DISCLAIMER/WARNINGS: Well, you should know the drill by now. I see no need in continually
stating the things we do and do not own. if you really MUST see them again, like if you have your heart set on it, please see chapter 1.
TO THE GUEST THAT POSTED THIS- - "Where are all the comments?! This is so good, I like the direction in which you've taken it already! I'm glad Harry's seen behind the Ministry's machinations early. Now he can wise up, actually realise his badass potential and take on the world! Lol, you can ignore that last part if you want."-- I'd like to thank you for commenting. and you have no idea how much badassery is going to happen with Mr. Potter. now just between you and we, *leans in and whispers* this chapter is dedicated to you for being the first reviewer.
Chapter 4
Harry's first impression of 'Headquarters' was that hiding it between two Muggle Houses was idiotic.
It was dark, dreary and who the hell lived here?
Remus led him inside.
The first thing that Harry noticed was he was tackled by a large black dog and licked to death.
"Gerroff." He said shoving the dog off.
The dog shimmered and turned into Sirius who was pouting.
"Come on! I have seen you in months! Let me be a little happy you're here."
"Oh I'm happy you all finally saw reason to get me out of that hell hole and I'm grateful to be anywhere but the Dursleys, the pretentious rotten gits. I'm furious you ad me spied on by a useless moron who let me be attacked by Dementors. I'm on better terms with my cousin, thank Merlin I have an ally in that terrible place now. But I blame you adults for letting me be in such a situation. You have me ostracised as if I did something wrong. Ordering me to be a good boy and stay out of trouble. Yet one of your number let me get in a fix like this. I'm suspended and its not fair. I'm mature enough to know life isn't fair if it were I'd be a normal boy with parents but no I'm the thrice damned Boy Who Effing Lived."
"Feel better?" Sirius asked warily.
Harry nodded. "For the moment. Now if you'll show me where I'm sleeping I'll toss my stuff."
"You're sleeping with me." Ron interrupted.
"The hell I am." Harry snorted. "I want my own room. If I'm going to stay somewhere I want some space that's mine. Not a dormitory I share with other boys or a room full of unwanted junk that should have been put in the bin."
Sirius chuckled, "That's fine. I'll put you in my old room and Ron can move elsewhere."
Harry followed Sirius up a steep staircase framed by walls with peeling paper and mounted house elf heads.
He was led into a room that was decorated in Gryffindor colours and covered with posters of still motorcycles and Muggle women in skimpy bikinis.
Harry was sick at the sight of them. "No thank you. Ron can kip in here and I'll find new accommodations."
He walked across the hall and opened a door to find green and silver, the four-poster had green velvet curtains and the wood was black. Carved into it were trees and dragons.
"I'll take this."
There were no practically naked women. There were some tasteful tapestries but no posters or paintings.
"What? Why do you want Reg's room?" Sirius stammered.
"Well I think the Gryffindor thing in the other is overdone and two I don't like the look of those posters. Besides the bed is cool and it looks comfortable. Who is 'Reg'?"
Sirius sighed, "My brother Regulus, he was a year behind me and a Slytherin. He was the family's 'good boy' because he was a Slytherin and did everything he was supposed to. He even became a death eater the summer before his would be seventh year. Died though. It was in the paper. No cause of death was given. Father died soon after. He didn't take the news well. For an absentee father ruled by my mother, he died over that? I never understood him."
"Well I like this room and I'll sleep here." Harry said stubbornly as he pulled his trunk out, "Can't you unshrink this?"
"No. The wards are created to keep the ministry from sticking their nose into Black business. Even the Trace is null and void here. You can use all the magic you want and the Ministry can go fuck themselves."
"Sirius! Language. Hello Harry."
Mrs. Weasley….
She hadn't sent him anything for his birthday either. No cakes, no fudge, no food... not even one of those idiotic sweaters she was so fond of forcing on her brood and so he was bit miffed with her too.
"Hi." Harry ignored her mostly, "Finite incantatem."
"Aren't you in enough trouble for using magic?" Molly snipped.
