An man in a muggle business suit comes in to an office with a briefcase in one hand, and a manila envelope in another. He sits down in front of a desk messy with papers, DVD's, and most importantly, a computer. Behind this desk sits a rather large man furiously typing away on the keyboard. The typist's hands are bloody from long hours typing on an e-machine, his eyes squinting through the thick glasses perched on his nose. His golden-brown hair is everywhere, and it is obvious he hasn't thought much about anything else other than stories for quite a while. The man who entered the room clears his throat, forcing the man behind the desk to look up irritably.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"DrgnMstr I presume?"
"Yeah, what's it to ya?"
"I'm Mr. Howe, of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe. I am here in regards to your claims on the Harry Potter franchise?"
DrgnMstr blinks at his and scowls. "What claims?"
Mr. Howe opens up the envelope and pulls several papers partially out. He then plops the papers on top of DrgnMstr's desk. The top sheet is a title page, with the title of Harry Potter and the Veela Bond written on it. "No where in this story is a disclaimer disavowing your ownership of anything there in. Therefore you are claiming you own it."
DrgnMstr picks up the papers and looks through it, then sets them down while he turns back to his computer. After accessing the internet, he picks up a blood quill and grimaces as he writes something on the top sheet in the envelope. Finally he looks up and Mr. Howe and says, "I'm familiar with your firm. If you look on the net now, you'll find my first chapter has been updated with a disclaimer. I also must inform you that we're being recorded with a machine that timestamps every recording. Therefore I am safe in saying that I in no way own Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Fleur, Gabrielle, or any other Delacour, or anything at all that is recognizable as being the creation of J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, or any other partnering companies. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for Harry Potter, and there would be no way in this lifetime that Harry would have wound up with that glorified fan girl. I do claim any original characters, but other than that I don't claim anything. Any references to people either living or dead does not imply that I represent their views or beliefs in any way, shape, or form. Nor do I imply I know them. And lastly, this story will contain references to child abuse, both physical and verbal. I in no way support these activities and urge anyone witnessing such acts to do all they can to help. I also urge any victim of such acts to step forward and seek help."
"But the fact remains . . ." Mr. How was cut off by his chair being sucked through the floor. A few moments later something burps out his chair and a rather mangled briefcase.
"One down, two to go . . ." DrgnMstr smiled to himself before turning back to his computer. "Now, let's see what happens to Dumbles this time. After all, I need to get this to my beta, Brigrove soon . . ."
DrgnMstr presents:
Harry Potter and the Veela Bond
Chapter 2: Surprise at 4 Privet Drive
Having the voices in his head and in his dreams helped Harry tremendously over the final week or so before the term ended. Even though he had a couple of episodes where he was desperate to prove that Sirius could still be with him (on conversation with Nearly-Headless Nick came to mind), all and all Harry had started to accept that Sirius was truly gone. Of course, this made Harry somewhat depressed, until he had a talk with Luna Lovegood over her views of death. This cheered Harry up a bit more, much to the relief of at least Luna and Neville. He didn't know how his other friends felt, however. Ron and Ginny, and to a much lesser extent Hermione, seemed to be keeping their distance from him for some reason. This really bothered Harry, as Ron was his first friend his age, and he considered the girls to be his sisters. He tried to visit Ron in the Hospital Ward at Hogwarts, but so far Ron had been very quiet and uncommunicative. Finally Hermione got released a day before Ron did, and Harry cornered her as she entered the Gryffindor common room.
"Hermione, can you come with me please?" he asked as he approached her. "I'd like to talk to you somewhere private."
Hermione looked somewhat nervous for some reason. Her eyes glanced about the room as if looking for someone, and they finally settled on the girls leading up to the girls dorms. Harry was puzzled by this and turned around to see Ginny standing there, looking none-to-happy. "I . . . I'm not . . ." Hermione started to stutter out. Harry turned around to see Hermione blushing, looking down to the floor and seeming rather embarrassed. He wondered why she would be looking that way, though a small part of him was voicing his inner-most fears.
"Go on Hermione, tell him," Ginny interjected from across the room. The flame-haired girl marched closer, though her voice did not quiet. "Tell him Hermione, or I will. You remember what we decided, right?"
'Merde . . . Harry, something's wrong here,' came the younger voice from his thoughts and dreams. 'This looks bad, mon chérie. Just know I'm here for you.' Harry felt thankful for that, for right now Ginny looked all to much like Ron from before the first task of the TriWizard Championship for his own liking. He stole a glance to Hermione, and she was looking decidedly embarrassed, and not very sure. This alone would have caused Harry to be worried, for Hermione was never like this.
It did not look like this moment of poignant silence could go on for much longer though, so Harry decided to speak up. "Ginny, I asked to talk to Hermione alone. If you want to yell at me, you can do that after we're done?"
Apparently that was a mistake for Ginny snapped her head around to look at him. "Just what makes you think I want to be alone with you for any amount of time? I can't believe this . . . First you whisk us off to the Ministry, then you get us all nearly killed, and now you want to be alone with us? Why? So you can act the poor broken-hearted sap that wouldn't hurt a fly? I don't buy it."
