When they arrived in the woods outside of the cottage, Sirius transformed back into human form.
He quickly whispered the location of the house to Hermione then led the group to the house.
"So, Hermione, welcome to our hideout," Remus said as they entered the front door. "Dora, Carina and I spend about half our time here. Sirius lives here all the time, and…"
Just then Minerva came out of the kitchen. "I'm glad to see that you all made it back safely. Dinner's almost ready," she added as an afterthought.
"H-harry," Hermione said, "what is Professor McGonagall doing here?"
Harry winced. "Oh, woops. I guess I forgot to tell you that she lives here too."
"Is there anything else that you forgot to tell me?" Hermione asked snippily.
"Erm," Harry blushed, and said, "I can speak Parseltongue, and I'm a Metamorphmagus."
Hermione's mouth fell open. "You mean like Dora?"
"Yes," he said.
"Wow."
A two foot long, slender snake slithered into the room.
"Basil!" Harry cried in English then switched to Parseltongue. 'How are you?'
'I am fine, Master. There are plenty of fat rats to eat in this area. The dog one has been letting me come and go as I please, and during the winter, the wolf one brought me food.'
Harry grinned. 'I'm glad to hear it. I will be taking you with me from now on, alright?'
'Yes, Master. It will be good to be with you all the time.'
'Oh,' Harry said, remembering something that he would have to do at Hogwarts next term. 'There is a giant snake known as a Basilisk that I must meet at my school. Do you want to meet it too?'
'Yes,' Basil hissed. 'I have long wanted to meet the King of Snakes.'
'Good,' Harry said, and turned to Hermione. "Hermione, this is Basil, my snake." 'Basil,' he hissed, 'the bushy-haired one is Hermione.'
Hermione looked nervous but said, "It's…um…nice to meet you, Basil."
Harry hissed to the snake. "He says 'it's nice to meet you too', Hermione. So…do you want to see your new room?"
"Yes, of course," Hermione replied.
Sirius had been adding to the house since Christmastime. He added a room for Carina, who really was too old to share with her parents, especially with Dora being eight-and-a-half months pregnant; and a room for Hermione. The two girls would be sharing a bathroom with Minerva, and Remus and Tonks had their own. Poor Harry had to share with Sirius, which of course meant that he had to keep a large supply of air-fresheners handy.
Harry walked down the hall to one of the two doors that were just past his own. "This will be your room, Hermione. I'm in here," he pointed at the door with Prongs Jr. on it, "and Carina is on your other side."
Carina's door had a sign saying, Metamorph in training. And Hermione's door said, Lunar Goddess, which was clearly Dora's idea.
Hermione opened her door to find a room unlike any she had ever seen before.
The ceiling was plain white with the lights on, but when the lights were off, it was the night sky regardless of the time of day or weather. The top half of the wall was painted midnight blue, and the lower half was gold. The carpeting was plushy and gold.
Hermione's bed was a wrought iron four poster, and was hung with dark blue curtains but had no canopy so she could see the sky while in bed.
Her bedside table was equipped with a gold lamp for her reading. She also had an entire wall of bookcases on the right side of the room.
The window opposite the door was bay shaped, and had a blue cushioned window seat. There was a large mahogany desk and chair to the left of it, and on the other side there were two gold, wing backed chairs with a small table between them.
It was Hermione's dream room.
Hermione turned to Harry and asked, "Can I see your room?"
"Sure," he readily agreed.
Over the years, Sirius had become very good at decorating; after all, he didn't have much else to do.
Harry opened the door to his room. His ceiling was like Hermione's; Sirius had worked a long time on creating the charm for it.
His walls were painted with trees, it was the Forbidden Forest. Running through the forest was a white stag, a dog, and a werewolf; and since Harry had left for Hogwarts, a lion had been added.
His bed was a cherry wood sleigh bed with an emerald green bedspread. And, like Hermione, he had a wall of bookshelves except his were on the wall with the window which had a half-shelf beneath it. His floor was hardwood and had a plush green rug covering a great deal of it.
"It feels as though we're outside," Hermione said in awe.
That feeling was magnified when she saw Hedwig asleep on her perch. The perch was a recent gift from Hagrid, who felt bad for missing Harry's last birthday. It looked like a small, leafless tree, and was even covered in bark. This sat on the half-bookshelf so Hedwig wouldn't have to go far to land after getting home.
