6. Unexpected help
When he finally bottled the Glamour Strengthener and cleaned up his work space it was already six o'clock and it was high time he returned to his own room.
He put the vials and the book in his bag, threw the invisibility cloak around himself and cast silencing charm on his feet. He probably wouldn't see his lab for a long time. Just when he finished arranging it, but never mind, he could always set up a provisional lab wherever he went. He crept noiselessly up to the third floor and closed the door to his bedroom carefully.
He removed the invisibility cloak and cancelled both the silencing and the glamour charm. It felt good not to have anything constantly tugging at your powers. Despite his tiredness he decided not to sleep as he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully anyway. He took his new underwear, casual black trousers and a dark blue long sleeved shirt and went into the adjoining bathroom to take a long shower.
When he was clean of sweat and potion fumes, he added the newly brewed potion safe one vial into a special satchel where he stored all his potions. The vials in that satchel were secure and wouldn't break. It was small (Harry loved magic and expanding charms.) and inconspicuous to the eye. In addition it was password protected so that no busybody could open it.
He went back into the bathroom and swallowed the surprisingly not disgustingly tasting potion and applied a glamour first on his scars and then a second one on his whole body, transforming him into the Boy Who Lived.
After that he started packing the things he would need. He assumed he would return to Grimmauld Place some day in the foreseeable future, so he decided to leave his old school books and old, too short robes in his room and take only what he would need for the coming year. Although, with the amount of books he had bought, he still had to shrink them to fit everything in the magically enlarged space in his trunk.
When the time came, he would shrink the trunk and put it in the bottomless leather rucksack he took out of the Potter vault. It was more practical, looked nice and he liked it.
While packing, he laid eyes on the moleskin pouch he got from the two Aurors and he immediately put his valuables in it. The letters from his mother, as well as letters from his friends and Sirius he had collected over the years, the photo-album he got from Hagrid in the end of first year and his vault keys. When he took the Gringott's two way bag to pack it away he paused.
If he wanted to buy muggle make-up – and when he were at it maybe some sneakers and jeans as well – and decided for safety reasons to travel the muggle way he would need to have pounds. Had he known he would plan an escape the day before, he would have changed his money when he had the chance. However, it was no use to think in what ifs and so he quickly wrote a note to Griphook requesting to change some galleons from his vault into British pounds and to send them back via the two way bag.
He wondered how long it would take for the money to arrive as he didn't get to ask Griphook when they met. He hoped it arrived in the afternoon at the latest. Otherwise he would have to wait a day longer before he could escape.
Harry decided he could make a plan or two about where he went while he was still in safety. Dumbledore would possibly check the Potter properties at least those he was aware of and Harry was certain the headmaster knew most of them as he had heard that Dumbledore and the Potter family used to be close – given this wasn't another myth. Therefore he unrolled the scroll with the list of the Black fortune 'til he found the paragraph with the estates and carefully read through it.
There was supposed to be a cottage in the north of Spain and a summer house in the south of France. He wanted to go abroad where it would be further away from the fighting and safer for him. Also, nobody would expect him to cross the boundaries. Least of all by plane. First he would examine the cottage to see whether it was liveable and if not he would try the second property. There was a high chance he could stay in one of them at least for the time being.
When his destinations were determined he added both the scrolls to the other valuables in the moleskin pouch and put it with his money bag with the remaining galleons into the bottomless bag.
Ok, so he would ask Lupin for assistance and see. If he had to put his own plans into motion, he would wait for Griphook to deal with his request and then he would, quietly, leave the house and take the tube to some shopping centre. He would swallow his dislike of crowds and human contact because it would be easier to vanish if someone were to follow him. After that he would go to the Heathrow airport and with some useful spells he would forge his own fake ID as well as passport. As he didn't have one of those documents at hand, he would have to copy the documents from other travellers at the airport. With the help of his invisibility cloak and magic he should manage just fine.
The only thing he would need to do before he left was transfiguring a bandana for his scar. He really hoped the muggle make-up worked. He already felt that the strain on his magic from the glamour lessened with the combined use of the Glamour Strengthener. Even though he was very powerful he couldn't afford tiring out too much. If it came to an actual duel he would need all energy he possessed.
For another hour he sat on the window sill and tried to clear his mind and strengthen his walls. He had done hastily sorted his thoughts earlier while brewing but his shields weren't strong enough. He was calm at least. Thank God he thought about renovating the potions lab at Grimmauld Place!
