July 21, 2003

Updated July 30, 2003

Harry's Pensieve: Finding Sirius

Chapter 4: The Trio Reunited

Harry jogged down the staircase steps in high spirits, grinning in spite of himself. But as soon as he reached the kitchen, his joyful mood dissipated in one instant as he stared around at the malevolent faces of his aunt and uncle. His cousin, Dudley, was in the corner sniggering to himself as if he knew something Harry didn't, which, as Harry reflected, was probably true. Although his cousin now knew better than to mess with Harry himself, Dudley still never missed an opportunity to watch Harry getting tormented by Uncle Vernon. Harry rolled his eyes and ambled toward the refrigerator, intending to ignore the venomous looks directed towards him.

"I told you before, Petunia," Uncle Vernon hissed through gritted teeth, "We should have chucked him out before he ever went to that dreadful SCHOOL!"

Harry pretended that he had not heard a single word. Although he now knew exactly why he had to return to the Dursleys every summer, it did not mean that he liked coming back. In fact, he dreaded it. And apparently, so did his aunt and uncle.

Uncle Vernon, whose mustache was quivering slightly, pointed a threatening finger at Harry and snarled, "Just what did you think you were doing with all those blasted owls in your room! Don't think we didn't see you! The NEIGHBORS could have seen!" Aunt Petunia looked absolutely terrified by this and craned her head towards the window to see if anyone was spying on their conversation.

Harry pasted what he felt was an innocent look on his face before turning around and calmly saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. You must be going mad." As he turned back towards the refrigerator, he could almost picture his uncle's livid face. Wanting to infuriate his uncle even more, Harry finally decided to tell the truth. "In case you haven't noticed, today's my birthday. The owl's were simply bringing me presents," he said nonchalantly. At this, he sneaked a peek at Dudley, who had been hanging onto every word and looked absolutely furious that Harry had more friends than he did.

Smirking slightly, Harry opened the refrigerator door and was just about to reach towards the milk jug when he felt an enormous pudgy hand violently grip his hair and pull it downward, bending his head back and sending shooting pains throughout his body. "I WON'T HAVE YOU TREATING OUR HOUSE LIKE IT IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL PLAYGROUND!" his uncle roared in fury. Through a haze of pain, Harry could only think of one thing: "This time I'm not going to take it anymore!" He twisted around, wrenching himself out of Uncle Vernon's firm grip, and turned to face his attacker. As Vernon moved to hit him again, Harry instinctively brought his arms up in front of his face in a defensive gesture. But before he ever reached Harry, Uncle Vernon was blasted off his feet and crashed into the wall.

"Oh no! VERNON!" Aunt Petunia cried, hurrying over to his limp form. Even Dudley had abandoned his chair and was crouching over his father, attempting (rather uselessly) to wake him. This left Harry, who was still standing frozen in his place, wondering what had happened. He hadn't had time to take out his wand, so how could he have done it? But before he could figure out the answer to his own question, the kitchen door banged open. Illuminated in the bright morning sunlight were Mad-Eye Moody, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ron, and an old lady that he didn't know.

Harry froze in shock as he stared at the grinning faces of his friends. "Hermione? Ron?" he asked uncertainly, still wondering if what he was seeing was a dream.

They were about to answer when the old lady standing next to them coughed and cleared her throat. She had a haughty expression on her face as she addressed the Dursleys on the other side of the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt your…breakfast," she said daintily, surveying the scene with a pretentious sniff. "But I found these hooligans," she pointed at the group, "trying to break into your house with sticks of some sort. I was getting ready to call the police, but I thought that I should tell you, instead." Aunt Petunia looked scandalized at the thought of a neighbor discovering their secret. Her mouth flapped open and shut uselessly as she gasped for air.

Harry had been watching this conversation with growing unease because he had a vague feeling that he knew this lady. As if she could feel Harry staring at her, the old lady turned towards him and winked rather mischievously. "Tonks?" he asked hesitantly.

