Author's Notes: While my story got over 160 hits in its first week (which is fantastic, thank you for so many looks), I got no reviews, which kinda disappoints me. Guys, I am more than happy to listen to your advice, so don't be afraid to give me some. And I am also willing to answer most questions (like Rowling, I'll have to keep some things back from time to time). SO don't be afraid to give me a review. I enjoy the attention.
Okay, last chapter's Monty Python reference was a bit obscure. It was when Dumbledore mentioned "Dueling a blancmange" to Geoffrey. This refers to a sketch from episode 7 of Monty Python's Flying Circus called "Blancmanges Playing Tennis," where blancmanges from the Andromeda Galaxy come to Earth and change everyone in England into Scotsmen in order to win the tennis finals at Wimbledon.
The Monty Python reference this week is also obscure as the actual quote used was deleted from the show tapes by the BBC as being unsuitable for airing for children. I'll explain next week.
Well, last week we looked at my hero. Now we get back to everyone's hero.
Chapter One: Coming of Age in a World of Dangers
Harry Potter woke up on that very same bed in the middle of the night. He groped around for his glasses on the small table next to him. Once he found his glasses and put them on, he pulled his wand out of his robes, which he had worn to bed, and said, "Lumos!" The tip of his wand illuminated the area around him with a dim white light. He looked to his right, but found an empty bed.
That's odd, Harry thought as he stood up and got out of bed. He looked in the bunk above his bed, but Ron was gone too.
"Ron? Seamus? Anyone?" Harry called out, "Where are you guys?"
Harry then walked down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room. Again, no one there. "Ron? Hermione? Ginny?" Harry called, "Is there anyone here?"
There was no response to his question. Something told him that he should go down the stairs and check out the first floor hallways, which is exactly what Harry did next, closing the Fat Lady's portrait behind him.
"And just where do you think you're going at this time of night?" the Fat Lady asked Harry.
"Do you know where everyone has gone?" he asked the portrait, "No one was in the dormitory."
"I did see some strange-looking people with masks leading them away," the Fat Lady replied.
"Thanks," he responded as he cautiously walked down the spiral staircase, keeping an eye out for these strange people, no doubt Death Eaters. As Harry got down to the ground floor hallways, he saw someone walking away from him. The person was obviously male and had swept back blonde hair.
"Malfoy," Harry muttered as he followed the traitorous Slytherin student wearing the green mask of a Death Eater down the ground floor hallways, making sure he was always out of sight should Malfoy get suspicious and turn around. But Malfoy didn't look back. He continued walking down the hallways until he walked into the Great Hall.
Harry quickly moved out into the doorway of the Great Hall, but then could move no more. Someone had cursed him into standing rooted to the place he was now. And he could only talk now as he indeed saw Voldemort and all his henchmen.
"Ah, Harry Potter, nice of you to join us," Voldemort said in his high-pitched, raspy voice that was more animal than human, "We've been expecting you for a while now. I had to send out Draco to make sure you were coming."
Harry then saw all his fellow Gryffindor schoolmates. All of them were on their knees, with their hands and ankles bound together by white cloths that also covered their eyes and gagged them. "Let them go, Voldemort! It's me you want! Not them!" Harry shouted back.
Voldemort simply laughed. "Oh, I'll get around to you later, Potter," Voldemort called, "But I think I'll have some fun with your friends first." He then walked over to one of the students who was bound and gagged. She was obviously female and had flaming red hair.
"No, please not her," Harry pleaded, "Not her!"
"You are in no position to bargain, Potter," Harry heard Snape chide from behind one of the masks, though he could not tell which one.
Voldemort stood Ginny Weasley on her feet and then quickly pulled off her blindfold and gag. Her scared brown eyes looked wildly around the room until they fell upon Harry. "Harry!" she yelled, "Please, help me!"
"Voldemort, leave Ginny alone!" Harry pleaded, "Just leave her alone! Kill me instead! Please!"
"Do you love her Potter?" Voldemort asked menacingly, "Then you just killed her yourself, because I will always take away all those whom you love the most. I always have, and I always will!" He then pulled a knife out of his black robes and put the sharp edge to Ginny's neck.
"Harry! I love you!" Ginny shouted as Voldemort pulled the knife back across Ginny's neck, cutting her jugular vein clear in two. Voldemort pushed her body forward onto the floor as a large pool of blood began to spread from around her neck.
