A/N: Bah, it's taken me long enough. I know. But on the plus side, I finally found a beta :3
The soft touch to his shoulder made him jump, sending the still open book on his lap tumbling to the floor.
"Whazzit?" he slurred, looking around clumsily. He sat up and straightened his skewed glasses, running a quick hand through his hair.
Hermione chuckled, mussing his hair around as she came into focus in front of him. "Dinner," she grinned, straightening and holding out a hand to help him up.
"Already? How long was I asleep?" he yawned, getting up and stretching.
"Few hours. You actually missed dinner, but we've been keeping a plate warm for you; we figured you could use a nap," she said quickly, looping her arm through his as they exited the library.
"Yeah, I suppose," he sighed, knowing full well that he hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. The past few nights, actually. At least this time he hadn't woken up screaming.
"Fred and George are here," she squeezed his arm, knowing how much he enjoyed their visits. "So are Luna, Charlie, Ginny, McGonagall, and Professor Sprout."
Harry chuckled. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind you calling them Minerva or Pomona, Hermione," he said, nudging her in the ribs.
She blushed a little as she smiled. "It's just so weird, they were our teachers! And besides, I don't see them as much as you. You work far closer."
"Unfortunately," he grimaced, before he could help himself. He saw her bite her lip out of the corner of his eye. "No worries," he grinned again. "It is what it is, I'm fine."
She stayed silent, skipping a little down the stairs. "Honestly, this time" he teased, sticking out his tongue. He didn't want to spoil his good mood any more than anyone else did. She scrunched her nose and pretended to be cross, before dissolving into a smile again.
Harry could already hear the babble of numerous, boisterous voices from the kitchen as they reached the platform one floor above. Harry gave Hermione's arm a squeeze, and smiled back as she sent a wide grin his way. He winked once at her before they entered the kitchen.
"Oi! Mate, you takin' my girl? I know she's cute n'all, but—" Ron was cut off by a hiccup, furrowing his brow as George clapped him on the back.
"Already into the Butterbeer, eh?" Harry laughed, leaving Hermione as she went to sit between Luna and Ginny, grabbing the half empty bottle from Ron's hand and draining it as he sat down between Ron and Fred.
"Harry!" The twins chorused loudly, Fred knocking him upside the head and messing up his hair. "How are ya?" he practically yelled in his ear, as he slung an arm lazily around Harry's shoulders.
Harry laughed, scrunching his face and leaning away from the noisy red head. "I think I need more," he said, shaking the now empty bottle.
"Got it!" Ron piped up, looking around suddenly. "Now, where's my...aha!" he hiccupped, pulling his wand from underneath his thigh. "Accio, Butterbeer!" he waved his wand lazily, causing a shower of black sparks to scorch the table in front of him.
"Woah, woah" Harry pushed his wand down, "Put that back, I'll just go grab one," he said, giving Hermione a look. She nodded, and took the wand from Ron, who was still looking at the burnt wood in front of him as if he couldn't determine how it had gotten there. Shrugging, he grabbed George around the shoulders and started to sing, swaying in his chair.
Harry found a plate of steak and potatoes on the kitchen counter, and took a bite as he looked for another butterbeer.
"Merlin," he muttered, rummaging through the cabinet. "Half the stock is already gone and they haven't even been here a day."
"Good thing you've got galleons stockpiled, then, eh?"
"Charlie!" Harry said, whirling around. He had walked right past the man who had been standing in the doorway, in his rush to grab some food and drink. He walked over and grabbed the outstretched hand, pulling the older man into a hug. "How have you been?"
"Oh, you know. Few burns, couple scratches. The usual," he joked. "You?"
"Same old. Order meetings, sulking, couple of midnight strolls through the halls, although they've lost their appeal without Filch skulking around. No danger," he laughed lightly, turning back to his plate to grab another bite.
"And don't forget Mrs. Norris," Charlie's smile turned sour for a second.
"Or Snape," Harry said around another mouthful of potatoes.