"I want to show you my room now. Come on," the nearly three-year old Carina said, tugging on Hermione's hand.
Her room was pink. Actually, one wall was a giant pink castle, and the carpeting was pink.
Her bed was the drawbridge to the castle and had a white bedspread, but no headboard or footboard. The opposite wall was a painting of a beach, and the waves really moved. The other two walls were painted with meadows of tulips, and her ceiling was like the other two's rooms.
A toy chest sat at the foot of her bed and was made of light oak and carved with Centaurs, elves, fairies and other magical creatures. She only had two small white bookshelves, one of which sat to the left of the window, and the other sat directly opposite it.
It was a little girl's dream, and Carina was more than happy to play as the princess of the castle. She used her morphing talents to give herself long, curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
"Dinner!" Sirius yelled.
The three were lucky enough to make it to the table in time to hear Minerva chewing him out for yelling across the house instead of going to get them.
Sirius just winked at the kids and smiled at Minerva, nodding his head every so often as she ranted.
Dinner was a boisterous affair, as it usually was with Sirius present. Hermione found that she really enjoyed the large-family feeling it gave her.
It was nearly time for dessert when Dora suddenly clutched at her stomach and said, "Ouch."
Everyone quickly looked at her.
She was grimacing and her hair had turned white. After a moment, she breathed a calming breath and her hair returned to being pink.
They had just finished dessert when she suddenly gasped. "My water just broke," she said in shock.
"I'm flooing you to St. Mungos now!" Remus said to his wife. "Minerva, please floo Andi and Ted. They can bring the kids to the hospital with them."
"Alright, Remus," she said as they left the room.
Within ten minutes Ted and Andi were herding the kids to the maternity ward. Ted sat down with them in the waiting room, and Andi went to be with Remus and Tonks.
Four hours later, a tired but happy Remus came out and said, "It's a girl! We've named her Chara, which means joy!"
Everyone jumped out of their seats to congratulate him.
He led them down the hall to Dora's room, and they all entered to see a tired but happy looking metamorphmagus holding a tiny bundle with hair that was rapidly changing colors.
Hermione hurried to Dora's side and lightly brushed her fingers against Chara's face.
"Would you like to hold her?" Dora asked.
Hermione nodded quickly, and Dora handed her the baby, carefully instructing her on how to hold her.
After about fifteen minutes, Hermione handed Chara to Harry.
Harry expertly cradled the small bundle in his arms. He had had a lot of experience when Carina was born.
He was beaming at the tiny girl.
It was nice to feel and see so much goodness radiating from a single person. His phoenix feelings could sense peoples' health and emotions, but ever since the unicorn gave him some blood, he had also been able to see their auras.
It had given him a really bad headache the first week after the ritual, but he was now able to control the level of what he saw and felt.
Chara was glowing white, but Harry knew that as she got older, her aura would gain colors.
After several minutes he handed her to Ted, who began to tell her all about the magical world she had been born into.
- - -
The next morning Harry got dressed in some Muggle clothes. He planned to floo to the Leaky Cauldron, then take a Muggle bus to Surrey.
"Are you sure you don't want one of us to go with you?" Remus asked.
"No, Remus, I'll be fine," Harry said.
A large black dog bounded into the room and leapt at Harry. Harry neatly sidestepped the dog that promptly went skidding across the floor.
Padfoot got to his feet again and dashed to the hook by the front door where his leash was hung.
He reared up, placing his front paws on the wall, and nudged the loop of the leash off the hook. He grabbed it in his mouth and trotted over to Harry with it.
Harry sighed. "Are you sure, Padfoot?"
The dog nodded.
"You can't turn to your human form while were there. No magic, remember?"
The dog nodded again.
"Give me the leash." Harry held out his hand and Padfoot dropped the leash into it. He clasped it onto Padfoot's matching red collar that was only worn in public once before.
"Here," Harry said, handing the other end of it to Remus.
Padfoot whined pitifully, his eyes glistening with tears.
"I'm not leaving you here. I just need to get some more money from my trunk," Harry explained. "Dogs can't ride buses, you know, and taxis are more expensive." He hurried down the hall to his room, and was back a minute later.
Harry took the leash from Remus and tossed some sparkling green powder into the fireplace. The flames flared green and he stepped in.
Padfoot reared up, so his back paws were in the fire with Harry, and his front ones were on Harry's shoulders.