"I have permission. The Ministry can go hang themselves. I had no choice but to do magic. I really don't care what they have to say. They aren't getting my wand and if they expel me I'm never returning to the Dursleys. I hate them, they hate me."
"Now Harry I know they're Muggles so they are a bit different and not like us."
"Not like us? Hardly, they hate magic. They hate me and I don't much care for them either. They told me my parents died in a car accident and my father was a unemployed drunk. The made me sleep in a cupboard and work like a house elf. My window had bars on it again. There is a cat flap in my door and I'm locked in my room when I'm not supposed to be cleaning. So pardon me if I wish my aunt would accidentally burn down her house someday while cooking and my uncle gets killed by one those giant drills his company makes." Harry said with his back to them.
"Harry such venom it's just not like you. I thought you were a sweet boy…" Molly said with a sad tone.
"Sweet? Me? No just ask Snape. I'm a spoilt arrogant little brat who can't be bothered to apply himself. My aunt would gladly tell you I'm a worthless little freak who will never amount to anything. My uncle said the Hogwarts is St. Brutus' School for Incurable Criminal Boys and I'll end up in trouble with the law some day. His sister thinks I'm not being punished enough and wants to have the school informed to beat me more because its obviously not having the proper affect."
"Harry I'm sure your relatives wouldn't say anything like that."
"Oh really? Ask your husband what sort of people he met when he blew out their electric fire last summer? They still aren't happy and had to buy a new one last winter because it never worked right after 'our lot' meddled with it. If the Ministry bothered to deflate my aunt and Obliviate her why didn't they do the same to the rest of my Muggle family?" Harry snapped exasperated as he went to put his clean clothes in the wardrobe to find them full. He set his own clothes down and held up the shirt to find it fit roughly.
"Well I assume that's because it was an accident so they didn't bother. Besides it was accidental magic." Molly said shortly.
"Well my first warning wasn't even my fault! It was Dobby's. He levitated the crystal bowl and then dropped it when I wouldn't promise not to return to Hogwarts. The punishment for that was to be locked in my room, to have bars put in my window and to have Hedwig padlocked in her cage. If Ron and the twins hadn't borrowed your precious flying car I'd still be locked in there."
"Maybe Percy is right and you do try to get attention on purpose."
"People like you are reasons I don't trust or like adults." Harry muttered. "Can I have these? I know they are old but they are great sight better then mine. I'll give the rest of my Muggle clothes to Dobby maybe he can make a quilt for something with the junk."
Sirius shrugged, "If you want Reg's clothes I don't care. No one else wants them."
Harry glared at Molly, " Really? I lied and said Voldy was back, I killed Cedric, summoned Death Eaters with a Dark Mark I don't have and pretended to be Voldy. I cast the Cruciatus on one of his followers for disloyalty. I sabotaged the tournament; I was responsible for the death of both Crouches. Oh and I gave myself rope burns, cut myself with an invisible knife and I've been in touch with Ron's rat Scabbers."
"Really," Molly sniffed, "There is no reason to be like that."
"Hah!" Harry threw his 'clean' clothes in a pile then and dug out his pink Zippo and the cigarettes. He shoved them in pocket and stormed off.
"How rude! Walking off in the middle of a conversation!" Molly grumbled.
Harry turned and glared, "Only to keep myself from inflating you like I did Aunt Marge."
"Where are you going Harry?" Sirius called out.
"Somewhere in this house away from her!" Harry snarled stomping off.
Leaving Sirius and Molly to argue.
Harry found a dreary cupboard down the hall that was obviously a linen closet and banished a good patch of dust. He leaned against the window and lit a cigarette taking in drags. He was extremely grateful to Dudley for introducing him to smoking and for giving him his first pack.
Molly! What a bitch! Why in the world was she invited to the Third Task as his 'family' anyway? Why not Remus and Padfoot? He looked for them but they didn't come until after he ended up in the infirmary. Then Dumbledore chased them out with errands.
So he was a bit miffed with everyone.
He kept puffing away…
Then he was startled by a large popping noise.
Standing there was one of the Weasley twins.
"Harry? What are you doing here?"
"What you doing here?" Harry retorted still smoking.
"What's wrong?" the twin said sitting next to him.
