Harry sat on the end of his bed, his foot tapping slightly in
impatience, his Hogwarts stuff packed and waiting by his door. He glanced
at the clock again. Four minutes from the last time he looked. It was
already past one. When were they going to pick him up?
About one minute later the doorbell rang and Harry sprinted down the stairs to find that Uncle Vernon already had the door open. He would have had to have been sitting by the door to have gotten it open that fast.
Harry stopped suddenly after he saw the person standing in the door way. It was a young man of about the age of 25 with short brown hair. Harry stared at the young man in confusion.
"Who are you?" Uncle Vernon demanded gruffly.
The young man winked at Harry before replying. "Mr. Tonks, sir. I'm here to pick up a young Mr. Potter."
Harry did his best to hide his smile as Uncle Vernon turned purple at the fact that Harry was going to have a chauffeur.
"Thank you sir," Harry said as he tried not to look at Tonks. "I'll just go and get my things."
"No need young sir," Tonks said his eyes alight with mischief. "Your things have already been taken care of.." With that he stepped aside.
Harry could see another person pushing his trunk into the back of the car. The person looked vaguely familiar, but before Harry could place him Tonks moved back and said, "If the young sir is ready to leave?"
Harry merely grinned at the question and before Uncle Vernon could say anything more he walked through the doorway and called back, "See you next summer!" before Uncle Vernon could shut the door. Harry could just imagine the look on the Dursley's faces as he walked out to the car.
When they reached the car Tonks held open the door for Harry and then climbed into the front. The driver, who had loaded Harry's things, turned around and said in his soft voice, "Hello Harry."
"Lupin!" Harry cried in delight. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," Lupin said smiling as he pulled out onto Privet Drive, "Tonks can't drive that well and Molly didn't want Arthur to leave work just to come pick you up so I volunteered."
Harry leaned back in his seat and looked around. "So where are we going?" he asked the now normal Tonks.
After checking in the mirror to make sure everything was right Tonks said, "We figured it would be easier to just park the car at Kings Cross and then 'acquire' a cart and walk to the house. Shouldn't be to hard," she said smiling at Harry.
Harry leaned back and listened to Tonks argue with Lupin about what music she wanted to play on the radio and smiled. It seemed to be going rather well. Guess he would just have to wait till he got to the house to see how he was going to like this new arrangement.
"Okay Harry," Lupin said as they started walking down Grimmauld Place. "You know the drill."
As Harry neared number 11 on the street he thought of the house he was going to. Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Then, just as it had done before, the dark, old house squeezed its way into the row of houses lining the street. Harry took a deep breath and walked up to the door determined to try and make the best of whatever was going to happen. It was the only thing he could do.
Lupin tapped the door with his wand and after the locks undid themselves the door swung open slightly. They stepped in, Harry holding Hedwig in her cage and Lupin and Tonks pulling in Harry's trunk.
"Right, well, I'll just go tell everyone you're here Harry!" Tonks said brightly as she headed towards the stairs.
Lupin's arm reached out and grabbed Tonks' robe right before she would have walked into the umbrella stand. "Whoops! Thanks Lupin. I really should remember that's there..." Tonks said as she dodged around the stand and headed up stairs.
Harry smiled ruefully. Some things never change. He had begun to wonder why they didn't just move the stand somewhere else when someone Harry had never seen before walked out of the kitchen.
The woman was looking at a piece of parchment and mumbling to herself. She looked to be around her mid 30's, with blond hair, and her dark robe made her look extremely pale.
Harry heard a sharp intake of breath from beside him and looked up at Lupin as he said, "Lavena?"
The woman looked up from what she was reading and stopped suddenly, her blue eyes widening in surprise. "Remus?" she asked softly. "I thought.... I didn't..." she trailed off.
Harry looked between the two and felt uncomfortable, so he slowly began to head up to the stairs. Lupin glanced at Harry and said, "I was just going to pick up Harry so he could visit with his friends before heading back to Hogwarts. I didn't know you were arriving today."
But before the woman could reply a man walked out of the kitchen door behind her and called out behind him "Don't forget about your meeting." Harry was surprised to hear he was an American. The man stopped when he saw Lupin and smiled. "Remus Lupin! Surprised to see you here. How have you been?" He asked while holding out his hand.
Lupin smiled back and shook the hand extended towards him. "I've been fine Scott. Harry, this is Scott Calder and his wife Lavena. Scott, Lavena, this is Harry Potter."
Scott smiled at Harry and said to Lupin, "Well, good to see you're doing well. Lavena and I had better be going now." And with that he took the woman's arm and led her out of the house.
"Harry!!" Ron yelled as he started down the stairs.
"Quiet Ron!" Hermione said as she walked down quickly after Ron.
"Come on Harry," Ron said grabbing one side of Harry's trunk, "We've got loads to tell you."
With one last glance at Lupin, who was staring thoughtfully into space, Harry handed off Hedwig to Hermione and helped Ron heave his trunk up the stairs.
