An hour or so later they pulled up on a street full of old Victorian houses.
"Dung, bring Harry's trunk in will you?" Talitha called. She opened the door to number 34 and then put her arm round Harry's shoulder.
"This is where you'll be staying for the next few weeks, Harry" She turned round and saw Dung struggling to open the car to get Harry's trunk out "Go inside Harry. I'll just give Dung a hand" Harry was half way through the door when she pulled him back "but whatever you do, do not go upstairs"
Inside, Harry looked around, it seemed just like a normal house. He went into the living room. There were a few objects lying around that gave it away that it wasn't a muggle house, titles of the books on the shelf and so on but generally just normal. Harry wondered what could be upstairs that made it so he wasn't to go up there.
"Dung you can be such an idiot sometimes you know" Talitha laughed outside in the hall "You didn't need to hex the car because it wouldn't open. You only needed the key"
"Bloody stupid if you ask me" Dung muttered. They both came into the living room.
"Sit down then Harry, make yourself at home." Talitha told him. Harry sat on the sofa "Do you want a drink? Butterbeer?" Harry nodded "Dung, are you staying?"
"Yeah, I'll stay a bit. Gotta go an' see a man about some brooms in a bit though, might have a deal for me" Dung wandered into what Harry assumed to be the kitchen and came back with 3 Butterbeers.
"Is this you're house then?" Harry asked Talitha
"No. I'm staying here for a while but it isn't mine. Far too tidy for my liking" she laughed.
"Whose house is it then?"
"It's Remus'" said Dung. Harry's face beamed at the thought of seeing Remus Lupin again.
"Is he here? Can I see him?"
"No, not today. I told you. It's full moon tonight. That's why you aren't to go upstairs" Talitha explained
"He's upstairs?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Yeah, so when you hear loadsa bangin' and howlin' in the night it's just Mooney" Dung told him.
"Dung! Shut up!" Talitha interrupted "Don't worry Harry he's just winding you up. Remus has been taking the Wolfsbane potion so he'll mostly just sleep through it. Staying down here is just a precaution, it's just best not to disturb him that's all. Seeing him like that will probably scare you more than anything"
"Oh ok..." muttered Harry
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. You'll see him tomorrow"
"So why am I here? I thought Dumbledore said I was safest at the Dursleys" Harry inquired
"From Voldemort you are" Talitha told him. Harry was surprised that she said his name and not You-know-who "but some of the Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban again and you aren't really protected from them at Privet Drive. We don't know if they are going to come after you but we don't want to take any chances"
"I can't see your Uncle being much use in fightin' off Death Eaters" Dung laughed.
"So we had to find the safest place we could for you" Talitha continued ignoring Dung's comment.
"It was either here or with Mad-eye" said Dung laughing again. This time Talitha laughed
"As wonderful as Alastor is, I think it would be unfair to ask anyone to live with him" she chuckled. Harry laughed as well.
Suddenly there was a loud bang upstairs which made them all jump. Talitha stood up quickly.
"I better go and check …" she said as she left the room
"But isn't…" Harry started
"It's ok 'Arry." Dung said "Tali can handle him alright"
A few minutes later Talitha came back in the room
"Everything's fine" she told them.
"Well, I better be off, deals to make an' all that" Dung told them as he stood up "See you later 'Arry"
Crack. He disappeared.
"Yeah, we'll see him about breakfast time I would imagine, unless someone else feeds him" Talitha said with a chuckle. She took the empty Butterbeer bottles back into the kitchen. When she returned Harry yawned.
"I've made you a bed up in the study for tonight" Talitha told him "I'll show you your room tomorrow. Feel free to go to bed when you like"
"I think I'll go now if you don't mind" Harry answered. Talitha nodded
"It's the door straight across the hall. If you want a drink or anything in the night just help yourself"
"Ok, night then."
The next morning Harry woke up to the smell of Bacon cooking. He hadn't expected to sleep at all last night but he had dozed off almost straight away. He pulled on his clothes and went through to the kitchen.
"Morning" he said sleepily as he sat at the table.
"Mornin'" said Dung, sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet.
"Sleep well?" asked Talitha putting a plate full down in front of him. Today she less like a muggle as she was wearing deep scarlet witches robes.
"Yeah, it's the best night sleep I've had since…well you know". Dung glanced up but decided not to say anything. Talitha put her hand on his arm
"It'll get better" she told him. They were all silent for a few minutes. Dung reading the paper, Harry and Talitha thinking.
"Don't suppose you need a new wand do you 'Arry? Got some going cheap if you want to have a look?"
"Dung, shut up about those wands, nobody in their right mind would buy a wand from you. God only knows where they came from." Talitha said as an Owl flew through the window. She took the letter from its leg and after reading the front of it passed it to Dung.
"Gotta go" he said after he read it.