"NO!" Harry screamed as he bolted up from his bed. Breathing hard and fast, his heart seeming to leap out of his chest with every beat as he looked around him, almost expecting to find Ginny face down on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Instead, he found nothing but his room at Number 4 Privet Drive, with his trunk still unpacked. And the cage for Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, was standing empty on Harry's desk.
"Just another nightmare," Harry muttered to himself, "Just another nightmare." But this was the fourth nightmare Harry had in just as many nights about Voldemort killing those he loved, be it his parents, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, or now Ginny Weasley. He ran his right hand halfway through his black hair and tried to shake off what he had seen. He then turned his green eyes up toward the clock on the other side of his room.
"11:59?" Harry thought, trying to remember what day it was. Being unsuccessful, he looked at the calendar below the clock and saw every day in July 1997 crossed off except for July 31.
Harry was stunned. "In less than a minute, I'll be seventeen," he realized as he looked back up at the clock and saw it hit midnight. Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived and The Chosen One, was now an adult in his world. And he knew that he had to leave Number 4, Privet Drive now. He had to leave it behind forever. Not that it hurt him to do so and he did have a place to go.
I think I ought to leave behind a note for them, Harry suddenly thought almost from out of nowhere, They could have just dropped me off at some orphanage and have been done with me, but they didn't.
With these thoughts in mind, Harry opened his chest and pulled out a quill, a piece of parchment, and a black ink bottle. He pushed aside Hedwig's cage and laid the piece of parchment out on the middle of his desk and placed the ink bottle down on the right side of the parchment. He uncorked the ink bottle as he thought of what to write to the people who had taken care of him for the better part of sixteen years, even if they never were very good parents to him. He dipped the quill in the black ink and began writing.
Dear Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia,
I would like to thank you for everything you have done for me. Though that didn't turn out to be much, it was better than nothing. But for the better part of sixteen years, you gave me a roof to live under, clothes to wear, and food and drink. You could have just thrown me into the nearest orphanage when I arrived on your doorstep and you would have been done with me. But you didn't, and I thank you for that.
But I am now seventeen, which means I have come of age in my world. So now, I must leave behind this house at Number 4, Privet Drive, probably never to return. I must return to my world and fulfill my destiny. I must destroy Lord Voldemort or else I will never be able to have peace in my life. You may have noticed that in recent nights I have been having nightmares about him. I know that these nightmares will continue until I destroy the man who killed my parents. Or until he kills me. So, this is a final goodbye to you, one way or another, for if I survive, I intend to never return to this place.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter
Satisfied with his work, Harry corked the ink bottle again and put it back in his trunk with his quill. He then pulled his wand out of the trunk and closed the latches on the trunk. Harry pointed the wand at the trunk and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and the trunk lifted about a meter off the ground. Harry knew that the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery no longer applied to him, but he would still probably get in trouble with the Ministry of Magic for using magic in a Muggle house, although the Ministry should be busy trying to find Voldemort and his followers.
"Busy, my bloody arse," he muttered at that thought as he placed Hedwig's empty cage on top of the levitating trunk. He still was incensed at the fact that an obviously innocent young man rotted in Azkaban while many of the true villains walked free on the streets. Then, he walked over to the door and slowly opened it and looked around to make sure that no one saw him leave. He neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary as he suddenly realized that he should use his Invisibility Cloak for this one, as Voldemort would almost certainly send Death Eaters to capture or kill him. In fact, as he thought about this, Harry thought it was a miracle that this house was still standing at this moment. He wasn't one to depend on continued good luck to keep him alive, so he turned back to the trunk and opened it again and pulled out his cloak and then closed the trunk again. Throwing the cloak over himself and his stuff, he then walked out of his room and onto the landing, making as little noise as he could as he walked down the stairs and into the hall. Looking back one last time he looked at the cupboard that for so long was his room. He turned back to the front door, walked to it, and then opened it quietly. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him, shutting the door on another chapter of his life.
Outside, it was lightly raining as Harry walked out to the sidewalk, his trunk following behind him as it floated about a meter off the ground. How in the world am I going to get anywhere? Harry thought as he walked down Privet Drive, I can't use Apparition on my stuff and I can't exactly use my broom to fly anywhere with my stuff. I'm stuck on foot to London.
"No!" Harry suddenly heard a masculine voice shout in pain from behind him. Harry turned around immediately, but couldn't see anything in the darkness.