"Wotcher, Harry!" the old lady crowed as the steely-gray hair tied in a bun gave way to flourescent purple spiky hair. She straightened up and admired the effect of her transformation in the reflection in the window. "Much better!" she said with satisfaction.

Harry had been staring at Aunt Petunia and Dudley, relishing the way their eyes almost bugged out when they witnessed the change, but now he turned back to his group of friends. They ran towards him and enveloped him in a large joyous hug. "Happy Birthday, Harry!" Ron said happily.

"What did you think of that introduction, Harry? We wanted to give your family a surprise," Tonks grinned wickedly.

"It was great!" Harry replied, laughing. He glanced at his aunt and cousin, who were now crouching beside Uncle Vernon and pretending to look invisible.

Harry stepped back and gazed at the other group of wizards. "Happy Birthday, Harry," Remus Lupin said with a smile as he withdrew an enormous cake from behind his back. "We brought you a cake to celebrate your 16th birthday." The cake was decorated in Gryffindor colors—red and gold—and had a huge moving picture of a lion on it.

"Thanks," Harry said, staring at the cake in awe. "It's wonderful!"

"Harry," Ron said, "We were worried about you! You didn't write to us in over a week, so we thought we'd come to see what was wrong. Well, we wanted to spread some birthday cheer too, of course!"

Harry was about to reply that they shouldn't have worried, but his words were nearly drowned out by a groan coming from the other side of the room. The efforts of Aunt Petunia and Dudley finally paid off as Uncle Vernon finally started to regain consciousness. The results were far worse than Harry had imagined.

Uncle Vernon blinked stupidly as his eyes adjusted to the glaring white sunlight, but as soon as they came into focus, he noticed the odd group standing at the opposite end of the room. Rising with a snarl, he lunged toward the group and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "GET OUT! GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND NEVER COME BACK!" He snatched a broom that was propped up against the wall and proceeded to hit them with it. Noticing a movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned and rounded on Harry, who was attempting to calm him down, but was failing miserably. "YOU! YOU ROTTEN UNGRATEFUL WRETCH! GET OUT! I don't care if you go with them or not, but you will not be staying in this house any longer!!!"

Harry, in a rage of fury, lost his head completely and chucked a plastic bottle towards Uncle Vernon's head. "FINE! SEE IF I CARE! I NEVER LIKED LIVING IN THIS HOUSE ANYWAY!" He turned and climbed up the staircase two steps at a time. When he finally reached his bedroom, he slammed the door shut with all the force he could muster, sending a loud reverberating "BANG" throughout the entire house and causing a few bits of plaster from the ceiling to rain down upon his head. Fuming, he leaned against the door, thinking about the curses and jinxes that he would have liked to use on Uncle Vernon. He knew that the Dursleys would have to take him back next summer, (provided that he was still alive by then) because he didn't have anywhere else to go. But then again, he would do anything to not have to come back again.

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the other occupants of the room until Hermione stood up and tentatively asked, "Erm…we didn't come at a bad time, did we?"

Harry was jolted out of his reverie by the sound of her voice. He looked around the room and was startled to see his guests sitting on his bed and chairs. He hadn't even noticed them! "Well, make yourselves at home, I guess. Although," he continued glumly, "I don't think I'm welcome here anymore."

"Not to worry!" said Ron brightly from his position on the floor, "We've come to take you back with us to the Burrow!"

"Really?" Harry asked, feeling his heart soar when he heard those words. He was going to the Burrow! But as soon as that thought occurred to him, a dozen questions began to run through his head. "You mean, I don't have to stay here all summer? But what did Dumbledore say? Did he agree? And what about…." Here he paused, unable to find the right words for the thought that just formed in his mind.

"Don't worry," said Hermione kindly, "The Burrow has all kinds of charms and wards on it to protect it from harm. In fact, my parents are going to stay there for the summer also! So it's okay. We'll all be safe." Harry breathed a sigh of relief at her words. He didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths of people close to him, not after what had happened…. Stop it Harry! He told himself. It's no use torturing yourself about his death! Sirius wouldn't want you to! He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. Looking up at Mrs. Weasley's expectant face, he replied happily, "I can't wait! Let's get going then!"