It was close to nine in the morning when he deemed his mind and secrets within sufficient. He summoned Dobby and asked him whether he could clean up the mess in the potions lab. The house-elf nodded his head enthusiastically, hugged Harry around his knees and with a crack disappeared.
Harry smiled. He liked the elf even despite his devotion which went sometimes over the top. He would trust him with his secrets, however, not with saving his life. He learned his lesson during his second year at Hogwarts.
In the kitchen he made a pot of strong coffee and toast, wondering where the other occupant of the house was. On the first day he had still been reading his paper when the younger wizard arrived for breakfast around ten o'clock and it wasn't that late yet.
He shrugged and sat down with the life elixir. When there was no Pepper-up potion, coffee served as the next best thing.
While nibbling at his toast he browsed through the Daily Prophet. It was the same nowadays – death, known Death Eater sightings, destruction and Scrimgeour, who replaced Fudge at his post as the minister of magic, trying to control the damage of the continuing failure of the ministry to actually catch some Death Eaters.
He laid the paper back down. He didn't want to read anything anymore. Reading about the victims, he felt guilty for not having helped or already killed the Dark Lord, and seeing the reports on the Death Eater sightings as well as the minister's excuses left him in rage. If Fudge had listened to him after the Triwizard Tournament and done something about it, it might not have been this bad. If... if...
The young wizard finished his third cup of coffee and went to find Remus and talk.
Charlie entered the Order house at Grimmauld Place and without waking Wlaburga Balck's screaming portrait he went into the kitchen to see whether someone was there. He had already reported what he knew to Dumbledore, the leader of the Light however wanted to summon an Order meeting for that evening and asked him to inform Remus about the coming meeting who in turn would take care of letting everyone else know.
The dragon handler wanted to make it quick. For one, he didn't like the house. It felt dark and creepy. For another, when he was already here and had some time to spare he wished to visit his family. They didn't see each other that often.
The kitchen was empty and so he went up the stairs to check the drawing room. With his hand on the handle he was about to open the door when he heard voices coming from the library and turned in the direction of the other room instead. When he was just a few feet from the library door, which was standing slightly ajar, he stopped in his tracks as he recognized Remus' voice. The man was usually so kind and level headed, not angry like he seemed to be now.
What, however, astounded him even more was the fact who Lupin was angry with and how the other person responded.
"... Damn it, Harry! You can't be serious!"
"I'm perfectly serious," said Harry in a tired but determined voice. "I need to get away from here. I need to leave the war behind at least for a short time. I ask you, as a friend of my father and godfather, whether you'll help me to get to a safe location or not..."
'This is strange,' Charlie thought. He didn't want to intrude on the obviously private conversation and so he went back to the kitchen to wait considering what little he heard.
There was definitely something wrong. He was sure of it. He hadn't had that much to do with Harry but what he had seen of the boy at the Quidditch World Cup, his short stay at the Burrow and heard from various family members he knew his youngest brother's best friend never, and I mean never asked for anything. But from his tone of voice it seemed that he was actually demanding to leave.
He didn't fault Harry for wanting to take a break from the war. He was, after all, principally in the midst of it. To carry such responsibility and hope of the entire wizarding and the muggle world on his shoulders could not have been easy. He hoped Remus agreed to help the teen.
He didn't wait even five minutes when he heard someone run up the stairs and a door slam shut.
'This doesn't look good,' the redhead thought. And with a resolution – that kind you usually should take time to think through – he went to notify Lupin about the upcoming Order meeting.
When he was in the library he just asked the still angry werewolf where Harry's room was as he wanted to greet him and left the room. He didn't mind Remus, he just couldn't understand where his anger was coming from.
When he was at the third floor landing, he took a deep breath and knocked.
Harry stopped his pacing and frowned. It couldn't be Lupin because their discussion was over and he didn't think the werewolf would want to talk to him so soon. The only good thing was, the young wizard cleared his mind in the morning and was relatively calm because otherwise his magic would have exploded. It very nearly came to that with all that Lupin let leave his mouth. He was apparently an ungrateful brat.
'Grrrr... Calm down, Harry,' he reprimanded himself and with resolution went to open the door. He would deal with whoever tried to disturb him and then finalise his escape plans.
