Chapter 36
Once Harry left the castle, Ginny walked out of the infirmary in a state of silent shock, not believing he was gone yet again. It seemed that they had spent more of their relationship apart from each other than they spent together, she thought miserably to herself.
When she entered the common room, she saw Ron and Hermione sitting together on the couch in front of the fire. When they heard the portrait hole open, they turned to see who it was, and the entire common room fell into an anxious silence. That night at dinner, three days before, Dumbledore had addressed the students and told them that a dark wizard had cast a mind control spell on Harry and taken control of his powers and they were worried about their housemate. There had been no word about Harry's condition until Ginny had be asked by Sirius to come speak with Harry and they were anxious to hear what she had to say, but she ignored them and made her way to her brother's side in silence.
He put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into a hug, and Hermione stood and embraced her from the other side as she broke down in tears. The trio sat in silence for a long time, rocking back and forth in an attempt to comfort Ginny before she managed to some what collect herself enough to lift her face from her hands and look at them.
"He left" she said quietly, confirming their unasked question "Sirius took him somewhere, but he couldn't tell me where, and he doesn't know when he is coming back"
"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry" said Hermione as she hugged the younger girl again
"Me too, Gin" said Ron
"I wish he didn't have to go, but he said it was for the good of everyone else that he had to leave. He sad we would all be in danger if he stayed" she said as she furiously whipped the last of her tears away "I wish he could just be like everyone else for once in his life and be able to do what is best for HIM than what is best for the rest of the world. It's not fair!" she exclaimed
"Ginny, calm down" pleaded Ron
"But I'm so frustrated Ron, Harry is always in the middle of everything, why can't he just be a normal seventeen year old wizard and lead his own life! I'm going to miss him so much"
"I know Gin, so will we, but it is just one of the things that comes with the territory, when you are Harry Potter's girlfriend or best friend, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices, we've all learned that by now" said Hermione with a watery smile
"Yeah, unfortunately we've all learned that lesson the hard way" muttered Ginny "Thanks Ron, Hermione, but I'm tired I think I'll go to bed" she said as she stood and made her way to the girls dormitory as the couple looked at her retreating back in sympathy.
"I can't believe they sent him away!" said Hermione furiously once Ginny was gone
"I know Hermione, I can't either" said Ron as he pulled his girlfriend close, allowing her to cry on his shoulder
"What are we going to do without him?"
"I don't know Hermione, I don't know. We just got him back and now he's gone again" said Ron. They both then lapsed into silence and starred into the fire, where they were found the next morning by the rest of the Gryffindor students.
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When Harry and Sirius appeared on Privet Drive, they silently made their way to Number 4, walking side by side in the dark, they made an interesting sight to anyone who would happen to look out their windows as they passed. Sirius was wearing an outfit similar to Harry, black pants, shirt, and robe, but his cloak was a very dark blue color that appeared black by the moonlight that lit their path, where as Harry was wearing his scarlet and gold cloak with the jeweled phoenix clasp that Ginny had given him. Sirius had his shoulder length hair pulled back into a neat pony tail, but Harry had left his own hair, which was several inches below his shoulder now, loose. Both of them had the cowls of their cloaks pulled over their heads, hiding their features from view in the shadows of their folds. As they walked side by side, it was easily noticeable that they were nearly the exact same height, and with their robes hiding their builds, it was impossible to tell which was which to anyone who didn't recognize their respective cloaks or other parts of their outfits. The only other difference between the two that could be seen was the fact that Sirius had his wand tucked protectively into his belt, and Harry was bearing the dagger of Slytherin in his own belt, since he had no need for his wand anymore, it was kept by Dumbledore at the castle. The only reason he was wearing the dagger was for his own desire to see the faces of his relatives when they saw it, and the anticipation brought a smile to his face. The pair stopped just in front of the Dursley's home and Harry looked at it apprehensively for several minutes before Sirius spoke up.
"I'm sorry you have to stay here Harry" he said quietly "I tried to convince Dumbledore to let me take you to the manor, or to Remus' cottage, but he said you wouldn't be safe anywhere in the wizarding world. The death eaters will look for you there immediately, but no one knows where your relatives live, and the house is already covered by more protection spells than you can imagine" he said in a hushed voice, to not be overheard by anyone that may be lurking in the shadows.
"I know Sirius, I just don't want to leave Ginny and everyone else again" answered Harry, never taking his eyes from the house before them
"Hopefully you won't have to stay here for long Harry, and both Remus and I will take her any letters you may want to send" said Sirius, trying to console his godson as much as possible
"Thanks Sirius" he said "I guess we had better get inside" he said in a depressed voice
"Don't worry about the muggles Harry, I have a feeling they will treat you better than they ever have before, after all, you will be introducing them to you infamous godfather whom they believe is an escaped convict tonight" he said, and even though Harry couldn't see his face, he knew there was a wide grin upon it
"You're right Sirius, this might actually turn out to be fun, after all, I can do magic now, since the ministry can't track wandless magic, right?"