Harry took a step back, not quite sure what to make of this. Inside his heart was threatening to break as one of the two people he would call sister seemed to despise him. 'Harry, get Hermione out of there and talk to her. Don't try to argue with the Weasley, just do it,' the older voice instructed. The younger voice seemed to agree, and Harry did not want a confrontation in front of everyone in the Gryffindor common room, so he accepted the request/order. Not saying another word, he grabbed Hermione by the arm and led her out the door.
"Harry, wait!" Hermione called in a slightly panicked voice as she was nearly pulled off of her feet by the pull. "Where . . . ?"
She didn't get to complete her question as Ginny followed them out, intent to hound Harry every step of the way. "Potter, you'd better release Hermione now, or I'll get a Professor and tell them you kidnapped her. She doesn't want to go with you. She doesn't want to be anywhere near you. So let her go!" She yelled the last as she grabbed Hermione's other arm, pulling her to a stop rather harshly.
Harry's hold on Hermione's arm was rather loose, so when Hermione was stopped Harry jerked only slightly before his hand slipped from her. Ginny's words before she was pulled to a stop barely had time to register before Harry spun around with the momentum and drew his wand. The tip was glowing red with a held stunner right above Ginny's heart. "You have no right to tell me who I can and can't talk to, Ginny. If that is what Hermione feels, then it is up to her to tell me herself. Last I heard, she had the ability to speak, and therefore can explain it to me herself. But I'm asking, on the basis of a five year friendship, to talk to her privately. In case you missed the meaning of that word, it means with no one else around. Not you, not Ron, not anyone. She's not a baby, so its her choice, not yours. I wanted to ask without making a scene, but you just don't know when to quit, do you?"
"You have no right to speak to her, Potter. Not alone, not with anyone else. You nearly got her killed. How does it feel to destroy a five year friendship?" Ginny spat, pure anger burning in her eyes. Students began to congregate around the hall, watching this latest development with the standard teen-age enthusiasm of having a fight ensue.
Hermione and Harry were both prevented from answering that by a sharp (but thankfully female) voice that echoed through the halls. "That will be quite enough!" Hermione was the only one to turn to watch Professor McGonagall storm through the students and toward them. "Ms Weasley you will let go of Miss Granger this instant! Mr. Potter, you will lower your wand. All three of you will follow me." Hermione looked grateful to have the transfiguration teacher pull her away from the two arguing teens.
Harry lowered his wand, but did not put it away. Instead he said, "Fine, but for my safety I request that Miss Weasley precede me down the hallway." Harry knew Ginny's temper, and with what she was saying he did not want to be in a position to be hexed unawares.
"Oh that's rich, coming from you. But then again, your safety is everything, isn't it? No one else's matters, does it? Oh, I'm sorry, not your safety, but your . . ."
"Miss Weasley, that will be quite enough!" McGonagall's no-nonsense voice rang again. "Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, I want all of your wands, now." She held out her hand for them, the look on her face quite clearly saying that if they didn't comply, there would be hell to pay.
'Give up your wand, but watch the tramp closely, and be prepared to dodge, Harry,' the older voice cautioned. The younger voice felt like she would disagree, but did not voice it. Harry, deciding to save at least a little face here, offered his wand to the professor. But a soon as the older woman grabbed it, he let go and flung himself back and to the right as a pale yellow light flashed by him, missing by a mere fraction of an inch. Ginny came sharply into his vision as his world narrowed into threat and non-threat. Ginny's wand glowed again as she made movements, and Harry set himself in a position to dodge another spell. He could faintly hear McGonagall screaming for this to stop, but Harry knew if he did, he'd be hit. The spells started to change colors as well as targets, and Harry knew he had to act quickly or he'd be in serious trouble.
Suddenly something started to well up from within Harry, and he felt a sense of vast power fill within him. He noticed a suit of armor marching toward his enemy from behind, apparently trying to capture her. So instead of fighting back, he willed himself to dodge faster. That's when it happened. Time seemed to slow down for Harry as the movements of everyone around him slowed to a snail's pace. Harry moved quickly and as soon as a beam of light moving by incredibly slow left her wand he side-stepped beside her and wrenched it out of her hand, placing it within the professor's. Time seemed to snap to normal as the suit of armor grabbed the girl from behind, holding her arms above her head before she could do more than blink. Thankfully once she was captured she stopped moving, only to join everyone else in gaping at him.
Professor McGonagall seemed at a loss as to what to do, and that made Harry nervous. "What?" he asked in a confused tone. "I couldn't dodge forever, so I tried to disarm her without hurting her or destroying her wand." He glanced over at Hermione when the Assistant Headmistress refused to answer, only to see Hermione staring at him in shock and gaping like a fish.
'Harry, what happened?' the younger female voice asked in his head.
