Disclaimer: I don't own it! I don't own it! Well, I guess I came up with a character or two, but that's about it. The Lyrics belong to 12 Stones.
A/N: Hey, I'm updating this quicker than I thought this time :) I'm glad to see people are actually still reading this, I thought I killed it when I stopped updating before. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! You guys are the reason I got this part out already. Hope you like this one!
***
The Edge of Forever
Part 4: False Identity
***
~Help me find the fracture in this dark sky~
It was only a matter of hours before Harry realized how stupid he'd just been. What in the name of Merlin had he been thinking?! Using magic away from school, not only in front of, but ON a muggle! Uncle Vernon was right, he WAS going to get expelled. They'd take his wand and snap it in half and then where would he be? Not back with the Durselys, but still, the thought wasn't exactly comforting.
And what would Sirius think of him then? Would he still care about him? Harry dismissed the question rather quickly, it wasn't a hard one. No, Sirius wouldn't desert him, he'd do something far worse than that--He'd blame himself. As much as he didn't want to believe that, Harry knew that it was the truth. Sirius already felt guilty for the death of his parents, for the way Harry had been forced to grow up, no doubt he would be just as bad about this. That was just the way that his godfather was.
It was hard for Harry not to worry about what was to come. Would he really be kicked out of Hogwarts for defending himself? That's really all that he was doing, right? His uncle would've killed him if he hadn't stunned him then, wouldn't he? Well, maybe not have kill him, but still...Surely the ministry would understand that. Of course, that didn't mean that they would understand his running away to help a convicted murder. Perhaps that was what was going to get him kicked out.
In any case, Harry was in trouble. It wasn't like he was just running from the Dursley's, if that were the case there was a number of places he could go, but this was completely different. This was much more complicated. Because this time he couldn't go to the Weasley's, and he couldn't go to Hogwarts. This time he wasn't only running from his loathsome relatives, this time he was running from the Ministry of Magic. This time there was no where to hide.
And then there was Voldemort...
Harry frowned. There was always Voldemort.
Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to wash the thoughts from his mind, and instead forcing his attention on the rain soaked ground below. He sighed. The weather had been anything but ideal for someone running away by broomstick. It reminded him horribly of that Quidditch game back in his third year, the only difference being a merciful lack of dementors. At least he could be thankful for THAT. He could barely stay on his broom as it was, the way the wind was blowing him about. He felt like a kite being flown by some hapless muggle child in the middle of a particularly violent hurricane. If there HAD been dementors he'd have fallen off long ago.
As it was, the invisibility cloak had almost been lost on several occasions. First when Harry had nearly been thrown from his broom by an icy gust of wind that sent him spinning, and then again when the weather had died down a bit and he'd all but fallen asleep. The fact that it was the middle of the night and he could barely make out the front end of his broom wasn't helping matters much either.
All and all, things were not going well.
Harry shuddered slightly as a bolt of lightening flashed across the otherwise darkened sky. He was going to get himself killed if he stayed in the air much longer. And as if to punctuate this fact a load clap of thunder rumbled through the darkness around him that set the boy's ears ringing. He had to find a place to land.
Problem was he didn't have any idea where he was at. The darkness was so thick and inky that Harry could have flown straight into any number of the things and not have known it until he found himself helplessly plummeting towards the ground below. What was down there anyway? The fact that he didn't have even the slightest clue was not a comforting thought. But then again, Harry hadn't exactly been one for comforting thoughts lately, had he?
It was nearly another hour before Harry was able to make out the dimly glowing lights of a small muggle town below him. By that time he was nearly falling off his broom from exhaustion as well as the ill-timed storm. Lightening was still glinting dangerously ahead of him, thunder still booming dully in his ears. He had to land now, otherwise he wouldn't make it through the night, let alone be able to help Sirius.