Mrs. Weasley looked delighted with his answer. She quickly stood up and bustled around his room, picking up the packages on the floor and placing them in a huge pile. "Now Harry, where's your suitcase?" she asked cheerfully.

Harry went over to his closet and pulled out an extremely grubby black suitcase. Uncle Vernon had given it to him as a "going-away" present for his first year at Hogwarts, and in the course of six years, it had gotten rather shabby. According to his uncle, this dilapidated suitcase was the only one that the Dursleys could afford at that time. But Harry knew better. He had seen his cousin Dudley heave four gleaming suitcases up to his room on the same day that Harry had been stuck with this suitcase. He supposed that his uncle was going to throw the suitcase into the trash bin, but thought better of it and gave it to Harry instead. He sighed resignedly as he dragged the suitcase to where Mrs. Weasley was waiting.

"All right, dear, now just—," she broke off in mid-sentence as she saw what Harry was carrying. "Now, Harry, we'll have to do something about that suitcase. It's falling apart. Do you mind?" she said, gesturing towards her wand.

Harry shook his head and watched, wide-eyed, as Mrs. Weasley cast a few charms on the suitcase. "Scourgify! Reparo! Inflatio!" In seconds, the old suitcase was bright and shiny. Even the seams, which had been bursting apart, were repaired. "I've also added an Inflation Charm to it! It enlarges the inside so that you will always have room in your suitcase for everything!" she said with a smile.

"Wow! Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!" Harry exclaimed, gazing at his brand-new suitcase in awe.

"All we have to do now is to get your things together! Accio Pile!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, pointing to the large pile of birthday presents and directing them into the suitcase.

Harry stared as the presents filed past him one by one. It would have been impossible for all those packages to fit inside the suitcase if it hadn't been enchanted. He gaped open-mouthed at his suitcase, which seemed to have developed into a bottomless pit. He could barely see any of the presents through the darkness that lined the inside. "Erm, Mrs. Weasley?" he asked sheepishly. "How am I going to get everything out again?"

"Oh!" she said, looking embarrassed. "I forgot to tell you. All you have to do is think about whatever it is you need, and it will rise to the top." As the last of the packages flew into the suitcase, she walked over and knelt down beside the suitcase. "Now, think carefully about one object in particular."

As Harry closed his eyes, an image instantly popped into his head. "Ah!" He yelled, jumping up and hurrying over to his bed. "I almost forgot about the Pensieve!" He frantically removed the loose floorboard and took out the precious package.

Hermione looked up at these words and grinned. "So you've opened our present already? Did you like it?"

Harry grinned back at her and exclaimed, "Yeah, thanks! I loved it! It's really useful, although I haven't put any of my memories in there yet!"

Ron, who had been looking in Harry's closet, stepped out and asked curiously, "What's it like in there?"

Harry suddenly remembered that neither Hermione nor Ron had ever been inside a Pensieve before. It felt quite strange, since he had been inside it for three times now. Glancing back at Ron, he replied, "You and Hermione can come with me next time, if you'd like!"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Ron declared, beaming.

Harry turned back to the suitcase and gingerly placed the package inside it. He watched as the silver box slowly drifted down into the darkness, then closed his eyes and pictured it in his mind. When he opened his eyes, the package was floating at the top of the suitcase, waiting for Harry to pick it up again. When he didn't, it slowly glided down to the bottom again. He slowly got up from the floor and went to his desk to gather up his homework and schoolbooks. He groaned when he saw the large stack of homework papers. He had run out of ink during the summer and didn't think it was a good idea to ask the Dursleys to take him to Diagon Alley to pick up some more school supplies. He could just imagine what a lovely conversation that would be. "Uncle Vernon, do you think you could take me to Diagon Alley to pick up a few things? Wizards need to write in ink, you know." He would be pounded into a pulp before he even got to finish his sentence.