"Ahh, I kind of miss the old bat," Charlie's mouth twisted into a half smile as he fought back a chuckle.
"Tell him that when he shows up for the meeting. I dare you."
The two men fell into laughter as Harry took a few last bites of his dinner, before taking a shot of Firewhiskey and grabbing another round of butterbeers for the table.
" 'ARRRYYYYY!" The three red heads chorused, Fred hanging on to a somewhat nervous-looking Neville as Harry and Charlie walked back in.
"I think I'm off to bed," Hermione said, glancing at Luna and Ginny, who both nodded fervently. "You boys have fun."
"Oh, we will, 'Mione, don' chu worry bou' that!" Ron sloshed his butterbeer around as he waved his arm around for emphasis.
"Right. Well, see you in the morning then," she laughed, leaving the kitchen to the boys.
"Who's up for some Gobstones?" George rallied them up, taking a set out of his pockets.
"Finally get down that Undetectable Expansion, then?" Charlie asked, pulling on George's pocket as he tried to see in it.
"Bugger off, you dick," George snapped, swatting his hand away. "These are from the store,"
"Fuck," Harry breathed, taking another sip of butterbeer, "I'm not sure I'm yet drunk enough for that,"
"Well, then hurry it up, will ya?" Fred asked, clapping him on the back of the head and causing him to choke on his drink.
Charlie laughed, pushing Fred into the next chair over as he took the seat next to Harry. "Just let him try to knock me," Charlie murmured in Harry's direction.
Harry laughed, draining his beer.
"One more, mate," Ron swayed as he placed another bottle in front of Harry. "Then you'll be up here with the big boys," he grinned.
"Hope you don't mean yourself," George muttered.
"Oi!" Ron yelled, indignant, as hoots rang out around the table. "Neville ain't got a beer!" he sounded shocked, all insults already forgotten.
"Must I?" Neville whined, looking at the four of them hesitantly.
"Yes," Fred said matter-of-factly, placing a bottle in front of him.
"Now, drink up Nevvy-poo," George blew kisses in the other man's direction.
"Yeah," Neville sighed, rolling his eyes. "This would be easier drunk, wouldn't it?"
They all laughed again as Neville took a swig.
They played four rounds of Gobstones, each ending up covered in the slimy violet substance the twins decided to use in the set. Harry was rather grateful they wouldn't disclose exactly what it was. The game ended, however, when Ron started flicking the pieces at George, who tackled him to the ground. The other three watched on, doubled over with laughter, not bothering to pry the brothers off each other.
"They're too drunk to hurt each other anyway" Charlie had managed to explain between laughs.
They decided to call it a night when Neville took off his pants and crawled on top of the table, singing The Weird Sisters. Charlie picked up a passed out Ron, who was muttering about kittens in his sleep, and they all retired upstairs.
Harry said goodnight on the platform, watching as they all made their way further upstairs, and grinning to himself. He hadn't gotten pissed like that in a while. Neither had he had that much fun in a while.
He stumbled into his room, holding on to the doorframe for support. "Holy hell," he muttered, taking off his clothes and leaving them scattered around the room.
He fell into his bed, not even managing to take his glasses off before he rolled over and fell asleep.
When he awoke the next morning, it was with a groan and a massive hangover.
"Merlin," he muttered, as he sat up, head pounding. He groped around for his glasses, finding them underneath one of his pillows, but miraculously in one piece. As he fit them onto his head, he groaned again. "Fuck," he murmured, stumbling out of bed and nearly tripping and falling on the curtains in his haste to close them. "Bloody bright."
He looked around his room, trying to fight through the throbbing in his head. His clothes were still sitting where they had fallen the night before, and he supposed his wand was still in the back pocket of the pants he had worn the night before. Rubbing his eyes, he stumbled over to his shorts, bending over to find the right pocket. He fell to his knees, unable to find it.
Just then his door banged loudly against the frame, and two very energetic voices met his ears as he flinched.
"Harry's up!"
"Told you I heard him!"
"How are ya, Harry?"