"The Leaky Cauldron!" Harry cried and the two disappeared.
Harry stepped smoothly out into the crowded pub.
He led Padfoot out into an alley in Muggle London, and Sirius transformed.
"You know kid, you're starting to get the hang of flooing." Sirius smiled reminiscently and said, "I remember the first time you flooed home from Ted and Andi's. You fell flat on your face."
"Enough with the embarrassing stories, Padfoot. Just get rid of this awful soot," Harry groaned.
"Fine, fine…spoilsport," he muttered. And with a wave of his wand, the pair was clean.
Harry stepped out of the alley, pulling the over-excited dog with him. They were a few streets away when Harry hailed a cab.
He told the driver where to take them, and then just sat back for the ride.
- - -
It was a bright sunny day in Surrey, and Little Whinging's residents were dressed in their Sunday finest.
The Dursley family was no exception to this. Vernon Dursley was wearing a pair of too small khaki dress slacks and a white business shirt with his most boring blue tie, and Petunia was wearing a far-too-frilly-for-her-age pink dress. Dudley was wearing the only pair of dress slacks that still fit, and that was only because they had been bought a size too large. His shirt was straining at the buttons over his large stomach, and his tie was far too short.
The small family of three was quite happily seated around their dining table eating lunch, when a cab pulled up bearing a person that would change their lives.
Ding-Dong
Petunia looked up from her rather lewd book that seemed to be, judging by the cover picture, little better than porn disguised as a romance novel.
"I'll get it," she said in her rather shrill voice.
She smiled to herself as she hurried down the hall to the front door. Aside from one week, eleven years ago, her life was perfect. That one week had been when her nephew lived with them, and she would forever thank whatever deity existed for getting rid of him for her.
She opened the door and was confronted with the very real and alive child that she had just been thinking of.
Her eyes widened.
- - -
Harry climbed out of the cab at number 4 Privet Drive, and stared up at the house where his aunt lived. If he didn't know the address, he never would have been able to find the house. It looked exactly like all the others on that street, and on the next street, and even twelve streets away. The entire suburb was made up of houses that only differed in what the owners' garden flowers of choice were.
"I'll meet you at the park we passed on the way here, in about two hours, alright?" Harry told the cabbie as he paid him for the ride.
"Sure, mate," the driver said, waving at the friendly boy and his bear-like dog. He had been a cabbie for nearly twenty years, and in that time he had met a lot of people. He could honestly tell himself that the kid he had just driven here was one-of-a-kind.
The boy was cheerful, friendly, and was intelligent enough to hold a conversation with a man nearly four times his age. The boy had even given him an extra-large tip after hearing about his daughter's leukemia.
Yes, that kid was something special.
As he drove away he watched in his rear-view mirror, as the kid went up to the front door of the house and rang the bell.
The door opened to reveal a bony woman in a pink dress, whose face went from happy and content to panicked and green.
The woman quickly ushered the boy inside, looking around to make sure the neighbors hadn't seen him.
The cabbie would bet every cent of his tip, that that woman didn't have a clue about what a treasure that boy was.
- - -
"Hello, Aunt Petunia," Harry said, smiling kindly at her.
"Get in here," she hissed, "before the neighbors see you."
Harry rolled his eyes but did as she asked. Padfoot however, growled at her, and made entering the house as difficult as he could.
"In the living room," she said.
Harry looked up at her, confused and said, "Erm, which door is it?"
Petunia sighed with exasperation. "First on the left."
Harry entered the room with Padfoot trotting behind him, and Petunia followed.
"Don't let the dog on the furniture," she snapped. "I'll be back in a moment." With that, she left the room.
"Well, that was polite," Harry muttered sarcastically. He could only just hear the voices coming from the dining room, as he sat down in a chair to wait.
Three minutes later, all three of the Dursleys entered the living room.
Harry stood up politely, and held out his hand to his uncle, "Uncle Vernon, Dudley, it's nice to meet both of you. I mean…I was only one the last time, so…"
Vernon ignored the hand Harry held out and glared at the boy as he sat his abnormally large body down on the couch.
Harry instead turned to shake Dudley's hand. Dudley would have done what his father did, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid Harry.
Harry shook his cousin's hand, and said, "I, um, I guess you are all wondering why I'm here."
Vernon said nothing out of spite, and Dudley said nothing because he didn't know what to say to that.
Petunia though said, "You're not staying, I hope you know."