"No offence but which are you?"
"George."
"Seriously?"
"You think I'd lie to our investor and secret partner?" George asked.
Harry shrugged, "I'm a bit out of trust at the moment."
"I heard Mum a bit out there. I'm not fond of her at all."
"Who is?" Harry drawled puffing away.
"Since when did you smoke?"
"Since a Dementor tried to kill me and my cousin." Harry shrugged.
"Wow. I never pegged you as a real delinquent. I mean sure you slipped out of Hogwarts using the map a few times when they kept you locked up thinking Sirius was out to get you. Batty the lot of them." George said companionably.
"I didn't here from you all summer either. So why you being so nice?"
"We were trying to buy a place and sneaking off to file paperwork to make our mail-order service a legal company. Sorry mate. Didn't mean to seem like we're ungrateful. I mean if it weren't for you we'd be sunk. Especially with that cheating git Bagman tricking us out of our life savings and paying us with Leprechaun gold so he bankrupted us. We were told it wasn't safe to send you owls so we saved our letters to give you when we saw you. Acio letters to Harry Potter."
Letters flew through the cupboard door.
George caught them and handed them over. "I figured since it was you were our investor we ought to account for how we spent the money even if you didn't want it. Our lawyer said it was a good idea. He insisted we make you one-third partner for legalities sake even if you didn't want it known. Besides I remembered how upset you were getting no letters in second year when they were sent so I wrote you a lot but I wasn't supposed to send them."
Harry found ten when he counted, "Really?'
"Well I figured you wouldn't want to be forgotten so with a stack of letters you'd know you were important to someone."
"Ron didn't even bother to send me a present and he only owled once." Harry grumbled between drags and skimming the letters.
"He's acting pompous. He's like a junior Percy."
"What's been happening?" Harry asked not looking up from his letters.
"Well Percy got promoted, the git. Mum's beside herself and Dad is furious with him."
"What do they have to do with each other?"
"Percy is junior undersecretary to the Minister and there is an Anti-Dumbledore campaign at the Ministry. Dumbledore's being accused of lying about Voldy being back to make trouble. They had a row the week after term ended. Dad and Percy screamed at each other almost came to blows. Mum cries when you mention Percy and dad destroys things. He might loose his job because he's friendly with Dumbledore. If we get the shop up and running maybe he can work for us. Rather Dad didn't work for a bunch of idiots like the Ministry anyway."
"Wow. Anything else?"
"Yeah the reason Ron's acting like a git is because he's a prefect. Some moron decided that's apparently a good idea. Have you see his marks? Are they crazy?"
Harry choked on his drag, "They did what?"
"McGonagall looked like someone threw a dungbomb when he announced it. They both came to 'congratulate us' before announcing that we'd be soon moved to Order Headquarters if they wished to retain their membership for our 'own protection.' Thank Merlin we took our Apparition exams at the end of April before this all went nuts. I can so see them denying us our apparition licenses until we swore some loyalty oath to the Ministry. Fat chance." George grumbled.
Harry snorted incredulously, "Ron's prefect? He can't even be bothered to do his own homework he always guilted Hermione into it. His marks last year have to be atrocious since she wasn't helping him by doing his work for him."
"Oh that's what he's been doing? I'll be sure to tell Fred that. He's been drooling over Hermione since she got here. He keeps saying she got hot. I just don't see it."
"Fred likes Hermione? I thought he was with Angelina." Harry frowned.
"Yeah right. He's born a playboy. Something like Uncle Fabian apparently or Sirius, I heard them swap stories." George shivered.
"Cold?"
"No a bit disgusted. I'm not interested in girls." George shrugged.
"What? You're a poof?" Harry asked banishing the cigarette butt.
"So? It's not like it's a crime or anything. Anymore then smoking is. So what if I like wizards? I don't really like witches much. Angelina would be alright if she stop trying to capture Fred. I wish he'd leave Hermione alone, she's a decent sort. Really didn't you think it odd I never attended the Yule Ball? I was holed up in my secret potions' lab all night. I didn't see any reason to make some girl think I liked them by invited them." George scowled.