He hit the ground a bit off balance, barely able to stay standing as his feet slid against the slick pavement. Rain fell in thick icy sheets around him, and he had a time peeling the invisibility cloak off of his sopping body. He had to find some kind of shelter. Glancing cautiously around him, Harry began jogging down the dimly lit street on half asleep legs. His eye's darted in every direction, falling hopelessly on a line of tiny shops that had obviously been closed for the night. He would find no help there.
He wasn't entirely sure how long it had been before his eye's landed on a battered old sign that simply read "Inn" but it hardly mattered to the boy as he ran up to the heavy wooden door. The hinges gave a slight creak as he pushed the entry open, and he heaved a tiny sigh as he stepped quickly through it.
The lobby was small and ill-furnished, with only a few wooden chairs placed in each of the corners and a half dead plant just in front of counter.
"Awfully late a kid to be running around out there, don't you think?" Came a slightly raspy voice just in front of him. Harry gazed up at the voices owner, a gangly sort of man, probably in his thirties, with short blond hair and inquiring brown eye's.
"I need a room." Harry said, ignoring the man's question as he stepped up to counter. "How much for one night?"
The blond man stared down at him curiously as the boy dug around in his overly large pocket and pulled out some rumpled money. Was that a broomstick he had with him? He raised an eyebrow. "You by yourself, kid?"
Harry looked up at him, an indescribable panic rising in his brilliant green eye's. "Why?" He asked cautiously.
"Well, you can't rent a room if your under eighteen." He explained simply.
"You can't?" Harry frowned at the man, brow furrowing in confusion. If he couldn't get a room, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't keep flying, and there was no where else that he could stay. If this had been a wizarding village he'd have gotten a room easily, he never considered the differences in the way muggles ran things. After knowing that he was a wizard for the past four years he'd come to take it all for granted.
"No." The man shook his head. And then after seeing how the boy's face fell at his words added, "Sorry, kid, but that's the rules."
"Couldn't you make an exception?" Harry stammered desperately. "I don't have anywhere else to go, and with the storm and all...I can pay if that's what your worried about."
"I have no doubt that you can pay." He said, again turning his gaze to the small stack of money in the boy's hand. "But I can't make any exceptions, I don't have authorization to-"
"But it's only for one night!"
"I'm sorry, kid." The man frowned back at the boy with a mixture of annoyance and sympathy. He certainly didn't want to send the poor kid back out into that storm, but rules were rules. There were no exceptions, not if he wanted to keep his job. But the kid looked so bewildered, he really wished that he could do something for him. He sighed. There was nothing he could do to help him, but that didn't mean he couldn't send him to someone who could. "Look, there's a small bed and breakfast a few blocks down on the corner, why don't you try there."
"If you wont let me stay, what makes you think that they will?" Harry inquired suspiciously.
The man shrugged. "It's owned by an elderly couple, I know the old women and I doubt she'd have the heart to send you away." He explained.
"And it's just down the street?" The boy asked a bit more hopeful.
"A few blocks that way." The man replied, thumbing to his left. "Just tell them Mr. Linder sent you."
Harry nodded, turning away from the man, Mr. Linder, and stuffing his money back into his pocket as he opened the door. Shivering as he headed back into the storm, Harry looked down the street he'd been told follow. He could barely make out a large white building, that looked like a house, about three blocks down. This time he ran, rather than jogged, and was there, standing at the large oak door, in no time, thankful for the roofed porch that was shielding him from the nasty weather.
Thinking quickly, Harry ran to the edge of the porch and wrapped his broom in the invisibility cloak before depositing them safely in a large clump of bushes. After the strange looks he'd received from Mr. Linder regarding the items he didn't want to raise anyone's suspicions. He was back at the door in record time.
"Hello?" The boy called, banging on the large entry. If he hadn't been so tired, and the storm wasn't so ruff, he would have felt sorry for pounding on a stranger's door and screaming in the middle of the night. But he was exhausted, and the weather wasn't letting up at all, and so it was easy for Harry to forget his tact just then. "Hello? Is anyone awake? Hello?!"