"Of course, add that to the fact that there will be a fully trained wizard coming to see you for several hours every day, and the presence of that dagger and your sword and they'll have to be crazy to try and mess with you" he said reassuringly
"Well, are you ready to meet the Dursley's?" asked Harry
"Quite, though I must tell you I have had the honor of meeting your aunt when she came with her parents to drop your mother off at the train. I think I turned her hair orange once back before fifth year, or was it green?" said Sirius, as though he were thinking to himself and trying to remember the exact color
At this, Harry burst out laughing, the mental picture of stuck up aunt Petunia with bright orange or green hair flashing to his mind. Before they knew it, they were standing in front of the door, and Harry raised his hand and rapped loudly upon it.
They heard a shuffling sound from inside the house and within seconds the door was thrown open to reveal a flustered looking Vernon Dursley, with a pale Aunt Petunia and Dudley cowering behind him. Harry didn't even have time to contemplate the reason as to why Dudley was there at all before his uncle began speaking, or more accurately, growling at the two wizards on his doorstep.
"What are you doing standing out there in those clothes boy! What if the neighbors saw you?" he demanded, but he seemed to realize that there was more than one person standing before him, and his eyes traveled from the one with the dark cloak on to the one standing beside him in the scarlet cloak who had just stepped forward and into the house, the other following behind him as they walked into the living room and stood before the fireplace, gazing at the family who as still standing in front of the opened door. Harry chuckled slightly to himself as he spoke to his family.
"Uncle Vernon, what would the neighbors say if they saw you standing with the front door wide open in the middle of the night?" he asked, and he heard Sirius try to stifle his laughter as well.
"Now you listen here boy" said his uncle as he closed his door "I don't know what you did to have to come here during the middle of the term, but know this, I will stand for none of your cheek while you are under my roof. Now tell your friend to leave, he is not welcome here" he said, the entire time standing only inches from Sirius' face, thinking the ex-convict was his nephew, since he hadn't seen who had spoken earlier. Sirius, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to scare the disgusting muggle man, slowly reached his hands up and lowered his cowl, plastering the most terrifying smirk on his face as he did so. Vernon backed up rapidly when he saw Sirius' face, tripping over the end table and falling in a heap in the floor at the feet of his wife and son. Harry quelled his urge to laugh and instead spoke in a calm voice.
"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley, I would like you to meet my godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is my uncle and cousin, I believe you have met my aunt before" and at this statement, aunt Petunia grabbed a fistful of her hair and checked to make sure it was the proper color. When he finished speaking, Harry lowered his own cowl, and his families faces paled even further when they saw his hair and the two new scars on his face.
"Pleased to meet you" said Sirius as he surveyed the Dursley family "There are a few things the headmaster wished for me to discuss with you before I leave tonight" he began as he settled himself in one of the arm chairs in the living room. Harry followed suite, and as he did so, Dudley caught sight of his dagger.
"H.Ha.Harry, w.why do you have a s.sword?" he stammered out, and Harry decided to have some fun, since he could.
"Oh, this?" he questioned as he pulled the dagger from his belt
"Uh, hu" said Dudley
"This isn't a sword Dudley, this is a dagger that I was stabbed by a couple of months ago, and it was rewarded to me after I defeated the man who stabbed me in a duel" he explained, watching his cousins face change from frightened, to awe filled, to frightened again, and Harry decided to have a little more fun with his obese relative. He reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew his shrunken trunk, and while he directed one of his hands to levitate it in the air, his other hand gave a small wave and the trunk returned to it's original size, but it was still hanging in the air. He then flicked his wrist of his right hand and the lid of the trunk opened, and he held his palm opened and the Gryffindor sword flew into his opened palm. He then waved with his left hand, which had been levitating the trunk and it disappeared with a quiet pop. The entire time he had been doing this, he saw his families faces pale out of the corner of his eye, and a smirk cross Sirius' face. He then looked back at the slack jawed Dudley, fixing his expression into one of calm indifference before speaking.
"This is a sword Dudley" he began "The sword of Gryffindor to be exact which belonged to my most distant ancestor, one of the greatest wizards to ever live. The sword just came into my possession this year, but I used it back in my second year to kill a Basalisk, which is a snake that is about sixty feet long that can kill you if you look into it's eyes, or if it bites you" he explained in a sort of bored tone, but he really enjoyed the expressions that crossed his families faces, and judging by Sirius' expression, he did as well.
