Hey there,
here is chapter number 4.
Have fun!
Privet Drive, July 1996
Today is Harry's birthday. Against his tradition, he does not stay up to celebrate at midnight but is awakened at 7 a.m. by owls delivering his presents, birthday cards and a huge cake. Ron sends him a book about the history of the Cannons and from Hermione he gets a book about Occlumency. Ouch. Ginny sends him a photo of Harry, her, Ron and Hermione in the common room and Chocolate Frogs. Remus, Sirius and Tonks send him an extensive collection of dueling spells.
"Harry?"
Where does that voice come from? It sounds again and now Harry is sure it comes from his trunk. Of course, the mirror! He picks it out of his trunk and sees Sirius' face.
"Happy birthday!"
"Thank you, Sirius. How are you?"
"Better, thanks. I am still using a floatchair and have to take a cup full of Skelegrow and other vile potions every day, but I am getting better. Listen, I am sorry about what I said at the Department of Mysteries. I was so scared that I might loose you, that I did not really think about the things I said. I am really sorry."
"It's okay Sirius, I understand. I should not have rushed into danger without thinking and checking properly. It only led to people getting hurt.", Harry answers with a quiet voice and doesn't look at Sirius.
"It's over and done, Harry."
"How is Tonks by the way?"
"Good, she was at St. Mungo's for the night but now she is as fit as ever."
"Good." It really looked bad the night at the ministry and Harry is glad Tonks was not permanently harmed.
"Now, what have you planned for your birthday?"
Taking Michael to a fair in Scarborough. Not that Harry could tell him that.
"Oh. Nothing really. Just relaxing, eating cake and maybe a nap in the sun. I'll see."
"I am sorry you can't come here, Harry. Dumbledore says with the Death Eaters hunting muggles, your relative need the strongest protection possible. So the wards have to be recharged more than the last years, but the process is far slower than in the years prior. He has the theory that it is due to the Order's threat against your relatives that puts a strain on your relationship with your aunt. I hate that there is nothing I can do."
"Don't worry, Sirius. So far they ignored me, but I have food as much as I want."
"That is still not the best possible solution."
"No, but it is manageable. I don't like my relatives, but I don't want to see them hurt either."
"Okay, Harry. As far as I know it is planned to fetch you on August 31th early in the morning, so you can spend one day here and then catch the Express with the others. Enjoy your day. Bye."
"Bye, Sirius."
It is nice to have contact to Sirius again, but Harry can't shake off the feeling that their relationship will never be as natural and trusting as it was before the Department of Mysteries and the fire call when Sirius criticized that Harry was not much like James.
So there is a whole month with the Dursleys left. So far, was the best summer in his life, despite seeing the Durleys. The Elves, practicing magic, homework and especially Michael distracted him good so far, Harry muses while eating cake for breakfast. The rest of it he sends to his flat with Tippy.
At 5 p.m. Harry picks up Michael and takes him to Scarborough Fair where they take rides and eat Crêpes. Michael is facinated by cotton candy. Although there is something similar in the magical world it is a bit different and he is surprised that muggle can produce such a thing. There is even a music festival. It is a wonderful date and again Harry invites him into his flat. This time they feed each other the cake, most of it is smeared across their faces and licked away.
Harry awakes the next morning, relaxed like he never was before. He cuddles against Michael but it is already a hot summer day so he moves away after a few minutes and stretches.
"Good morning, sleepy.", Michael chuckles next to him.
"Hmmm. Good morning.", Harry yawns and opens his eyes. He sits up in bed and looks around surprised. "How did a Hurricane come into this room?"
Everything besides the bed looks broken and torn, the bed sheets and the curtains are only rags, the lamps besides the bed are broken beyond repair and the bedside tables lie on the floor without their legs.
Michael laughs. "A hurricane! That's kind of what happened." Seeing Harry's skeptical look he explains "You lost control of your magic. It was absolutely fantastic, so wild, untamed and strong, I can hardly describe it. Everything vibrated and flew and broke. I thought it was only a story that this could happen, I never experienced it before. I am kind of honored to witness this."
"Huh? Will I always destroy a bedroom when I have sex in the future?"
"I don't think so. You will learn control, but I am not looking forward to that. It was just so hot and I see it as a compliment for my abilities, too.", Michael answers cheekily.
