Part Three: Weekend at Harry's

Harry didn't remember falling asleep, but the fact that he woke up with the sun peeking through his curtains proved he had. A quick check found Sirius slumped in the corner of his room, eyes half closed and drooling enough that Harry thought he must have dozed off as well. His whole room was starting to have the same nauseating order he noticed on Sirius, so he opened his window to let in a breeze, and then quietly left his room so as not to wake him.

Harry wasn't hungry, he rarely was these days, but he figured Sirius might want something to eat when he woke, so he slipped down to the kitchen where he heard the undeniable sounds of breakfast. The Dursley's didn't even acknowledge his presence; they were too caught up in a news report about a group of savage attacks that had occurred the previous night. Five muggles had been found dead, their heads torn open and their brains removed. Harry wondered if the Death Eaters had been involved, and was glad that Sirius had made it to his house safely before he had become a victim himself.

'Oi, Mum!' Dudley said with a mouthful of sausage, 'Some of those were right near here!' The Dursley's eyes all flickered towards Harry, as if they all thought the attacks were somehow his fault but were too afraid to say anything. Harry decided it was best to make his exit before one of them decided to actually talk to him, so he grabbed a few pieces of toast and practically fled back up the stairs.

When he reached his door, he heard Hedwig shriek within. The sudden rush that accompanies terror swept through Harry, and with an unsteady hand he slowly opened his door and peered inside.

Hedwig's cage was lying open, and she was flying in frantic circles as close to the roof as she possibly could. Sirius was obviously now awake, and was batting at the owl unsuccessfully in an attempt to catch her.

'What's going on here?' Harry exclaimed, nearly dropping the toast in surprise. Sirius stopped what he was doing and gave an odd grunt, but Hedwig refused to come down; instead, she landed on the top of Harry's wardrobe and it almost seemed as if she were glaring at Sirius.

'Hedwig, come down from there!' Harry called out, but she just gave an indignant hoot and then turned around so her back was to them.

'Bloody owl.' He muttered, then turned to his godfather and handed him the toast. 'I got you this.' Sirius took the toast and looked at it as if he wasn't quite sure what it was. After a moment's deliberation, he put it in his mouth and gummed it a bit, before spitting it out with a disgusted look.

'I'm sorry, but that's all I could get,' Harry sighed.

Sirius glanced up at Hedwig atop the wardrobe, and then, grunting something to himself, sat down stiffly in the corner of Harry's room with the best view of the owl.

If Harry thought having someone to share his temporary exile from the wizarding world would make it more bearable, he was wrong; Sirius still just sat there, and after Sirius won the twentieth staring-contest in a row (though Harry doubted he knew he was even participating) Harry's eyes began to feel heavy. Having nothing better to do, he didn't fight it and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

A piercing shriek woke him up quickly enough. He jumped to his feet, and a brief glance out the window told him it was early in the evening. Hysterical sobbing could now be heard, and he pulled out his wand and turned to his godfather, his heart racing and adrenaline shooting through his viens.

'Don't move,' Harry said in a firm voice, as if he were talking to a dog, 'I'm going to go check it out.'

Sirius didn't seem to be paying attention, but Harry couldn't spare the time needed to make sure his godfather understood. He slowly opened his door and peered into the hall, and seeing nothing unusual in sight he followed the wailing through the house. The sound grew louder towards the back of the house, and when he reached the back door he saw that it had been left wide open.

Not knowing quite what to expect he stepped outside, only to be faced with his aunt, uncle, and what remained of Dudley.

The source of the sobbing was Aunt Petunia, who clutched her son and rocked him back and forth, not seeming to mind that the blood seeping from the gaping hole in his head was ruining her dress. Uncle Vernon stood beside them, his face as white as a sheet and his hands twitching at his sides, unable to handle the scene before him. An unfinished cigarette burned brightly near Dudley's lifeless foot; he must have sneaked outside for a smoke when tragedy struck. And Harry surveyed this all and didn't feel nearly as sad as he thought he should.

Harry lowered his wand, and the motion caught his uncle's attention.

'YOU!' Uncle Vernon bellowed, his face going redder than Harry had ever imagined possible, 'YOU DID THIS! YOU KILLED MY SON! YOU MUST HAVE KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE ON THE TELLY AND NOW YOU'VE DONE IN DUDLEY! YOU RIPPED THE BRAIN RIGHT OUT OF HIS HEAD!'

There wasn't much there to begin with, Harry thought, but before he could open his mouth to say anything in his defense his uncle lunged at him. Luckily Harry had a seeker's reflexes and dodged out of the way before his uncle's hands had a chance to find their way around his throat.

'Vernon,' his Aunt Petunia's eerily calm voice stopped them both in their tracks, 'Let him go.' She looked up from her son and stared right into Harry's eyes. 'Go away,' she told him without so much as a hint of emotion, 'Go away and if you come back I swear to God I'll let Vernon kill you.'

Harry nodded his acknowledgement, then turned and went back into the house, closing the door behind him. Almost the instant it shut, his aunt's sobs resumed, this time joined by those of his uncle.

He didn't waste any time in throwing all his things into his trunk as Sirius stood there and watched, looking as if he had eaten something that disagreed with him.

'We've got to go now, Sirius,' Harry told him, hoping for once he'd understand, 'So I'm going to throw my invisibility cloak over you and you'll follow me, ok?'

Sirius blinked, and Harry took that for understanding. He wrapped his invisibility cloak around his godfather's shoulders and pulled up the hood; it was a bit short and his feet stuck out the bottom, but Harry figured nobody would notice and at least that way he'd be able to see where he was.

When he made it to the street Harry didn't pause to look back, he just kept on walking, carrying Hedwig's cage with one hand, dragging his trunk with the other, and the disembodied feet of Sirius keeping an even pace behind him.