Crack
"Bye then" said Talitha with a small laugh, after he disappeared. Talitha stood up and fetched a bag from the living room.
"Harry, I've got to go out for a short while as well. I'm really sorry, I didn't want to leave you alone today but it's really important" She said "Remus won't be down for a few hours yet but he might be moving about a bit so don't worry if you hear some noise. I've left him a note to say where I've gone. Make sure you stay down here though unless … you know. I'll see you later"
Crack
Harry was unsure how he felt about being left alone in the house with a werewolf. "I'm glad this is the safest place for me, I'd hate to be anywhere dangerous" he muttered to himself.
"Alright Harry" a voice said. Harry looked around the room quickly to try and see who had spoken to him but no one was there.
"Down Here!"
Harry glanced down towards where the voice was coming from and saw a face in the fireplace.
"Ron! You scared the life out of me!" Harry said. Ron laughed
"Just thought I'd say hello. I'll have to be quick though, mum doesn't know I am. What are you doing there then?"
"Not sure really. Dumbledore's orders apparently. How did you know where I was I was?"
"Oh dad told me. Said you'd gone to stay at Lupins. Is he there?"
"No, he's upstairs. Full moon" Harry tried to say matter of factly
"Bloody Hell" said Ron. Harry heard another voice from the fire place say 'who are you talking to Ron' and Ron's face disappeared. A few seconds later another face appeared
"Hi Harry"
"Hi Ginny"
"How are you? are you ok?"
"Yeah fine" Harry replied although it wasn't strictly true. Harry heard a noise from upstairs.
"Sorry Ginny I've got to go…something's come up. Tell Ron I said bye"
"Ok" said Ginny looking confused "We'll see you soon"
"Yeah, I hope so" Harry went out into the hall, wondering what he should do. Should he ignore it or should he see what it was. Before he had decided he heard a voice that he vaguely recognised as Lupins but it sounded deeper and rougher.
"Harry?"
"Hello?" Harry answered, still a bit unsure. He walked towards the stairs and put his foot on the first step. As he did so it creaked
"No Harry don't come up" Lupin shouted "I'm not back to myself fully yet. I just wanted to know if you're ok"
"Yeah I'm ok"
"I'm going back to sleep for a few hours and then I'll be alright and I'll come down. There's some Quidditch books in the study if you're bored"
"Thanks" That was just great. He didn't need books to read. He had books at the Dursleys. He needed someone to talk to, someone to tell him what was going on in the wizarding world, someone who he could talk about Sirius to.
"Dung, bring Harry's trunk in will you?" Talitha called. She opened the door to number 34 and then put her arm round Harry's shoulder.
"This is where you'll be staying for the next few weeks, Harry" She turned round and saw Dung struggling to open the car to get Harry's trunk out "Go inside Harry. I'll just give Dung a hand" Harry was half way through the door when she pulled him back "but whatever you do, do not go upstairs"
Inside, Harry looked around, it seemed just like a normal house. He went into the living room. There were a few objects lying around that gave it away that it wasn't a muggle house, titles of the books on the shelf and so on but generally just normal. Harry wondered what could be upstairs that made it so he wasn't to go up there.
"Dung you can be such an idiot sometimes you know" Talitha laughed outside in the hall "You didn't need to hex the car because it wouldn't open. You only needed the key"
"Bloody stupid if you ask me" Dung muttered. They both came into the living room.
"Sit down then Harry, make yourself at home." Talitha told him. Harry sat on the sofa "Do you want a drink? Butterbeer?" Harry nodded "Dung, are you staying?"
"Yeah, I'll stay a bit. Gotta go an' see a man about some brooms in a bit though, might have a deal for me" Dung wandered into what Harry assumed to be the kitchen and came back with 3 Butterbeers.
"Is this you're house then?" Harry asked Talitha
"No. I'm staying here for a while but it isn't mine. Far too tidy for my liking" she laughed.
"Whose house is it then?"
"It's Remus'" said Dung. Harry's face beamed at the thought of seeing Remus Lupin again.
"Is he here? Can I see him?"
"No, not today. I told you. It's full moon tonight. That's why you aren't to go upstairs" Talitha explained
"He's upstairs?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Yeah, so when you hear loadsa bangin' and howlin' in the night it's just Mooney" Dung told him.
"Dung! Shut up!" Talitha interrupted "Don't worry Harry he's just winding you up. Remus has been taking the Wolfsbane potion so he'll mostly just sleep through it. Staying down here is just a precaution, it's just best not to disturb him that's all. Seeing him like that will probably scare you more than anything"
"Oh ok..." muttered Harry
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. You'll see him tomorrow"
"So why am I here? I thought Dumbledore said I was safest at the Dursleys" Harry inquired
"From Voldemort you are" Talitha told him. Harry was surprised that she said his name and not You-know-who "but some of the Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban again and you aren't really protected from them at Privet Drive. We don't know if they are going to come after you but we don't want to take any chances"
"I can't see your Uncle being much use in fightin' off Death Eaters" Dung laughed.