A dimmed light went on up stairs then, and soon there was light flooding the porch from the nearby windows. The door swung open so fast that Harry gasped in surprise as it revealed a tall muscular man with a scowl on his face--Obviously he did not appreciate being woken up. Harry nearly tripped as he backed away from him.
"What the hell do you think your doing? Banging around out here in the middle of the night!" He raised his massive fist to the boy, throwing open the screen door angrily. Harry didn't know what to think, that man looked about ready to kill him, and he was quickly reminded of Uncle Vernon. "Why, I oughta..."
"I...I'm sorry, I..." The boy stuttered, staring up at the angry man before him. He was just about to make a run for it when another voice came into play.
"Russell, what do you think your doing down there? Is someone at the door?"
"This kid was down here making a ruckus, Mum. Woke me out of a sound sleep!" Russell told her as she came down the stairs. Harry sighed in relief as the man backed slowly away. His form was replaced then by that of an elderly women in a long flowered night gown and a cotton bath robe.
"Well, what were you trying to do? Scare the poor boy to death?" She asked when she caught a glimpse of Harry at the edge of the porch. She smiled at him weakly and motioned him forward. "C'mon now, lets get you in out of that awful weather. Don't let my son scare you, he's such a brute some times." Russell grunted at his mother's statement, but said nothing.
Harry inched foreword slowly, a bit apprehensive of the large man still glowering down at him from inside. "Thanks." He muttered a bit shyly as he stepped over the threshold and into the house.
The old women smiled at him as she closed the door, the sound of the ragging storm muffled considerably by the action. "My goodness, look at you! What on earth were you doing out in that?" She asked concerned. "And at this hour, are you all right?"
"Fine." He nodded. "I...err...needed a place to stay. I went to the inn, but Mr. Linder told me to come here."
"Probably didn't want any loud mouth kids running around." Russell said glaring. "Good of him to dump you on us."
"Oh, Russell, will you stop that! Go back to bed, your so cranky when you haven't slept." His mother told him, waving her arm in the direction of the stairs.
"Fine." Russell said shortly, turning to leave. "Wouldn't BE awake if it weren't for that kid." He muttered as he climbed the stairs.
The old women sighed, turning back to Harry, who was glancing around nervously. "Sorry about him, he's like that sometimes." She said shaking her head. "I'm Betty Lawson, what's your name?"
"I'm H..." Harry trailed off then, thinking. He wasn't sure he should be using his real name right now. He did know why, but something told him it wasn't a good idea. "Ron." He said the first name that came to mind. "Ron Weasley."
"Well, Ron, it's good to have you here." Mrs. Lawson said with a sincere smile. "We don't get many visitors here with the inn so close, and we never see anyone your age."
"Really?" Harry asked distractedly, still taking in the room around him. It really was a beautiful house, with a great staircase just inside the door and the rooms he could see decorated with old-fashioned furniture and some very large elaborate paintings.
"Yes, really. We only have one other person staying here right now besides Russell, Edward and I--Edward is my husband by the way--and he's more of a boarder then anything. Ralph's been here for the better part of a year now." She respond warmly. Harry couldn't believe that she really wanted to have a conversation with him right now, it *was* the middle of the night after all. Mrs. Lawson seemed nice enough, but right now he didn't really feel like talking, he just wanted to get some rest. "So, how long do you think you'll be staying?"
"Oh, not long." Harry replied, barely surprising a yawn. "Probably just the night."
"Is that all?" She asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "Well, that's too bad, you seem like a very pleasant young man."
Pleasant young man, she hardly knew him! After the feelings her son had openly expressed about him it was odd to hear her speak so fondly. She'd only met him a few minutes ago, having been woken up in the middle of the night by some strange kid pounding the door down and she was acting like she was his grandmother or something. How could she be so trusting?