Harry was now very confused, so he started to look around the room to see the Headmaster walking down the hallway, his face fairly unreadable. 'I have no idea. Dumbledore is coming. Bollocks! I needed to talk to Hermione alone.' Dumbledore stopped a few feet away and gave Harry a very thorough going over before turning to McGonagall. "Minerva, what happened here and why do you have Mr. Potter's and Miss Weasley's wand?"
The transfiguration professor's lips narrowed a bit as she glanced to the three students before answering the Headmaster. "I hardly think it is proper to discuss something like this in the hall, Albus. Perhaps we should head to my office, it's closer."
'Harry, be careful with Dumbledore, do not let him get you alone,' the older voice cautioned.
'No worries on that,' he thought grimly. He still was not happy with the Headmaster, and did not want to talk to him at all. But he couldn't get out of this situation now, and was inwardly cursing fate for its rather blatant malice toward him.
"A good idea, Minerva. Shall we?" Dumbledore reached out for the wands, but the professor was not letting them go. Once he noticed her small head shake he turned and walked toward Professor McGonagall's chambers, clearly expecting them to follow.
Once they were all seated in the Assistant Headmistress's chambers, Professor McGonagall once again took charge of the situation. "Now, will someone tell me what is going on?"
Ginny decided to be first to the punch when she spoke up and yelled, "Potter was kidnapping Hermione from the Gryffindor common room. I tried to rescue her, and he threatens me! Professor Dumbledore, please do something. We're not safe with him around!"
She would have continued on had the oldest woman present not interrupted, "MISS WEASLEY! You will use civil tones or you will be serving detention with me from now until the train leaves and be flooed home! Is that clear?"
"But!"
"I SAID, IS THAT CLEAR?!"
"Yes professor," Ginny replied rebelliously.
"Now let's everyone just calm down and talk this out," Dumbledore replied in his grandfatherly voice. "Harry my boy, why were you kidnapping Miss Granger?"
'Why that old bastard,' both voices thought, which was echoed by Harry's own. He tried to clamp down on his temper as much as possible, considering it was already ready to blow. "I was NOT "kidnapping" Hermione, sir," he replied just a little too harshly. At the silent caution of the other two voices, he took a deep breath and continued, "I apologize, but I can only hear Miss Weasley's accusations for so long before I start to lose my temper. Anyway, I was in the Common Room when Hermione walked in. I got up to welcome her back and to try to talk to her privately on a personal matter, when Weasley started charging at us demanding I get away from her. Last I checked, she has no say who I talked to, and when. But she apparently was trying to get Hermione to tell me some decision, loudly, in front of the entire Gryffindor common room. I decided, since Hermione looked very nervous, to pull her out and get away from Miss Weasley. She followed and grabbed Hermione hard, nearly causing both of us to fall. Perhaps I was wrong to pull my wand, Professor, but after the Department of Mysteries, I've been a little . . . tense. Weasley continued to put words into Hermione's mouth when Professor McGonagall approached and tried to get us to stop. I lowered my wand, and the Professor ordered us to follow. Well sir, given the amount of anger Weasley feels toward me right now, I did not feel safe with her wand at my back, so I asked that she walk in front of me. Another argument started, then Professor McGonagall demanded both our wand. Sir, I was willing to accept that, and had placed my wand in the Professor's hand, when Weasley started trying to curse me. I don't know what happened, but next thing I know I have her wand and am dropping it into the Professor's hand."
"Now Harry, surely you know what happened or what you did to get Miss Weasley's wand, don't you? You can tell us," the headmaster answered, trying to put forward his best grandfather knows best tone.
This only made Harry more angry, but he squashed it down with a "No sir, I do not. I don't know any spells or magic that would cause that."
"Or perhaps Potter doesn't want to explain it? Perhaps it will only get him in trouble if he does. Isn't that right, Potter?" Ginny sneered before another word could be said.
"MISS WEASLEY! Just what do you mean by that?" McGonagall demanded.
"Oh, I'm sure he knows what I mean, Professor."
"No Weasley, I don't know what you mean. That's exactly what I was trying to find out when you decided to start yelling at me in front of then entire Gryffindor common room. What exactly is wrong with you anyway?" At this point Harry was beyond angry now as he glared at Ginny. It felt as if the temperature in the room was increasing with each passing moment. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Hermione starting to try to cringe back away from in between the two of them, and the school officials hanging on every word. McGonagall looked in shock, while Dumbledore had a feeling about him that Harry could not identify. 'Careful mon amie, there is something going on here, and I'm not talking about the Weasley girl.'
"What's wrong with me? You nearly got me and everyone else killed because you had to run off and play hero again. If you hadn't dragged us along to the Department of Mysteries, none of us would have been hurt, and Ron would not be still in the hospital wing. And you have the nerve to ask me what's WRONG!" Ginny made a move for the pocket where she normally kept her wand, only to be reminded she didn't have it.
Harry was too shocked to flinch or even move. For just a minute the guilt of them being hurt was evident on his face. "You don't think I don't know that, Ginny?" he asked quietly with despair in his voice.
'Harry remember, you were fooled by Voldemort. You tried to verify, but were lied to. And they insisted on coming.'
