A/N: I had some ideas for the second chapter and just kept on rolling! I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review! Oh and please pardon any misspellings of character or object names. I'm trying to use the books as spelling references, but it can be hard to find words at times. Plus, now that I've finished the fifth book, my mother's reading it, so I won't get my hands back on it for a while.

Chapter 2

            Harry was first up but the last to come down stairs. He felt it best to give the Dursley's a chance talk together as a family, because every time Harry filtered down the stairs, all conversation would stop. He knew they weren't talking about him, and even if they were, he didn't care, but none of the Dursley's felt comfortable anymore. They knew Harry couldn't do magic without being expelled, but they didn't know the extent of what adult wizards could do.

            Harry came downstairs dressed and sat in the chair closest to the door. Harry watched the family tense. Aunt Petunia who had been reaching to pour a cup of coffee spilled some on the counter and on her hand. Uncle Vernon ruffled his newspaper unnecessarily to filter the silence of Harry's entrance, and Harry's cousin Dudley froze with his fork in midair while the egg that had been on it fell onto the plate. The fork however continued on its path to Dudley's mouth, who looked at Harry suspiciously when he found that there was nothing on the fork.

            Aunt Petunia went over to the stove and threw a large amount of eggs, sausage, and toast onto a plate and set it in front of Harry. Ever since the Order's threat about treating Harry fairly, Harry had been receiving large amounts of any and all food, but it was amazingly always less than the amount Dudley received. Harry stared at his food not really hungry, but decided to have some toast so he could skip lunch if necessary. He walked out of the kitchen when he was finished. He heard his aunt whispering something about how Harry better not go and complain about not getting fed after she'd prepared all this food, but Harry doubted it was going to waste. Dudley was sure to finish up whatever Harry hadn't eaten.

            Harry went upstairs and put on his shoes like he did every morning and headed back down to the front door. His uncle however, caught him on the way.

            "Where are you going, boy?" he grunted as he came out of the kitchen.

            "Out," Harry said. His uncle didn't need to know where he was going. He knew his uncle didn't care where he was going, and Harry didn't really want to tell him.

            Uncle Vernon scowled. "We won't be here this afternoon. We're going—er, out," Vernon said mimicking Harry.

            "Fine," Harry said as he opened the door and stepped outside. He immediately headed down the sidewalk and to the park. When he got there, he looked around. He wasn't surprised to find it deserted. Thanks to Dudley, the playground was in worse condition than it had been last summer. There were no longer any swings left to swing on, the slide was dented in from having rocks thrown at it, and the see-saw was broken in half from Dudley's and his friends' attempt to sit on it.

            Harry liked to visit this place because it gave him a chance to be alone and outside. He didn't have to be confined to the Dursley's house any longer, now that they were afraid something would happen to them if Harry didn't get his way. Selfish it may seem to some, but it was an allowance that Harry had never had before. He was never free to do anything unconditionally. It was especially nice after all those years when Dudley had gotten his way more times than Harry could count.

            Harry went over and laid on one side of the broken see-saw. The day wasn't particularly nice, but a typical shade of gray for a London day. He watched neighbors pass and stare at him briefly before they continued on their way. He looked around. He wondered if members of the Order were still following him. Most likely they were around somewhere, but Harry didn't know where.

            Harry breathed in deeply. He had been with the Dursley's for a month, and he still had a month to go. The thought of it was depressing. With nothing to do while he was with the Dursley's, Harry's mind had no choice but to watch Sirius's death over and over in his head. If he were at Hogwarts, he would be doing something, anything, to keep his mind from wander back to that night. He could do homework (though it was unlikely), or practicing Quidditch, or be playing wizard chess with Ron, or talking with Cho Chang…

            Harry scowled. He hadn't meant to think of Cho. He hadn't thought of her since Ginny and Hermione told him that she was seeing Michael Corner. When he had first found out, he hadn't cared much, and now, the idea that she didn't really like him just added to his feeling of depressing numbness.

            He briefly glanced at his watch and caught sight of the date. His birthday was less than a month away. His friends had sent him a few letters over the summer, but it was mostly filled with light conversation, questions just to make sure that Harry hadn't done anything rash over the summer. Harry knew his friends were worried about him, but there was nothing they could do to make Harry feel better.

            Harry sat on the seesaw for a little while longer and then started walking back to the Dursley's. By then, the sky that had been threatening all day finally opened up and started to pour. Harry just continued to walk moodily to his aunt's and uncle's. When he reached home, he reached down into the nearest flowerpot, and pulled out a hidden key. The Dursley's had decided to keep an extra key outside when Dudley had forgotten his while Aunt Petunia was at the store and Uncle Vernon was at work.

            Harry used then key and then placed it back in the pot as he stepped into the living room, plopping down on the couch. He paid no attention to the fact that he was dripping wet and had just sat down on his aunt's furniture. He was thinking how nice a crackling orange fire would be when with a pop a face suddenly appeared in the fire.