"Well now, let us begin" said Sirius once Harry had finished speaking "As you can see, Harry is able to do magic while he is with you, and everyday from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, either myself or one of two other professors or the headmaster will be coming to tutor Harry so he can continue his studies" he said in a pleasant tone as though he were discussing the latest quidditch standings.
Upon hearing his words though, Vernon's face changed from pale shock to purple outrage in an instant "Lister here, I will have none of that funny business going on under my roof! We are not to blame if the boy is too slow in his studies to remain at that freak school of his. I will not stand for private tutoring to be given to him just because he can't keep up with the rest of his classmates and gets kicked out of school" he bellowed, and Sirius again smirked at the man.
"I'm afraid you don't understand Mr. Dursley" he began "Harry is not here because he can't keep up with the other students, quite the contrary in fact. You saw what Harry did a moment ago with his trunk?" and when the man nodded, he continued "Well, no ordinary wizard can do magic like that without a wand, most can't do more than one spell without a wand before they become exhausted and Harry just did about five at once and he doesn't even show any stress from it. You see, it was recently discovered that Harry is the most powerful wizard that has ever lived. We will be helping him to train his powers and how to best control them. He is here instead of at the castle because many are after him so they can control his powers, and until he is properly trained, he can't resist them, so he will remain here until he has control of all of his new powers and it is safe for him to return" he finished, giving the muggle family all level looks as though daring them to argue with him, and when they didn't say anything, he stood and looked at Harry.
"I had better get back to the castle Harry. I will be here tomorrow morning and we will work on some of your animagus training" he said and Harry stood as well
"Tell Ginny hi for me if you see her Sirius, and I'll see you in the morning" he said, but as he backed away, a sudden thought crossed is mind "Oh, I forgot Sherlock, he kind of got frightened the other day, I think he is somewhere in Remus' office, could you bring him to me tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, and laughed as his godfather shuddered. He still hadn't gotten used to the small serpent.
"I'll try to find him tonight, but he had better not bite me" he threatened
"If he does, I'll shed blood just for you Sirius" he said with a smile as he gave his godfather a quick hug before the older man disappeared with a small pop. Harry then turned to face his relatives. "I'm going to go to bed now, if you don't mind" he said politely, and before they could say anything, he had already gone up the stairs and locked himself in his room. Even though he didn't want to admit it to his relatives, doing those few simple spells had left him exhausted. He fell asleep that night dreaming about Ginny and how much she would have appreciated the looks on the Dursley's faces when he dared to do magic right in their living room and when Sirius had told them just how powerful he was.
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When Harry awoke the next morning, the sun was just barley shining through the window in his small bedroom, showing him that it was still quite early. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again since he had already awoken, he threw his legs over the side of his bed and knelt beside his trunk. He pulled out his clean cloths and a clean set of robes before he set off toward the bathroom for a quick shower. As he made his way from the bathroom to his bedroom, he was pleasantly surprised to find the door to Dudley's bedroom standing opened. Deciding to have himself a little bit of early morning fun, he silently pushed the door opened and looked into the room, which was much larger and better furnished than his own. He found his whale of a cousin sitting before his computer playing some new game, and he walked unnoticed until he was standing directly behind the blonde boy. He watched Dudley's character in the game, an animated man who was currently fighting with another man, but the opponent was not faring to well, and Dudley's character was beating him to a bloody pulp, even as the other character was lying on the ground before him, he didn't stop and Harry was beginning to feel quite nauseous as he remembered being in a similar position, so he finally spoke.
"How can you be entertained by something so disgusting?" he asked in a quiet voice
Dudley, just noticing he was there, jumped about a foot into the air and dropped his control as he turned to look at his cousin.
"What are you doing in here?" he demanded, but his voice was shaking and Harry was far from frightened
"I wanted to see what you find so interesting in these games you play" said Harry in a perfectly convincing tone, deciding to put Dudley torture off until a later time
"Oh" was all Dudley said, but it was obvious he was nervous in Harry's presence
"Well, would you care to explain this fascination of yours to me?" asked Harry as he sat himself down on his cousins bed, and Dudley turned around completely to face him, his hands twisting constantly in his nerves
"It's just fun" said Dudley in as calm of a voice as possible
"Why is that fun to you?" asked Harry, truly curious now
"What do you mean?"
"Why is it fun for you to play a game in which one person beats another person to death like that for no good reason?"
"Well, I don't know. But why do you care? It's just a game, things like that don't really happen in real life" he said with conviction, as though he truly believed in his words
"Oh, don't they?" asked Harry as he raised an eyebrow skeptically
"Of course they don't" said Dudley, although he didn't seem quite as sure of himself now "People fight all the time, but nobody would really beat someone up like that, would they?"
