Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JKR, various publishers of the HP series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I think the song is credited to Frankie Valle, and I have no idea who owns the movie Truly, Madly, Deeply. A trailer from the movie inspired this fic.
Chapter 4 – Rolled Up Carpet Scene
Every couple of days Remus, Tonks, or Moody would knock on the Dursley's front door and ask to take Harry out for a walk. This became a normal occurrence and gave Harry a chance to get out of the house and talk with someone. One time, Minerva McGonagall even tagged along in her cat form.
Vernon walked into Harry's bedroom and hovered over the boy on the bed, "We're going to a company dinner. You will stay in the cupboard under the stairs until we get back. I can't put my finger on it, but something weird happened here last time we were away. Come along."
Harry heaved a sigh and followed his uncle downstairs. He was now too tall to stand straight inside the cupboard or to lay out straight, so he sat on the floor and pulled his knees into his chest. He listened as the door was locked and chained, then as the family left through the front door. Harry crossed his arms over his knees and put his head down.
He didn't even realize tears were flowing down his cheeks until the closet door opened again. Sirius towered above him with a big smile and held his hand out, "C'mon, Harry. Join us in the kitchen." Confused, Harry followed silently into the kitchen, where his father sat at the table, playing cards with two other members of the Order who were thought to be deceased. Sirius joined the three men at the table as Lily set butterbeers in front of them. Then she came over to Harry and put her arms around him, humming softly in his ear. Harry just closed his eyes and savored the moment, etching the memory into his mind.
"Sirius, this is weird. You're holding a card game in my aunt's kitchen?"
"What's weird about that, Harry? I'll raise by 12 knuts."
"I dunno, I just figured—Well I'd like to learn more about Mum and Dad."
Sirius shrugged. James looked up from his cards and held out a plate, "Cockroach cluster, Harry? I used to love these things. Call, that's a whole galleon to you, Sirius." Harry shook his head in puzzlement. But he continued to stand there in his mother's arms. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling loved, physically loved. He could, afterall, feel her. He could smell her. He could touch her.
The doorbell rang. Sirius looked up, "Could you get that Harry? Look to see who it is, first." Harry moaned, but went to the door just the same.
Harry peeked through the front window. He recognized the bowler hat immediately and opened the door. "Hi, Prof—err, Mr. Moody."
"Hello, Harry. I'm just here to check on you."
"I'm glad you're here, sir. Could you come with me into the kitchen?"
"Sure, Harry." When they walked into the kitchen, the men in turn gave Moody a curt salute and returned to their card game. Moody got a smile from Lily.
It was hard to read Moody's expression, partly because he hid it so well, partly because half his face was covered by his hat. He seemed to acknowledge their nonverbal greetings with a nod. "Do you see anything unusual in here, Mr. Moody?"
"No, Harry. Everything looks fine here. Mind if I go upstairs for a peek?"
"Yeh, let's go. Good idea."
At the top of the steps, after sticking his head into every bedroom, Moody asked, "Everything going all right, Harry?"
"Sure, I mean I've been thinking a lot about Sirius and the fight at the Ministry. I've been keeping to myself a lot."
"The Dursleys treating you okay?"
"They mostly ignore me, it's been okay. They give me a lot of space."
"Having any dreams or visions I should know about? Anything you want me to tell Dumbledore?"
"Um, no." Harry ran absentmindedly ran his hands through his thick mop of black hair. "No dreams that I can remember. Are you sure every thing is okay here?"
"Yep, everything magical and muggle is okay here." The old wizard patted Harry on his shoulder and led the way downstairs. "After I check out the yard, I'll be going to report to Albus. Stay vigilant."
"Yes, sir." Harry let him out the door and returned to standing in the kitchen to watch the card game from his mother's arms. When he got sleepy, he said good night to his mother, who kissed him on the cheek. He was too tired to climb all the stairs, so he turned back into the cupboard under the stairs and closed the door behind him.
-----ooOoo-----
Gradually, Harry spent more and more time out of the house. He took more frequent walks, with and without escorts, though he stuck close to Privet Drive. His appetite picked up, apparently reported back to the order, as Hedwig carried food to him more often from Hagrid, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ron. He even caught up on his letter writing, being sure to let everyone know that he was doing all right. Visits from Sirius and from former members of the Order became less frequent, though Harry could always find Padfoot, Sirius's animagus form, under the bed whenever he looked.
Remus came to pick Harry up one day, telling the Dursleys he would be returned late in the evening. They walked to Mrs. Figg's house, where they took the floo to the Leaky Cauldron. "SURPRISE!!" Everyone yelled when he stepped out of the fireplace. Remus stepped out behind him with a big grin on his face. He got a big squeeze as a bush of brown hair obscured his view (Hermione's hug) and a bottle of butterbeer was shoved into his hand as he walked through the crowd of fellow students, Order members, Ministry employees, and red-haired Weasleys. Even Dobby was hopping from one foot to the other, holding a birthday cake, lit with sixteen candles.
Harry was funneled straight to the cake, where he blew the candles out in one breath. As he did, the smoke rose and spelled out 'Happy 16th Birthday Harry.' Dobby cut it up and happily served everyone. Harry made the rounds and thanked everybody for coming. Even Snape and Dumbledore made brief appearances. Snape stood away from everybody, choosing to hug the walls and stay in the shadows, no doubt coerced by Dumbledore for his presence. Hagrid also stood in the back, but only to keep out of everyone's way.
Returning with Remus to the Dursley residence, they carried bags of gifts under their arms. Fortunately for Harry, most of the gifts were edible because he really didn't have a place to put things other than in his school trunk. Moody had inspected them for poisons and curses and had his stamp of approval. The house was quiet when they arrived, so Remus magically unlocked the front door and walked up to Harry's bedroom with him. They laid the bags along the edge of the room.
Remus noticed the rolled up carpet in the middle of Harry's room, "Redecorating, Harry?" But he didn't acknowledge the handsome wizard with long black hair who sat on top of the roll with his chin resting on his hand. Sirius looked oddly saddened.
Harry shrugged, "I don't know." He looked at the carpet, "Maybe Sirius knows."
Remus headed out the door, "Maybe he does." But he didn't stick around for an answer. Harry followed Remus back out the door, wondering why they didn't speak to each other, and watched him disapparate from behind the hedge.
When Harry returned to his bedroom, he closed the door quietly. He turned toward Sirius, who now sat on the wood floor with his legs spread and his head hanging low. "What's the matter, Sirius?"
His godfather looked up from the floor and gave a weak smile, "Happy Birthday Harry."
"Thanks, but you don't look like you mean it."
Sirius shrugged, "You're leaving soon. You don't need me any more, do you?"
Harry sat on the floor, facing his godfather, "Well, I always go to the Burrow shortly after my birthday. I guess I'm leaving here. Can't you visit me there?"
"You don't need me there, you'll be too busy to think of me." Sirius heaved a huge sigh.
"Don't be silly. I think of you a lot. I think of Mum and Dad a lot. But I still have to get back to my life. I have to finish school. I want to be an auror, and oh yeh, there's this little thing about me finishing off Voldemort."
"Now you're being silly, aren't you?" Sirius smirked.
"I don't think so." Harry stared at the floor.
"Harry, you're not alone. How about all those people who threw you the birthday party today? They're all on your side. You've got lots of friends, some closer to you than family, to help you though anything and everything. You think about it. I'll sit here and watch you sleep."
Harry yawned and laid back on his bed.
-----ooOoo-----
To be continued...