Disclaimer: As I think we've all figured out by now, I do not own the
characters or plot Harry Potter, for if I did, his fifth year would have
gone more like this, now wouldn't it? And that wouldn't be good because we
wouldn't have been graced with the masterpiece that is The Order of the
Phoenix.
Author's Note: Not much to say right now I guess. Think of the plot being on a roller coaster. It's starting to chug up the hill now! And it's going to chug even faster next chapter, and then it'll go over the hill and start taking everyone for a ride! (Yeah, I went to an amusement park today, could you tell?) I still need advice for italics. I'm using Caps instead at the moment, or nothing at all, until I can figure out this difficult system. I've given up on indents since that works or doesn't work so randomly I decided not to mess with it. Thanks again to Firemask, my steady supply of support! Now, on with the tale!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
. Ron and Hermione had both been rather surprised to find that Harry was going home for the break and decided that they would as well. It had never really hit Harry that his two best friends had given up staying with their families for many of the winter holidays because of him and felt slightly guilty.
Still, he felt nothing more satisfying than walking by the list for people staying at Hogwarts and not seeing his name. Of course, no student was staying this year. Harry figured that this was both due to the same reason that many students had been kept from Hogwarts in the first place, and that those who did believe Dumbledore knew that bad times were ahead and wanted to be with their families.
Of course, Ron joked that now that they were leaving, nobody had a reason to stay.
"Oh come on Harry, you know they're all thinking, 'Well if those two Gryffindor stud-muffins aren't staying than what's the point?" Ron said with a laugh.
"Should we send out notices apologizing that we have to take the fun out of Hogwarts for Christmas?" Harry asked in mock-seriousness.
"Nah. Might make them cry even harder."
The two boys laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes joining in the laughter as well.
.
Harry had obviously never left Hogwarts for Christmas since he was enrolled. He had never before felt the joy of packing only some of his belongings, knowing that he'd be back soon. For once he didn't dread leaving the school.
The train ride home was filled with students chatting excitedly about their holiday plans. At one point a group of rowdy Hufflepuffs started singing carols, most unfamiliar wizard ones, but Harry recognized a few Muggle songs as well.
Another aspect of this train ride that was different was that many students were practicing magic to show their parents since magic was not forbidden during winter vacation as it was during the summer. Harry guessed this was to give the students some opportunity to show off to their families what they had learned.
.
When they got to the station, Harry saw the Stensons, who he had told to look for him at Platform 8. (He thought that seeing him appear from a wall might be a bit of a shock for the moment.) He quickly ran over to them, saying something about a mix up in platform numbers. The Weasleys and Hermione came up to be introduced, and for once, Harry didn't have to be embarrassed by the people picking him up from the station.
Ron gave Harry a discreet nod to communicate that he had, in fact, informed his family about the Stenson's ignorance of magic.
Once the three members of the Stenson family, along with the six present members of the Weasley family and Hermione, were introduced, the conversation quickly became awkward.
Mr. Stenson immediately asked everyone how school was (which got a resounding "fine, thanks" in reply) but then began probing into what their favorite subjects were and what they did in their free time there. Hermione mentioned history, and Harry mentioned math, but quickly tried to close the subject before any questions could be asked about what math they were in or what they were learning about in history, as he wasn't quite sure what would be the response that would correctly correspond to their ages.
Mrs. Stenson, sensing tension, tactfully asked Mr. Weasley what he did for a living. Unfortunately, Mr. Weasley couldn't exactly say that he worked with the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, as the Stensons might have tried to have him committed.
Chaos emerged as Mr. Weasley looked to Harry and Hermione for support, since they were the only two wizards familiar with Muggle occupations. Fortunately, both were on their toes about the subject and quickly stated the Muggle job Mr. Weasley supposedly had. Unfortunately, Hermione firmly stated "dentist" while Harry simultaneously declared "lawyer."
It got worse when they both tried to fix it.
Hermione said that he was a dentist for lawyers, while Harry said that he was a lawyer for dentists. The Stensons looked extremely confused not only by Harry's and Hermione's disagreeing, but also at the dumfounded expression on Mr. Weasley's face who had no idea what dentists or lawyers were in the first place. Everybody jumped in to try to save the mistake, but as many of these were the Weasleys who had no familiarity with Muggle occupations, things became very confusing very fast.
Things were getting to the point of insanity when all of a sudden Dakota gasped and grabbed her father's hand.