"So we had to find the safest place we could for you" Talitha continued ignoring Dung's comment.
"It was either here or with Mad-eye" said Dung laughing again. This time Talitha laughed
"As wonderful as Alastor is, I think it would be unfair to ask anyone to live with him" she chuckled. Harry laughed as well.
Suddenly there was a loud bang upstairs which made them all jump. Talitha stood up quickly.
"I better go and check …" she said as she left the room
"But isn't…" Harry started
"It's ok 'Arry." Dung said "Tali can handle him alright"
A few minutes later Talitha came back in the room
"Everything's fine" she told them.
"Well, I better be off, deals to make an' all that" Dung told them as he stood up "See you later 'Arry"
Crack. He disappeared.
"Yeah, we'll see him about breakfast time I would imagine, unless someone else feeds him" Talitha said with a chuckle. She took the empty Butterbeer bottles back into the kitchen. When she returned Harry yawned.
"I've made you a bed up in the study for tonight" Talitha told him "I'll show you your room tomorrow. Feel free to go to bed when you like"
"I think I'll go now if you don't mind" Harry answered. Talitha nodded
"It's the door straight across the hall. If you want a drink or anything in the night just help yourself"
"Ok, night then."
The next morning Harry woke up to the smell of Bacon cooking. He hadn't expected to sleep at all last night but he had dozed off almost straight away. He pulled on his clothes and went through to the kitchen.
"Morning" he said sleepily as he sat at the table.
"Mornin'" said Dung, sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet.
"Sleep well?" asked Talitha putting a plate full down in front of him. Today she less like a muggle as she was wearing deep scarlet witches robes.
"Yeah, it's the best night sleep I've had since…well you know". Dung glanced up but decided not to say anything. Talitha put her hand on his arm
"It'll get better" she told him. They were all silent for a few minutes. Dung reading the paper, Harry and Talitha thinking.
"Don't suppose you need a new wand do you 'Arry? Got some going cheap if you want to have a look?"
"Dung, shut up about those wands, nobody in their right mind would buy a wand from you. God only knows where they came from." Talitha said as an Owl flew through the window. She took the letter from its leg and after reading the front of it passed it to Dung.
"Gotta go" he said after he read it.
Crack
"Bye then" said Talitha with a small laugh, after he disappeared. Talitha stood up and fetched a bag from the living room.
"Harry, I've got to go out for a short while as well. I'm really sorry, I didn't want to leave you alone today but it's really important" She said "Remus won't be down for a few hours yet but he might be moving about a bit so don't worry if you hear some noise. I've left him a note to say where I've gone. Make sure you stay down here though unless … you know. I'll see you later"
Crack
Harry was unsure how he felt about being left alone in the house with a werewolf. "I'm glad this is the safest place for me, I'd hate to be anywhere dangerous" he muttered to himself.
"Alright Harry" a voice said. Harry looked around the room quickly to try and see who had spoken to him but no one was there.
"Down Here!"
Harry glanced down towards where the voice was coming from and saw a face in the fireplace.
"Ron! You scared the life out of me!" Harry said. Ron laughed
"Just thought I'd say hello. I'll have to be quick though, mum doesn't know I am. What are you doing there then?"
"Not sure really. Dumbledore's orders apparently. How did you know where I was I was?"
"Oh dad told me. Said you'd gone to stay at Lupins. Is he there?"
"No, he's upstairs. Full moon" Harry tried to say matter of factly
"Bloody Hell" said Ron. Harry heard another voice from the fire place say 'who are you talking to Ron' and Ron's face disappeared. A few seconds later another face appeared
"Hi Harry"
"Hi Ginny"
"How are you? are you ok?"
"Yeah fine" Harry replied although it wasn't strictly true. Harry heard a noise from upstairs.
"Sorry Ginny I've got to go…something's come up. Tell Ron I said bye"
"Ok" said Ginny looking confused "We'll see you soon"
"Yeah, I hope so" Harry went out into the hall, wondering what he should do. Should he ignore it or should he see what it was. Before he had decided he heard a voice that he vaguely recognised as Lupins but it sounded deeper and rougher.
"Harry?"
"Hello?" Harry answered, still a bit unsure. He walked towards the stairs and put his foot on the first step. As he did so it creaked
"No Harry don't come up" Lupin shouted "I'm not back to myself fully yet. I just wanted to know if you're ok"
"Yeah I'm ok"
"I'm going back to sleep for a few hours and then I'll be alright and I'll come down. There's some Quidditch books in the study if you're bored"
"Thanks" That was just great. He didn't need books to read. He had books at the Dursleys. He needed someone to talk to, someone to tell him what was going on in the wizarding world, someone who he could talk about Sirius to.