Harry looked confused for a moment then realization dawned on him. "I'm not here looking for a place to stay, Aunt. I just wanted to meet the only blood family I have left."
She sniffed haughtily. "Oh."
"So," Harry said somewhat nervously. "Dudley," he turned to his cousin, "I know we're the same age, so you must be in secondary school. Do you like it?"
The porky blonde boy nodded, and said somewhat nervously, "I go to Dad's old school, Smeltings."
Dudley couldn't remember his cousin, but he could tell that his parents were scared of him for some reason, and so he was too.
"What's it like there?" Harry asked somewhat eagerly. He'd never been to a Muggle school, though he had read lots of books about them.
"Erm," Dudley flushed a little. "The campus is huge, and I live in the Fyfe Dormitories."
"Really, do you play any sports?" Harry thought this was unlikely given the size of his cousin, but thought it polite to ask.
Surprisingly though Dudley seemed keen to this topic. "Not really, but I'm thinking of trying out for the Boxing Team this year," he said quite proudly.
Harry grinned at him. "I bet you'll be good. You've got the build for it."
Dudley simply beamed. A compliment from someone who wasn't his parents or Aunt Marge was a rare thing; and getting one from a heretofore unknown cousin that was his own age, was even better. He didn't have friends, he had lackeys; and the only reason they stuck with him was because he was the biggest and strongest. He might not be smart, but he knew that they didn't really care about him at all, so compliments from them were only given to keep him happy.
"Do you play sports?" Dudley asked, not noticing his parents' gasps of horror.
"Yeah, I do, but it's not a very well-known one," Harry said, knowing that Dudley wouldn't know about Quidditch.
"Tell me about it then?"
"Well," Harry said, not wanting to annoy his aunt and uncle by mentioning magic. "There are three goals on each side of the field."
"Really? Three of them? That's a lot," Dudley said, his eyes wide.
Harry nodded. "Yes. There is one Keeper to each team, and he's the goalie. There are three Chasers for each side, and they try to score using the Quaffle which is a big red ball about the size of a football. And it's ten points per goal."
Dudley nodded to show that he was following this.
"The Beaters use short bats to hit Bludgers around. Bludgers are smaller than the Quaffles. The Beaters use them to try to hit the opposing teams players and distract them."
Petunia was quite pale by now. She knew all about Quidditch and she certainly didn't want Dudley to know about it.
Harry continued, oblivious to his aunt. "The Seeker, my position," he explained.
Dudley nodded, looking excited to find out about this position.
"…Is the most likely position to get hurt. I have to catch a gold winged ball that's about the size of a walnut and flies wicked fast."
Dudley's eyes were huge.
"If I catch it, I win a hundred and fifty points for my team, usually winning the game for them."
"That is so awesome!" Dudley breathed in awe of his cousin. "Why isn't that sport more well known! It's sounds amazing!"
Harry grinned. "In certain circles," he eyed Petunia as he said this, "It's more popular than soccer or football, but the people who like it generally keep to themselves, so…" Harry shrugged as he dragged that word out.
Dudley monopolized Harry for most of the next hour and a half, asking all sorts of questions about his likes and dislikes.
Both boys enjoyed fighting, though with Dudley it was more bullying, and Harry defense.
Harry glanced at his watch and realized he was going to have to be leaving soon. "I hate to say it," he said to Dudley, "but I'm going to have to go soon. My cab is going to pick me up at the park not far from here."
Dudley looked disappointed, but nodded.
Harry turned to his aunt and uncle, both of whom looked as though they'd been drinking pickle juice straight from the jar. "I promised my guardians that I'd be home in time for dinner."
Petunia sniffed. "Your guardians just let you go off like that. I know full well that you don't live in the area, and I cannot believe that any sort of decent guardians would let their charge do that," she said haughtily.
Harry grinned. "Well, Aunt Petunia, I'm not exactly alone. I've got Orion with me," he indicated the dog that was lying at his feet. "And I've always been pretty self-sufficient. Besides, I have this."
He pulled a small red cell phone out of his pocket. It was one of Sirius' new inventions. It worked a lot like the two-way mirrors, but it also could make calls through the Muggle phone system, and worked in high magical concentration areas, like Hogwarts.
"Well," Aunt Petunia said, looking like she was sucking a lemon, "I suppose that's not so bad then."
Harry stood up.
