Disclaimer: Did you know that hippopotamus milk is pink? Weird.
I hope you enjoy this chapter! I understand it's sort of boring, but I'm still trying to set everything up. Bear with me, lovelies. Also, I would like to point out that THIS IS SLASH, meaning Harry will be making googley eyes at some bloke at some point, though THIS FIC IS NOT RELATIONSHIP CENTRIC, it's more of a "I love him, but Then there's this other thing..."
ALSO, every chapter title will be lyrics from a song :D If you can guess the artist first, then I'll give you a huge shoutout, and you'll be able to appear in the last chapters (because I need extras).
Thankyou to everyone who read!
The car ride had been absolute hell.
Well... not in so simple terms. Harry had sat in the back with luggage pressed up against every inch of the left side of him, in utter annoyance, as his dad tried to start a merry sing along. Every time someone spoke to him, he dutifully ignored. It was, after all, their right to know that Harry was furious with them. To hell with no talking for five straight hours, those bleeding people had deserved every moment.
'Taste the awkward, dad, old man. Feel the burn of my cold shoulder'.
About halfway through that, Harry decided that it was pointless to punish himself as well, and pulled out a scratched up cyan blue iPod. He dug around for a good minute before he found the ugliest yellow headphones on Earth and was finally able to sit quietly to The Rythum Of Love.
He let the scenery encase his vision as his mind drifted through the reasons he was upset, Harley's head resting in his lap. The most obvious was that he was moving. Again. Although it was necessary to their wellbeing, it didn't make it any less of a bad shock. This would be the second time in only that year, and Harry had just begun to settle in with his friends. Well, not that they were his friends now. They'd literally walked in on him standing over a dead, bloody cat and promptly freaked out. Shortly after, The Potters/Blacks/Lupins had packed the fuck up and moved back to their motherland. Telling the entire school ought to have aroused suspicion.
Do Harry stepped into their car saying goodbye to their apartment, and stepping out to say hello to a two story white house with fresh grass and a picnic table in the back yard.
"So..." Sirius, his adoptive father, said with a deep sigh, patting his legs and staring up into the empty house, "This is home, now." Remus came up behind him and ducked under his arm, smiling in a soft way that Harry had only ever seen on the man himself. Sirius' eyes softened and the two simultaneously looked to Harry, who was staring at the old house, for approval.
"It's a pit, it is..." Harry drawled, shifting his black rucksack against his shoulder, "But nothing we can't fix with a little bit of manpower... and maybe some scented candles." Harry scratched his nose with his thumb and sniffed, green eyes narrowing at the smell. "I think something's dead in our yard."
Sirius and Remus both sniffed the air without thinking, and Remus looked over to the far side of the yard, eyes settling on a small mound of fur near a large willow that shaded their creaky house. Harley was already trotting toward, her large tail flicking wildly. Both men scrunched up their noses, and Harry sighed. "It should be against the law for something to be this foul."
"We're doing the best we can, Harry," Remus said softly, making Harry look up and into the man's amber eyes. Harry had to look away after a moment, quilt working a knot into the back of his throat. "We know it isn't Buckingham palace, but it's home now. Please, try to make the best of it."
"Harry! We have visitors!" The 16 year old was in the midst of putting away an old Jawbox T-shirt when he heard the call and groaned. He'd already gotten into his pajama bottoms. Tugging at the black plaid material, he grabbed a wifebeater and threw it on, stubbing his toe on the way to the door. Cursing, he hoped over to the stairs, tripping halfway and having to catch himself on the banister.
"Bloody Cripes! Who the hell decided to shove a fucking banister there!" Harry screamed from upstairs. Remus smiled nervously at the red haired bunch that had let themselves in with a pie and warm welcomes. The youngest looking boy, about Harry's age, scrunched his nose and looked up at his mum as if he really wanted to leave. Sirius chortled and jogged to the stairs, looking up and bursting into laughter. Curious, Remus stood and made his way over, ending up in giggles as well.
"Really, Harry. Graceful as ever."
"Go away, Remus. Go very far away." Harry grumbled from his contorted place at the top of the stairs, groaning as he stood and started down. Feeling benevolent, Sirius climbed the few steps between them and helped the poor kid down. The dark haired beauty of a teen look at the red haired company in shock.
"I spy gingers," He murmured, earning an elbow from Remus.
"Harry, these are the Weasleys. They're our neighbors."
"Pleasant."
Now looking uncomfortable, the matriarch of the bunch cleared her throat and put her hand out, her face wrinkling as she smiled. "Hello there, Harry. I'm Molly. It's nice to meet our little town's new residents."
Harry stared at the woman's hands until she awkwardly let it drop back to her side. Her children and presumed husband behind her were all glaring at Harry, sans two nearer to the back who looked like they wanted to laugh. They were twins, ruggedly handsome, and kept making lude gestures toward the brunet. Harry smirked and nodded at them.
It was then that the most unbearable silence came about. Well, it was uncomfortable for the redheads and Remus. Harry and Sirius were giving each other small questionable glances.
"Well... Harry. Why don't you and the other kids go up to your room while Molly, Aurthur, Sirius and I have a few drinks?" Remus smiled, clearing his throat and gesturing to all of the Weasley children. Harry glared at his dad and then at the 'other kids', a growl forming in his throat. That is, until Sirius stepped over and whispered into his ear.