"Do you want to test that theory? We could see if I destroy the bathroom, too...", Harry asks with a flirtatious smile.
Michael eagerly nods.
Privet Drive, the same day
Hours later, Harry is back in Surrey. Never before was he gone that long and he is very pleased with himself that the light orb lasted this long, it must have been definitely more than 12 hours. He can see it is already quite dim, but that does not matter. Harry goes into the backyard and lies on the lawn in the sun. He is still very relaxed, happy and sleepy. Sure, it was a bit early to jump into bed with Michael after knowing him for about a month, but it feels so good. With Michael he can be a different person, with normal teenage problems and desires. It's like a holiday from his usual emotions, too and very necessary after the depressing last year at Hogwarts.
Hogwarts – how will the relationship with Michael go on when Harry is back at school and Michael possibly in Sweden? Sure, Harry could sneak away on Hogsmeade weekends but that's only a few times in the whole year. After the experience from last night Harry is sure he wants to see Michael more often than that. Sneaking out of the castle is not something he learned by now and he is not sure how far he would be by the end of the summer break even though he made good progress with the light orbs. Athia already explained to him, how to bypass human wards, but he doesn't yet have enough control about his magic to do so.
When Harry opens his eyes again, it's starting to get dark. How long he slept he has no idea but what woke him is his scar. It burns and itches. Harry presses a hand against it, but it does not get better.
"Harry?"
Harry looks around. So absorbed by his scar he did not notice the person under a invisibility cloak next to him before.
"Yes. Remus, is that you?"
"Yes. Hi. Are you okay, Harry? You nearly slept the whole day in the garden, did anything happen? With your relatives?"
"No, Remus. Everything is okay with them. I don't know why I fell asleep, but now my scar is acting up."
"Did you have problems with it last night?"
"No, none at all."
"Strange. There were some attacks last night and Dumbledore was sure Voldemort would send you visions. Don't think too much on it, it is the sad truth about war. It all is so senseless. Why don't you go back into the house? It is nearly 11 p.m. and you don't want to worry your aunt, do you?"
"Sure. Thank you for the books, Remus. Good night."
But is is no good night. Again Harry finds himself in a dream controlled by Voldemort. They step into a small house and inside they meet a handful of Death Eaters. Strangled sobs can be heard and it takes Harry a while to recognize a human form in the corner of the room. It seems to be a couple's bedroom, on the walls there are photographs of them in various holiday areas. The woman from the photographs lies half on the bed, her head lies nearly on the floor and she stares with wide eyes onto the ceiling. Blood drops onto the floor and the bed from a gash in her neck and chest. It's difficult to see if she is still alive, but if she is, the wound seems to be deep and life threatening.
The person on the floor, a man, Harry recognizes, whimpers again and the Death Eaters and Voldemort look at him. He does not look too healthy, either. He is naked and covered in blood from small and not so small cuts all over his body. He shivers and twitches, probably from the Cruciatus Curse.
"Gawain Robards. Nice to meet you and your lovely wife. Did you celebrate your promotion all right?"
The man on the floor glares at Voldemort, fear and determination on his face.
"Fuck of."
"Tsss. Such language. I have to admit, I am disappointed in you. Head Auror and so little wards and such a weak fight. The Ministry doesn't seem very picky when it comes to their leaders. But then, their choices are limited as I killed many of your precursors. Edgar Bones, Charles Potter, Alexander Fawley, they all caught my attention. But you are not worth it, your end will be delivered by my new members. How does that sound to you?", Voldemort laughs and gestures some newly arrived Death Eaters into the room. One of them murmurs a spell and traces patterns on Robards' body with his wand. The auror screams and tries to kick the Death Eater, but without success. Soon the stench of burned skin and hair is in the air. The young Death Eater concentrates his attention on Robards' stomach, hips and tights and soon the victim does not have enough strength to scream and not enough control about his legs to kick. Voldemort grins in satisfaction and leaves the house.
"Happy Birthday, Harry Potter.", he laughs and Harry wakes up.