"Er...how much do you want for the night?" He asked a bit awkwardly as she hadn't yet brought up the subject.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. The night's half over as it is, I just need you to sign the guest list and then I'll show you to your room." Mrs. Lawson told him, opening a drawer on a nearby desk, pulling out a very old book and flipping to the last page with writing on it. "Here you are." She said, holding the book out to him, and handing him a pen. "Just sign on the first empty line."
Harry forced a tiny smile as he took the pen and began signing his name. He'd just put down an H when he stopped himself. Harry Potter was not the boy staying there that night, he reminded himself quickly. Harry quickly converted the H to an R and scribbled down the name of his best friend. "All right?" He said, glancing up at the old women.
"Thank you, Ron." She nodded, closing the book and putting it away. "We like to keep a record of our guests, as we don't have very many. This place used to be packed before that inn was built, but now our guests are few and far between. This is just our way to remember them all."
Harry nodded back. "Oh yeah?" He said, unable to stifle the next yawn that came out of his mouth.
"You must be exhausted!" Mrs. Lawson suddenly exclaimed, the smile on her kind face quickly disappearing. "And here I am, talking your ear off. I'm sorry, I'll take you to your room now."
And with that she took the boy's arm and lead him up the large staircase. "You poor boy, your soaked to the bone. I'll go and get you some dry things from Russell's room. His clothes'll be a bit big on you I'm sure, but you seem to wear your clothes that way, don't you?"
"Oh, no, don't worry about it." Harry told her quickly, he did really want to see Russell's reaction to it in the morning. "I'm fine, really."
"Your soaked!" She said remind him unrelentingly. "You'll catch a cold in those old things. It's a wonder you haven't already! Here, you can have the room next to Ralph's."
"OK." He couldn't think of anything else to say as she opened the door for him.
"I'll be right back in a moment with some dry clothes." She informed him, turning back down the hall. Harry looked around the room, surprised to see that it was larger than his aunt and uncle's. It was decorated in varying shades of blue, and contained a dresser, a small table with some comfortable looking chairs, and a large four poster bed. He was just trying out one of the chair's when Mrs. Lawson returned with a small pile of clothes for him.
"Here you are, there's something for you to sleep in and another outfit for tomorrow. I hope they're all right."
"They'll be fine, Mrs. Lawson." Harry said, forcing another smile. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to-"
"Don't be silly, I would never leave a guest with only those wet things!" She told him firmly. "Now get some sleep, breakfast will be waiting when you get up." And with that she was gone, leaving Harry to himself for the rest of the night. He was barely able to peel off his wet clothes and change into one of Russell's large shirts before climbing under the waiting covers. Harry was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
A/N: Ack! Original characters! Someone stop me now!! *Sighs* Oh well, they wont be there long at least. All things considered, I'm kinda pleased with this chapter. It was sorta fun. Hope everyone liked it! Feel free to rip it apart if you review. Thanx for reading!
Dark Blood AKA hermionegranger, SailorGurl, A.Dee, Hermione Potter, and amazing typo: Thank you all for reading this part! I really appreciate it and am very glad to know that you're enjoying it!!
ego: Thanks a lot for reviewing! I kind of agree that Vernon wouldn't get quite so violent with Harry, but I needed him to be really upset over it. I know that actual abuse isn't in the books, but sometimes it seems to be implied (Not at that level though of course. I just think he's gotten hit a couple times). It's an issue that I think is left up to the reader to decide though, which is why HP abuse stories are relatively common. Well, in any case, thanks for the gracious review! I'm always happy to hear other's opinions :)
MS. Issues: Sorry for the lack of updates! Thanx for sticking with it though, and thank you for the review!!
Saya-Sato: It's not too cliched? Good, cause I was a little worried about that. The abuse is really just there to set things up, but whatever. Thanx for reviewing!!!
carolyn: Hey, glad to see that your still reading this! I didn't think I'd have any return readers after I disappeared for so long! Thanx a lot! I'm glad you still like it!
Lady Game: Thank you for reviewing! Yeah, random abuse, I know. I tried to give a bit of substance, but after reading over it, it really does seem a bit random...Oh well, it sets up the story, that's all it's there for. Thanx for your impute!!