"I didn't know it okay to like guys. I've been raised to think it's bad." Harry shrugged.
"You're not a freak, you're not a liar or a cheater. There is no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to like whoever you like. You're Harry Potter you can like whoever you want." George grinned. "Even if it's a Slytherin."
Harry was startled, "What?"
"Oh nothing."
The door was pulled open.
"Oh there you are. Dinner's ready. What is that horrid smell?"
Harry glared at the speaker.
It was Ginny.
"Hi Harry." She simpered and batted her eyelashes.
"What is wrong with you? You got something in your eye?" Harry frowned at her
She blinked at him, "No. Aren't you coming?"
"Did your mother cook?" he snarled.
The soon to be fourth year recoiled, "Yes?" she squeaked.
"Then I'm not hungry." Harry glared. "I'd rather starve in case she slips potions in my food to make me 'behave'. I don't trust her at all."
Ginny's eyes filled with tears, "Why are you so mean?"
"Because I'm sick of being treated like a child, a waste of space and a bad boy. I'll avoid your mother as long as we stay in the same house." Harry proceeded to light another cigarette.
Ginny started coughing and ran the door slamming behind her.
"Good riddance." Harry drawled.
"I know she's annoying but did you really have to take your anger out on her? Mum's trying to talk Sirius and Albus into having you two betrothed."
Harry snorted, "Betrothed? To her? Are you nuts? She's an annoying little girl who blushes and runs out of the room when I'm around. She just has a hero complex with me since I saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets."
"She likes you…" George frowned.
"So? She's only someone's little sister to me, an annoying one at that. Why do I care if she likes me?"
"I'm not fond of her either and she is a bit annoying." George admitted.
Harry noticed George eyeing his cigarette and passes him the box. "Help yourself."
Arguing out in the hall interrupted their quiet room.
"Hermione and the Ickly Prefect." George grumbled lighting the cigarette.
The door was thrown open.
"First you insult my mother and now my sister? What in the world is wrong with you?" Ron snapped.
"I wanted a little privacy. As for your mother she was being rude. I told her off. After that she expect me to come with my tail between my legs and apologize so I can eat? No way. I want nothing to do with her. I won't apologize either. It's not my fault your sister has some idiotic crush on me. I'm not in the mood for a lecture from a false friend like you. Don't put on airs 'cause some twit made you of all people a prefect."
"You're just jealous because I'm prefect and you're not." Ron tossed back.
"Why in the world would I want that thankless job? I'm no Percy." Harry snapped, "Besides I have no reason to want to enforce rules. Who would make someone like you
prefect? Hermione does your homework. If she's dumb enough to keep doing it after they make her Prefect I'll turn her into McGonagall myself."
"I've only been helping because we're friends."
"Ron takes advantage of you because he's lazy and won't to the work himself. He conned me into doing the same thing because we wasted time and couldn't do the work in time. I am sorry I did that. It was stupid and cheating. I did a lot of thought being trapped in that evil house with Mad Muggles."
"Harry!" Hermione chastised.
"Don't Harry me. I've got no patience for people who ignore me all summer. Don't tell me what to do. Ron even forgot my birthday and didn't bother to write once. You didn't even tell me your supposed 'best friend' that you were made a prefect."
"I was sworn to secrecy!" Ron snapped.
"So what?" Harry hissed, "I'm supposed to care? You left me to rot there with no letters and not even a present. Hermione put your name on hers. I'm not stupid."
"We were told it wasn't safe." Hermione protested.
"Really," Harry said still smoking, "I supposed to care? I nearly get killed by Dementors and my friends can't even be bothered to check on me?"
"You sent your patronus and said you were fine." Ron scoffed, "How did you do that? I thought that was an Order thing."
"I told it to tell Padfoot. It must have. Really a fifteen year old says 'Dementors have just attacked me but I'm fine', who wouldn't want to check on them? Oh wait I'm Harry Potter the crazy cheating mad brat. The great freak that lives to ruin peoples lives. The boy who got Cedric killed. Who helped bring Voldy back. The dreaded Heir of Slytherin." Harry said scathingly, "What's the next accusation? I'm truly insane? I'm lying? Oh maybe I've joined Voldy and become a Death Eater. That'd be new. I'm regular Dark Lord 'cause I can talk to snakes."