He shut up for a moment, tilting his head to listen to the voice, then sighed. "Besides, as I just remembered, I asked you, begged you, and even tried to vehemently deny you five coming with me. Hell RON tried to get you not to come, Weasley. But you came anyway. You would not let me go alone. And now you sit here and have the gall to say I dragged you there?" he said, becoming angrier and louder as he went along. "Just where do you get off, Weasley? I assume Ron feels the same way? Is that why he's been avoiding me? How about you Hermione? What do you think?"
"MR. POTTER! You will calm yourself right now!"
"I . . . I . . I don't know Harry," a small voice quietly murmured into the room, effectively stopping all conversation. "I mean . . . you . . . Kreacher . . . Professor Snape . . ."
Harry felt pole-axed. Hermione of all people. He half expected something like this from the Weasleys, especially Ron, but Hermione?? The floor threatened to drop out of him and swallow him up before the younger voice interrupted his thoughts, 'Harry, there's something wrong here.'
Harry felt the presences in his mind intensify, almost as if they were somehow merging with him, 'Oui monchérie, there is definitely something wrong. Take a closer look, she's not wanting to do this. She's caught.'
Harry desperately looked over to his best female friend and tried to read her. He wasn't all that good at this kind of thing, but he could see, with their help, that they were right. What could be making her do this? Why would she feel she had no choice in this? She was like a sister to him, and he was sure she felt similarly about him. Then why? Then the answer hit him when he glanced at Ginny. Even though the youngest Weasley tried to hide it quickly, he saw how she was looking at the older teenage witch. From that he now had a very good idea what was going on. It was Ron. More specifically, her feelings toward him. Only she was a lousy liar and couldn't really do something that wasn't in her heart.
"Perhaps we should all adjourn and come back to this after the summer holidays?" the headmaster suggested.
Harry did not like the look in his eyes when he said that. They were a bit too measuring for his taste. He didn't know what was going on, but he was sure this was fitting into the old man's "grand plans" somewhere, and Harry did not want that. At the same time, he did not want to keep Hermione on the spot, but his chances of getting her alone now were nil.
'I will visit her when she returns home, Harry. Perhaps we could set up something?' The younger voice interjected.
'Good idea,' Harry thought. In the meantime he would have to do something that was going to really hurt, both himself and Hermione. Sighing, he stood up. "Fine by me, but if either of the Weasleys or Granger think I'll be very receptive toward them after having all summer to think about this, they are very much mistaken. If you'll excuse me, I'll be going now. I can tell when I'm not wanted."
"Harry," Dumbledore spoke up, stopping him from leaving."I would like to talk to you. It would not be wise for you to shut your friends out like this."
Harry turned back around, also remembering his wand was not given back yet, and spoke first to the transfiguration professor, "Professor McGonagall, I swear I will not attack anyone in here in any way shape or form. May I have my wand back please?" Loud protests were heard from Ginny while the professor in question looked to her boss. With a small nod of his head, she gave him back his wand. Harry immediately put it back into his pocket before turning to look at the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, I'm not the one shutting out people. The youngest two Weasleys have made their opinions perfectly clear about me. They apparently don't trust me any more and want nothing to do with me. Not that I'm at all surprised."
"Now what is THAT supposed to mean?" Ginny screeched.
Harry winced, and started to rub her ears, "Professor, can you please calm her down or stop her from doing that? It hurts my ears. As I was saying, I'm not at all surprised the Weasleys are doing this. Ron abandoned me right after the Goblet of Fire spit out my name in a fit of jealousy. He refused to believe that I did not put my name in the Goblet, despite your announcement and words the very next day. Of course, the entire school believed that except a select few, and there was nothing ever produced by any staff to say otherwise, so why should they have believed me right? The only Weasleys that believed me that year were George and Fred. Not one word was said in my favor by any other Weasley until after the first task was completed. So not only did Ronald betray me, but Ginevra did as well. And we all know Percival's opinion of me," he said with a deep frown," Especially after that letter he sent Ron this year. Some pretty terrible things were said by the Weasleys that year sir. And because Ronald was the first friend my age I ever had, I forgave him without an apology. Same thing with Ginevra here." The aforementioned young woman look outraged at that, but a glare from Harry gave her pause, "No Weasley. You had your say, now it is my turn. As I was saying sir, that was their biggest betrayal. It wasn't Ronald's first, though it was Ginevra's. His first was in our second year, where he thought for a brief time that I was the Heir to Slytherin. He thought I didn't notice, but I did. I just never said anything because I didn't want to lose one of my only friends."
"Now surely you exaggerate Harry. Surely you have other friends, if even in the muggle world?" Dumbledore interrupted with his eyes twinkling.
