Chapter 12
The beginning of the horror
...
The rest of the school year went by without a hitch. Harry, Ron and Hermione did well in their classes. The teachers were quite pleased with them and had nothing to criticize. Oliver had been ecstatic when they won the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup. That had also made Minerva grin as if she had caught the canary. She had practically hugged Harry with how happy she was about him catching the snitch. He knew the party in Gryffindor common room afterwards was the best they ever had. The trio found themselves getting even more depressed though. Leaving Hogwarts was going to be hard; a full year at Hogwarts had been amazing and leaving was going to be hell. During the weekend they would normally visit the Ravenclaw property so that they could talk freely with the other Grim Reapers.
Looking up at the castle they knew and loved, the trio let a single tear fall down their cheeks then climbed into the train. During the year they had made great friends with Hagrid who was all too happy to invite them into his home for talks and stuff like that. Finding themselves a compartment, they sat down and relaxed into their seats. Harry laying down and resting his head on a pillow he got from him trunk, a book in his hands .
"It's so hard leaving this place," Ron said with a sigh.
"I completely agree, mate. Leaving my first home is really depressing," Harry mumbled. "On top of that, this summer is going to be hell, don't ask me why I think that, I just do," he hissed, making them gulp.
"I forgot about this summer," Ron said, making Hermione wince and Harry moan while throwing his hands up in the air.
"You both are coming, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, my parents agreed," Hermione said, smiling at her friend.
"Mom thinks it's a good idea," Ron said, making Harry grin.
"I love your mother, mate," he said, making Hermione laugh.
A few minutes later Mia walked into the compartment with Demeter in tow. They both looked quite put out about leaving Hogwarts.
"What do you two want?" Harry asked.
"This summer is going to be hell," Demeter said, shaking his head. "We never ever met a member of mom's family nor dad's, I wonder what they're like?"
"I don't know," Harry said, looking at Mia who winced at the look in his eyes.
"It was great having you guys here this year," Demeter said, grinning.
"Yes, it was great being here at Hogwarts, mate, really fun," Harry said, smiling.
...
When they arrived at King's Cross station later that day the group was greeted by happy parents. Harry watched as Demeter and Mia were pulled into hugs. The sight made him shake his head. To think his parents were actually distancing themselves from him. Suddenly he was pulled into a hug and looked up to see that it was Mrs. Weasley and it made Harry smile. The woman was just like she used to be.
"Harry dear, so happy to see you," she said, making him smile.
"It's great to see you too, Mrs. Weasley, I'm very grateful that you are letting Ron come with me to my family reunion," he said.
"Oh it's nothing, dear," she said, smiling brightly. "Perhaps this summer you can also come over to the Burrow, we would love to have you."
"I'll talk to my parents about it," he said, grinning.
After a little bit of talking they all left. Once they were home, Harry went to his room and fell on his bed, Dobby had cleaned his clothes before he had left for home so his mother didn't have to do anything. Suddenly his door opened and Sirius walked in.
"Hey kiddo!" he said brightly, making him smile.
"Hey Sirius," he said brightly.
"Listen kiddo, I understand your parents are not exactly paying much attention to you," Sirius said, walking over and sitting on the edge of his bed. "I am angry with them for that, but I can't really make them see what a wonderful kid you are," he continued. "So I want you to know that if you ever want to get away from here, you are welcomed at my home," he said, making Harry smile. "This is the address and to get there you just have to say the address in the fire and you'll be there," he said, making Harry grin.
"Thank you, Sirius, this is really nice of you," he said, hugging his godfather who hugged him back.
"I don't know why they're acting like this, kiddo, but it's unfair to you," he whispered.
That night during supper Harry felt as if he could scream and he wouldn't be heard except by Mia and Demeter. His parents and little sister were poring over Demeter as if he was a god. Demeter looked quite irritated by this but didn't speak up. Excusing himself, Harry left the table and went to his room, falling onto his bed he let a sigh leave his lips. Yes, this summer was going to be a bad summer.
...