"Dudley, why are you here right now? Why aren't you at Smeltings anymore?" asked Harry, deciding on a different approach
"Mum and Dad pulled m out of that ruddy school when the nurse tried to tell them that I either had to loose weight or I would fail because I couldn't go to my sports classes anymore" he answered, but he didn't seem the smallest bit ashamed about it "How about you? What's the real reason you are here instead of that school of yours? The last we heard was that you're godfather got custody of you but that you had disappeared to somewhere" he asked, and for the first time in his life, Harry could honestly say that his cousin was interested in his life
"Do you really want to know?" he asked hesitantly
"Yes" answered Dudley, leaning forward in his chair in anticipation
"Well, my godfather, Sirius, does have custody of me now, but last spring, just over a year ago actually, my school was attacked by the dark wizard, Voldemort, that killed my parents. I fought him for a little while, and then I sent him and his followers to a place where they couldn't hurt anyone else, but I had to go with them to make the spell work. The next three months I was stuck with them, and they tried everything they could think of to convince me to release them, but I wouldn't. When the last of them had died, I left and went to a muggle hospital in London and Sirius and a couple of my other professors found me there a week later and took me back to the castle. Everything was getting back to normal, until a dark wizard managed to take control of my powers and I almost destroyed the castle and killed my friends, and I was barley able to resist him, but all of his followers know of my powers, which were pretty much drained while I fought him. But now, some of his remaining followers are after me, and we can't identify them until it's too late, so they have free access to the castle, and until I get my powers up to full strength again, they could take me and use a mind control spell to make me use my powers for evil" he explained as he met his cousins face.
Dudley looked, for lack of a better way to describe it, like he had just seen a ghost. His face was void of all color and his jaw was hanging open in shock, his beady little eyes starring at Harry and not blinking. Finally though, he pulled himself together and uttered one syllable.
"Oh"
"I had better get to my room" said Harry as he glanced at Dudley's clock on the nightstand "Sirius will be here in an hour and I need to finish a letter to Ginny for him to take back" he said as he got to his feet and walked toward the door, but his cousins voice stopped him in his tracks
"Who's Ginny Harry? I heard you say something about her last night too"
"Oh, Ginny's been my girlfriend for the past two and a half years, she's also my best friend Ron's little sister" he explained, a small smile on his face as he spoke of the fiery red headed girl.
"What is she like? I've never had a girlfriend before" admitted Dudley, and Harry turned to look at his cousin again
"Well, Ginny is the smartest, funniest, most caring person in the world, and the most beautiful" he admitted with a slight blush creeping up his cheeks
"Do you have a picture of her?" asked Dudley in anticipation
"Yeah, I do" said Harry and he out his palm up and an instant later a photograph appeared in his hand. He looked at it longingly for a minute before handing it to Dudley. It was one of his favorite pictures of the two of them, taken less than a month before. They two of them were sitting together in one of the plush armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, she was wrapped up in his arms and his left hand was holding hers, and he could plainly see the ring he had given her on her third finger, catching the light of the flames from the fire behind them every now and then. As he watched the picture, he chuckled to himself as watched their antics. He had, unknowing to her, reached up and freed her long copper hair from the knot at the back of her head, causing the long tresses to fall around her face, turning every shade of red imaginable as the firelight behind them illuminated her features. In retaliation, she had turned and begun to tickle him mercilessly, until they had broken out into an all out tickle war, Ginny withering around on his lap, unable to fight off his attacks, both of them laughing the entire time. Finally, after torturing her for enough time, he had leaned down and captured her lips in a light kiss, and she had leaned up to meet him, wrapping her arms around his neck. A second later, they separated and he watched as she looked up at him and said the three words that still made him feel weak in the knees, even though he couldn't hear the words, he still say them 'I love you Harry' and he had looked down at her and said 'I love you too Gin' before she settled back into his arms and they sat in silence, still locked in each others arms.
"She is pretty" said Dudley, and Harry was startled that he had forgotten Dudley was there, he had been so lost in the memory of that night.
"Yes, she is" whispered Harry, the foolish grin still on his face as he took the picture back into his hands "I have to go" he said suddenly and he left his cousin without saying another word, intent on writing to Ginny as soon as possible.
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A/N: Ok guys, here is the next chapter, how do you like it? I won't be able to update again until probably Monday because I'm going home tomorrow for Thanksgiving and internet time is rare at my parents house, sorry, but I will have time to write out the next couple chapters on my lap top while I'm there hopefully, so I can post the next chapter as soon as I get back. Please review this one though, and let me know how it is! Sorry if there some mistakes, I didn't have time to re-read it before I posted it, if I did, you wouldn't get it until Monday and I didn't think you would appreciate that, so here you go!