"No sir I do not," Harry responded forcefully. "You yourself said you knew what kind of home life I have, so don't insult our intelligence." Professor McGonagall looked ready to snap at Harry, but he looked at her and said a lot more respectfully, "Professor, I apologize to you for my outburst, but you are simply not aware of a few things that have transpired between me and the Headmaster. He has a lot to answer for, keeping vital information that could save people's lives to himself is only one of them." He noticed the Headmaster getting ready to speak, and decided to speak up, "Oh don't worry, Headmaster. I won't be telling that secret, for even I can recognize the necessity of keeping some things from general knowledge. But you played some things far to close to heart, and people got seriously hurt."
"Mr. Potter, are you standing there and blaming the Headmaster for what happened in the Ministry?" Professor McGonagall asked in outrage.
"Minerva, please," Dumbledore spoke up. "Young Harry does have somewhat of a point there. I have made a few mistakes that contributed to problems this year. But I'm thought we were going to get past that Harry. Surely you see I had nothing but the best of intentions?"
"No Professor McGonagall, I'm not laying all of the blame on his feet. Some of it, yes. But not all. Just like a lay the blame of lies told to me by a house elf at that elf's feet. But who is to blame for that fiasco is not what I'm trying to talk about. It was merely an example to prove that I do have reasons for not exactly thinking the best of Professor Dumbledore right now. What my point is, however, is that I do not exaggerate about my home life. I hate it there. My cousin Dudley saw to it that I never had any friends my own age. He'd scare away anyone that tried to get close to me. And my Aunt and Uncle made sure that I couldn't go to adults either. It must be nice to know that we all attend St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys."
"Whining now Potter?" Ginny sneered. Professor McGonagall was shocked beyond belief while Hermione looked like she wanted to break down in tears.
The Headmaster just shook his head and was about to say something when Harry spoke up again, "Don't try the exaggerating line on me Professor. You yourself said you knew I'd have hard years there. This should come as no surprise to you. So please, just don't. As I was saying, Ron was the first friend my age. And he betrayed me a the drop of the hat. Fourth year, the rest of the Weasley clan here at Hogwarts, save the Twins, joined in. I made a mistake in forgiving them so easily last time. You can be guaranteed I won't be making the same mistake again. And anyone who decides to join them will be in the same situation. I have a psychopath after me, and I can't afford fair weather friends. So if you will excuse me, I need to go pack. I can only hope that Neville at least isn't turning his back on me." With that Harry turned around and left quickly but purposefully, allowing the door to shut behind him.
He could hear his head of house's voice calling him to return, but Harry had had enough. He marched down the hallway and people seemed to be jumping out of his way. The voice followed him though, and just as he was about to give the password to the Fat Lady Professor McGonagall caught up and grabbed his arm. This time Harry was expecting this so instead of drawing his wand he just spun around and looked up into her eyes, waiting for her to speak.
"Young man, when I call for you I expect an answer," the Gryffindor head of house snapped. "That was incredibly rude of you to leave like that. Why did you not stop?"
Harry considered the possible answers for a moment with the voices in his head each offering advice. Finally he answered in a much more civil tone than he was using earlier, "Professor, I'm sorry but I had to leave. You've heard some of the things I've said in there, especially about the Weasleys and the Headmaster. I had to leave before I got really angry and did something I was going to regret. Miss Weasley was really starting to get to me and Professor Dumbledore's continued claims of me exaggerating things felt way to close to him calling me a liar. And after this year I have lost any and all patience I have ever had when it comes to that particular accusation." Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly so as to convey just how hard it was for him to remain calm right now. "Professor, many students in this school are still calling me a delusional psychopath, and it's not just the Slytherins. Yes, the Profit came out and declared I was telling the truth. But so far it seems like most people think its too little, too late." The aged professor was shocked silent as Harry ruefully shook his head, "And you know what the worst part of it is, Professor? None of the faculty is standing up and defending me. Not that I ever really expected anything different."
That last statement shocked the transfiguration professor to out of her state of silence, "Mr Potter, just what do you mean by that?"
Harry actually stood there and thought for a moment, wondering if it were at all worth it. Finally he sighed and knew it was too late and he'd have to explain, so he tried to calm himself as much as he could before answering, "I use you as an example, Professor, mainly because it will make the most sense to you. First year Hermione, Ronald, and I came to you about the Philosopher's stone. You ignored our warnings, and we had to go save it ourselves. I'll skip ahead to fourth year for the next most obvious case: Malfoy's badges. That was blatant persecution professor, and yet you never punished anyone for using them to put me down. In fact, you never said a word about them at all. You ignored them. Silence implies consent, professor. This year was Umbridge, and her detentions." He held up his scarred hand so she could see the words and read them. I must not tell lies. They still appeared fresh. "This is after soaking it in essence of murlap, professor. Every time she used that quill on me, which was every detention I had with her. You stood up to her in my career assessment, but with the previous examples and now all this silence about the truth, I must assume it was simply due to Umbridge interrupting you during our talk. Finally, each and every professor here, in each and every year is guilty of one lack of support, not just to me, but to every non-Slytherin in this school: Professor Snape. And I only use Professor this time because I don't want to be interrupted. Personally I have no respect for him, at all. The way he treats anyone not in Slytherin House is criminal, and none of you do anything about it."