Two days had passed and Harry had had enough, it was really annoying having to ask his brother to ask for stuff for him like the salt at a dinner table. Right now it was midnight and he had all his things packed into his trunk. He had begged Mia to help him and soon they went outside to the street. After she waved her wand for the Knight Bus she returned to the house, leaving him alone. Going onto the bus he looked at Stan and told him where to go. After that he took a seat on a bed and looked outside as the bus left. Finally after a few stops they arrived at his stop and he got out only to look around at his surroundings. He hadn't expected to come to Number Twelve Grimauld Place but as it was the address his godfather had given him, it's where he had gone . Going up to Number Twelve, he knocked at the door and waited for a few minutes. Suddenly the door was opened to reveal Sirius dressed in black pyjama pants and a bed head. When he saw that it was him he smiled.
"Get in here, kiddo," he said, opening the door wider for him.
Smiling in thanks, Harry followed his godfather inside and then down to the kitchen.
"Sit down, kiddo, did you tell your parents you were coming or did you pull a Sirius Black and just ran off?" he asked, putting a kettle on.
"I pulled a Sirius Black," he answered, making him laugh softly.
"Alright, kiddo, what set you off?" he asked.
"Well it would set you off as well if you had to ask your brother to ask your parents for the salt because they wouldn't answer or even acknowledge you," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I know what you mean, kiddo, I suppose we can call your parents tomorrow if they don't freak out with me, but you do know it's your family reunion this year," he told Harry while making the tea then handing it over to his godson who accepted it with a thanks. Of course he knew just what Harry liked and always kept some in the house just in case. Of course it helped that he liked it as well.
"You're going, so we can go together," Harry said, sipping his tea.
"You're bringing Hermione and Ron, right?" Sirius asked, smiling.
"Yeah, I am," Harry answered brightly.
"Great, then we can pick them up on our way to the reunion," Sirius said .
"Thank you, Uncle Siri, you know, for doing this," he said, looking down at his knees. No matter how long it had been, he still had trouble going to an adult for help.
"Kid, it's my pleasure as your godfather to do everything I can for you, also I love you, kiddo, you're like the son I never had," Sirius said, making Harry smile brightly. "So from now on, you are going to call me Sirius, got it, kiddo?" He asked, making Harry laugh.
"Sure thing, Sirius," he said, making him grin.
"Great, now it's after midnight, so let's get you settled into a room so you can go to bed," he said, standing.
They went up to the second then thethird floor. Then they went to the room farthest from the stairs. Opening the door, Harry was taken aback by the sight that met him. It was amazing, the entire place felt as if it had been decorated for him. The walls were a soft grey while the curtains were black. The ground was a dark hard wood, while the bed was large and black . The bedding though was dark wine red with the sheets being a nice warm grey.
"Sirius," he whispered, amazed at the sight.
"I wanted you to have a room of your own in case you ever came here," Sirius said smiling, he didn't mention the fact that he had also done a room for every other member of the Grim Reapers, although Remus had been strongly against it. It had been something that he wanted to do to remember them. He had also decorated the second floor for the Order members in case Voldemort was brought back to life.
"Thank you, Sirius," he whispered, hugging his godfather.
"You are welcome, kiddo," he said, kissing the top of his godson's head.
"Let's get you unpacked and settled in," he said, making Harry laugh.
"Sure," he agreed.
About an hour later Harry was settled in and fast asleep on his bed while Sirius watched him with a smile on his lips. He would protect his godson, that was something he wanted and would do at all cost.
"Goodnight, Harry," he whispered then turned and left to tell Remus that Harry was at his place. He would tell James and Lily when they asked about it.
...
The next day Demeter looked for Harry but couldn't find him anywhere, finally he decided to ask Mia.
"Mia, did you see Harry?" he asked her once he had found her in the barn.
"No and you wont either, he has had enough of our parents. He isn't angry at you, big brother, but at mom and dad. I mean they ignore him, it's really stupid and I am not happy with them either," she said.
"I know what you mean, it's getting on my nerves, they keep bugging me about my work," he said.