"Oh my God! Harry's uncle is here!" she squealed looking very panicked. Harry followed her gaze and sure enough, his uncle was walking around angrily staring at Platform 9 ¾ and around it, no doubt in search of his nephew. He must have suspected that he would try to stay with the Stensons, and despite his loathing for Harry, this went against the rules for his feud with Mr. Stenson.
Everyone turned back around quickly, each looking a bit edgy. Hermione and the Weasleys didn't quite understand the circumstances, but could definitely get the feeling that this was a bad situation.
Dakota appeared to be having a panic attack, while Harry sort of stared in a shocked silence, like a deer caught in headlights. Inside, however, the deafening sound of his heart pounding out of his chest was only outrivaled by the screams of his mind telling his disobedient legs to run. If his uncle saw him he would spend two weeks in misery and would most likely be banned from seeing the Stensons ever again, which was legally already supposed to be in affect. Also, the Stensons could be in trouble with the law for having him. Things were not looking good.
Luckily, Mr. Stenson kept his cool and shook Harry out of his near comatose state. He shoved the keys into Dakota's hand and told her to get them out of there. Harry, regaining his senses, shoved Hedwig's cage into Ron's hands and told him to send Hedwig to him when he got home.
He looked up to see his uncle's head swivel in their direction. He ducked. Through the cracks between the bodies of his friends, he could see Uncle Vernon's face well up in fury in seeing the Weasleys with the Stensons together. He began to stalk over, his face growing more purple with each step he took.
Harry felt Kota grab his hand and pull him into a small group of people who had been walking by, intent on making their trains. The two made sure their faces were turned away from Vernon and tried to hide themselves amongst the taller adults, Harry pushing his trunk in front of him.
When they were safely away from the turmoil that was sure to start, Harry grabbed Kota's arm and whispered that he wanted to see what was happening. She bit her lip and looked like she was going to protest, but then admitted that she did too.
The two hurried behind a pillar and peeked out, just close enough to see and hear what was happening.
"Don't tell me that you didn't come here to pick that boy up, Stenson. Why else would you be talking to them?" he said nodding towards the Weasleys with a scowl.
"Uh oh, good question there," whispered Kota.
Mr. Weasley looked at the Stensons with a look of wonder on his face. "Wait, you know Harry, Harry Potter?" The rest played along with gasps of "Oh my goodness!" and "Talk about a small world!" along with another round of introductions.
"Ooh, good save," Harry whispered. He felt like a Quidditch commentator.
"Absolutely brilliant!" Kota replied excitedly.
"I don't buy that for one second. I know he's here somewhere. You're hiding him, aren't you," he pointed a shaking finger at Mr. Stenson. "You know you're breaking the law if you have him into your home!"
Realizing what a complete idiot he was at this comment, Uncle Vernon immediately shut up. The Weasleys and Hermione looked somewhat taken aback and confused at that comment, while the Stensons sported looks of tamed fury.
Harry was swept with a wave of humiliation. He desperately hoped the conversation wouldn't turn down THAT road. He felt Kota give him a tense glance, making his face burn even more.
"Dursley," Mr. Stenson started angrily but strangely calm. "My family's business does not concern you, so I suggest you get out of my face before you are reintroduced to my fist."
"Ah threats of violence, I see. Your business concerns me if it has to do with my nephew!"
"Oh I see, so all of a sudden you're a caring guardian?"
This was going in a bad direction fast. Harry looked desperately at Dakota who nodded and immediately raced up to her father, interrupting him before he could say more.
"Well, Dad, Uncle Dan's train was delayed. The man said that they got stuck in a snowstorm somewhere and will be staying the night. He said we should go home and come back tomorrow," she turned to Uncle Vernon as if noticing him for the first time. "Hello Mr. Dursley. Are you picking up Dudley from school?"
"No, we picked him up yesterday," he responded curtly.
"Well, er, thank you for the directions Mr. Stenson, and Ron will be sure to mention that we met you to Harry when he returns to school," he looked reluctant to leave (as well as the rest of the Weasley clan) but ushered them all away anyway. Hermione caught sight of her parents who she hadn't noticed before because of the scene and went over to them, discretely peeking over her shoulder to make sure nothing interesting was happening.
Uncle Vernon seemed to recognize his defeat.
"If I catch that boy in your house, there'll be hell to pay," he threatened and began walking away.
"Well, you will never step foot in our house, so don't worry," Mrs. Stenson called after him.
The Stensons pretended to be engrossed in a list of the next day's train schedules until Uncle Vernon was safely out of sight. Then, Kota led them to where Harry was hiding and they all walked to the car together, none of them seeing a murderous looking Uncle Vernon watching them from the station window.
.
.
