A/N: Hello, everyone! This is VeRyWiLdWiTcH
speaking! Notice something: Kittyluver87 and a friend of ours (the lovely
cricket) have decided to screw up Together Again and put it up under their own
screen name! I have given them permission for this, but please don't come
whining to me whenever they make fun of my writing, whenever they screw up a
chapter so much that it has you laughing your head off or wetting yourself, or
whenever they kill a character and then miraculously bring them back to life.
I'll be yelling at them enough as it is.
Have fun reading this revised copy of Together Again on Crack (or
whatever they decide to call it)!
Hi, it's us! Kittluver87 and Cricket under our own screen name! We hope you enjoy our version of Together Again. It may be awhile before we post each chapter, but don't let that stop you from reading this!!
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry potter or even this story, but just read it!!
Chapter One – Birth and Death
Harry set down his quill and blew lightly on his parchment to dry the ink that spelled out his letter to Dumbledore; it was his twentieth letter that month. He ran a finger over the lightning shaped scar that was on his forehead. It still burned as if he'd woken up screaming from the dream minutes before when it had actually been a little more than an hour ago. The pains in his scar were becoming more and more frequent and lasted longer. He rubbed his sleep-filled eyes and leaned back in his chair. The lamp on his desk was now quite dim compared to the brilliant sunrise just outside his window. It filled Harry's room with its golden light, spreading its warmth through Little Whinging.
As Harry squinted out the window he saw a huge shape coming towards the house on Privet Drive. He then proceeded to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Six owls, one of them his own snowy owl, Hedwig, were flying towards the house. Harry, stumbling the entire way, cleared the window space in a hurry. His room was suddenly filled with light hoots and the quiet rustling of feathers. Each of the owls appeared to be anxious to rid themselves of their parcel first and crowded around Harry, jostling and pushing each other. Harry laughed quietly so he wouldn't wake his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and pulled the letter off the tawny owl that he recognized as Dumbledore's. He peeled off the seal with his fingertips and read the letter:
Dearest Harry,
As you well know, both the Weasley's and Sirius offered to take you in halfway through summer break. You've anxiously waited, no doubt, to get away from your current housing. Of course, it is your choice who you spend the rest of your break with, but I suggest that you make the choice quickly. I will be sending you another letter in a few days. This will be my thirtieth letter to you.
Sirius has asked me to send you his warm wishes on your birthday and to include the gift attached to the owl. He also said, "Have a very happy birthday, and don't let the Dursley's bother you too much!"
Forever Yours,
Professor A. Dumbledore
"Well, that's cheery," Harry murmured, a brief smile stealing across his face. He glanced back at the tawny owl and gently pulled the package from it. It nipped gently at him and hopped away, perching on the edge of Harry's desk. Harry attached his letter to the owl with an added, "Thanks for the letter and the gift. By the time of next letter, I should have my mind made up. With Love, Harry." And sent the owl on its way, and then looked at the gift. It was rectangular and wrapped in brown paper, much like that of a paper bag. He unwrapped it and saw a spectacularly beautiful red journal bound with a ribbon and a pen that looked much like a quill included. Harry admired it for a bit until he heard grumbling and the bed bouncing up and down in the room next to his. He quickly ripped up the loose floorboard under his bed and placed the book in without investigating it further. He placed the letter from Dumbledore beside it and looked at the next owl. This one was a barn owl that had a letter from Hagrid and a cake that looked like it contained something it shouldn't. He quickly placed that in beside it, not really meaning to eat the cake. Maybe I should give it to Dudley and his stupid pink Rhinoceros he thought. The third owl (another tawny) had the list of supplies for Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. He placed that on his desk, promising himself that he'd read it later.
Ron's gift contained yet another book on the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team. Shaking his head gently and giggling softly, Harry placed it in along with the cake and journal. After shooing Pig out the window, he started on Hedwig's parcel. Hermione had written an interesting letter.
Harry,
Guess what! I've been made a prefect! Can you believe it? Ron wasn't made one, much to his relief, and to Fred and George's, too, believe it or not. Do you know if you've been made one? Crookshanks got a hold of my letter after I received it, so I couldn't check it out. He's been a bit grumpy recently, for some reason. Maybe because I fed him some moldy cheese.
Have you heard from Sirius lately? He sent both Ron and me letters asking us if we would like to come and stay with him if you want to stay there. Who are you going to choose for that?
Hope to hear from you soon and have a very happy birthday.
Love always,
Hermione
Harry smiled and opened up the gift. He wasn't the least bit surprised to hear that Hermione had been made a prefect.
Harry gasped when the small box he'd been holding fell open and a flash of gold leapt out at him. He caught it easily and knew that it was far too light and slow to be a Snitch, which was what he thought that it was at first. He held it up and looked curiously at it. It was a very small golden lightning bolt on a gold chain. He put it around his neck. It fit just under his shirt, laying near his flopping heart.
He put everything else away quickly and noticed that there was one more owl with a package. He grabbed the parcel and the owl flew out the window before he could do anything else. He shook it gently and heard shifting. He opened up the package and saw a note along with a badge that looked vaguely familiar. A large "P" was on it. Harry groaned. He looked at the letter and his fears had come true.