Once Harry left the castle, Ginny walked out of the infirmary in a state of silent shock, not believing he was gone yet again. It seemed that they had spent more of their relationship apart from each other than they spent together, she thought miserably to herself.
When she entered the common room, she saw Ron and Hermione sitting together on the couch in front of the fire. When they heard the portrait hole open, they turned to see who it was, and the entire common room fell into an anxious silence. That night at dinner, three days before, Dumbledore had addressed the students and told them that a dark wizard had cast a mind control spell on Harry and taken control of his powers and they were worried about their housemate. There had been no word about Harry's condition until Ginny had be asked by Sirius to come speak with Harry and they were anxious to hear what she had to say, but she ignored them and made her way to her brother's side in silence.
He put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into a hug, and Hermione stood and embraced her from the other side as she broke down in tears. The trio sat in silence for a long time, rocking back and forth in an attempt to comfort Ginny before she managed to some what collect herself enough to lift her face from her hands and look at them.
"He left" she said quietly, confirming their unasked question "Sirius took him somewhere, but he couldn't tell me where, and he doesn't know when he is coming back"
"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry" said Hermione as she hugged the younger girl again
"Me too, Gin" said Ron
"I wish he didn't have to go, but he said it was for the good of everyone else that he had to leave. He sad we would all be in danger if he stayed" she said as she furiously whipped the last of her tears away "I wish he could just be like everyone else for once in his life and be able to do what is best for HIM than what is best for the rest of the world. It's not fair!" she exclaimed
"Ginny, calm down" pleaded Ron
"But I'm so frustrated Ron, Harry is always in the middle of everything, why can't he just be a normal seventeen year old wizard and lead his own life! I'm going to miss him so much"
"I know Gin, so will we, but it is just one of the things that comes with the territory, when you are Harry Potter's girlfriend or best friend, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices, we've all learned that by now" said Hermione with a watery smile
"Yeah, unfortunately we've all learned that lesson the hard way" muttered Ginny "Thanks Ron, Hermione, but I'm tired I think I'll go to bed" she said as she stood and made her way to the girls dormitory as the couple looked at her retreating back in sympathy.
"I can't believe they sent him away!" said Hermione furiously once Ginny was gone
"I know Hermione, I can't either" said Ron as he pulled his girlfriend close, allowing her to cry on his shoulder
"What are we going to do without him?"
"I don't know Hermione, I don't know. We just got him back and now he's gone again" said Ron. They both then lapsed into silence and starred into the fire, where they were found the next morning by the rest of the Gryffindor students.
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When Harry and Sirius appeared on Privet Drive, they silently made their way to Number 4, walking side by side in the dark, they made an interesting sight to anyone who would happen to look out their windows as they passed. Sirius was wearing an outfit similar to Harry, black pants, shirt, and robe, but his cloak was a very dark blue color that appeared black by the moonlight that lit their path, where as Harry was wearing his scarlet and gold cloak with the jeweled phoenix clasp that Ginny had given him. Sirius had his shoulder length hair pulled back into a neat pony tail, but Harry had left his own hair, which was several inches below his shoulder now, loose. Both of them had the cowls of their cloaks pulled over their heads, hiding their features from view in the shadows of their folds. As they walked side by side, it was easily noticeable that they were nearly the exact same height, and with their robes hiding their builds, it was impossible to tell which was which to anyone who didn't recognize their respective cloaks or other parts of their outfits. The only other difference between the two that could be seen was the fact that Sirius had his wand tucked protectively into his belt, and Harry was bearing the dagger of Slytherin in his own belt, since he had no need for his wand anymore, it was kept by Dumbledore at the castle. The only reason he was wearing the dagger was for his own desire to see the faces of his relatives when they saw it, and the anticipation brought a smile to his face. The pair stopped just in front of the Dursley's home and Harry looked at it apprehensively for several minutes before Sirius spoke up.
"I'm sorry you have to stay here Harry" he said quietly "I tried to convince Dumbledore to let me take you to the manor, or to Remus' cottage, but he said you wouldn't be safe anywhere in the wizarding world. The death eaters will look for you there immediately, but no one knows where your relatives live, and the house is already covered by more protection spells than you can imagine" he said in a hushed voice, to not be overheard by anyone that may be lurking in the shadows.
"I know Sirius, I just don't want to leave Ginny and everyone else again" answered Harry, never taking his eyes from the house before them
"Hopefully you won't have to stay here for long Harry, and both Remus and I will take her any letters you may want to send" said Sirius, trying to console his godson as much as possible
"Thanks Sirius" he said "I guess we had better get inside" he said in a depressed voice
"Don't worry about the muggles Harry, I have a feeling they will treat you better than they ever have before, after all, you will be introducing them to you infamous godfather whom they believe is an escaped convict tonight" he said, and even though Harry couldn't see his face, he knew there was a wide grin upon it
"You're right Sirius, this might actually turn out to be fun, after all, I can do magic now, since the ministry can't track wandless magic, right?"