A/N: Uh oh! Pyscho uncle! What will this mean for Harry? Tune in next update to find out! Imagine me with a big cardboard sign right now. It says "Will write for reviews." Thanks!!
Author's Note: Not much to say right now I guess. Think of the plot being on a roller coaster. It's starting to chug up the hill now! And it's going to chug even faster next chapter, and then it'll go over the hill and start taking everyone for a ride! (Yeah, I went to an amusement park today, could you tell?) I still need advice for italics. I'm using Caps instead at the moment, or nothing at all, until I can figure out this difficult system. I've given up on indents since that works or doesn't work so randomly I decided not to mess with it. Thanks again to Firemask, my steady supply of support! Now, on with the tale!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
. Ron and Hermione had both been rather surprised to find that Harry was going home for the break and decided that they would as well. It had never really hit Harry that his two best friends had given up staying with their families for many of the winter holidays because of him and felt slightly guilty.
Still, he felt nothing more satisfying than walking by the list for people staying at Hogwarts and not seeing his name. Of course, no student was staying this year. Harry figured that this was both due to the same reason that many students had been kept from Hogwarts in the first place, and that those who did believe Dumbledore knew that bad times were ahead and wanted to be with their families.
Of course, Ron joked that now that they were leaving, nobody had a reason to stay.
"Oh come on Harry, you know they're all thinking, 'Well if those two Gryffindor stud-muffins aren't staying than what's the point?" Ron said with a laugh.
"Should we send out notices apologizing that we have to take the fun out of Hogwarts for Christmas?" Harry asked in mock-seriousness.
"Nah. Might make them cry even harder."
The two boys laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes joining in the laughter as well.
.
Harry had obviously never left Hogwarts for Christmas since he was enrolled. He had never before felt the joy of packing only some of his belongings, knowing that he'd be back soon. For once he didn't dread leaving the school.
The train ride home was filled with students chatting excitedly about their holiday plans. At one point a group of rowdy Hufflepuffs started singing carols, most unfamiliar wizard ones, but Harry recognized a few Muggle songs as well.
Another aspect of this train ride that was different was that many students were practicing magic to show their parents since magic was not forbidden during winter vacation as it was during the summer. Harry guessed this was to give the students some opportunity to show off to their families what they had learned.
.
When they got to the station, Harry saw the Stensons, who he had told to look for him at Platform 8. (He thought that seeing him appear from a wall might be a bit of a shock for the moment.) He quickly ran over to them, saying something about a mix up in platform numbers. The Weasleys and Hermione came up to be introduced, and for once, Harry didn't have to be embarrassed by the people picking him up from the station.
Ron gave Harry a discreet nod to communicate that he had, in fact, informed his family about the Stenson's ignorance of magic.
Once the three members of the Stenson family, along with the six present members of the Weasley family and Hermione, were introduced, the conversation quickly became awkward.
Mr. Stenson immediately asked everyone how school was (which got a resounding "fine, thanks" in reply) but then began probing into what their favorite subjects were and what they did in their free time there. Hermione mentioned history, and Harry mentioned math, but quickly tried to close the subject before any questions could be asked about what math they were in or what they were learning about in history, as he wasn't quite sure what would be the response that would correctly correspond to their ages.
Mrs. Stenson, sensing tension, tactfully asked Mr. Weasley what he did for a living. Unfortunately, Mr. Weasley couldn't exactly say that he worked with the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, as the Stensons might have tried to have him committed.
Chaos emerged as Mr. Weasley looked to Harry and Hermione for support, since they were the only two wizards familiar with Muggle occupations. Fortunately, both were on their toes about the subject and quickly stated the Muggle job Mr. Weasley supposedly had. Unfortunately, Hermione firmly stated "dentist" while Harry simultaneously declared "lawyer."
It got worse when they both tried to fix it.
Hermione said that he was a dentist for lawyers, while Harry said that he was a lawyer for dentists. The Stensons looked extremely confused not only by Harry's and Hermione's disagreeing, but also at the dumfounded expression on Mr. Weasley's face who had no idea what dentists or lawyers were in the first place. Everybody jumped in to try to save the mistake, but as many of these were the Weasleys who had no familiarity with Muggle occupations, things became very confusing very fast.
Things were getting to the point of insanity when all of a sudden Dakota gasped and grabbed her father's hand.
"Oh my God! Harry's uncle is here!" she squealed looking very panicked. Harry followed her gaze and sure enough, his uncle was walking around angrily staring at Platform 9 ¾ and around it, no doubt in search of his nephew. He must have suspected that he would try to stay with the Stensons, and despite his loathing for Harry, this went against the rules for his feud with Mr. Stenson.