At that moment, Ron, who had been poking around Harry's room, came upon something very interesting. "Harry, why haven't you been reading any of our letters?" he asked, pointing to the large stack of unopened letters at the foot of Harry's bed.

Caught red-handed, Harry had no choice but to tell a white lie. "Oh…I haven't really had the time, you know," he said, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally while mentally berating himself for leaving the letters out in plain sight.

Hermione seemed to have noticed something peculiar about his tone because she sent a very reproving glance in his direction.

"Well!" Harry said hurriedly, "I'm all packed, so let's go!" He motioned toward his Firebolt, which was lying against the wall, "Are we going by broomsticks again?"

"No," said Professor Lupin, who had been sitting silently on a chair beside his bed for the whole time, "we're going by Portkey. It's a lot quicker and safer."

"Oh, okay." Harry said, relieved that they wouldn't have to fly through the freezing clouds again like they had last year. Although it had been fun for the first few hours, he had been chilled to the bone when they had finally arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. But this time they were going to the Burrow, which (Harry supposed) was closer. "But what about the Ministry of Magic?" he asked. "Last time Professor Dumbledore made a Portkey, Fudge said that he wasn't authorized to do so!"

"The Ministry doesn't make the rules anymore, Harry," said Lupin quietly. "It's been chaos ever since they figured out that Voldemort was back. In fact, many groups, such as the Improper Use of Magic Office, have disbanded already. If you were to do magic right now, you wouldn't be punished."

Harry gaped at him. "But…but…that's bad, isn't it? What will happen if the Ministry is gone?"

"Lots of things, Harry," growled Mad-Eye Moody as he clumped into the room. "Good things and bad things. But at least we have Dumbledore on our side. However, it's a good thing you lot can practice magic outside of school now. You need to learn everything you can during this summer, you hear me? Although Hogwarts is safer than anywhere else, it's not impenetrable."

Ron stood up and shouted at Moody furiously, "How come you didn't tell us this while we were at the Grimmauld Place? We needed to know too! We could have practiced magic also, you know!"

Professor Lupin shook his head. "It was too dangerous. Although you were allowed to use magic, anybody could have gone into the Ministry to look up the Underage Wizardry records. That meant that they could have gotten a vague idea of our location, even though the house was Unplottable. However, since you three are now going to the Burrow, there's no need to hide because it's not our headquarters."

"Oh, so you don't care about the Burrow, but you care about your stupid Order headquarters?" Ron yelled.

"Ron! Drop that tone now!" Mrs. Weasley ordered. Seeing the hurt expression on his face, she relaxed the stern look on her face and said apologetically, "You know they care about us and the Burrow. It's just that since the Burrow is a family home, the Death Eaters won't think to look there. However, we can't let them gain access to our headquarters. It's too important."

"And speaking of our headquarters," Tonks stated seriously, "We have something to show you, Harry." She pulled out a folded envelope that had evidently been viewed many times since it was crinkled around the edges. "This was Sirius's (Harry flinched) last letter." She held it out to him and Harry reluctantly took it.

Seeing the envelope made a fresh surge of guilt and remorse wash over him. The empty void in his heart throbbed painfully and he bit his lip to stop his tears from flowing. Harry looked at the front of the envelope, on which the name "Sirius" was inscribed, then flipped it over to the back. Sirius's words leapt out at him: "To Remus, Tonks, and Harry." Harry stared at the envelope with curiosity. He looked up at the anxious faces surrounding him, then directed his attention back to the envelope. As he flipped the flap over, the corner of a piece of paper stuck out. He reached in and took it out before realizing that it wasn't a piece of paper at all.

It was a photograph. Harry stared at it as the people in the photo (Sirius, Tonks, Remus, Hermione, Ron, and himself) waved back happily. It had been taken the day before Harry had left for his fifth year at Hogwarts. The Sirius in the picture was having fun turning himself into a black dog and back again while the others were looking down at him in amusement. Harry fingered the photograph tenderly. He would never see that joyful black dog ever again…. He looked up, suddenly aware that the other people in the room were still watching him intently. "I need some space," he said, before hurriedly moving away from the group and settling himself in another corner.