"It was really nice meeting all of you," he said, grinning at his relatives.
"Hey, Harry," Dudley said, "I'll walk with you down to the park."
Vernon looked ill. It was obvious that Dudley quite liked his cousin.
"Great!" Harry readily agreed.
The two boys left the house and walked slowly down to the park chatting about martial arts.
When they got to the park, the cab was already waiting for Harry.
Dudley then turned to him, and shook his hand saying, "Harry, I hope you'll write. Maybe we can plan to have you over for a visit sometime?" He said the last part some what hopefully.
"Of course I'll write. And I'll definitely visit sometime if Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are okay with it," Harry said.
"Great!" Dudley grinned. "Well. Bye then."
"Bye Dudley!" Harry said as he climbed into the back of the cab.
- - -
Ginny was bored. Beyond bored. Bored to tears even.
She sighed and switched which hand she rested her cheek on as she gazed out the window towards the paddock.
Her brothers were playing Quidditch again, and again they didn't think to ask her if she wanted to play. In fact, when she asked, they said she was too little. As if! Harry was barely bigger than she was, and he was going to play professionally.
"Ginny! You have a letter!" her mother called from downstairs.
Ginny sighed as she got up. No doubt Luna was writing to invite her on yet another Snorkack expedition. Probably France this time.
The Lovegoods were slowly and systematically searching every country in Europe but had yet to find any proof of a Snorkack's existence.
She slowly walked downstairs, with a depressed look on her face. Maybe when Harry got there she would be aloud to play Quidditch. No doubt he'd insist on her playing. Harry was nice like that.
"Is it from Luna again," Ginny asked her mother as she entered the kitchen.
"No dear," Molly said. "I think it's from a boy. That's what the writing looks like anyway."
"A boy?" she asked incredulously, staring at the envelope on the table.
Ginny picked up the letter and saw that it was addressed to: Ginny Weasley, The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole. There was no mistaking that it was for her.
She turned it over and saw the seal. It was a shield with antlers growing out of the top. The shield had a lion on the left half, rearing with its front paws touching the rearing dog's, which was on the right half. A large letter "P" sat between the two animals, and a stalking wolf stood beneath it. A banner ran beneath the whole shield and said: Superbia Fragmen Honor, Honor Superne Quis.
Ginny knew that seal. She had helped Harry create it. He wanted to have a new Family Seal because the old Potter Seal had had a truly atrocious motto: Superbia Superne Quis, or Pride Above Anything. Harry's new motto meant: Arrogance Ruins Honor, Honor Above Anything. Ginny thought it was funny that Superbia meant both pride and arrogance.
She opened her envelope and pulled out a piece of thick creamy parchment.
"Who is it from, Dear?" Molly asked as she chopped vegetables for dinner.
Ginny skimmed the note and said, "It's from Harry, Mum."
"Harry Potter?" Molly asked incredulously.
"Yes," Ginny said. "Would you like me to read it to you?"
"Only if you want to dear."
So Ginny read…
Dear Ginny,
I was sorry that we didn't have a chance to talk more yesterday. Your brothers, mostly Fred and George, have told me a lot about you. I look forward to seeing you again later this summer, and also at Hogwarts. I'm sure Ron and the twins have told you by now that I'm going to be playing Quidditch with Pride of Portree. My first game is on July 31 against the Wimbourne Wasps. As I get ten box seat tickets for every match, I thought you might like one of them. I already invited: Ron, Fred, George, Neville, Hermione, Remus Lupin and his wife, Professor McGonagall, and Blaise Zabini. Please ask your parents if you may go, and write back. I hope they will agree. Professor McGonagall has already offered to meet everyone at the Leaky Cauldron at ten am. Then escort them via portkey to the field.
Hoping you can come,
Harry Potter
"Can I go, Mum, please?" Ginny begged.
Molly looked thoughtful. She had already agreed to let the boys go, but Ginny was so young. Then again the Professor would be there, as would two other adults. "I'll speak to your father about it tonight, but I make no promises," she warned.
Ginny beamed. She knew full well that her dad would definitely let her go.
"Thanks, Mum," she cried as she ran upstairs to work on a response.
Sorry it took so long. I hope the wait was worth it. Let me know what you think!
10 points to whoever can tell me what the actors who played Fred and George in the movies only known physical difference is.
Don't forget to check out the story challenge at the end of the most recent chapter of '100 Ways'.