A/N: Hey, I'm updating this quicker than I thought this time :) I'm glad to see people are actually still reading this, I thought I killed it when I stopped updating before. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! You guys are the reason I got this part out already. Hope you like this one!
***
The Edge of Forever
Part 4: False Identity
***
~Help me find the fracture in this dark sky~
It was only a matter of hours before Harry realized how stupid he'd just been. What in the name of Merlin had he been thinking?! Using magic away from school, not only in front of, but ON a muggle! Uncle Vernon was right, he WAS going to get expelled. They'd take his wand and snap it in half and then where would he be? Not back with the Durselys, but still, the thought wasn't exactly comforting.
And what would Sirius think of him then? Would he still care about him? Harry dismissed the question rather quickly, it wasn't a hard one. No, Sirius wouldn't desert him, he'd do something far worse than that--He'd blame himself. As much as he didn't want to believe that, Harry knew that it was the truth. Sirius already felt guilty for the death of his parents, for the way Harry had been forced to grow up, no doubt he would be just as bad about this. That was just the way that his godfather was.
It was hard for Harry not to worry about what was to come. Would he really be kicked out of Hogwarts for defending himself? That's really all that he was doing, right? His uncle would've killed him if he hadn't stunned him then, wouldn't he? Well, maybe not have kill him, but still...Surely the ministry would understand that. Of course, that didn't mean that they would understand his running away to help a convicted murder. Perhaps that was what was going to get him kicked out.
In any case, Harry was in trouble. It wasn't like he was just running from the Dursley's, if that were the case there was a number of places he could go, but this was completely different. This was much more complicated. Because this time he couldn't go to the Weasley's, and he couldn't go to Hogwarts. This time he wasn't only running from his loathsome relatives, this time he was running from the Ministry of Magic. This time there was no where to hide.
And then there was Voldemort...
Harry frowned. There was always Voldemort.
Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to wash the thoughts from his mind, and instead forcing his attention on the rain soaked ground below. He sighed. The weather had been anything but ideal for someone running away by broomstick. It reminded him horribly of that Quidditch game back in his third year, the only difference being a merciful lack of dementors. At least he could be thankful for THAT. He could barely stay on his broom as it was, the way the wind was blowing him about. He felt like a kite being flown by some hapless muggle child in the middle of a particularly violent hurricane. If there HAD been dementors he'd have fallen off long ago.
As it was, the invisibility cloak had almost been lost on several occasions. First when Harry had nearly been thrown from his broom by an icy gust of wind that sent him spinning, and then again when the weather had died down a bit and he'd all but fallen asleep. The fact that it was the middle of the night and he could barely make out the front end of his broom wasn't helping matters much either.
All and all, things were not going well.
Harry shuddered slightly as a bolt of lightening flashed across the otherwise darkened sky. He was going to get himself killed if he stayed in the air much longer. And as if to punctuate this fact a load clap of thunder rumbled through the darkness around him that set the boy's ears ringing. He had to find a place to land.
Problem was he didn't have any idea where he was at. The darkness was so thick and inky that Harry could have flown straight into any number of the things and not have known it until he found himself helplessly plummeting towards the ground below. What was down there anyway? The fact that he didn't have even the slightest clue was not a comforting thought. But then again, Harry hadn't exactly been one for comforting thoughts lately, had he?
It was nearly another hour before Harry was able to make out the dimly glowing lights of a small muggle town below him. By that time he was nearly falling off his broom from exhaustion as well as the ill-timed storm. Lightening was still glinting dangerously ahead of him, thunder still booming dully in his ears. He had to land now, otherwise he wouldn't make it through the night, let alone be able to help Sirius.
He hit the ground a bit off balance, barely able to stay standing as his feet slid against the slick pavement. Rain fell in thick icy sheets around him, and he had a time peeling the invisibility cloak off of his sopping body. He had to find some kind of shelter. Glancing cautiously around him, Harry began jogging down the dimly lit street on half asleep legs. His eye's darted in every direction, falling hopelessly on a line of tiny shops that had obviously been closed for the night. He would find no help there.