"Well," Hermione began in a shaking voice, "I think they are trying to make you look a bit mad. So they can keep saying You Know Who's gone."
"Really," Harry said dryly.
"Thanks to Skeeter's article about your scar, the Daily Prophet is painting you as a deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something. They've been slipping in snide comments about you. When they print a far-fetched story, they add something like, 'tale worthy of Harry Potter', or if there is a funny accident or anything it's, 'lets hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next. It's all tripe. Nothing in the Daily Prophet this morning about Dementors in Little Whinging or your suspension. It seems that they hushed it up. Probably waiting until you are officially expelled or something and then they can release some nasty article or something. I think they are trying to portray you as the Boy Who Cried Wolf or in this case 'Cried Voldemort'."
"Worshiped? Hah!" Harry snorted blowing smoke right into their faces. "The Wizarding World can go hang themselves. Voldy's back and I'm the mad one? Well see I save their asses this time. I'd rather have my parents then this ridiculous moniker and fame for some idiotic thing I don't remember."
"I know that Harry." Hermione said exasperated. "I had Fred fetch me books on Wizarding Law this morning. Remus had to go run off to Little Whinging yesterday and today. Molly wouldn't get them for me when I asked. She told m 'to not worry my pretty little head about it and to leave it to Dumbledore'. He can't even help Sirius and he's the Great and Powerful Oz when it comes to trials. He's the Chief Warlock and oversees all trials. He could demand a trial for Sirius but no. I'll trust him to get you off? No way. You really shouldn't be in trouble at all, if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you."
"You're an expert on Wizarding Law 'cause you read few books? Really Hermione listen to mum and leave it to the adults." Ron snorted
"I said I wouldn't. I probably know more then they do anyway! I've got an IQ of 300 and a photographic memory. I'm a walking library." Hermione tossed back.
"Then why reread Hogwarts, A History if you're so smart and what is an IQ?" Ron scoffed.
"I like rereading and an IQ is a Muggle measurement of something called an Intelligence Quotient. The closest person in the world is a woman named Marilyn and she's only 228. According to Muggles I'm the smartest person in the world so there."
"Well they aren't very bright are they? A bit dim I'm sure. I bet Dumbledore's smarter then you. Look at what he's done?"
"If he's so great and he can take out Dark Lords, why didn't he deal with Voldy? Let them fight it out like Muggle schoolyard bullies. I'm not involved. I'll let the adults make a mess of things while I sit back and laugh." Harry snorted puffing away on his cigarette.
"Why are you like this? And when did you take up smoking?" Hermione snapped.
"You have no right to tell me what to do, you're not my mother. I'm smoking because I want to. It's apparently not illegal in the Wizarding World. I started yesterday.
Dudley gave me one after I saved him from Dementors."
"I thought you disliked him." Hermione asked quietly very hurt by Harry's venom.
"He's alright. It's his parents who are evil. Even he dislikes him. I mean who wants a mum who runs around calling you baby nicknames like Diddly dinkums, Dudders or some other inane name. He doesn't like having his friends over cause its embarrassing. He's alright. He's trying to get down to a healthy weight. He even knocked his father on his fat arse for hitting me. Freaked them out when he said I saved him from Dementors. I was surprised the Horse-faced bint knew what they were. I wonder who 'that awful boy' was? Dad maybe?" Harry mused.
"I don't know. Maybe Remus or Sirius would. If you like I can be your legal representative. I can toss all sorts of laws to get you off if you like. I have to have your consent of course." Hermione assured him stammeringly.
"Why should I let you? Two sentence owls that weren't worth the ink they were written with? Normally I get more than that." Harry sneered.
"I'm sorry! I don't have an owl and we were pretty forbidden to write you. I have to wait until you write me and well when I got here I was informed you weren't going to be here for your birthday. I thought you'd be upset so I ordered some chocolate from Honeydukes and sent it anyway. I figured Ron who was bragging about being a Prefect wouldn't dare send you anything so I put both our names on it. I wanted you to know you weren't forgotten. I did write you." she shakingly handed over a journal. "I normally write my notes in these. All the parchment got to be a pain. So I scribbled letters and notes when I was alone. I kept it on me so no one would read it. I'm sorry I didn't write properly but here it is."