Harry pants, jumps out of his bed and runs to the bathroom. But he does not make it to the toilet and vomits partly on the floor. Harry retches even when nothing is left. Tears burn in his eyes, his head and throat hurt. Behind himself he can hear Aunt Petunia screech about the vomit on the floor and Vernon's rude comments about nasty vermin soiling his house. Harry pays them no mind when he flushes the toilet and washes his face. He is dizzy and the screaming next to him makes headache even worse. He opens the window and searches for the familiar presence of the Invisibility cloak.
"Who ever is there, please come in. It's an emergency."
"Yes, absolutely an emergency. Clean this mess this instant, boy! Who do you think you are, dirtying my house and ignoring it? Start cleaning!", Vernon bellows.
"What is wrong here?", asks Remus who comes up the stairs, wand in hand and a wary facial expression.
"The boy vomited on the floor and refuses to clean the mess! Absolutely disgusting, don't you learn manners at your school, boy?"
Remus waves his wand and the mess vanishes. "Go back to bed please, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. I have to talk to Harry."
Being commanded in his own house does not sit well with Vernon, but a wizard with his wand in hand is very persuading. Mumbling the two go back to their room and lock the door.
"Harry, what's wrong?"
"I had a vision or a dream, I am not sure. Someone called Gawain Robards is under attack. Voldemort was there and now the new members are torturing him. I don't know if he or his wife has much time left."
"I will call the Order and inform Dumbledore. Please stay inside the house, Harry. I don't have time to organize a replacement guard."
"Sure, good luck, Remus." With that Remus runs out of the house and disapparates.
Harry goes back to his room and locks the door.
He feels absolutely unwell to be in this small room. He expects Remus or someone else to check on him and maybe even tell him if the dream is true, so he doesn't dare to leave the house. And he absolutely doesn't feel like sleeping again this night. So he starts practicing elven magic, but one thought keeps him from concentrating properly. Voldemort wished him a happy birthday in the night between August 1st and August 2nd. Surely he knows when Harry's birthday is, after the whole business with the prophecy. So why did he confuse the dates and did not send Harry anything about the attacks the night before? Harry has absolutely no idea and behind this small detail can't really be a plan hidden, he is convinced.
So Harry practices and broods until he can sense the now familiar invisibility cloak come up the stairs. Harry stands behind the door to his room with his wand raised. It could be a trap, he only now realizes. The only guard is away because of one of Harry's visions so anyone who got around the wards could be on his way to Harry.
The person steps into the room and Harry presses his wand to the other person's throat. "Who are you?", he demands.
"Remus."
"Prove it. What is the main color of your boggard?"
"Silvery white. It is the full moon. Moody would be proud of you, Harry."
Harry takes the wand away and steps around Remus while he takes the cloak of.
"Thanks. Now, what's the news?"
"The Robards were indeed attacked. The Order surrounded the property and attacked the Death Eaters, there was a small battle in which Mr Robards managed to apparate wandlessly to the Ministry. Quite a feat if you ask me. They send backup and together we caught a few new members, but the older ones all got away. Mr Robards is seriously wounded, his wife sadly didn't make it. When we fought our way into the house she was already dead."
"I am sorry to hear that. Mr Robards is the new head auror, isn't he?"
"Yes. I take it you don't read the Prophet anymore? No wonder after last year. Fudge resigned when it became public knowledge that he was informed about Voldemort's return and did not react. He was replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, former head auror and Robards was promoted into Scrimgeour's former office."
"Oh, I didn't know we have a new minister. Is he very different from Fudge?"
"Yes, he will be. As a former auror he knows that a war can't be won with big speeches. He expands the auror forces and the number of trainees in the Auror Academy, but it will take two years for this plans to become effective. Right now he wants to punish the few caught Death Eaters hard and reassure the population that the war will be over soon. But everyone with brains can see that he is too optimistic. Since Voldemort's return was revealed, the Death Eaters killed more than a hundred muggles and a few wizards and witches disappeared. The aurors can't be everywhere at once and attacks on muggles are not their highest priority."
"How awful. What happened last night? I didn't have any vision or dream and you mentioned an attack?"
"Yes. A muggle foster family near London was murdered. It was revealed that they wonderfully took care of a few orphaned wizards and witches over the years and never complained that they were different. They are know for their social commitment by the muggles and the news of their deaths could not be kept secret from them.
Did you practice Occlumency last night? Dumbledore and Snape think he wanted to send you a dream about the attack and didn't achieve a connection with you."