"What do you expect, you're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived!" she shouted, making him sigh.
"I hate that title, it's so stupid and it doesn't feel right to have it," Demeter said ,making Mia smile. "So were did he go?" he asked.
"Uncle Sirius' house," she said shocking Demeter .
"Nobody knows were he lives though!" he shouted, making her laugh.
"I know, but he gave Harry the address and told him that if he ever wanted to go over that he could. Now you can't tell mom dad or even Rose about this," she told him.
"I know Harry doesn't deserve to be given the silent treatment like they are doing," he said, shaking his head.
"Tell me about it," Mia said with a scowl on her face. "They are being idiots," she told him standing up and turning to him.
At Grimauld Place Harry woke up and stretched. After looking around, he got up and went downstairs where Sirius was trying to cook breakfast. Laughing softly at his miserable attempt, he went over and got him out of the way then started to fix what Sirius had tried to make.
"You know how to cook, kiddo?" Sirius asked
"Yeah, I guess it's just natural," he said, finishing the bacon and putting it aside.
"Maybe you can try and teach me," he said, laughing and making Harry grin.
"It's not that hard, Sirius, it's about what smells right and sometimes looks right, but most of the time you have to taste things," he said smiling.
After a few more minutes he finished cooking and they started to eat. A few minutes later Remus arrived, making Harry very nervous. Still they reassured him that nothing was wrong because Sirius had told him that he was there. After breakfast Harry and Sirius got dressed and they left to have a day out in muggle London. In London they went exploreing and even ate out, when they returned to Grimauld Place they were all very happy. For dinner Harry said that he would cook something, so he went into the kitchen and started to cook, making sure his two uncles didn't come into the room.
Finally finished he let them in. When they walked in both of them sniffed at the air and suddenly their mouths fell open and they started to drool because it smelled so good. Going to the table they found that Harry had cooked onion soup with fresh bread and chicken wings.
"Well are you guys going to eat or stand there and drool?" Harry asked, laughing softly.
"Bloody hell, Harry, it smells amazing," Sirius said, sitting down.
"I never smelled anything so good, even your mom can't cook like this," Remus said, making Harry grin.
"Thanks, now dig in," he said before doing just that himself.
When they finished dinner Harry brought out some dessert that made them both whine. It was chocolate with brownie, fudge and whipped cream! Digging into the desert they finally finished and sat back, bellies filled.
"Merlin that was amazing, Harry, you really are a great cook," Remus said, making Harry grin.
"Thanks, Uncle Remus," he said.
"Harry, if you want you can call me Remus," Remus said .
"If you say so," he said.
"Do you have homework, kiddo?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I do," Harry said grinning.
"Then why don't we go into the sitting room to do it and if you need our help we'll give try the best as we can," Sirius told him.
"Alright," he said, getting to his feet and leaving the room leaving Sirius and Remus behind.
Once they were alone Sirius turned to Remus who turned to him.
"They haven't called me, Sirius, and you know they can't call you," he said. "I think they're still a little peeved that you didn't tell them about this place yet," Remus continued.
"I don't care, Harry was hurt by them. How could they just ignore him, Remus, their own son?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I do know that Harry loves you and came to you, I doubt the Harry that we once knew would have ever come to you like this Harry has," Remus said, making Sirius smile.
"You're right, Harry would have run off to one of his properties like the Ravenclaw or something. Do you think Lily and James know about those?" he asked.
"The family tapestry room has been sealed for years, Sirius, nobody has seen it in ages," Remus said, shaking his head.
"I know, I keep forgetting about that," Sirius said with a sigh then looked at the door, "Let's go up, we don't want to keep Harry waiting," he said, making Remus grin.
"Too true," he said then followed Sirius up to the sitting room where Harry was already set up.
For the next two days Harry stayed at Sirius' place with out any disturbances, but finally the Potters contacted Remus babbling about Harry missing. Remus told them that he would ask Sirius and then before they could say anything he left, going straight to Grimauld Place.
"Sirius!" Remus called out.