"Of course, add that to the fact that there will be a fully trained wizard coming to see you for several hours every day, and the presence of that dagger and your sword and they'll have to be crazy to try and mess with you" he said reassuringly
"Well, are you ready to meet the Dursley's?" asked Harry
"Quite, though I must tell you I have had the honor of meeting your aunt when she came with her parents to drop your mother off at the train. I think I turned her hair orange once back before fifth year, or was it green?" said Sirius, as though he were thinking to himself and trying to remember the exact color
At this, Harry burst out laughing, the mental picture of stuck up aunt Petunia with bright orange or green hair flashing to his mind. Before they knew it, they were standing in front of the door, and Harry raised his hand and rapped loudly upon it.
They heard a shuffling sound from inside the house and within seconds the door was thrown open to reveal a flustered looking Vernon Dursley, with a pale Aunt Petunia and Dudley cowering behind him. Harry didn't even have time to contemplate the reason as to why Dudley was there at all before his uncle began speaking, or more accurately, growling at the two wizards on his doorstep.
"What are you doing standing out there in those clothes boy! What if the neighbors saw you?" he demanded, but he seemed to realize that there was more than one person standing before him, and his eyes traveled from the one with the dark cloak on to the one standing beside him in the scarlet cloak who had just stepped forward and into the house, the other following behind him as they walked into the living room and stood before the fireplace, gazing at the family who as still standing in front of the opened door. Harry chuckled slightly to himself as he spoke to his family.
"Uncle Vernon, what would the neighbors say if they saw you standing with the front door wide open in the middle of the night?" he asked, and he heard Sirius try to stifle his laughter as well.
"Now you listen here boy" said his uncle as he closed his door "I don't know what you did to have to come here during the middle of the term, but know this, I will stand for none of your cheek while you are under my roof. Now tell your friend to leave, he is not welcome here" he said, the entire time standing only inches from Sirius' face, thinking the ex-convict was his nephew, since he hadn't seen who had spoken earlier. Sirius, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to scare the disgusting muggle man, slowly reached his hands up and lowered his cowl, plastering the most terrifying smirk on his face as he did so. Vernon backed up rapidly when he saw Sirius' face, tripping over the end table and falling in a heap in the floor at the feet of his wife and son. Harry quelled his urge to laugh and instead spoke in a calm voice.
"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley, I would like you to meet my godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is my uncle and cousin, I believe you have met my aunt before" and at this statement, aunt Petunia grabbed a fistful of her hair and checked to make sure it was the proper color. When he finished speaking, Harry lowered his own cowl, and his families faces paled even further when they saw his hair and the two new scars on his face.
"Pleased to meet you" said Sirius as he surveyed the Dursley family "There are a few things the headmaster wished for me to discuss with you before I leave tonight" he began as he settled himself in one of the arm chairs in the living room. Harry followed suite, and as he did so, Dudley caught sight of his dagger.
"H.Ha.Harry, w.why do you have a s.sword?" he stammered out, and Harry decided to have some fun, since he could.
"Oh, this?" he questioned as he pulled the dagger from his belt
"Uh, hu" said Dudley
"This isn't a sword Dudley, this is a dagger that I was stabbed by a couple of months ago, and it was rewarded to me after I defeated the man who stabbed me in a duel" he explained, watching his cousins face change from frightened, to awe filled, to frightened again, and Harry decided to have a little more fun with his obese relative. He reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew his shrunken trunk, and while he directed one of his hands to levitate it in the air, his other hand gave a small wave and the trunk returned to it's original size, but it was still hanging in the air. He then flicked his wrist of his right hand and the lid of the trunk opened, and he held his palm opened and the Gryffindor sword flew into his opened palm. He then waved with his left hand, which had been levitating the trunk and it disappeared with a quiet pop. The entire time he had been doing this, he saw his families faces pale out of the corner of his eye, and a smirk cross Sirius' face. He then looked back at the slack jawed Dudley, fixing his expression into one of calm indifference before speaking.
"This is a sword Dudley" he began "The sword of Gryffindor to be exact which belonged to my most distant ancestor, one of the greatest wizards to ever live. The sword just came into my possession this year, but I used it back in my second year to kill a Basalisk, which is a snake that is about sixty feet long that can kill you if you look into it's eyes, or if it bites you" he explained in a sort of bored tone, but he really enjoyed the expressions that crossed his families faces, and judging by Sirius' expression, he did as well.