However, when he finally pulled the door open, he couldn't prevent the shock from showing on his face. Charlie! What the hell was he doing here?
But Harry wasn't the only one surprised by what he saw. The redhead, too, had to stop his jaw from dropping open. He wasn't facing a boy. Not even a teenager. No, Harry could certainly not be called a child anymore. He became a man. A beautiful man, his mind supplied and he told it to shut up. It was neither the time nor the place for such observations.
Harry was the first to regain some of his control and he greeted Charlie still wondering what the man was doing at his door.
"Hi, Harry," Charlie answered and when no response was forthcoming he asked: "May I come in? I want to talk to you."
The black haired man searched his face for some clues for a moment, then let the other one in and motioned the redhead into an armchair by the fireplace he had in his room.
When they were both sitting he asked: "Not that I'm not glad to see you but what did you want to talk about? It's kind of a bad time right now," he explained.
The second eldest Weasley' son nodded and thought about how to word what he had to say.
"I kind of overheard what you talked about with Remus down there when I came to inform him about an Order meeting." He saw Harry stiffen and went on. "I kind of guess that he didn't agree to help you, did he?"
Harry's eyes narrowed as he thought why Charlie of all people would talk to him about that. And why the hell did he ask whether Remus supported his wishes? However, he couldn't find anything suspicious in the redhead's demeanour and so he carefully answered.
"No, he didn't but what is it to you?"
Charlie got the impression that the young man wasn't surprised by Remus' reaction to his request and found a little strange. Also, he didn't remember Harry being so distrustful, though it shouldn't have shocked him that much, considering the position the Boy Who Lived, or rather the Man, was in.
"I understand you'd like to get away from England for the time being. I don't know your exact reasons but if you'd like to you could come and stay at the preserve. Assuming you don't mind dragons, staying in a small, shabby cabin and working hard."
"You what?" Harry exclaimed. He couldn't believe it. Charlie offered him to go with him to Romania and hide there. Why?
The redhead watched the younger wizard's reaction and smiled when the man lost his composure for a moment. His green eyes were so expressive.
"I offer you a place to stay," Charlie repeated and took a guess. "A hideaway if you wish."
To this Harry raised his eyebrows and looked Charlie in the eyes. He couldn't detect any lies but he had to make absolutely sure.
"You'd allow me to stay there and wouldn't tell anyone where I am?"
"No."
"Not even Dumbledore?" He nearly spitted the name out.
Charlie was taken aback at the negative emotion Harry obviously felt towards the headmaster but nevertheless answered truthfully. "No."
"Not even you mother? Your brothers?"
"Not if you'd want me to."
Harry measured him with his emerald eyes for a long time before he said a word. "Why?"
The redhead ran a hand through his short hair. When he decided to offer Harry a place, he didn't think it would be this difficult to make the young wizard agree. He was sure Harry would take another way to escape the confines of Nr. 12 Grimmauld Place, which was a truly horrible place even after the clean up, and he was sure it would be better and safer to help the black haired man than to let him fight for himself entirely on his own.
He didn't attend the Order meetings often but when he did, he often didn't like what he heard. The Order was practically making decisions for the Saviour and planning his whole life without the young wizard's contribution. Another thing he couldn't comprehend was why the hope of the Light wasn't given any kind of training. Giving Harry a place to stay was the least he could do for him. Now, he just had to convince the young man of his honesty.
"Because I want to. Because I can help you and because it's the least I can do for you."
Harry stood up abruptly and started pacing. If Charlie meant his offer seriously he was sincerely tempted to accept. He did know the second eldest of the Weasley' brothers the least but he seemed a nice enough guy. He himself was interested in dragons (well, if he didn't have to fight them, because that sucked) and hard work might do him some good. However, he still didn't understand why the dragon handler would do something like this for him.
"But why? I mean, you're an Order member and if I were to say yes, you'd have to lie to them and to your own family! Why would you even want to help someone like me?"
'Has just Harry implied that he's not good enough for others to help him?' Charlie silently wondered. He feared it was true and didn't like it at all. If the young man stayed with him – and he was determined to make him – then he would have to do something about it.
The redhead stood up and caught one of Harry's thin wrists in one of his big callous hands to make him stop. His fingers overlapped where they met and he added a mental note about the young man's diet.