"Slept in late, didn't you?"
"Well, he needs his beauty sleep now, doesn't he?"
Harry held his head in his hands, "Ung," he managed to groan between his fingers. "Go away."
"Now, that's no way to speak to your favorite brothers, Harry."
"No way at all."
"Fred, George, leave him be," a third voice entered. "Go bug Ron; he just woke up, too. Hell of a lot worse shape as well."
"Oooh, Ickle Ronniekins!"
"Roooonnnn!" They bellowed, making their way upstairs again.
"I suppose I should've helped them out last," Charlie chuckled, hooking an arm under Harry's and helping him to his feet. "You'd think I'd know better by now," he said, helping him to the bed and handed him a phial "Hangover remedy. Bloody strong one, too. Took it from Snape's stores last time I was up at the school."
"Sure it's not poisoned, then?" Harry managed to joke, taking it gratefully from the red head.
"I knew there was a reason I gave it to the twins first," Charlie muttered, taking the phial back from Harry and handing him another. "Pepper-Up," he explained, "We let you sleep; it's late. There are more people here already, and only more are going to show up next couple of days. Don't want you all bleary-eyed and groggy,"
"Thanks, Charlie," Harry sighed, feeling a thousand percent better already. "Next time, skip the Pepper-Up on Fred and George,"
"Oh, I did," he laughed, "I remember that much from living at home. Anyway, get dressed; Luna and Hermione saved some breakfast for you guys downstairs. I guess I should go save Ron, if they haven't murdered each other by now. Oh, and here you go," he said, handing Harry his wand. "Fell out of your pocket last night when you had to wrestle Neville off the table. Figured I'd hold on to it 'til morning."
"Thanks," Harry nodded, chuckling, as Charlie left. He got up, stretched, and found a new pair of pants to wear. He pulled the picture out of his old pair, grateful that hadn't fallen out last night as well. He stuck the picture, along with his wand, in his back pocket, pulled on a Chudley Cannons T-shirt Ron had given him, and made his way downstairs.
He meandered down toward the kitchen, following the scent of bacon and pancakes. He found Hermione discussing Merlin knew what with Lupin, while Ginny and Luna soothed Neville now that he could remember what exactly had transpired the night before.
"Spin around like a crazy elf, dancing by himself..." Harry crooned in Neville's ear, throwing Ginny a wink as Neville went red and dropped his head on to his arms. She rolled her eyes, stifling her laughter behind her free hand.
"There, there. I'm sure you sounded wonderful, Nev," she said soothingly, rubbing his back softly.
Harry chortled as he took a spot next to Lupin and helped himself to a plate of bacon, pancakes, and eggs. He reached for the kettle of tea in the middle of the table as Lupin turned to face him.
"Ah, Harry, you look well," he said.
Harry laughed, "Yeah, you can thank Charlie for that."
Lupin smiled, "He is rather experienced in these matters," he took a sip. "Or so I've heard," he raised an eyebrow, eliciting laughs from both Harry and Hermione.
"Gerrof!"
A gasp. "Ickle Ronniekins! How dare you!"
"We just want to tell you how beautiful your eyes look in the morning!"
"Guys, give it a rest," Charlie sighed, rolling his eyes as the four younger Weasley boys came around the corner.
Ron threw himself into a chair next to Harry, grumbling as he stacked a plate high with food. "Morning," Harry smiled, trying to reign in his laughter.
"Oh, bugger off" Ron muttered, "All of you."
Charlie laughed, taking a seat next to his youngest brother, to spare him from sitting next to Fred or George, Harry assumed.
They all settled in to breakfast, and soon the house had a rhythm to it. Harry liked this part of the Order meetings. Having everyone in one place, joking and laughing. He liked seeing everyone before it got serious, before they started talking about death and destruction.
They spent the day lounging, going down to the field mid-afternoon to play a round of Quidditch, and coming back muddy and quarreling.