"We can't Mr. Potter," the aged woman stated mournfully.
"Yes you can, you just don't. There's more than one way to rectify the situation, but you chose not to, Professor. At least that's how it looks to us. And that is just one more failure this school has where I'm concerned. So I left Professor. I left so I would not lose my temper. There was no solution to the problem in there anyways, not with everything stacked against me. So please excuse me if I appear rude, but I need to go. I still have some packing to do." He waited a minute in case she had something else to say, but seeing as how she was shocked into silence, he shrugged and left the woman out in the halls.
Harry's Bedroom
Number 4 Privet Drive
June 24th, 1996
Vernon's POV
Vernon Dursley is not pleased! No, indeed he is not pleased. His nephew is home again for the summer and that lazy brat did not come out to make the breakfast for his family! No, this is not acceptable.
He opens quickly all the locks from the freak's door, slams it open and steps into the little room, looking around in rage ... and freezes!
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" he roars.
On the freak's bed he expects to see the freak, but what he really sees is (1) the freak, a tramp that was obviously older than the freak, and a little tramp that seemed to be younger than the freak. The freak was on his back with his arms around the tramps, and the tramps were also holding each other. It was obvious to Vernon that the tramps were related, probably sister. How the hell did Potter get a couple of whores anyway? And what was he doing with them in his house? Well he would teach that freak what for right now!
The freak and his whores were just waking up but Vernon would speed that up for them, oh yes he would. He grabbed the boy by his throat and shoved him into a wall. "I asked you a question boy. What the hell is going on?"
"Let him go!" the younger whore screamed with a vague French accent. Vernon just smiled widely at this and drew the boy back to shake him again. "So English whores aren't good enough for you boy, you have to bring frogs in? Well I won't have it, not in my home."
The older whore got up and didn't even have the courtesy to cover herself. "You weell let 'Arry down, now!" She yelled as she ran forward to grab his arm. How dare the frog touch him! He swung his arm back and got her right in the nose, causing blood to go everywhere as she fell back. The younger slut screamed and ran up to kick him. He got her first with a kick to the midsection that sent her slamming back into the bed.
"You will leave them alone Uncle Vernon," he heard the freak snarl.
Vernon turned toward the freak and got right into his face. "What did you say boy? You can't do a thing to me, and you'll be dead before those freaks come to get us, and we'll be gone."
"That won't work Uncle. You remember what happened the last time you tried to outrun wizards, don't you?" he snarled. Vernon got the first look today at the boy's eyes, and it nearly made him drop him. They were burning green, literally. Black lines swirled around the pupils, and they started to speed up. Suddenly he felt immense pain where the boy's hand was gripping his arm, and he involuntarily let go. The freak dropped to the ground but apparently he was not done yet. He saw the freak's hand draw back and come up at him open-palmed before he saw a flash of red and then nothing but blackness.
Same time
Harry's POV
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
That was the first thing Harry heard in the morning. He immediately recognized the voice as belonging to his Uncle Vernon, but he didn't know why he was up here. Aunt Petunia normally woke him up. He tried to move his arms, but discovered they were weighted down by something. Slowly he opened his eyes to both see his Uncle and to find out what his Uncle was talking about, when he felt himself pulled out of bed by the neck and slammed into a wall. A soft groan escaped his lips as he slowly opened his eyes. He heard the voices in his head again, this time very close, and they seemed panicked. Something was very wrong here.
"I asked you a question boy, what is going on?" his uncle bellowed again as he was shoved into the wall again. So much for Mad-Eye's warning. He finally got a chance to look around when he noticed he and Uncle Vernon were not alone. They were in his bedroom with two what he believed to be females. His eyesight was so bad that without his glasses he could not tell who they were.
"Let him go!" a younger voice screamed. Wait, that was a GIRL! More telling, he knew that voice. It was from the voices in his head. That was one of the voices that was in his head!
"So English whores aren't good enough for you boy, you have to bring frogs in? Well I won't have it, not in my home," Vernon snarled as he shoved Harry into the wall again. Okay, this was beginning to hurt. 'Please don't interfere,' he thought desperately. He didn't want them hurt, and Uncle Vernon would most definitely hurt them really bad.
But it was not meant to be, as he felt a weight on the arm holding him up along with another voice he knew all too well. Not only did he hear it in his head, but he remembered it from just over a year ago. ""You weell let 'Arry down, now!" Oh crap, this is Fleur. That means the other girl, and the other voice in his head, is Gabrielle. 'Oh bollocks, this is so not good.' He felt Vernon twist around, and saw the taller blurry figure burst into red. Just as this happened it was like a switch flipped inside of him, and the world came into sharp focus. He saw Fleur it the bed hard, and Gabrielle run up to kick Vernon. His kick hit her in the mid-section which caused her to double over with not only the wind knocked out of her but an audible crack. That was a rib.
Anger flooded Harry like nothing he ever felt before, and with it came a power similar to the one he felt in that fight with Ginny. Only this time he watched as his hands nearly dug into Vernon's arm. "You will leave them alone Uncle Vernon," Harry snarled. He was hurting two people that meant the world to him, and he was going to pay!