            "Hey Harry! How's your summer?" Harry looked down at Lupin's slightly pale, but grinning face. He looked pretty much the same as he did when Harry had said good-bye to him at King's Cross.

            "Fine," Harry lied. He didn't want to bore Lupin with how boring his summer had been, or how he'd been moping around the house thinking of his godfather.

            "Your aunt and uncle behaving themselves?" Lupin asked.

            "Yeah, they've resorted to not talking to me but I don't mind. They've been treating me alright besides," Harry said avoiding Lupin's eyes. He didn't want to bring up Sirius, but he knew Lupin knew how he was feeling.

            He glanced at Lupin who was no longer smiling, but giving Harry a searching look. "Harry, do you want to—"

            "No," Harry interrupted.

            Lupin wasn't convinced that Harry was alright and continued his question. "You do know Harry, it wasn't your fault?" Lupin emphasized, but still formed it into a question.

            Harry didn't answer. Dumbledore had tried to convince him of the same thing. Saying in actuality it was mostly his fault for Sirius's death, but Harry couldn't in actuality believe that it was all Dumbledore's fault. After all, it was he, Harry, who had stopped taking the occlumecy lessons. It was Harry who had fallen for Voldemort's plot when he had seen the vision of Sirius in pain. It was Harry who had brought Sirius out of hiding to come to his rescue. Harry did everything but hold the wand that killed him.

            "…it wasn't you, Harry," Lupin was saying as Harry came out of his musings. "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done." Harry still said nothing.

            Lupin looked frustrated and saddened by Harry's silence. "Harry none of this was your doing. I can't talk much longer, but I want you to promise me one thing. Promise me that you won't let the thought that you killed Sirius rest on your shoulders." Harry was quiet. "Promise me, Harry."

            "I promise," Harry quietly said, but knew he couldn't control his contradicting thoughts.

            "Take care, Harry," Lupin said watching Harry. "I'll see you again before the summer is over," and with a pop, the green fire in the fireplace disappeared and Lupin's head was gone. Harry lay back against the couch surprised at seeing Lupin. Apparently Ron and Hermione weren't the only ones who were worried about him, but it didn't seem to matter what they said. Harry was set to believe what he wanted to believe.

            Harry remained where he was sitting pondering once again on the past of Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Prongs.

            The Dursley's returned home about a half an hour later. Aunt Petunia had entered the house first and had looked close to murdering Harry when she saw that he was soaking wet and sitting on her couch. Instead she closed her eyes slowly and attempted to reopen them with a calm expression on her face. It still came off as more of a snarl, but amazingly her voice was sweet and controlled.

            "Harry, would you please, go upstairs and change into some dry clothes," she said stressing the words she felt were the most important in getting her message across. Harry shrugged and got off the couch knowing that he had left a nice imprint there. He made his way to the stairs and had just put his foot on the first step when something hit him forcefully in the back, causing his jaw to make immediate contact with the stairs.

            Harry turned around abruptly and pulled out his wand, which caused a gasp from Aunt Petunia. Before Harry could even see what it was that had caused him to fall, his face was attacked with a slobbery wet tongue. The attack was so abrupt that Harry's glasses ended up falling off onto the step beside him.

            By the time that Harry had found his glasses the beast that had attacked him had stepped away from him and Harry had a clear view of it. It was a dog, a very big dog. It had long white hair that almost dragged the floor as it walked around, sniffing every item within its reach. Its eyes were big and black and its long pink tongue seemed unable to remain in its mouth as it walked around the house.

            Uncle Vernon came in a few seconds later red-faced as he hauled in a large bag of dog food and set it on the ground. The sound of the bag hitting the ground sent a rumble through the house and in less than a heart beat the white dog came rounding the corner, barking its head off. Uncle Vernon however in his efforts to quiet the dog, looked up and noticed Harry's wand.

            "Why in the world do you have that—thing out? Put it away!" Uncle Vernon said, shouting over the dog. Harry forgetting that he had pulled it out placed it back into his pocket so it'd be unseen from the Dursley's eyes. Finally it seemed to calm down and he planted himself right in front of Harry. Dudley came in a few minutes later brandishing two dog bowls, a leash, and a collar. Dudley was about to walk into the kitchen to set down his newly purchased items, when he noticed the dog sitting in front of Harry, almost like he was guarding him.

            Dudley glared at Harry. "Get away from Lightning!" Dudley yelled at him. The dog, whose name was apparently Lightning did not seem to respond to his own name. He simply sat at the bottom of the steps and wagged his tail happily.

            Harry meanwhile wanted nothing to do with Lightning. He returned Dudley's glare and looked back at the dog. "Take your stupid dog! I don't want him!"

            "Good thing too," Dudley said with a snotty air, "because your not allowed to touch him. He's a purebred northern—"

            "I don't care what he is. Just keep him away from me!" Harry said before thundering up the stairs to his room. He didn't want a dog in the house. It reminded him of Sirius too much. Dudley's new dog was almost the same size as Sirius when he transformed, just a different color. Harry sighed. Just when he thought his vacation couldn't possibly get any worse…