Throughout the day Molly and Arthur trickled in, as well as Percy, Arabella Figg, Flitwick, Bill Weasley and Fleur, Cho Chang, and Slughorn. More would undoubtedly show up the next day, but most would come just to attend the order meeting.
That night, Fleur gathered Luna, Ginny, and Hermione to make dinner, arguing that anything the men made would be inedible anyway. Rolling her eyes, Ginny got up from her place next to Harry on the couch and followed Hermione into the kitchen.
While the girls worked in the kitchen, Neville, Harry and the Weasley boys set up a game of Exploding Snap, aiming insults at each other at every point possible. Halfway through the game, Luna drifted in, taking a seat next to Neville.
"She kicked me out," she said, smiling serenely and giving him a peck on the cheek. This caused a cacophony of laughter from everyone else.
Fred and George clapped Bill on the back and ruffled his hair. "Have fun with her, mate."
Bill ignored them, "Come on, back to the game," he sighed, picking his cards back up again.
They had just finished playing when Fleur bustled in, apron covered in flour.
"Dinner iz served," she announced, wiping her brow and smearing more flour across her pale skin. Bill got up, chuckling, and wiped it off.
"Thank you, dear," he kissed her forehead, eliciting kissing noises from Fred and George, and gagging from Ron.
Bill gave them the middle finger behind his back as he guided Fleur back toward the kitchen so that they all could eat.
Dinner was a loud affair, with all twenty-three of them laughing and talking over each other. The girls had made two roast chickens, salads, and some sort of vegetable soup with whatever was leftover in the kitchen, Harry presumed. It was delicious.
"Now, Harry, dear, how have you been? I've barely seen you in months!" Mrs. Weasley called from her spot across the table.
"Fine, Mrs. Weasley. Just the usual, reading and hanging out around here, you know," he smiled politely, not really wanting to bring up his time spent in the house.
"Yeah, I know," George said around a mouthful of soup, "Could use some sun, couldn't ya."
"George," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded, tutting.
Harry laughed, catching Cho's eye from farther down the table. She winked at him once before going back to her talk with Luna and Neville.
"Yeah?" Charlie asked slyly, elbowing him in the ribs and raising an eyebrow suggestively.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Not quite," he chuckled, "She's... a she," he muttered, letting loose a bout of laughter as the redhead snorted.
"Touché, mate. Touché."
Dinner passed slowly, something Harry was grateful for. He didn't want to give up any of his time visiting with his friends, the only family he had ever known.
After everyone had finished, Mrs. Weasley bustled around charming all the plates and food into the kitchen, refusing anyone that wanted to help, and pinning an icy stare on those who tried too hard. "You go enjoy yourselves, leave this to me. I'll have it done in a pinch."
Harry wasn't going to argue with that, so he followed the rest of the group into the living room, and took a spot on the fireplace next to Ron as a few people settled in to chairs around the room. Most of the guests had stayed in the dining room, still chatting.
Crookshanks wound through the crowd to rub against Harry's knee, purring. "Who's a good boy?" he muttered, petting the top of the cat's head and down his back as he moved on to find Hermione.
Ron shook his head as Crookshanks stalked past, flicking his tail. "How'd I get stuck with that damn cat?"
Harry chuckled, leaning back on the mantle and relaxing as he closed his eyes. He sighed contentedly, happy to just sit there and take in the sounds of laughter and quiet talk bubbling from the room around him.
A sudden bang from the front room made him jump and his hand twitched toward his wand. He heard the portrait of Mrs. Black start wailing as the curtains flew open in front of her. "Filthy mudbloods, all of you! In my house! The house of Black..." Harry ignored her as heavy footsteps sounded up the hallway. Someone would take care of her afterwards.
"Who the hell..." Ron muttered, leaning forward to try and get a better look.
In a flurry of black robes, Harry found himself pulled up and shoved against the nearest wall, knocking the wind out of him. A strong arm was laid across his chest, restraining him. He gasped for breath as he tried to gain his bearings and look up into the face of the person in front of him.