Finally after Ron and Hermione had almost talked themselves hoarse Harry went downstairs with everyone for dinner. He was surprised most of all by the fact that Voldemort hadn't been doing too much the past summer. He wasn't sure if he was glad because he hadn't missed much in the way of information, or upset because they didn't know what he was up to now.
Right as Harry was about to reach for the door when suddenly it opened and he had to step back to make sure it didn't hit him.
"Sorry," came a voice and all Harry saw of the speaker was a flash of blonde hair as a girl ran by muttering, "I'm going to be late...."
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, who were behind him and looked just as befuddled as he felt, before heading into the kitchen.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley cried after she looked up from setting the stew on the table. She walked over to Harry and gave him a big hug. "How are you doing dear? Are you hungry?"
"If you're cooking Molly, I'm sure he is," Lupin said with a smile as he sat down.
Harry watched Lupin through dinner and was wondering why he was being unusually quiet. Finally, as everyone was talking amongst themselves Harry asked, "Who were those people you talked to Lupin?"
Lupin looked up at Harry and asked, "Scott and Lavena? Well they're a couple of originals from the Order. Only not many people knew about them because we were trying to get information with out being found out so we recruited some people who weren't known to be on our side. They acted like they weren't on either side but helped us."
Ron looked at Lupin in interest. "So they were sort of undercover?" he asked.
Lupin smiled, "In a way I guess you could say they were. After Voldemort disappeared they moved back to California, where Scott was from. Now that it's out in the open that he's back, Albus called to see if they would come back again. After a....rather unpleasant event they decided to help out again and now they're here."
"What happened?" Harry asked curiously.
Lupin frowned and looked at the table. "It's not my place to tell," he said simply.
"Okay, enough chit-chat," Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "It's time for you all to go up to bed." Mrs. Weasley woke up Ginny, who had fallen asleep on the table and herded everyone out of the kitchen.
Harry walked up the stairs to the room he had slept in last year and got ready for bed. It was only after he and Ron went to bed that he finally began to feel the absence of Sirius.
Unknown to Harry, downstairs in the kitchen a girl sat, staring, as though she could see through the wall, at Harry's bedroom.
"So that's the famous Harry Potter," she muttered to herself as she drank her tea. At last she sighed and got up to go sleep. "Well, it'll be an interesting year to say the least."
A.N. A quick shout out to Linda who helped me come up with the last name. Go Linda!! Also, let it be known that I still do not own any of these char. besides Scott, Lavena, and that girl who's name you don't know yet.
About one minute later the doorbell rang and Harry sprinted down the stairs to find that Uncle Vernon already had the door open. He would have had to have been sitting by the door to have gotten it open that fast.
Harry stopped suddenly after he saw the person standing in the door way. It was a young man of about the age of 25 with short brown hair. Harry stared at the young man in confusion.
"Who are you?" Uncle Vernon demanded gruffly.
The young man winked at Harry before replying. "Mr. Tonks, sir. I'm here to pick up a young Mr. Potter."
Harry did his best to hide his smile as Uncle Vernon turned purple at the fact that Harry was going to have a chauffeur.
"Thank you sir," Harry said as he tried not to look at Tonks. "I'll just go and get my things."
"No need young sir," Tonks said his eyes alight with mischief. "Your things have already been taken care of.." With that he stepped aside.
Harry could see another person pushing his trunk into the back of the car. The person looked vaguely familiar, but before Harry could place him Tonks moved back and said, "If the young sir is ready to leave?"
Harry merely grinned at the question and before Uncle Vernon could say anything more he walked through the doorway and called back, "See you next summer!" before Uncle Vernon could shut the door. Harry could just imagine the look on the Dursley's faces as he walked out to the car.
When they reached the car Tonks held open the door for Harry and then climbed into the front. The driver, who had loaded Harry's things, turned around and said in his soft voice, "Hello Harry."
"Lupin!" Harry cried in delight. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," Lupin said smiling as he pulled out onto Privet Drive, "Tonks can't drive that well and Molly didn't want Arthur to leave work just to come pick you up so I volunteered."
Harry leaned back in his seat and looked around. "So where are we going?" he asked the now normal Tonks.
After checking in the mirror to make sure everything was right Tonks said, "We figured it would be easier to just park the car at Kings Cross and then 'acquire' a cart and walk to the house. Shouldn't be to hard," she said smiling at Harry.
Harry leaned back and listened to Tonks argue with Lupin about what music she wanted to play on the radio and smiled. It seemed to be going rather well. Guess he would just have to wait till he got to the house to see how he was going to like this new arrangement.
"Okay Harry," Lupin said as they started walking down Grimmauld Place. "You know the drill."
As Harry neared number 11 on the street he thought of the house he was going to. Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Then, just as it had done before, the dark, old house squeezed its way into the row of houses lining the street. Harry took a deep breath and walked up to the door determined to try and make the best of whatever was going to happen. It was the only thing he could do.