He wasn't entirely sure how long it had been before his eye's landed on a battered old sign that simply read "Inn" but it hardly mattered to the boy as he ran up to the heavy wooden door. The hinges gave a slight creak as he pushed the entry open, and he heaved a tiny sigh as he stepped quickly through it.
The lobby was small and ill-furnished, with only a few wooden chairs placed in each of the corners and a half dead plant just in front of counter.
"Awfully late a kid to be running around out there, don't you think?" Came a slightly raspy voice just in front of him. Harry gazed up at the voices owner, a gangly sort of man, probably in his thirties, with short blond hair and inquiring brown eye's.
"I need a room." Harry said, ignoring the man's question as he stepped up to counter. "How much for one night?"
The blond man stared down at him curiously as the boy dug around in his overly large pocket and pulled out some rumpled money. Was that a broomstick he had with him? He raised an eyebrow. "You by yourself, kid?"
Harry looked up at him, an indescribable panic rising in his brilliant green eye's. "Why?" He asked cautiously.
"Well, you can't rent a room if your under eighteen." He explained simply.
"You can't?" Harry frowned at the man, brow furrowing in confusion. If he couldn't get a room, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't keep flying, and there was no where else that he could stay. If this had been a wizarding village he'd have gotten a room easily, he never considered the differences in the way muggles ran things. After knowing that he was a wizard for the past four years he'd come to take it all for granted.
"No." The man shook his head. And then after seeing how the boy's face fell at his words added, "Sorry, kid, but that's the rules."
"Couldn't you make an exception?" Harry stammered desperately. "I don't have anywhere else to go, and with the storm and all...I can pay if that's what your worried about."
"I have no doubt that you can pay." He said, again turning his gaze to the small stack of money in the boy's hand. "But I can't make any exceptions, I don't have authorization to-"
"But it's only for one night!"
"I'm sorry, kid." The man frowned back at the boy with a mixture of annoyance and sympathy. He certainly didn't want to send the poor kid back out into that storm, but rules were rules. There were no exceptions, not if he wanted to keep his job. But the kid looked so bewildered, he really wished that he could do something for him. He sighed. There was nothing he could do to help him, but that didn't mean he couldn't send him to someone who could. "Look, there's a small bed and breakfast a few blocks down on the corner, why don't you try there."
"If you wont let me stay, what makes you think that they will?" Harry inquired suspiciously.
The man shrugged. "It's owned by an elderly couple, I know the old women and I doubt she'd have the heart to send you away." He explained.
"And it's just down the street?" The boy asked a bit more hopeful.
"A few blocks that way." The man replied, thumbing to his left. "Just tell them Mr. Linder sent you."
Harry nodded, turning away from the man, Mr. Linder, and stuffing his money back into his pocket as he opened the door. Shivering as he headed back into the storm, Harry looked down the street he'd been told follow. He could barely make out a large white building, that looked like a house, about three blocks down. This time he ran, rather than jogged, and was there, standing at the large oak door, in no time, thankful for the roofed porch that was shielding him from the nasty weather.
Thinking quickly, Harry ran to the edge of the porch and wrapped his broom in the invisibility cloak before depositing them safely in a large clump of bushes. After the strange looks he'd received from Mr. Linder regarding the items he didn't want to raise anyone's suspicions. He was back at the door in record time.
"Hello?" The boy called, banging on the large entry. If he hadn't been so tired, and the storm wasn't so ruff, he would have felt sorry for pounding on a stranger's door and screaming in the middle of the night. But he was exhausted, and the weather wasn't letting up at all, and so it was easy for Harry to forget his tact just then. "Hello? Is anyone awake? Hello?!"