"Well now, let us begin" said Sirius once Harry had finished speaking "As you can see, Harry is able to do magic while he is with you, and everyday from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, either myself or one of two other professors or the headmaster will be coming to tutor Harry so he can continue his studies" he said in a pleasant tone as though he were discussing the latest quidditch standings.
Upon hearing his words though, Vernon's face changed from pale shock to purple outrage in an instant "Lister here, I will have none of that funny business going on under my roof! We are not to blame if the boy is too slow in his studies to remain at that freak school of his. I will not stand for private tutoring to be given to him just because he can't keep up with the rest of his classmates and gets kicked out of school" he bellowed, and Sirius again smirked at the man.
"I'm afraid you don't understand Mr. Dursley" he began "Harry is not here because he can't keep up with the other students, quite the contrary in fact. You saw what Harry did a moment ago with his trunk?" and when the man nodded, he continued "Well, no ordinary wizard can do magic like that without a wand, most can't do more than one spell without a wand before they become exhausted and Harry just did about five at once and he doesn't even show any stress from it. You see, it was recently discovered that Harry is the most powerful wizard that has ever lived. We will be helping him to train his powers and how to best control them. He is here instead of at the castle because many are after him so they can control his powers, and until he is properly trained, he can't resist them, so he will remain here until he has control of all of his new powers and it is safe for him to return" he finished, giving the muggle family all level looks as though daring them to argue with him, and when they didn't say anything, he stood and looked at Harry.
"I had better get back to the castle Harry. I will be here tomorrow morning and we will work on some of your animagus training" he said and Harry stood as well
"Tell Ginny hi for me if you see her Sirius, and I'll see you in the morning" he said, but as he backed away, a sudden thought crossed is mind "Oh, I forgot Sherlock, he kind of got frightened the other day, I think he is somewhere in Remus' office, could you bring him to me tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, and laughed as his godfather shuddered. He still hadn't gotten used to the small serpent.
"I'll try to find him tonight, but he had better not bite me" he threatened
"If he does, I'll shed blood just for you Sirius" he said with a smile as he gave his godfather a quick hug before the older man disappeared with a small pop. Harry then turned to face his relatives. "I'm going to go to bed now, if you don't mind" he said politely, and before they could say anything, he had already gone up the stairs and locked himself in his room. Even though he didn't want to admit it to his relatives, doing those few simple spells had left him exhausted. He fell asleep that night dreaming about Ginny and how much she would have appreciated the looks on the Dursley's faces when he dared to do magic right in their living room and when Sirius had told them just how powerful he was.
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When Harry awoke the next morning, the sun was just barley shining through the window in his small bedroom, showing him that it was still quite early. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again since he had already awoken, he threw his legs over the side of his bed and knelt beside his trunk. He pulled out his clean cloths and a clean set of robes before he set off toward the bathroom for a quick shower. As he made his way from the bathroom to his bedroom, he was pleasantly surprised to find the door to Dudley's bedroom standing opened. Deciding to have himself a little bit of early morning fun, he silently pushed the door opened and looked into the room, which was much larger and better furnished than his own. He found his whale of a cousin sitting before his computer playing some new game, and he walked unnoticed until he was standing directly behind the blonde boy. He watched Dudley's character in the game, an animated man who was currently fighting with another man, but the opponent was not faring to well, and Dudley's character was beating him to a bloody pulp, even as the other character was lying on the ground before him, he didn't stop and Harry was beginning to feel quite nauseous as he remembered being in a similar position, so he finally spoke.
"How can you be entertained by something so disgusting?" he asked in a quiet voice
Dudley, just noticing he was there, jumped about a foot into the air and dropped his control as he turned to look at his cousin.
"What are you doing in here?" he demanded, but his voice was shaking and Harry was far from frightened
"I wanted to see what you find so interesting in these games you play" said Harry in a perfectly convincing tone, deciding to put Dudley torture off until a later time
"Oh" was all Dudley said, but it was obvious he was nervous in Harry's presence
"Well, would you care to explain this fascination of yours to me?" asked Harry as he sat himself down on his cousins bed, and Dudley turned around completely to face him, his hands twisting constantly in his nerves
"It's just fun" said Dudley in as calm of a voice as possible
"Why is that fun to you?" asked Harry, truly curious now
"What do you mean?"
"Why is it fun for you to play a game in which one person beats another person to death like that for no good reason?"
"Well, I don't know. But why do you care? It's just a game, things like that don't really happen in real life" he said with conviction, as though he truly believed in his words
"Oh, don't they?" asked Harry as he raised an eyebrow skeptically
"Of course they don't" said Dudley, although he didn't seem quite as sure of himself now "People fight all the time, but nobody would really beat someone up like that, would they?"