The protruding hooked nose was enough to give him away. Harry winced as the round obsidian eyes came into focus before him, the tips of Snape's hair tickling his collarbone he was being held so close. He hadn't even been aware that Snape could move that fast.
"Snape? What the bloody—" Harry tilted his head as far away from the other man as he could manage, closing his eyes. This was probably the worst situation he'd ever been in, and he had no idea what he'd done t bring it on.
Snape took his hand that wasn't balled up in the front of Harry's shirt and grabbed the younger man by the chin, forcibly moving Harry's head back to face him.
"How dare you..." he growled, "You insolent, foolish child! Pray tell, just what have you done this time?"
"Snape, geroff me!" Harry squirmed, but to no avail. The man was deceptively strong.
"Not until you tell me. What. You've. Done!" he shouted the last three words, making Harry wince and struggle harder. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Snape quite this upset before. Sure, the man was quick to anger, but he could usually remain cool and sinister. Harry wasn't entirely sure which he preferred, but right at the moment he would do anything to get the man off him. Being this close to Snape was not something he ever wished to accomplish.
"I've no idea what you're talking about!" he shouted back, "Do you fancy getting off of me though?" he bit out, struggling yet again to get out from beneath the man's vice like grip.
Snape took a step back, not as far as he would like, but Harry was thankful for it anyway.
"What have you done? I have never seen him like this," Snape seemed to shutter before rallying again and inching closer to Harry. "What did you do?" he asked again, spitting it at the boy.
"Nothing, Snape. I haven't' done anything! What are you on about?"
"Nothing, ha, as if I would believe that. If it weren't for you," he paused. "You can't help yourself, can you Potter? Was this another cry for attention, then? Bored and lonely in your dead godfather's house, needing some company? You knew the Order would rush right up and save you, is that it? Such a child, I cannot believe Albus thinks you can do it, any of it," he trailed off, breathing heavily.
"I'm not a child!" Harry fumed indignantly.
"Stalking around the castle, crying for attention at every turn? You are nothing but a child, Potter. And a spoiled one at that. If I were your father—"
"I'd have offed myself long ago if that were the case," Harry muttered.
Snape glared at him. "Just like your father," his voice was dangerously low now. "Causing trouble. Making messes other people have to clean up, no respect!"
"Maybe not for you! You've had it out for me since day one!"
"Because I was the only one not blinded by your name, boy. I saw you for what you were. Nothing better than a reincarnation of those dodgy 'Marauders' " he snorted, shaking his head. "And now you've done it again."
"Done what?" Harry roared. "What have I done, Snape, do enlighten me because I haven't the slightest idea."
"Fucked it up, Potter. You get in the way, and fuck it up for the rest of us," he yelled. "If you knew what you had caused, you would crawl in your bedroom and never come out again. But Potter will never know. He'll sit in his little safe house and never see reality. Never deal with what those of us in the real world have to deal with."
"You still haven't told me what I've done," Harry growled, balling his fists at his sides.
"Because I don't know. Somehow he's seen you. You know too much, because you can't help but snoop where you're not supposed to be," Snape hissed.
"I haven't done anything," Harry repeated slowly, as if Snape was having trouble hearing him.
"Potter-" he barked, raising a fist.
A woman gasped over his shoulder and he froze, fist in midair, ready to strike. He looked at Harry, at the fresh look of fear in his green eyes, and let his sight wander to his upraised hand. He dropped his hand and looked around, as if noticing the small crowd of Order members for the first time.
He straightened, looking once more at Harry and growled slightly under his breath, turned swiftly on the spot, and strode from the room.
He left nothing but silence in the wake of his swishing black cloak.
Nobody moved, everyone staring at Harry, who was breathing heavily, fists still balled at his sides.
He clenched his jaw and pushed past everyone, trying to get to the hallway.
"Mate," Ron said quietly, grabbing him by the shoulder.
Harry turned, glaring icily at his friend and brushing off the hand grabbing his shoulder before making his way to the staircase.
As he got to the first platform, he heard the first quiet mutterings. He didn't care.
He went straight to his bedroom.