Sirius can't be gone. He told himself. Luna said so. She said that the people were just beyond the veil. So he didn't die, really. He's just out there, waiting for me. It's only a matter of time before Sirius is back again. But how exactly was he going to rescue Sirius? Well, easy. The Ministry was in shambles, so all he had to do was waltz in, find the Department of Mysteries (which should be easy enough), and go through the veil. It was a simple plan, but how was he supposed to pull it off? And if Sirius couldn't come back through the veil, was there a chance that Harry wouldn't be able to come out as well? There has to be another way, he thought furiously. And if there wasn't, what then?

He suddenly noticed another item in the envelope and took it out. It was a piece of parchment bearing a small wax seal. Harry opened the letter and felt another wave of regret and longing wash over him as he stared down at Sirius's loopy handwriting.

Many greetings to my dear friends and beloved cousin,

If you are reading this now, it must surely mean that I, Sirius "Padfoot, the best and most handsome of the Marauders" Black is really and truly dead. Well, I certainly haven't lost my sense of humor, have I? Although, you know…what I said IS true…Ah, stop laughing, Moony and Harry!

Harry gave a small snort of laughter as he saw Sirius's middle name. Trust Sirius to make the worst of situations seem almost hilarious. He continued reading…

Anyway, while sitting and pondering in this dilapidated old house of mine, I came upon an interesting thought. Who should be next in line for this creaky old mansion? I certainly don't want it anymore. I never wanted it in the first place! But as the last of the Blacks, I feel it is my duty to bequeath it to people who deserve it more. That led me to you guys…and girl, of course: Remus, Harry, and Tonks. Each of you will receive a third of the house and its possessions (See, Tonks? Now you can finally have those Electro-charged Biting Flubberwusters that you have always wanted since you were 5 years old!). In short, this is my will (in the unlikely case that I'll die).

Please don't grieve about my death. I've lived a good life (the life before Azkaban, that is) and I finally got my wish: to see Harry grow up. Harry, if you are reading this, know only that it wasn't your fault. Now, I know this seems silly, but I know how you are. You tend to take the blame for everything, even for things you didn't do. I know because James was the same. You are truly like your father, Harry, and that's a good thing. Although we were reckless and foolish during our school years, James really was a great friend and a great father. The only difference between you and him is that you have a great burden to bear…one that I wish you didn't have to endure alone. I don't know how to put this, Harry, but my goal in life has always been to protect you. If I've done that, then my life has been worthwhile and I'll be happy. Even though I'm gone in real life, I will always be by your side. I won't ever truly leave you, Harry, if I stay forever in your heart.

Remus, you've been a great friend to me over the years and I don't know how to thank you…

Harry stopped reading because his vision had gone blurry. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes surreptitiously with his sleeve. If anything, the letter had made the ache in his heart multiply by at least a hundred times. Now there seemed to be a gaping hole where his heart once was. I wish he never died. He was my godfather and I loved him! He wished that he could take a huge gulp of the Sleeping Draught so that he could leave behind all his worries. Sirius told me not to grieve…he told himself. But I can't help it! Another voice in his head shouted. He stood up shakily, feeling his heart beat more rapidly than usual. "Let's go…"

Hermione looked at him anxiously. "Harry…maybe you ought to sit down for a while."

"No!" he replied in a voice that was more forceful than usual. "I want to leave."

"But Harry, you need—," Hermione was interrupted by the sound of shoes loudly clomping up the stairs.

"HARRY! ARE YOU STILL UP THERE?" Uncle Vernon's deafening roars filled the house.

Mrs. Weasley, acting on instinct, quickly put a Blocking Charm on Harry's door. A moment later, they heard a loud banging sound on the door. "HARRY! OPEN UP, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

The occupants of Harry's room quickly gathered around Professor Lupin, who had taken out a tattered book. "Come on! Let's go!" Harry shouted, casting a wary glance at the door, which seemed to be taking quite a beating. Everyone placed one hand on the book as Lupin counted down the seconds.