A dimmed light went on up stairs then, and soon there was light flooding the porch from the nearby windows. The door swung open so fast that Harry gasped in surprise as it revealed a tall muscular man with a scowl on his face--Obviously he did not appreciate being woken up. Harry nearly tripped as he backed away from him.
"What the hell do you think your doing? Banging around out here in the middle of the night!" He raised his massive fist to the boy, throwing open the screen door angrily. Harry didn't know what to think, that man looked about ready to kill him, and he was quickly reminded of Uncle Vernon. "Why, I oughta..."
"I...I'm sorry, I..." The boy stuttered, staring up at the angry man before him. He was just about to make a run for it when another voice came into play.
"Russell, what do you think your doing down there? Is someone at the door?"
"This kid was down here making a ruckus, Mum. Woke me out of a sound sleep!" Russell told her as she came down the stairs. Harry sighed in relief as the man backed slowly away. His form was replaced then by that of an elderly women in a long flowered night gown and a cotton bath robe.
"Well, what were you trying to do? Scare the poor boy to death?" She asked when she caught a glimpse of Harry at the edge of the porch. She smiled at him weakly and motioned him forward. "C'mon now, lets get you in out of that awful weather. Don't let my son scare you, he's such a brute some times." Russell grunted at his mother's statement, but said nothing.
Harry inched foreword slowly, a bit apprehensive of the large man still glowering down at him from inside. "Thanks." He muttered a bit shyly as he stepped over the threshold and into the house.
The old women smiled at him as she closed the door, the sound of the ragging storm muffled considerably by the action. "My goodness, look at you! What on earth were you doing out in that?" She asked concerned. "And at this hour, are you all right?"
"Fine." He nodded. "I...err...needed a place to stay. I went to the inn, but Mr. Linder told me to come here."
"Probably didn't want any loud mouth kids running around." Russell said glaring. "Good of him to dump you on us."
"Oh, Russell, will you stop that! Go back to bed, your so cranky when you haven't slept." His mother told him, waving her arm in the direction of the stairs.
"Fine." Russell said shortly, turning to leave. "Wouldn't BE awake if it weren't for that kid." He muttered as he climbed the stairs.
The old women sighed, turning back to Harry, who was glancing around nervously. "Sorry about him, he's like that sometimes." She said shaking her head. "I'm Betty Lawson, what's your name?"
"I'm H..." Harry trailed off then, thinking. He wasn't sure he should be using his real name right now. He did know why, but something told him it wasn't a good idea. "Ron." He said the first name that came to mind. "Ron Weasley."
"Well, Ron, it's good to have you here." Mrs. Lawson said with a sincere smile. "We don't get many visitors here with the inn so close, and we never see anyone your age."
"Really?" Harry asked distractedly, still taking in the room around him. It really was a beautiful house, with a great staircase just inside the door and the rooms he could see decorated with old-fashioned furniture and some very large elaborate paintings.
"Yes, really. We only have one other person staying here right now besides Russell, Edward and I--Edward is my husband by the way--and he's more of a boarder then anything. Ralph's been here for the better part of a year now." She respond warmly. Harry couldn't believe that she really wanted to have a conversation with him right now, it *was* the middle of the night after all. Mrs. Lawson seemed nice enough, but right now he didn't really feel like talking, he just wanted to get some rest. "So, how long do you think you'll be staying?"
"Oh, not long." Harry replied, barely surprising a yawn. "Probably just the night."
"Is that all?" She asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "Well, that's too bad, you seem like a very pleasant young man."
Pleasant young man, she hardly knew him! After the feelings her son had openly expressed about him it was odd to hear her speak so fondly. She'd only met him a few minutes ago, having been woken up in the middle of the night by some strange kid pounding the door down and she was acting like she was his grandmother or something. How could she be so trusting?
"Er...how much do you want for the night?" He asked a bit awkwardly as she hadn't yet brought up the subject.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. The night's half over as it is, I just need you to sign the guest list and then I'll show you to your room." Mrs. Lawson told him, opening a drawer on a nearby desk, pulling out a very old book and flipping to the last page with writing on it. "Here you are." She said, holding the book out to him, and handing him a pen. "Just sign on the first empty line."