Vernon apparently didn't feel the squeezing of his arm at first as he drew Harry right up into his face. "What did you say boy? You can't do a thing to me, and you'll be dead before those freaks come to get us, and we'll be gone."
Harry was not going to take any more, and he felt even more power drawing into his frame, making him feel heavier. It was time to remind Vernon about a few of life's truths. "That won't work Uncle. You remember what happened the last time you tried to outrun wizards, don't you?" Vernon continued to look into his eyes for a few seconds more before starting to turn pale. It was only then he apparently started to register the pain, for Harry was dropped immediately after. But Harry was not going to give him time to do anything else. The world slowed again as he hit the ground, and Harry brought up his hand, wishing he could stun the man. A red stunner bolt shot out of his hand and hit Vernon just before his open hand connected with his uncle's chin. Uncle Vernon went sailing over his bed and head first into the far wall before falling to the floor unconscious.
Harry gave him just a single glance before he heard a scream at the door. Turning toward the door he saw Dudley. Since the scream was definitely a female's scream and not coming from inside the room, he figured Aunt Petunia was just behind him. "You killed my father freak," Dudley yelled. He pulled out a switch-blade and opened it. "Now I'm going to gut you." The world slowed again as Harry took a step forward before swinging around in a round-house kick that sent the small whale of a boy sailing head-first into the other wall. His cousin slid down the wall completely unconscious with his head hanging limply to the side. He saw the walls flash brilliant white followed by a smaller red flash over by a suitcase near the door. The world was still in slow motion as he swung around in time to see Petunia fall against the wall screaming. Realizing she was not a threat, Harry simply gestured toward her as a red stunner bolt raced out and knocked her unconscious.
Harry was not so much concerned with his aunt though as he was with Gabrielle and Fleur. He ran over to the younger witch first and laid his hand on her where Vernon hit. He could see and feel the broken bones, but they wouldn't mend! "I'm sorry Gabrielle, I'm so sorry."
She appeared to start to breath easier as she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "It's okay mon chérie. It hurts, but not as much as it did. How is Fleur?"
"Fleur will be okay," she herself said as she walked toward them with some cloth held against her nose. "But I believe we will have some company soon, and we need to be ready. I've already sent the alert."
"What alert?" Harry asked. He was not going to ask what they were doing here since he still remembered the letter. But he was confused as to what was going on and worried about them. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Oui mon amie," Fleur answered with a wide smile. At least he thought it was a wide smile by the fact he could see the edges of her mouth on either side of her hand. "Papa sent with us an emergency beacon in case your relatives try something. Help is on the way, I only hope they get here before . . ."
Just then a shout was heard from the stairs, "Harry?!" He recognized the voice from before as belonging to Tonks. As a member of the Order, that meant that Dumbledore was here. "Harry? Are you okay? Dumbledore is on his way, and I'm coming up."
"Bugger," Harry swore under his breath. Just then Tonks appeared in the doorway with her wand drawn. She paused at Petunia's unconscious form before looking peering in the door. She immediately fired a stunner toward Fleur and Gabrielle, but Harry waved his arms and shields formed to protect them both. The result was two holes in the ceiling and some loose plaster. "Damn it, cease bloody fire Tonks! They're with me."
"Harry," Tonks answered warily, "No one else is supposed to be here but you. They're not supposed to be here. What was the Weasley's favorite face shape?"
That just served to make Harry even angrier as he ground out, "Oval face, green eyes, pig snout nose and green hair. And I don't rightly care what Albus Dumbledore says about me having friends here, he has no say over me during the summer."
"Actually my dear boy, I do. I'm your magical guardian," Dumbledore's voice was heard from behind Tonks. "And it is most dangerous to have any witch or wizard here, particularly these two. How do you know they're not followers of Voldemort?"
Harry just froze and looked at the aged man as if he grew a second head. Did he honestly expect that statement to float? "Are you daft sir? You must be if you think that will work. Sirius Black was my guardian, not you. And the will has yet to be read, so if /anything/ I'm in limbo legally. This is summer vacation, and therefore you are not in loco parentis to me now. My other "guardians" are all around here. At least out in the hallway. Personally, I don't know if Vernon is alive or not." 'Nor do I care,' he thought bitterly to himself.
'Keep him talking, Harry. Help is on the way,' Fleur's voice echoed in his head. He wondered how he could have ever not known who that was, given how well he knew her. He saw Tonks wave her wand toward Dudley, and a light ghost image flashed before it went out.
"The boy is dead Albus," she said sadly. "Oh Harry, why did you kill him?" she asked as she raised her wand toward her again. Suddenly the wand flew out of her hand and into Harry's. Quickly she drew another wand and the same thing happened again before she could get a bead on him.
"He tried to kill me, Tonks. See the knife there? He tried to do what the older tub of lard started," Harry responded as he threw the wands to the far corner. "And I would appreciate if you didn't point your wand at me again."