"Look at me, Harry," he ordered and waited until the green eyes met his. "I think that you wouldn't ask to go away without some serious reason. I also assume you'd come up with ways to escape this place on your own. If you were with me, you'd be safer and you could talk to me about anything you either wished or needed to." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "And I won't tell anyone. I wouldn't. I keep my promises. If you need to get away, you get away and the Order and everyone else can go to hell."
Harry studied him for a few minutes before he asked uncertainly: "Promise?"
"Promise. I let you stay at my cabin and I won't tell anyone without your approval," Charlie assured him. He had to keep himself in check. Standing so close to the younger wizard, seeing him so unsecure he only wanted to put his arms around him and hold him there but he feared it wouldn't be welcomed.
The black haired man was also unnerved by the closeness and the contact. His hand tingled there where Charlie grasped it. He couldn't say he felt threatened like he usually did when someone were this close but it was strangely intimate and he wasn't sure he liked it.
"Ok, then," he said, tugged lightly at his hand and stepped a few feet back. "Thank you, Charlie, I really appreciate it."
Charlie smiled at his success and said: "Then we should probably make some plans."
Harry nodded and before he sat down he asked whether the redhead wanted something to drink.
"Tea would be nice but don't bother if you have to go down to the kitchen," Charlie responded, however, the younger wizard didn't leave the room. Instead, he called for his elf-friend and smiled when the redhead's eyes went wide when Dobby in all his attire of mismatched clothing appeared.
"Master Harry Potter, sir, and Master Harry Potter's Wheezy, how may Dobby serve you?" the elf squeaked after he hugged the former around his knees in greeting.
Harry didn't react to how his peculiar little friend referred to Charlie. Sometimes it was better not knowing everything. "Could you please bring us some tea for two? Remus should still be in the library so that you can use the kitchen in the house."
"Dobby will do as Harry Potter asks, sir," Dobby said and disappeared instantly with another loud crack.
"What was that?" Charlie asked when he finally found his voice. In his whole life, he had never seen something this strange and he had lived with his father who was fanatical about all things muggle.
The younger wizard sat down in his armchair again and answered simply: "That was my friend." When he saw Charlie's raised eyebrow he explained. "He is a free house-elf and likes to help me whenever I've the need of him."
At that moment Dobby reappeared with a tray with tea and biscuits which he set on a small table between the two armchairs.
"Thank you, Dobby."
"Dobby is happy to help, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby answered cheerfully and disappeared.
When they had prepared their tea and leaned back, Charlie asked: "A free elf?"
"Yes. He used to belong to the Malfoy's," Harry informed him.
"And how in the Merlin's name did he get free?"
Well this was something he could tell the redhead without any dilemma. "I freed him in the end of second year." Foreseeing further questions he went on. "I put a greasy, stinky old sock into a book which I then handed to Malfoy. Lucius predictably didn't want either one of them and passed them on to Dobby."
Charlie laughed. This was something the young man certainly would do. "I guess Malfoy senior wasn't happy with you," he commented after he had taken a sip of his tea.
"I can't say we've become the best of chums," Harry replied with a straight face and made the redhead chuckle once again. The older wizard hadn't been there even for an hour and Harry already felt more relaxed than he had felt all summer. It seemed to be so easy to be with the second eldest Weasley. He hoped he made the right decision when he accepted the offer.
"And what about the attire? It didn't look like something a house-elf would wear," Charlie wanted to clear at least some of the mysteries surrounding Dobby. Also, he had the impression that the light banter helped calm the black haired man.
"He loves socks. Mismatched socks," Harry clarified. "And the other things are form Hermione's efforts to free all house-elves at Hogwarts."
"He seems to be wearing everything she ever made," Charlie noted.
"Probably. It's such a shame Hermione hasn't given up her S.P.E.W. quite yet and concentrated on improving the living and working conditions of the elves instead. She may actually have some success."
"That she may," Charlie replied and after a moment of silence changed the subject. "So you really don't mind being around dragons?"
When Harry assured the redhead that, no, he didn't mind dragons at all – under the condition he didn't have to fight against them –, they discussed how they were to smuggle the younger man out of the country without anyone noticing.
In the end they agreed it would be best if Harry left Grimmauld Place shortly before the first Order members arrived for the meeting and met Charlie later at the Leaky Cauldron from where they would portkey to the Dragon preserve. All magical transportation was surveyed but it was only the one who used his magic to apparate or activate a portkey who could be monitored by the ministry control mechanism. Other persons taking a portkey activated by someone else couldn't be detected.