"We're in the sitting room, Remus!" Sirius shouted. Going up to the first floor, Remus went into the warm siting room where Harry was relaxing with his sketch pad and pencils while Sirius just relaxed in front of the fireplace.
"What is it, Remus?" Harry asked, looking up.
"Your parent's finally noticed your absence and contacted me, what should I tell them?" he asked.
"Tell them I'm here and why, perhaps coming from you it will get through to them," Harry said, returning to his sketch pad.
"I agree with Harry, Remus, that's the best course of action," Sirius said.
"Got it, well I'm off," Remus said, leaving the house and going to the Potter Manor, yet what met him was not what he expected.
Stepping out of the fireplace he was just in time to hear Demeter go off on his parents.
"Don't you understand? Not only are you suffocating me with your hovering and cooing but you pushed Harry away!" he shouted. "Harry left because he was tired of being ignored for no bloody reason!"
"Watch your language, young man!" Lily shouted.
"No, I will not watch it, because you have no say in it until you guys start acting like the parents I remember. You used to treat us all the same until this year! Was it because of the Basilisk attack or something, because I really want to know what happened to my parents!" he continued. "It's because of you Harry's gone!" he screamed then Mia jumped in.
"During Christmas you didn't even notice when Harry and I disappeared for more than an hour, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus did. When we returned to the Great Hall you didn't even say anything," she said her voice not even raised as she spoke to her parents. Remus was strongly reminded of a mother scolding her children. "You pushed Harry away and you're lucky I didn't leave with him," she said simply. "Harry won't return here until you guys change and even then I don't think he will," she said then noticed Remus. "Hello, uncle Remus," she said brightly.
"Hello Mia, I am here to tell you, James and Lily, that your children are right, you neglected Harry for no reason. Is it because he's a squib, if so then just say it. Harry is with Sirius and trust me, you won't find him. Leave Harry alone until he is ready to speak with you. He will go to the family reunion with Sirius and will be bringing Hermione and Ron, just don't bug or scold him because what he did wasn't a bad thing. He ran to an adult that he knew would help him," he told them.
"Remus, he is my son and..." Lily started but was silenced by Remus' look.
"Sirius is Harry's godfather," he said simply. "He is taking care of Harry, I also see him everyday, you just have to be patient and remember that you are the ones that caused this. Don't push Harry because he will shut you right out and you won't see him for a long time," Remus said, making them pale.
"Remus, we..." James started but realized that no matter what he said he wouldn't be able to get his son back at the moment. "Tell Harry that we're sorry and that we don't know what came over us," he finally said, wrapping an arm around his wife as she cried softly.
"I will, James," he said then he returned to Grimauld Place.
Arriving he went up to the siting room where Harry and Sirius still were. When they saw him they sat up straight and he sat down.
"Alright, first of Demeter told them off," he said, making Harry laugh.
"Finally!" he said. "It's about time, he was being pushed around by everybody so it's great to see him finally start to shoot back."
"I agree, it's about time he shoots up and stands his ground," Sirius said.
Soon Remus told them what happened then they returned to normal life. Harry wasn't going to return to Potter Manor as of yet, he wasn't ready and to tell you the truth he was having a great time at Grimauld Place with Sirius and Remus. He knew of course that he would have to speak to his parents during the family reunion but if it was in front of Petunia he would not give her the satisfaction of seeing their family problems. He actually hoped to avoid them completely, if that was at all possible.
...
Dear Ron,
This is probably not going to come to a shock but I moved into Sirius' house. I had enough of my parents ignoring me so I moved out for a while. I don't even think I will go back this summer. The family reunion is still happening, so Sirius and I will pick you guys up, don't worry, you're not getting out of it. I am not facing Petunia, Vernon and Dudley alone! I hope you're doing well, have you started working on your homework? If not I tell you it's bloody easy, I flew by the wizarding ones and into the Elemental ones, it was that easy. Of course Professor White made me write a report on how dangerous it is to summon an Elemental weapon without a fully qualified person with you and stuff like that but still I finished it. Boy, Professor White sure got mad at me for that. Well I hope you're doing well, I am, it's actually good being back at Headquarters. See you soon!