"Surely you are exaggerating Harry. Why would your cousin try to kill you?"
The two witches squeaked in outrage as Harry finally lost it. "You know DUMBLEDORE, I have had just about enough of you calling me a liar. Every time I say something bad about my "family,"" he shouted, using his fingers to form the quotation marks around the word family, "The first words out of your mouth are "surely you are exaggerating." Every. Single. Time. And yet, I can offer you pensieve evidence under veritaserum of every claim I have ever made against them. Not only that, but I can offer other, physical proof of my living arrangements for the first ten years of my life, just downstairs. I only got this room after I got my Hogwarts letter. And may I remind you yet again of your own words to me when you talked to me after the Department of Mysteries battle? "I knew I was sentencing you to ten hard years Harry." You bloody well knew what my life is like here. So stop calling me a liar Dumbledore. The fact of the matter is I woke up to Uncle Vernon grabbing me by the neck and choking me while slamming me into a wall. He hit both of these ladies here when they tried to physically get him to let go, and then I acted. I made him drop me and knocked him across the room. Dudley started yelling, pulled the switchblade, and charged me. I kicked him in the head and sent him into that wall. I'm not sure what exactly happened with Petunia, but I assume she fainted." He didn't look Dumbledore in the eyes while saying this, fully aware the man was a master legillmens, and he did not want the old man to know about what he could do.
"Self defense and defense of others then," Tonks said after a moment. She seemed genuine, so perhaps she was not so bad after all. But still Harry was very wary because of her Order membership.
"Be that as it may, Harry. We need to get you moved. The wards here have fallen and we are all in danger. I will have to ask that the Delacours return to their homes. It is not safe for you to be together," Dumbledore answered. He seemed relieved at the explanation, though he was obviously still very upset and looked panicky. He looked even worse when the sounds of cars coming to a halt right outside the house were heard, followed by the sounds of doors opening and closing. "Harry, we need to go now."
A pounding was heard on the front door followed by, "Open up in the name of the Queen!"
Gabrielle, who was about to refuse to go, seemed to think better of that and started to run toward the door. She noticed when Tonks reacted and dodged the incoming stunner. Still she did not stop as she ran past the auror, then managed to slip by the headmaster and head toward the stairs. Dumbledore raised his wand, only to find it removed from his hand and Tonks falling down after being shoved by Harry. "You will not lay a hand on her, sir. And they are not going anywhere. Neither am I."
A squawking noise was heard as Gabrielle was lifted into the air. "Harry my boy, please see reason. I'm afraid its much to dangerous for you to be here. Please go to headquarters and I will take care of this."
"Non!" Fleur shouted. "We are French citizenz... ve are been' held against our wills! Help!" she called out loudly out the open windows.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?" yelled Dumbledore, who finally seemed to be losing his cool. Suddenly the door downstairs was broken open and several Scotland Yard officials, along with several other men, stormed into the house. One jumped up and grabbed Gabrielle in an attempt to get her down.
Harry wished it would work and suddenly she and the man were floating down to the ground. He looked at the Headmaster and said, "There are two people up here holding us against our will." He didn't know why he said it, but he trusted Fleur and Gabrielle, and if they were not concerned about the secrecy statutes at this point, then neither was he.
He saw two men run part way up the stairs until they were three fourth's of the way up, at which point they drew their guns and pointed it at both of them. "Drop any wands you are carrying and put your hands up. We are Her Majesty's MI5, and you are hereby ordered to comply in the name of the Queen!"
Dumbledore looked really angry at this point, though he still sounded cool and in control, "You have no jurisdiction here, this is a Wizarding matter. I'm afraid I'll have to disarm and obliviate you before I take my charge out of here."
"I would not try, Monsieur Dumbledore, if I were you," a man said from the door. As the man started to walk up stairs Harry recognized this was Monsieur Delacour. Finally it appeared as if he would get some answers. "They are licensed to know about the Wizarding World by the Queen of England. Also right behind me are French Aurors. You are currently holding one fully French and one joint-French citizen against their wills. You will let them go."
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Jean-Claude, but its all for the Greater Good." As soon as Dumbledore said that Harry felt a tingle in the back of his head and time seemed to slow once again. The next moment Fawkes flashed into life as Dumbledore summoned his wand. The moment it reached the old man's hand he aimed it at Harry, and a red light flew out. Harry waived his hand and a shield formed in front of him, sending the red beam right back into Dumbledore, stunning him. Fawkes, who was grabbing onto Dumbledore, flashed out taking the old man with him. Unfortunately for him, Harry had managed to stay out of the old man's grasp and so the man disappeared alone. Time resumed its normal flow with Tonks raising her hands high above her head.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Harry asked, trying not to sound whiny while doing so.
"When we get to the safe house Harry. There's a lot you do not know and need to, immediately. First is there anyone hurt up there?"
"Yes sir, my uncle and my cousin are dead," he said resignedly, ready to be hauled away.
(1)=Previous text to beginning of Vernon's POV is directly from the Surprise at Privet Drive challenge by Wimvincken