"We'll save you a bottle."
"So... this is it." Harry smacked his lips and turned in a less than enthusiastic sweep of his arms as he entered his fairly sized bedroom. He turned to see the four shuffling near the door and rolled his eyes, hands raking through what little hair he had. As he did so, he could see the only girl in the bunch turn wide eyes to his colourfully tattooed arms and perked his lips. His tattoos were usually mistaken for sleeves, until you really looked. They really added to the thing he had going on with his wardrobe, and tactfully accented the fact that he was a badass. Then again, his hair did a good job of that. A few years back he'd had a breakdown and shaved one side of his head. Finding he liked the look of it, he kept the other side long-layered down to mid-neck, and meticulously styled. He was thinking about dying the shaven side, but almost always dismissed the idea. Maybe he'd get another piercing instead.
"So, since I have all of you big strong men up here, how about helping me get my rubbish unpacked?" The three boys were still for a second, before the twins grinned and agreed enthusiastically, while the younger boy whined about having to work. While they set about opening boxes, the girl, looking about 15, approached Harry. The older boy twitched as she batted her eyelashes.
"I'm Ginny, by the way," She smiled, picking at a loose thread on her shirt, "It's really cool to meet you."
"Yes, I'm sure it is..." Harry murmured, sliding away from the girl to help with his stuff. Ginny stood there for a moment, shocked, before pouting and turning to the new boy.
"You don't have to be shy. I'm the most normal in my family, so it's not like I'll-
"You have a lot of weird things, Harry," Ron grinned, pulling out an old looking pair of Green Lantern boxers. Harry chuckled and snatched them away, throwing them haphazardly into the first drawer he saw. "Are you a fan or something?"
"Those actually belonged to an old boyfriend of mine," Harry grinned, weighing the reactions of everyone in the room. Ron blushed and nodded, looking away and vying to start on a different box. The twins looked deviously gleeful, and again, starting making lude gestures at Harry, which he full on agreed with. Ginny... well, she turned an unhealthy shade of red and seemed to realize she had just been hitting on a gay guy.
"Why'd you keep them?" Asked one of the twins. He'd yet to learn their names.
"Eh, I have something from all of my conquests... It's just a little piece of the past I can't let go of, you know?"
They both nodded, while Harry watched from the corner of his eye as Ginny walked slowly around, surveying the small room. Her foot hit something furry, and the mound immediately leapt up and roared at her, causing a shriek to sound from the girl. Her three brothers stood, ready to be of aid.
"Ah, down girl," Harry giggled, snapping his fingers toward the furry beast. It's demeanor changed in an instance, tail wagging and head perked.
"What the bloody hell is that thing?" Ginny squeaked, backing up.
"That's Harley... She's pretty harmless." Harry leaned forward and kissed the Wolf's head, grinning. "You're a good little monster, aren't you?"
After a brief chat about the safeties of being around a huge grey timber wolf, the group actually got most of Harry's things unpacked. They found that his wardrobe consisted of the oddest clothing, mostly cardigans and cheap skinny jeans. There were a few girl clothes in there, too, though no one commented. Ron just assumed that all gay guys wore clothes meant for their breasty counterparts. After they'd all settled on Harry's large bed, sticking in an old Train CD, they'd just talked until the adults came up and relayed that food was ready.
"So, are you excited about school?" Ginny asked around a large burger, the words slurred as she chewed. Harry chuckled.
"I suppose it'll be fun starting new classes. Are there any interesting people at your school?"
"Well," Fred snickered from his twin's lap, his own burger almost gone and drowning in fries, "There's a variety of weirdos where we learn-"
"-Though none of them are of any interest," George stuck out his tongue, "Everyone's the same amount of strange, so no one really stands out."
Harry smiled at that, digging into his own burger-decked with everything under the sun. So there was a chance he would fit in, being as weird as he was. That was a huge rarity where he was concerned, as he was always either admired or picked on for being how he was. At his last school, he had his own Freshman, the little guy followed him around and tried to do everything like he did. It was cute, but kind of annoying.
"Well, whatever you do, I would stay away from Malfoy," Ron snarled, gnawing on his burger with narrowed eyes.
"Why is that?"
Fred kicked out, hitting Ron in the head-"Ow!"- and leaned toward Harry with a smile, "Ron here's mad at Draco. They used to be best friends, but then Draco moved away and they didn't speak. He moved back a few years ago a completely different person, and Ron hasn't gotten over it."
"He's totally dull now! And whenever I try to talk to him, he just ignores me," Ron whined.
"Well, if I were him, I wouldn't want to talk to you either," Ginny grinned, shoving Ron off of the bed. While the others laughed, and Ron whined more, Harry couldn't help but ponder the kid. Something about his name awakened a small spark in the dark haired teen's chest, and he couldn't help but wonder how exactly that year would turn out.
If you're wondering why this chapter is so boring, I have no answers. It's a set up chapter, so you know where everything stands. Sorry if my description of Harr-beahr was vague. I didn't want to spend so much time on what he looks like. If you don't like it, paint your own picture.
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