Harry forced a tiny smile as he took the pen and began signing his name. He'd just put down an H when he stopped himself. Harry Potter was not the boy staying there that night, he reminded himself quickly. Harry quickly converted the H to an R and scribbled down the name of his best friend. "All right?" He said, glancing up at the old women.
"Thank you, Ron." She nodded, closing the book and putting it away. "We like to keep a record of our guests, as we don't have very many. This place used to be packed before that inn was built, but now our guests are few and far between. This is just our way to remember them all."
Harry nodded back. "Oh yeah?" He said, unable to stifle the next yawn that came out of his mouth.
"You must be exhausted!" Mrs. Lawson suddenly exclaimed, the smile on her kind face quickly disappearing. "And here I am, talking your ear off. I'm sorry, I'll take you to your room now."
And with that she took the boy's arm and lead him up the large staircase. "You poor boy, your soaked to the bone. I'll go and get you some dry things from Russell's room. His clothes'll be a bit big on you I'm sure, but you seem to wear your clothes that way, don't you?"
"Oh, no, don't worry about it." Harry told her quickly, he did really want to see Russell's reaction to it in the morning. "I'm fine, really."
"Your soaked!" She said remind him unrelentingly. "You'll catch a cold in those old things. It's a wonder you haven't already! Here, you can have the room next to Ralph's."
"OK." He couldn't think of anything else to say as she opened the door for him.
"I'll be right back in a moment with some dry clothes." She informed him, turning back down the hall. Harry looked around the room, surprised to see that it was larger than his aunt and uncle's. It was decorated in varying shades of blue, and contained a dresser, a small table with some comfortable looking chairs, and a large four poster bed. He was just trying out one of the chair's when Mrs. Lawson returned with a small pile of clothes for him.
"Here you are, there's something for you to sleep in and another outfit for tomorrow. I hope they're all right."
"They'll be fine, Mrs. Lawson." Harry said, forcing another smile. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to-"
"Don't be silly, I would never leave a guest with only those wet things!" She told him firmly. "Now get some sleep, breakfast will be waiting when you get up." And with that she was gone, leaving Harry to himself for the rest of the night. He was barely able to peel off his wet clothes and change into one of Russell's large shirts before climbing under the waiting covers. Harry was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
A/N: Ack! Original characters! Someone stop me now!! *Sighs* Oh well, they wont be there long at least. All things considered, I'm kinda pleased with this chapter. It was sorta fun. Hope everyone liked it! Feel free to rip it apart if you review. Thanx for reading!
Dark Blood AKA hermionegranger, SailorGurl, A.Dee, Hermione Potter, and amazing typo: Thank you all for reading this part! I really appreciate it and am very glad to know that you're enjoying it!!
ego: Thanks a lot for reviewing! I kind of agree that Vernon wouldn't get quite so violent with Harry, but I needed him to be really upset over it. I know that actual abuse isn't in the books, but sometimes it seems to be implied (Not at that level though of course. I just think he's gotten hit a couple times). It's an issue that I think is left up to the reader to decide though, which is why HP abuse stories are relatively common. Well, in any case, thanks for the gracious review! I'm always happy to hear other's opinions :)
MS. Issues: Sorry for the lack of updates! Thanx for sticking with it though, and thank you for the review!!
Saya-Sato: It's not too cliched? Good, cause I was a little worried about that. The abuse is really just there to set things up, but whatever. Thanx for reviewing!!!
carolyn: Hey, glad to see that your still reading this! I didn't think I'd have any return readers after I disappeared for so long! Thanx a lot! I'm glad you still like it!
Lady Game: Thank you for reviewing! Yeah, random abuse, I know. I tried to give a bit of substance, but after reading over it, it really does seem a bit random...Oh well, it sets up the story, that's all it's there for. Thanx for your impute!!