Everyone turned back around quickly, each looking a bit edgy. Hermione and the Weasleys didn't quite understand the circumstances, but could definitely get the feeling that this was a bad situation.
Dakota appeared to be having a panic attack, while Harry sort of stared in a shocked silence, like a deer caught in headlights. Inside, however, the deafening sound of his heart pounding out of his chest was only outrivaled by the screams of his mind telling his disobedient legs to run. If his uncle saw him he would spend two weeks in misery and would most likely be banned from seeing the Stensons ever again, which was legally already supposed to be in affect. Also, the Stensons could be in trouble with the law for having him. Things were not looking good.
Luckily, Mr. Stenson kept his cool and shook Harry out of his near comatose state. He shoved the keys into Dakota's hand and told her to get them out of there. Harry, regaining his senses, shoved Hedwig's cage into Ron's hands and told him to send Hedwig to him when he got home.
He looked up to see his uncle's head swivel in their direction. He ducked. Through the cracks between the bodies of his friends, he could see Uncle Vernon's face well up in fury in seeing the Weasleys with the Stensons together. He began to stalk over, his face growing more purple with each step he took.
Harry felt Kota grab his hand and pull him into a small group of people who had been walking by, intent on making their trains. The two made sure their faces were turned away from Vernon and tried to hide themselves amongst the taller adults, Harry pushing his trunk in front of him.
When they were safely away from the turmoil that was sure to start, Harry grabbed Kota's arm and whispered that he wanted to see what was happening. She bit her lip and looked like she was going to protest, but then admitted that she did too.
The two hurried behind a pillar and peeked out, just close enough to see and hear what was happening.
"Don't tell me that you didn't come here to pick that boy up, Stenson. Why else would you be talking to them?" he said nodding towards the Weasleys with a scowl.
"Uh oh, good question there," whispered Kota.
Mr. Weasley looked at the Stensons with a look of wonder on his face. "Wait, you know Harry, Harry Potter?" The rest played along with gasps of "Oh my goodness!" and "Talk about a small world!" along with another round of introductions.
"Ooh, good save," Harry whispered. He felt like a Quidditch commentator.
"Absolutely brilliant!" Kota replied excitedly.
"I don't buy that for one second. I know he's here somewhere. You're hiding him, aren't you," he pointed a shaking finger at Mr. Stenson. "You know you're breaking the law if you have him into your home!"
Realizing what a complete idiot he was at this comment, Uncle Vernon immediately shut up. The Weasleys and Hermione looked somewhat taken aback and confused at that comment, while the Stensons sported looks of tamed fury.
Harry was swept with a wave of humiliation. He desperately hoped the conversation wouldn't turn down THAT road. He felt Kota give him a tense glance, making his face burn even more.
"Dursley," Mr. Stenson started angrily but strangely calm. "My family's business does not concern you, so I suggest you get out of my face before you are reintroduced to my fist."
"Ah threats of violence, I see. Your business concerns me if it has to do with my nephew!"
"Oh I see, so all of a sudden you're a caring guardian?"
This was going in a bad direction fast. Harry looked desperately at Dakota who nodded and immediately raced up to her father, interrupting him before he could say more.
"Well, Dad, Uncle Dan's train was delayed. The man said that they got stuck in a snowstorm somewhere and will be staying the night. He said we should go home and come back tomorrow," she turned to Uncle Vernon as if noticing him for the first time. "Hello Mr. Dursley. Are you picking up Dudley from school?"
"No, we picked him up yesterday," he responded curtly.
"Well, er, thank you for the directions Mr. Stenson, and Ron will be sure to mention that we met you to Harry when he returns to school," he looked reluctant to leave (as well as the rest of the Weasley clan) but ushered them all away anyway. Hermione caught sight of her parents who she hadn't noticed before because of the scene and went over to them, discretely peeking over her shoulder to make sure nothing interesting was happening.
Uncle Vernon seemed to recognize his defeat.
"If I catch that boy in your house, there'll be hell to pay," he threatened and began walking away.
"Well, you will never step foot in our house, so don't worry," Mrs. Stenson called after him.
The Stensons pretended to be engrossed in a list of the next day's train schedules until Uncle Vernon was safely out of sight. Then, Kota led them to where Harry was hiding and they all walked to the car together, none of them seeing a murderous looking Uncle Vernon watching them from the station window.
.
.
A/N: Uh oh! Pyscho uncle! What will this mean for Harry? Tune in next update to find out! Imagine me with a big cardboard sign right now. It says "Will write for reviews." Thanks!!