While the redhead was at the meeting, Harry would have time to obtain everything he needed in a muggle shopping centre before he made his way to their meeting point. The black haired wizard would, of course, use his invisibility cloak and cast a disillusionment charm on himself just in case before they met at the wizard pub. They had to make sure Charlie was seen to leave alone.
They also decided how to cover up Harry's presence at the preserve. Charlie was sure no one would suspect anything if his guest posed as his assistant. Apparently, it wasn't unseen of wizards to come on the preserve and help out for a few weeks.
Harry was astonished when the redhead did let him deal with the concealment of his face without asking any questions about how he was so sure he had this aspect covered. It didn't matter that as Harry's appearance drastically changed, his true face was impossible to recognise. No one would have trusted him to manage on his own. No one. And then, Charlie, who didn't know him quite that well, without so much as blinking an eye said okay and went on pointing possible weak points of their plan.
However, that wasn't the only thing the black haired wizard was surprised by. The second eldest of the Weasley' brothers was the first ever person to treat him as an adult. To consider and accept his ideas and arguments. It was refreshing and made Harry feel good. He couldn't help but act more like himself than the public's role model, the Chosen One.
"If I get caught up at headquarters, leave with the last customer and wait for me in front of the pub. Don't leave! I'll definitely come," Charlie stressed, anxious the possible chaos at headquarters would held him up for longer than the usual meeting did. The two young men were in agreement that the Order would probably break in panic upon discovering their Golden Boy missing. They would presumably try to throw together some farfetched plans on how to find or save him (who was to say they wouldn't suspect abduction by the Dark forces?) which would definitely delay Charlie and the pub was open only so long.
The younger wizard had an idea on how to deal with the Light side and prevent any possible overreaction. However, he didn't know his partner in crime well enough to ascertain how good an actor he was. From experience he knew the Weasley's were rather bad at pretending and so he stayed silent.
'Why does he want me to stay in Romania?' Harry wondered and searched the redheads face for a clue about what he was thinking. But there was nothing for him to find except concern in Charlie's eyes. It was impossible for Harry to fathom why the older man did for him what he did. No one else had. No one else would have offered a hideaway. Or cared if he had taken off on his own.
Now it wasn't time to muse about these questions. They had finalised their plans and Charlie probably wished to stop by his family or friends until the Order meeting began. After all he surely hadn't come to England to chat with him.
"I promise, I'll stay there 'til you come," Harry answered after a moment of thought. He became rather uncomfortable as Charlie studied him intently and so he went on: "Now that we've everything planned, I suppose you're heading to the Burrow so don't let me hold you up any longer"
"Yes but I can stay for lunch if you want me to," the redhead offered. He enjoyed the presence of the younger man and their talk. Even if it was about escape plans. He didn't want to go just yet, despite the fact they were going to be around each other for a month. Apart from that, he didn't particularly wish to let Harry alone in a house with an angry werewolf.
"No, that's not necessary. I'll be fine and your family will be delighted to see you," Harry insisted. He, too, didn't want his companion to leave but he admonished himself that he couldn't be this selfish. After all, he had already usurped too much of Charlie's time.
However, Charlie would have none of that. "I really don't mind, so get up and let's go make some sandwiches."
They had just finished preparing their lunch when Lupin entered the kitchen. Charlie nodded in greeting but Harry didn't acknowledge the werewolf's presence in any way. He sat down and carried on their conversation about Quidditch. He didn't particularly want to talk to the man and besides, he had a part to play – the sulking teenager. So when Remus called softly his name – he apparently decided Harry's previous behaviour was some teenage outburst – he just said: "The sandwiches are on the counter." without raising his head from his own plate.
He heard a sigh and a chair being pulled from the table but ignored it. He continued eating and listening to Charlie talking about what was the current stand of the Quidditch World Cup in Brazil.
As soon as they were finished eating, Charlie took his leave and Harry went up to his room to finish preparing everything for his departure.
At quarter past five, three quarters an hour before the start of the Order meeting, Harry cast a disillusionment and a silencing charm on himself, threw his invisibility cloak around himself and closed the door to the house at Nr. 12 Grimmauld Place behind himself.