"Dudley, why are you here right now? Why aren't you at Smeltings anymore?" asked Harry, deciding on a different approach
"Mum and Dad pulled m out of that ruddy school when the nurse tried to tell them that I either had to loose weight or I would fail because I couldn't go to my sports classes anymore" he answered, but he didn't seem the smallest bit ashamed about it "How about you? What's the real reason you are here instead of that school of yours? The last we heard was that you're godfather got custody of you but that you had disappeared to somewhere" he asked, and for the first time in his life, Harry could honestly say that his cousin was interested in his life
"Do you really want to know?" he asked hesitantly
"Yes" answered Dudley, leaning forward in his chair in anticipation
"Well, my godfather, Sirius, does have custody of me now, but last spring, just over a year ago actually, my school was attacked by the dark wizard, Voldemort, that killed my parents. I fought him for a little while, and then I sent him and his followers to a place where they couldn't hurt anyone else, but I had to go with them to make the spell work. The next three months I was stuck with them, and they tried everything they could think of to convince me to release them, but I wouldn't. When the last of them had died, I left and went to a muggle hospital in London and Sirius and a couple of my other professors found me there a week later and took me back to the castle. Everything was getting back to normal, until a dark wizard managed to take control of my powers and I almost destroyed the castle and killed my friends, and I was barley able to resist him, but all of his followers know of my powers, which were pretty much drained while I fought him. But now, some of his remaining followers are after me, and we can't identify them until it's too late, so they have free access to the castle, and until I get my powers up to full strength again, they could take me and use a mind control spell to make me use my powers for evil" he explained as he met his cousins face.
Dudley looked, for lack of a better way to describe it, like he had just seen a ghost. His face was void of all color and his jaw was hanging open in shock, his beady little eyes starring at Harry and not blinking. Finally though, he pulled himself together and uttered one syllable.
"Oh"
"I had better get to my room" said Harry as he glanced at Dudley's clock on the nightstand "Sirius will be here in an hour and I need to finish a letter to Ginny for him to take back" he said as he got to his feet and walked toward the door, but his cousins voice stopped him in his tracks
"Who's Ginny Harry? I heard you say something about her last night too"
"Oh, Ginny's been my girlfriend for the past two and a half years, she's also my best friend Ron's little sister" he explained, a small smile on his face as he spoke of the fiery red headed girl.
"What is she like? I've never had a girlfriend before" admitted Dudley, and Harry turned to look at his cousin again
"Well, Ginny is the smartest, funniest, most caring person in the world, and the most beautiful" he admitted with a slight blush creeping up his cheeks
"Do you have a picture of her?" asked Dudley in anticipation
"Yeah, I do" said Harry and he out his palm up and an instant later a photograph appeared in his hand. He looked at it longingly for a minute before handing it to Dudley. It was one of his favorite pictures of the two of them, taken less than a month before. They two of them were sitting together in one of the plush armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, she was wrapped up in his arms and his left hand was holding hers, and he could plainly see the ring he had given her on her third finger, catching the light of the flames from the fire behind them every now and then. As he watched the picture, he chuckled to himself as watched their antics. He had, unknowing to her, reached up and freed her long copper hair from the knot at the back of her head, causing the long tresses to fall around her face, turning every shade of red imaginable as the firelight behind them illuminated her features. In retaliation, she had turned and begun to tickle him mercilessly, until they had broken out into an all out tickle war, Ginny withering around on his lap, unable to fight off his attacks, both of them laughing the entire time. Finally, after torturing her for enough time, he had leaned down and captured her lips in a light kiss, and she had leaned up to meet him, wrapping her arms around his neck. A second later, they separated and he watched as she looked up at him and said the three words that still made him feel weak in the knees, even though he couldn't hear the words, he still say them 'I love you Harry' and he had looked down at her and said 'I love you too Gin' before she settled back into his arms and they sat in silence, still locked in each others arms.
"She is pretty" said Dudley, and Harry was startled that he had forgotten Dudley was there, he had been so lost in the memory of that night.
"Yes, she is" whispered Harry, the foolish grin still on his face as he took the picture back into his hands "I have to go" he said suddenly and he left his cousin without saying another word, intent on writing to Ginny as soon as possible.
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A/N: Ok guys, here is the next chapter, how do you like it? I won't be able to update again until probably Monday because I'm going home tomorrow for Thanksgiving and internet time is rare at my parents house, sorry, but I will have time to write out the next couple chapters on my lap top while I'm there hopefully, so I can post the next chapter as soon as I get back. Please review this one though, and let me know how it is! Sorry if there some mistakes, I didn't have time to re-read it before I posted it, if I did, you wouldn't get it until Monday and I didn't think you would appreciate that, so here you go!