he knew that it would be worth it, especially after he vowed to himself to report any acts of violence against him from his relatives. "But Remus, lets just keep it between us, there's no need for my relatives to know in advance of an inspection," Harry said.

Remus looked questioningly at Harry, but Harry didn't give him time to question him as Harry had rung the door bell. Harry did not want to be back here, and did not desire to meet with his relatives again but found himself reminded of his promise to the old headmaster that he would return. Harry remembered the visit from the headmaster the previous summer where he was whisked away by the headmaster after a meeting from his relatives, where he had to go and convince a former professor to return to the school, before going to the Weasley's for the rest of the summer.

The door was quickly opened by his aunt who looked scandalized at who was at the door. If looks could kill, the three of them would be more than dead at that point. Harry sometimes wished he was, then things would be a lot simpler for him but he always dismissed this quickly. He couldn't leave his friends with all the danger while he took the easy way out. It was not his way.

"Hello Aunt Petunia," Harry said, forcing cheeriness. Harry wanted things to be as friendly and as sociable as possible, as well as not having to be on constant alert of violence, which he knew that his uncle was prone to do from time to time. Even though Harry only suffered from bruising, he was not going to take it this time, and had vowed to contact the order the moment that it happened to see the order's reaction. That Harry would love to see.

"Don't Hello me, you ungrateful little brat, what the hell are you doing back here?" She spat in return. Like she could have forgotten why, Harry thought mutinously.

Remus and Tonks looked murderous. They both knew that Harry wasn't the most welcome with the Dursleys and that they weren't the most pleasant to him, but even this behavior shocked them into disrepute. They had always thought that Ron's stories had always been grown out of proportions. Even down to the bars on his windows but now they could actually believe it. They felt guilty for leaving Harry here, and wanted to take Harry to his proper family right away.

"You could try being civil for once," Tonks spat at her, which surprised Harry no end as he had only ever seen the happy and the depressed sides to Tonks but never her angry side. Harry knew that Tonks liked him, but he didn't realize that she cared this much too openly show this much hostility. Harry could tell that she must really care about this scruffy, black haired boy, who didn't live a normal life.

"Don't you dare take that tone with me freak, I don't have to take this brat if I don't want to," petunia argued. Yeah, Right, doubt you have thought this through auntie, Harry thought before deciding to argue back to her. Harry wasn't going to take this time of behavior this time.

"Well auntie, if I were to leave and never come back, then this house would be unprotected until the end of July instead of protected. That means that all of you would be in DEADLY danger," Harry emphasized, "If I stayed until my birthday, then left, then the death eaters probably wont come calling, but if I were to vanish suddenly, then they will be the first ones to call here." Harry said with a calm and collected voice that he had seen Dumbledore use from time to time.

Harry watched with satisfaction as the color drained quite literally from aunt Petunia's face as he was describing why he should be staying, even though it was the last thing he wanted to be doing. Harry knew that she wasn't going to be the overly friendly time to him this time, even though she never was; he still wanted to have a proper relative, and have a proper relationship with them, even though he was treated like dirt.

"Fine, go in and straight up to your room right now," Petunia snapped at Harry before turning on his guard. "You've delivered him safely so off you go before anyone notices."

Then Aunt Petunia closed the door in the face of the two order members, who wanted noting more than to hex her into oblivion, and to take Harry to the Burrow. They both knew how much Harry loved his time at the Burrow with his friends. Remus knew that Harry would love it more this summer, especially after he saw Harry slip a letter in to Ginny's pocket. Remus had used a quick spell to copy the letter into a memory pattern and he secretly put the memory to his head, where he reviewed it and found it to be a love letter.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Ron and Hermione visit before too long," Tonks observed.

"Or Ginny," Remus replied, surprising the Auror.

"How so, when they broke up?" Tonks asked, trying to get as much information out of her boyfriend as possible.

"Well Harry slipped a letter into Ginny's robes as we were leaving the platform and I copied it into a memory pattern and I found that it was a love letter begging Ginny to take him back and how much of a fool he had been. He had also put a charm on the letter to create a few hundred flowers in her bedroom," Remus said.

Tonks was surprised that Harry had realized his mistake with Ginny so quickly. She has been planning an ambush at the wedding to fling the two of them together but she now knew that they would be inseparable now.

"Well good for them," Tonks said, "I knew that they would end up together."

"Yeah but Harry's actions remind me more and more of James every time I see him and I'm just hoping that Harry does not go down the over bearing over protective route," Remus said, "'Cos it will drive Ginny insane and you know what her temper is like when she is angry. Besides, the potters have always gone for red heads and have always been rather dim about it too."
"Unfortunately so about the anger," Tonks said, having remembered the arguments she had with Ginny when she pried too much into her mood. Tonks was also surprised about the red head comment. She didn't realize that all Potters had gone for read heads.

"But at least Ginny should be rather friendly now, especially with Harry in the room, I bet they won't be able to keep their hands off each other," Remus said, smirking.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they kept sneaking off together during the summer," Tonks replied, "We all know how strong their feelings are towards each other."

"Typical Teenage Love, I bet Mad Eye will go into hysterics about it if they keep vanishing," Remus said as the duo arrived at the end of Privet Drive, "I feel sorry about leaving him here every summer, but there's nothing I could possibly do."

"Don't worry, you can always show him Potter Manner when he turns seventeen, there's that to look forward to, even if he doesn't know about it yet, plus there's all those vaults of gold in the bank that are his too, even though I know that he won't want to use them, just imagine, us being good mates with the richest wizard in the world, who just happens to be the-boy-who-lived, that surpasses imagination doesn't it?" Tonks replied with a grin.

"Yeah, it does, but I'm worried about Harry's reaction, he's going to flip and big when he finds out that he has a mansion in his name, not to mention a few dozen living rooms full of galleons," Remus said, looking worried.

Tonks turned to face her boyfriend and put a hand on his shoulder. "You and Dumbledore signed a binding magical contract that neither of you would disclose anything about all this until he turned seventeen. The only thing he knows about his inheritance is the family trust fund that was set up in case his parents didn't make it, as well as the black family fortune, which, even though he knows about, he can't touch properly, or know the full extent of, until he turns seventeen. He will understand, don't worry, and besides, he will want somewhere to stay in case he does not want to stay full time at the burrow, or if he wants to escape for a few hours with Ginny," Tonks said impishly.

"You're right, but I can't help but worry, you know what he is like when information is kept from him, he gets so angry at times that he just lashes out at anyone, even friends, remember his fifth year at Hogwarts when he first came to headquarters and he lashed out at Hermione and Ron the moment he arrived at the place?" Remus reminded her.
"Unfortunately, but Harry will understand once you explain everything fully to him, granted he will not be pleased about this secret, especially one that is so close to him, but he will finally accept it, and he will rely on you to help him with all his assets, like by giving him a full tour of the manor, no one else will know the layout or how to gain entry to the place with all the charms on the place, especially since Dumbledore himself could not get in and he was one of the most powerful, he will be safe there, just as safe as being at Hogwarts," Tonks reassured.

"Suppose, but right now we had better check in with headquarters, last one there is a sissy," Tonks said, quickly disaperating.

Remus chuckled. Tonks' behavior, even though it was sometimes rather childish, often made him feel better. He quickly turned on the spot, disaperating to HQ to where his girlfriend would tease him endlessly about arriving last, again.