"Lumos!" Harry muttered quietly as he raised his wand toward the voice. A white light came from the tip of his wand, revealing a hooded man wearing a black cloak, standing straight up a mere 20 feet away on the sidewalk. Harry knew immediately he was a Death Eater, even if the wand wasn't visible in his right hand by his side. Harry aimed his wand at his enemy, but something told him that this follower of Voldemort was no longer a threat to him.
"Get out of my mind!" the Death Eater murmured, his voice carrying a terror that Harry couldn't understand at the moment.
"Join me," another male voice proclaimed softly, gently, and warmly, "You fear your current master, but I will inspire your loyalty. He would treat you as a tool to be used and expended when the time is right. I will look at you as an equal, as a human being. Would he ever give you that?"
Harry now saw a second cloaked man walking up to the Death Eater from behind. This man was as far away from a Death Eater as one could get, he thought. He was not hooded, leaving his mane of shoulder-length brown hair exposed to the air. His brown eyes appeared soft and warm at first glance, but Harry saw that a hardness was being hidden at the moment. All these and his well-defined facial features gave him a very regal appearance. Added to that the red and gold robes he was wearing and his height of six feet, three inches made him appear extremely important. And somehow, Harry remembered that face, but he couldn't remember from where.
The Death Eater trembled through his entire body, trying to break free from the influence the other man was obviously having on him. "I cannot betray the Dark Lord!" he mourned as he attempted to raise his wand at Harry, using the light that appeared in front of him as his target, though Harry knew this was a futile gesture. Otherwise, the man behind him would have taken immediate action.
"You know who I am," the brown-haired man pointed out, "And I know that you cannot kill Harry Potter now."
"Get out of my mind, Geoffrey Gryffindor!" the Death Eater cried, quickly pushing the end of his wand into his own chest, "Or I'll make you leave it!"
"I'm sorry, but I must protect Harry Potter, first and foremost," Geoffrey stated, "I have waited almost sixteen years for this moment, and I will not fail him now. I want to help you as well, Charles, but I must protect Potter with my life."
"I'm sorry Gryffindor, but you cannot have my help," Charles replied, "Avada Kedavra!"
And with that, a green flash of light came from his wand. However, there was no space for a green bolt to develop. There was just a flash of green light and Charles's body collapsed to the sidewalk, dead before he stopped moving.
"Harry, your cloak, quickly!" Geoffrey called as he hurried next to the dead body, "The Ministry will be flocking down here in just a moment!"
Knowing that the man was right, Harry quickly rushed over to the wizard and the dead body with his case and crouched down, covering everything that showed signs of wrongdoing just as some footsteps were heard nearby, along with voices.
"It came from this area. We're certain of it!" a female voice claimed quietly.
"Well, I can't see any dead body here," a male voice replied, "It looks like the Death Eaters are pulling our legs. Lets get back to the Ministry." And with that, the two disappeared with a loud snap.
As Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak and put it into his trunk again, Geoffrey pulled a small knife out of his robes and began carving into the Death Eater's body. "Normally, I'd use my wand to do this, but I don't think that would be too wise in this part of England."
"What are you doing?" Harry asked when he saw what this man was doing.
"Making sure they know exactly who's guarding you now, Harry," Gryffindor replied as he continued to carve into the wizard's chest, "Don't worry, I plan on hiding this from Muggle eyes once I am finished."
Harry kept looking around, waiting for the next Death Eater to appear to try to kill him. Geoffrey laughed as he sensed Harry's anxiety. "I don't think they'll be so willing to attack you now, especially once they see that it was my handiwork."
"You must have killed many Death Eaters to do that," Harry commented as he turned his attention back to his new companion, "Are you in the Order?"
"It's more along the lines of 'how' I killed them and less of 'how many,' actually," Geoff clarified, "When I was just a teenager fresh out of Hogwarts, I beat six Death Eaters to death with my bare hands in the space of a month. I'll tell you that story later."
"But, that's impossible," Harry stated, "You can't simply beat a wizard to death with your bare hands, our magical nature prevents it."
"Not for me," Geoffrey claimed as he stood up and allowed Harry to gaze at the mark now carved into the Death Eater's chest. Harry recognized it immediately as the Gryffindor Crest.
"As for the Order," Geoffrey continued, "Lets just say I prefer to work alone."
"Alright," Harry answered with a nod.
"Harry, call for the Knight Bus now," Geoff ordered, "I will explain everything on our way out of here, but I need to use some magic, and we'll need to make a quick escape once I do that, but this body must be hidden from the Muggles."