Lupin tapped the door with his wand and after the locks undid themselves the door swung open slightly. They stepped in, Harry holding Hedwig in her cage and Lupin and Tonks pulling in Harry's trunk.
"Right, well, I'll just go tell everyone you're here Harry!" Tonks said brightly as she headed towards the stairs.
Lupin's arm reached out and grabbed Tonks' robe right before she would have walked into the umbrella stand. "Whoops! Thanks Lupin. I really should remember that's there..." Tonks said as she dodged around the stand and headed up stairs.
Harry smiled ruefully. Some things never change. He had begun to wonder why they didn't just move the stand somewhere else when someone Harry had never seen before walked out of the kitchen.
The woman was looking at a piece of parchment and mumbling to herself. She looked to be around her mid 30's, with blond hair, and her dark robe made her look extremely pale.
Harry heard a sharp intake of breath from beside him and looked up at Lupin as he said, "Lavena?"
The woman looked up from what she was reading and stopped suddenly, her blue eyes widening in surprise. "Remus?" she asked softly. "I thought.... I didn't..." she trailed off.
Harry looked between the two and felt uncomfortable, so he slowly began to head up to the stairs. Lupin glanced at Harry and said, "I was just going to pick up Harry so he could visit with his friends before heading back to Hogwarts. I didn't know you were arriving today."
But before the woman could reply a man walked out of the kitchen door behind her and called out behind him "Don't forget about your meeting." Harry was surprised to hear he was an American. The man stopped when he saw Lupin and smiled. "Remus Lupin! Surprised to see you here. How have you been?" He asked while holding out his hand.
Lupin smiled back and shook the hand extended towards him. "I've been fine Scott. Harry, this is Scott Calder and his wife Lavena. Scott, Lavena, this is Harry Potter."
Scott smiled at Harry and said to Lupin, "Well, good to see you're doing well. Lavena and I had better be going now." And with that he took the woman's arm and led her out of the house.
"Harry!!" Ron yelled as he started down the stairs.
"Quiet Ron!" Hermione said as she walked down quickly after Ron.
"Come on Harry," Ron said grabbing one side of Harry's trunk, "We've got loads to tell you."
With one last glance at Lupin, who was staring thoughtfully into space, Harry handed off Hedwig to Hermione and helped Ron heave his trunk up the stairs.
Finally after Ron and Hermione had almost talked themselves hoarse Harry went downstairs with everyone for dinner. He was surprised most of all by the fact that Voldemort hadn't been doing too much the past summer. He wasn't sure if he was glad because he hadn't missed much in the way of information, or upset because they didn't know what he was up to now.
Right as Harry was about to reach for the door when suddenly it opened and he had to step back to make sure it didn't hit him.
"Sorry," came a voice and all Harry saw of the speaker was a flash of blonde hair as a girl ran by muttering, "I'm going to be late...."
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, who were behind him and looked just as befuddled as he felt, before heading into the kitchen.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley cried after she looked up from setting the stew on the table. She walked over to Harry and gave him a big hug. "How are you doing dear? Are you hungry?"
"If you're cooking Molly, I'm sure he is," Lupin said with a smile as he sat down.
Harry watched Lupin through dinner and was wondering why he was being unusually quiet. Finally, as everyone was talking amongst themselves Harry asked, "Who were those people you talked to Lupin?"
Lupin looked up at Harry and asked, "Scott and Lavena? Well they're a couple of originals from the Order. Only not many people knew about them because we were trying to get information with out being found out so we recruited some people who weren't known to be on our side. They acted like they weren't on either side but helped us."
Ron looked at Lupin in interest. "So they were sort of undercover?" he asked.
Lupin smiled, "In a way I guess you could say they were. After Voldemort disappeared they moved back to California, where Scott was from. Now that it's out in the open that he's back, Albus called to see if they would come back again. After a....rather unpleasant event they decided to help out again and now they're here."
"What happened?" Harry asked curiously.
Lupin frowned and looked at the table. "It's not my place to tell," he said simply.
"Okay, enough chit-chat," Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "It's time for you all to go up to bed." Mrs. Weasley woke up Ginny, who had fallen asleep on the table and herded everyone out of the kitchen.
Harry walked up the stairs to the room he had slept in last year and got ready for bed. It was only after he and Ron went to bed that he finally began to feel the absence of Sirius.
Unknown to Harry, downstairs in the kitchen a girl sat, staring, as though she could see through the wall, at Harry's bedroom.
"So that's the famous Harry Potter," she muttered to herself as she drank her tea. At last she sighed and got up to go sleep. "Well, it'll be an interesting year to say the least."
A.N. A quick shout out to Linda who helped me come up with the last name. Go Linda!! Also, let it be known that I still do not own any of these char. besides Scott, Lavena, and that girl who's name you don't know yet.