"Well at least Hermione is one too," Harry said quietly to himself.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been made a prefect at Hogwarts, school for witchcraft and wizardry. The following list of students have also been made prefects. You will sit with them on the train for the first 10 minutes of the trip. After that, you may sit where you wish.
Yours Truly,
Professor M. McGonagall
Harry looked up and down the list. To his amusement, he noticed that Draco Malfoy had been made a prefect. A smile crawled across his face, and he knew that this year would definitely be better than any of the previous years.
Stretching and rubbing his eyes again, Harry headed downstairs to have breakfast and see the family that didn't care if he lived or died.
~*~
Harry stopped near the bottom of the stairs. He heard whispers, but no one was normally up this early. He crept closer and strained his ears to hear what was so important that it had to be said while everyone was supposedly still asleep.
"…Er…yes…why the sudden interest in him? I know that you've just been interested in collecting information for the dark side for the past couple of years."
"Quiet, Muggle. I could still kill you if I felt like it." Harry furrowed his brow. Uncle Vernon was the first voice, but who was the second? A sudden creak of a floorboard caught his attention. Harry's head swung around and he stuffed his hand in his mouth to muffle his gasp of surprise. Dudley was standing behind him. Dudley had lost quite a bit of weight on that diet, considering that he almost never exercised. Harry believed that after that ton tongue toffee that the Weasley twins left him the year before, he might have abstained from even flaming Christmas pudding during the holidays, which Harry knew he spent with his parents.
"Who's there? They woke me up!" Dudley whispered, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Harry motioned for Dudley to be quiet. To Harry's surprise, Dudley didn't object. He crept up closer to Harry and the two boys listened to the men below.
"I can only tell you that Harry is spending the rest of the summer with those wretched Weasley's." Uncle Vernon said, his voice sounding nervous. Harry's brow furrowed even farther. Dudley switched his weight from one still whale-like leg to the other. Harry felt as nervous as Dudley. Who was Uncle Vernon talking to?
"Good. We'll take control of that. Do you know when he'll be leaving?" With a shock, Harry realized to whom the voice belonged. It was Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father. Harry went stark white.
"We're not sure. We haven't gotten any mail from that…that woman…yet this summer."
"Hmm…when you do, you'll be sure to summon me?"
"Yes, yes of course. Just leave my family alone!" Harry felt his blood run cold with the realization that his uncle was dealing with the dark lord, the very person that had landed Harry in their hands in the first place. Beside him, Harry could feel Dudley trembling in fear, his big body almost shaking the stairs. When Harry had come home, he had warned the entire family about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, even though he thought that they didn't care. Dudley, he now realized, did care whether he woke up alive, at least enough to get along with Harry.
Harry heard one of the unforgivable curses muttered by the Death Eater. He heard Uncle Vernon's footsteps head into the kitchen and a small pop told him that Lucius Malfoy had disaparated.
"What happened?" Dudley whispered.
"The Imperious curse," Harry muttered.
"What?" Dudley asked with a confused expression on his face.
"An Unforgivable curse. I'm not eating breakfast today," Harry said and headed back upstairs, leaving a bewildered Dudley gaping on the stairs.
~*~
"What are you doing?" Aunt Petunia shrieked from the living room.
Harry and Dudley went racing down the stairs. Dudley was making the whole house shake. Once they reached the bottom, Dudley fell flat on his face. Harry tried to lift the massive form of his cousin, but had no success. He left him there and headed into the living room.
Uncle Vernon was pulling out the bricks in front of the fireplace; the fake fireplace was laying in shatters on the white carpet. Harry watched in amazement as his uncle pulled the fireplace apart with great strength.
Dudley had managed to get himself up and was now standing beside Harry, his mouth hanging open inches from the floor.
"Dad? What are you doing?" Dudley asked.
"My carpet! My beautiful carpet!" Aunt Petunia sobbed.
"Must finish, must get it done for He-who-must-not-be-named," Uncle Vernon whispered.
Harry turned and bolted up the stairs, locking his bedroom door.
~*~
Late that night using only the moon to light his paper and the pen that Sirius had given him that morning, Harry wrote another letter to Dumbledore. After all that had happened that day, after all that he had learned, he felt that he should at least warn the headmaster about what was going on.
Harry sat in silence as the point of the pen scratched across the heavy parchment, his words flowing from line to line.
Professor Dumbledore,
This morning I am sad to say I found that my uncle is now under the Imperious Curse. I don't know what to do, but I do need to get out of here. Please have someone pick me up soon. Thanks.
Harry
"My life's such a mess," he murmured almost angrily.
After sending the letter off with Hedwig, he sat back and reflected on the day. The only thing that kept him awake was the thought that he could be killed if he stayed in this house. The sound of Dudley snoring made him drift off to sleep.
A/N: (again) It's still us!! We hope you enjoyed this. It's different from VWW's, but we think it's even better. Expect some fluff in the near future of this story!