Harry wanted to ask this man so many questions, but Geoff put his hand up to stop them. "No Harry, I'll answer those questions once we're on the Knight Bus. Call for it now," he requested as he pulled his wand out. It was the longest wand he had ever seen, at 18 inches long, and also one of the thinnest he had ever seen. It looked like a pointer used at a conference presentation.
Harry obliged Gryffindor's request and held out his right arm with his wand in it.Sure enough, in a matter of moments, Harry heard a loud crack and a purple triple-decker bus appeared almost as if out of thin air. The words "The Knight Bus" were written across the windshield of the bus. The bus had stopped suddenly next to Harry as the door slid open, revealing to Harry the new Knight Bus conductor.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard," Katie Bell announced as she turned toward Harry, "Harry! What are you doing here?"
"Uh, I used to live here, Katie, but I'm surprised to see you too," Harry said as he stepped onto the bus and nodded to the driver, who was still the elderly Ernie Prang with his thick glass goggles, who waved back at him, "What are you doing here?"
"This is my job for now," Harry's former Gryffindor schoolmate answered, "They needed a new conductor, and the pay isn't bad. So Harry, where do you need to go?"
Harry thought about that as he made sure his belongings were securely on the floor of the Knight Bus. He had an appointment with the Weasley family, but it would probably cost a lot to get all the way to Ottery St. Catchpole, where Ron and Ginny and the Weasley family lived, from Little Whinging. But he was interrupted in his line of thought by Geoffrey.
"Harry, we need to go to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," he called, "You'll be safe there without me, at least for now."
"That place is probably all moldy by now," Harry retorted, "How about we stay at the Leaky Cauldron instead?"
"Well, I suppose I could, but I have to go inside Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place first," Geoff replied, "We need to go there first."
Harry nodded and turned back to Katie. "Could you take us to Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.
"That will be eleven Sickles," Katie informed, "And for another two Sickles, you can get some hot chocolate, and for another two you get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush, too."
Harry dug into his pocket and pulled out a small pile of coins. I'm going to have to make a stop at Gringotts soon, Harry thought as he sorted out 11 silver Sickles and handed them to Katie. "Just the ride, thanks," he told his friend.
"No problem," Katie responded as she took the money from Harry, counted it, then put the Sickles in a small funnel next to Ernie's seat.
"Alright, get going now," Geoffrey said as he jumped through the door and it closed behind him, "And Miss Bell, you heard nothing about Number Twelve. Understood?"
"Yes Mr. Gryffindor," Katie responded immediately. It was obvious that they had met previously in some way.
It was at this time that the Knight Bus began to lurch around violently on the streets. Both Harry and Geoffrey had to grab onto the same railing above them to stay standing. "Thanks for saving me back there, Mr. Gryffindor," Harry thanked Geoffrey, feeling that this man could have been an old friend he had not seen in years.
"Please, call me Geoff," the man said, "All my friends and fellow Gryffindor schoolmates do."
"I see," Harry replied, "So why are you here to protect me?"
"Because your mother's protection ended less than 30 minutes ago," Geoff answered, "And I made a promise to myself that once you had come of age that I would keep you under my protection."
"How good is that protection, exactly?" Harry inquired.
"Better than what the Order could ever offer you," Geoff said in a matter-of-fact way, "The Death Eaters are deathly afraid of me. This isn't the place to talk about why that is, but suffice to say that as long as I am around you, Harry, Death Eaters will think twice about coming after you. And with the Ministry descending on the scene now, the Death Eaters will soon learn why they failed to kill you. Voldemort won't be happy, but he'll have to accept that his followers aren't as suicidal as he thinks they are."
Soon the Knight Bus arrived on Grimmauld Place, near Number Twelve.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," Geoff said loudly, "With your permission Harry, I would like to turn Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place into our base of operations. If you are going to destroy Voldemort, you're going to need some help from friends with high connections. And I have become a bit of a power broker in wizard Britain myself."
"Go ahead and use it however you want to," Harry responded, "Think you could take my stuff in there as well? I won't be needing any of it any time soon."
"Certainly," Geoff answered as he pointed his fingers at the trunk and the owl cage. They suddenly levitated off of the ground and followed Geoff's hand motions and floated out of the bus and onto the sidewalk nearest to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. "And don't worry about Hedwig, she'll be around soon enough, I think," Geoff added, smiling at Harry.
"How did you know?" Harry asked. That was exactly what he was thinking at that moment.