Your best mate,
Harry
Dear Hermione,
Hey Hermione you know how I told you this is going to be a long year well I can't believe I'm saying this but I told you so. Today I left my parents house. I pulled a Sirius Black but I ran to Number twelve. Still I have no choice but to attend the reunion so you're all going as well. How is your summer going?Professor White's report was murder. I mean like really I knew the dangers of making an elemental weapon I didn't need to do an essay on it. Well anyway just wanted you to know that I'm with Sirius now. See you see.
Your best friend,
Harry
After writing his letters he sent them off with Hedwig then sat down to read until a knock at his door made him look up.
"Come in," he said confused, suddenly Sirius came in grinning.
"Hey kiddo, can you do me a favour?" he asked.
"Sure," Harry said, sitting up.
"Close your eyes," Sirius told him. Doing as he was told he waited until Sirius said to open them. When he did he looked up and gasped in shock at what he saw in his godfather's hand.
There, just as beautiful as he remembered, was the Firebolt, his old Firebolt! Looking up at his godfather he asked with his eyes if it was really for him.
"Well kiddo, what are you waiting for, an invitation? It's yours!" Hhe said and with that Harry jumped up and tackled his godfather.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he repeated over and over again, making Sirius laugh.
"You're welcome, kiddo," he said. "By the way, I want you to meet two relatives of mine, they were good people so no need to worry about glares and stuff," he said, making Harry smile.
"They are coming for dinner so I'll try and make something," he said, making Harry laugh.
"Don't worry about it, Sirius, I'll make dinner," Harry said, making Sirius grin.
"You are a life saver," he said hugging him.
After putting his new broom very gently on his bed , Harry went downstairs and started dinner as Sirius watched. Tonight he would be making steak with potatoes and carrots. For dessert there would be a Strawberry short cake, Andromeda's favourite along with Tonks'.
When the Tonks family arrived, they greeted them and suddenly Harry found himself being hugged by the bubblegum-pink hyperactive Tonks that was going to be Remus' future wife. Laughing softly, he hugged her back.
"Call me Tonks, Harry," she said.
"Sure think, Tonks," he said grinning.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry Potter," Andromeda said, shaking his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Tonks," he said smiling.
"You look like a good kid," Ted Tonks said.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Tonks," he answered with a grin.
"So Sirius what's for dinner or am I making it?" Andromeda asked.
"Nope, I was going to but Harry here volunteered and I tell you Andy he cooks like a god," Sirius said, making her raise an eyebrow.
"Really? Well let's go eat, shall we," she said, making Harry grin.
"Sure thing, ma'am," Harry said and then they led them down to the kitchen where they all started to eat.
Harry spoke with Tonks for most of the meal although he did answer any questions Andromeda had for him. They were mainly about his Elemental powers. When dinner was over he stood and got the cake and could see both women start drooling .
"Did you tell him about our addiction to this cake, Sirius?" Andromeda asked.
"No, he made it without me even hinting at it, Andy," Sirius said, laughing at his cousin's attics.
"Damn kid, you sure have a great thumb for cooking," Ted said, making Harry smile.
"Thank you, sir," Harry said.
That night when the Tonks family left Harry crawled up to his room and onto his bed where Sirius found him sleeping soundly. Sirius then covered him and kissed his forehead before turning the lights out and leaving the room after closing the door.
"Goodnight, pup, may your dreams be filled with happy things," he whispered then left.
Very IMPORTANT!
I'm afraid even though it's christmas I might have no choice but to put a hold on this story. My privious beta reader has had to drop my story because she must concentrate on uni work. It's completely understandable and until I find another beta read, which is very hard since nobody has answered to my requests, this will be an hold. I do have one more chapter to put up, her last chapter. I will continue to right chapters but it won't be updated until I find somebody to beta it for me. Sorry people and hope you have a merry christmas and a great new year! I do accept any offers people send, just give me a Privat Message and I'll get back to you. My hopes are to get somebody this coming week.