"Okay, on the count of three. One…two…three!"

Harry felt the irresistible pull behind his navel drawing him forward, but not before he looked back to see Tonks use her free hand to cast a charm on his bedroom door. He heard a large rush of sound in his ears…he was flying through a whirlwind of colors…he was going back to the Burrow…

"Umph!" Harry groaned as his feet hit the ground. He almost staggered over and fell on top of Ron, who had been less lucky than he was and was sprawled on the ground. A second later, Hermione fell through the howling wind and slammed into Harry, who toppled over. Moments later, everyone else arrived, looking very windswept and rumpled.

"Well, we're finally here at the Burrow!" Mrs. Weasley said contentedly.

Harry stared around at the bright, sunny kitchen and at the friendly faces gazing back at him. He had returned to the Burrow at long last.

Author's Notes:

Woo-hoo! Another chapter done! I really love writing this! It's so easy to get into the characters and everything! Anyway, first things first.

I'd first like to say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!!!!

As everyone must know, today's Harry Potter's real birthday! July 31! (The only problem is that we don't know what year that is!) However, if we go by the books, then we can safely say that it's Harry's 16th birthday today! Yay, Harry! (He's the same age as me now! Hehehehee…. I wish he were real!!!)

Well, after that announcement, I'd also like to say a big thanks to all my reviewers! THANK YOU!!!! I love reading everyone's reviews! Also, thanks to everyone who answered my question about the trio's Animagi forms! I've narrowed it down to a few now…. First of all, I think I'm going to go with what Japonica said and have Harry be able to change into whatever type of animal he chooses (since everyone gave me different answers!) However, I really liked the idea of him being a phoenix, a griffin (imagine! A flying lion! Hehe), and a black & silver wolf! On Ron, I think everyone said that he would be an awesome Irish setter, so an Irish Setter he is! (I think it was a great idea also!) On Hermione, I'm not so sure. I really wanted her to be a unicorn (hehe, I love unicorns!), but almost everyone gave a different answer for her Animagus! The ones that I might pick are a cat, a fox, an owl, or a unicorn. I'm leaning towards the cat (since obviously, she is a bit of a cat-person and besides, she DID turn into a cat during her second year after drinking the Polyjuice Potion! Hehe) But I'll think about it! There's still a lot of time before I write that chapter, so all views are welcome! I still need a few more animal forms to choose from! Also, if you do decide to post about that subject, also include why you think that animal is good for the character.

Yikes! I have to go back in school in less than two weeks! (Now, if I were going to Hogwarts, I would love to go back! But since I'm not, I'm dreading the beginning of school since it means no more lazy summer days! Also, it means that it'll take more time for me to put up chapters!) Darn these American schools! (lol) Why can't they be more like British schools and start on September 1st (just like Hogwarts)?

Okay, let's see, anything else? Oh yeah, I'm really sorry this chapter took so long! I was planning on posting it on Monday, but now I'm glad I didn't because on Tuesday, I had an enormous creative burst of inspiration and wrote 4 more pages! (I had 3 pages on Monday). Then on Wednesday, I wrote 2 more pages! So that brings the total story page count to 9 pages! (Quite a lot, huh? I found out that I'm writing more and more as the story progresses! The first chapter only took up 1 page!) So anyway, that's why I'm glad I didn't post it on Monday! I had so much more to write about! Oh yeah, I didn't post it on Monday since my cable internet connection was down and the dial-up connection didn't work either. Hehe, but I suppose that was a mixed blessing! Anyway, these Author's Notes really take up a lot of room, don't they? I wanted to write to each individual reviewer (to comment on what they said), but I don't think I'll have any room! (as it is, I'm on page 10 now!) I really don't want the Author's Notes to end up being longer than the actual chapter, so I'll stop here! Lol. Please review! Thank you! And see ya next time!