Geoff smiled. "That is something you will learn soon enough," he said as he walked off the bus. He then turned around and told Katie as he handed a gold Galleon to her, "Miss Bell, please don't leave just yet. I need to get something for Harry and come to the Leaky Cauldron with him."
Katie nodded as Geoff led Harry's stuff into his new house and Harry waited for him to come back out.
"So, what do you think of him, Harry?" Katie asked Harry as she pocketed the Galleon.
"He seems rather pompous and overconfident," Harry commented, "Especially with that comment about Death Eaters fearing him. I have never heard anyone say that about them unless referring to their fear of Voldemort." Indeed, though Harry would never outwardly admit it, Voldemort scared him greatly, though his anger toward him often hid that fear even from Harry himself.
After a couple of minutes, Geoff came back out of Harry's house. He turned around as he got back outside and yelled back into the house, "I'll deal with you later! I've got business to attend to, you wench!" as he slammed the door and carried a piece of parchment back to the Knight Bus. He looked rather frazzled by something as he walked onto the bus.
"Was that Mrs. Black you were yelling at?" Harry asked.
"Yes, the nerve of some pure-bloods!" Geoff replied exasperated and he gave the parchment to Harry, "I sometimes am surprised that there are any left. What a silly bunt. This parchment is the Final Will and Testament of Sirius Black, Harry. It clearly states that all of Black's possessions; his house, his money, his belongings, everything; are now yours. If you take this to Gringotts, you can have his money transferred to your vault. Don't worry about registering yourself as the new owner of Number 12, Grimmauld Place; I took the liberty of doing that a few weeks ago. Now, I have to get back in there. Even though you did a lot to the place two summers back, there is a large bit of work to be done still. I think I may need some help."
"Get whomever you need," Harry responded, "I really don't care for the place."
"Once you start getting a family, you will," Geoff said, "And speaking of family, I will be at the Weasley house soon enough as well."
"Are you telepathic?" Harry asked. Harry was just thinking about what was going to happen at the Weasley home in just two weeks' time.
Geoff laughed that cheerful, deep laugh of his and replied, "Why, yes, I am. Very good, Harry. I would expect no less from a fellow Gryffindor then for you to recognize that at last."
"What's going on at the Weasley's?" Katie asked, suddenly remembering that she had been invited to something in two weeks by George Weasley.
"Bill's getting married in two weeks," Harry replied.
"Oh, right," Katie suddenly remembered what the invitation was while Geoff said with a snort, "Getting married at that young an age? I swear, I hope he doesn't have the seven kids his parents ended up having. Not unless he has a well-paying job. You know, you can learn a thing or two from Fred and George. You don't see them contemplating having families yet, do you? They want to make themselves financially secure first."
Harry was about to ask Geoff some questions when Geoff said, "Those questions can wait until later, Harry. I will accompany you to the Leaky Cauldron," he said as he boarded the bus again, "You certainly have come of age in a world of dangers. Doesn't it seem like everyone is out to get you right now?"
"It sure does sometimes," Harry agreed.
"Well, there will always be people you can trust," Geoff replied, "And the most trustworthy may be the ones you least suspect."
"Well, onto the Leaky Cauldron!" Katie announced loudly as the bus door closed and the bus lurched forward again, stopping suddenly a few seconds later just outside the pub that was visible only to witches and wizards. Harry stepped off the bus as he said, "Thanks Katie."
"Just doing my job," Katie replied as Geoff left the bus and the door closed again on the bus and with a crack it disappeared again.
Harry decided that he would go to Diagon Alley to settle his godfather's accounts tomorrow. For now, he walked into the Leaky Cauldron to find a room for the next few days, with Geoffrey Godric Gryffindor watching over him now. And as he would find out over the course of time, Geoffrey Godric Gryffindor was just about the best trump card he could have in his fight for survival.
--
Author's Notes: This story is rated M for a reason. The beginning of this chapter is just a taste of the disturbing things to come. As I said before, this story is not for the faint of heart. This was just the beginning.
I originally didn't have any Death Eaters showing up at Number Four at this time. Looking back, I don't know how I could have been so stupid. But I couldn't be like Rowling and have them swarming all over the place. So I had Geoff leak the fact that he would be coming to protect Harry, which curtailed Death Eater activity severely. You'll see why that is in a few later chapters.
Well, that's all I have to say for now, I think. Until next read, review, look for the reference, and most importantly, enjoy.