"You wrote him when we were told not to?" Ron gasped. "Are you trying to lose your prefect badge before you got it?"
Hermione snapped, "Of course not! I was being as good a friend as I could. I didn't agree with the adults. The twins are of age and your mum is refusing them entrance into the Order it's insane. They aren't kids."
George chuckled, "Don't let Fred hear you speaking our defence."
Hermione blushed. "Why?"
Harry and George exchanged glanced and burst out laughing.
There was a pop.
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Fred asked.
Harry and George snickered.
"Hermione said mum's nuts for not letting us join the Order."
Fred turned to her, "really? Aren't you a brilliant beautiful witch for saying such a kind thing."
Hermione coughed, "I only said the truth."
"Mum's not nuts for refusing them. They are still students and out to focus on school. How many OWLS do you have between you? Seven?"
George sighed, "Wrong! I passed all my OWLS with Outstandings and Exceeds Expectations. I just had a fake results paper ready for her to read that said I only achieved Charms, Defence and Herbology to annoy her. I made sure I didn't achieve twelves Outstanding so I wouldn't be in the paper. Didn't you think it was funny I was still in Snape's NEWT Potions class? Really with all the products we make you think I wouldn't be exceptionally keen a Charms, Transfiguration and Potions? I make 'em. Fred sells them. Sometimes he comes up with Ideas but I'm the one who has to make it work. Merlin you are oblivious. Rotten git."
"Don't talk to me like that I'm a prefect." Ron sniffed. "I don't believe you."
George sighed and pulled out a many times folded piece of parchment. "George Caius Weasley Ordinary Wizarding Levels: Charms- Outstanding. Defence Against the Dark Arts- Outstanding. Transfiguration- Outstanding. History of Magic- Exceeds Expectations. Care of Magical Creatures- Exceeds Expectations. Potions- Outstanding. Ancient Runes- Exceeds Expectations. Herbology- Exceeds Expectations. I only really apply myself to classes I like. I don't like to rub my marks in people's faces. I'm no Percy but I did take Alchemy, it's pretty interesting but only available to sixth and seventh years. I dropped Care of Magical Creatures to take it..I thought Hagrid would be a cool teacher but the class is a joke I learned more from the library or from Charlie. He had the highest marks on a Care of Magical Creature NEWT since Newt Scamander himself and that was before they re-did the exam."
"What about you Fred?" Hermione asked looking very interested..
"Same roughly except I didn't take Ancient Runes." Fred shrugged. "I passed all my OWLs. However I did not achieve an Outstanding in Potions. I choose to achieve an Exceeds Expectations knowing Snape wouldn't let me near his NEWT potions class with that. I had an Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Defence and Charms. I choose to have Exceeds Expectations in everything else."
"You're lying." Ron glared.
"No. you're just being obtuse. If we showed mum those marks we'd never hear the end of it. you'll never tell her. Obliviate." Fred said pointing his wand at Ron, "You have no memory of being told our OWLS. You are going to go tell mum that we're not hungry and we're not coming down."
Ron looked a bit glassy eyed as he made his way woodenly out of the room.
"So if we're not eating with them what are we doing?" Hermione frowned.
Fred transfigured the empty shelves into a set of chairs and a table. "Harry if you would be so kind as to ask Dobby to bring us something we can eat privately."
Harry called for Dobby who was only too pleased to bring them food despite it being summertime.
Harry rewarded him with the news that there was a pile of clothes in his room here for him on the floor if he wanted them.
The house elf was overjoyed and left after delivering some very yummy Hogwarts food that put Molly Weasley's to shame.
CHAPTER END NOTES. yes, I think I'll start doing these now...
Well, there's the end of another chapter. seems like things are starting to heat up a bit. I for on can't wait to see how that goes.
however, what do the readers think? Me, Myself, and I would like to know. so please leave me a thought or two.