"Occlumency is such a foggy subject, I am never sure if I do it correctly or not. Snape never really explained it. However I wasn't consciously doing it last night."
"Hm."
"Voldemort wished me a happy birthday tonight. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but if he tried to and couldn't last night, it would make sense."
"Yes it would. By the way, the minister promised Dumbledore to send an auror as the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher."
"That's great, after Umbridge that is absolutely necessary."
"So I heard. I have to go now, Harry. I will see you at Grimmault Place if we don't meet fore then. Bye."
"Bye Remus. Thank you for informing me."
Still unsure whether he should leave the house, Harry calls for Tippy.
"Good morning Tippy, how are you?"
"Good morning, master. Tippy is good, Sir."
"Did any mail arrive for me?"
"Yes, Sir. There is two requests for interviews with different papers, a letter from school and a sack full of fan mail. Which is master willing?"
"The requests and the school letter, please. That's all Tippy, thank you."
Tippy leaves the mail and disappears. The requests for interviews are from the Daily Prophet and Teen Witch Weekly. The first asks about Harry's political opinion about the change in Minister and the second asks about his opinion on the latest fashion and his love life. Harry declines the interviews and answers the Prophet, he might give comments in future if he knew they wouldn't quote him wrong like before.
It is the school letter he really is interested about. It is the yearly list of books and a reminder not to miss the train. Additionally, he receives his Owl scores.
History of Magic – Dreadful
Astronomy – Acceptable
Transfiguration – Exceeds Expectations
Potions – Exceeds Expectations
Charms – Exceeds Expectations
Divination – Dreadful
Defense against the Dark Arts – Outstanding
Care for magical creatures – Acceptable
Herbology – Exceeds Expectations
That's even better that Harry expected. Only his mark in potions is not good enough to continue the course.
Additionally there is a small badge and a letter in his envelop.
Dear Mister Potter,
congratulations on becoming Griffindor's Quidditch Captain. Please note that your ban was canceled by the ministry. You can collect your broomstick from my office in September.
Your new appointment for career counseling is on September 2nd . I was surprised to receive your owl about taking additional courses, we will discuss this on the appointment, too.
Regards
Professor McGonnagal
Quidditch captain. Harry can't believe it. Absolutely great.
Privet Drive, August 1996
Apart from dating Michael, Harry spends the rest of the month mostly reading a few of the diaries he took from his family vault. Some are quite pointless, others show his ancestor's political views. There is one written by Alister Potter, Harry's great grandfather, about his worries when Voldemort first approached the Wizengamot with muggleborn discriminating bills. He was rejected, but with a narrow majority. This worried Alister Potter greatly and he made is opinion known. This might be one of the reasons, why Voldemort targeted the Potters even before the prophecy.
The most interesting diary is written by Elenore Peverell. She writes, she is happily married, but does not have any children, even after years of marriage and is quite worried about this. After some time her husband falls for an unknown woman. Elenore writes about the deep feelings between herself and her husband and the uncertainty when the other woman becomes more and more important. The husband even commissions a portrait of her. Although she never calls the "foreign beauty" an elf, it it is indicated that she is one. She even has a child with Elenore's husband in 1899. But barely two days after the baby is born, representatives of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures enter their house by force and arrest the foreign beauty. When they ask whose child it is, Elenore steps forward and claims the baby. The baby looks much like her husband, so no one asks further questions. The woman looks relieved that her child is safe before she is forcefully dragged away. A week later they hear from a friend who works in the ministry that the woman died whilst experiments. Her husband is heartbroken. Elenore raises the child like her own and tries to forget the other woman. She calls the little baby girl Marianne.
Harry closes the diary when it becomes clear that there is no further useful information. He recalls that the Peverell woman who married into the Potter line and brought their heirlooms with her, was called Marianne from the family tree. It would make sense that it could be the same person. As far as Harry can remember, there was no other Marianne in his family. Sadly, there is no way to prove beyond doubt that it is true. But Harry is quite sure to have found his connection with the elven society. Athia's theories are both true. Someone with an elven parent married into his family and had a different parent than reported. And the elf had probably not enough time to tell the other elves about the baby, because she was arrested only two days after giving birth.
Harry plans to tell Athia when he next visits her. She already invited him to a big feast on the full moon in September.
