The trip home from King's Cross went by surprisingly quietly for Harry. He had been so happy when he saw his friends stand up for him that he didn't really hear his uncle Vernon complaining about them. 'Just who do they think they are threatening passersby in a train station! Why, if I weren't such an understanding person, I'd have called the police on them. Then we'd see how they would react to having me expose their nasty, dirty secrets.'
Next to his uncle sat his Aunt Petunia who looked to be torn between shock from listening to her husband's tirade and fear from the scene they had just witnessed at King's Cross. When Harry's family had picked him up at the train, there was an unexpected meeting there. Not only was Mr. Weasley there, but also so were Mad Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, and Tonks. Mr. Weasley was the father of two of Harry's closest friends. Moody, Lupin, and Tonks are members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to defeating Lord Voldomort. The trio was part of the rescue force that had saved Harry and his companions a few weeks before in the Ministry of Magic building. They were also definitely anything but what the Dursleys would call 'normal'. Remus Lupin, was probably the more normal of the lot, though his appearance with old threadbare clothes was assuredly below the Dursley's sense of propriety. Tonks, the youngest of the trio, looked positively like one of those delinquents who listen to that rock music with her bubble gum hair and jeans/t-shirt combination. However, it was old, eccentric, and well moody Moody who took the cake. Alastor Moody is a few inches taller than Harry's Uncle Vernon and has an air about him that just makes you know he's dangerous. The real shock for Uncle Vernon was the presence of his wooden leg, and the magical eye that had never stopped spinning around keeping watch for a potential interruption. In the back seat with Harry was his cousin Dudley. Dudley is a large boy for his age having actually surpassed 300 pounds this past year.
The image of his uncle backing away from Moody and tripping over his truck couldn't keep Harry in his euphoria for long though. All the way home he replayed it in his mind, and for the twentieth time he stifled a chuckle. 'It's too bad you couldn't have been here to see that, Sirius' he thought to himself. The thought of Sirius Black and himself laughing the hours away over the reaction the Dursleys had to his new friends snapped his sense of peace and happiness. What many people in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds don't know is Sirius Black had died in that fight in the Ministry of Magic basement.
This event has scarred Harry worse than many would ever realize. Sirius Black was Harry's godfather and the closest thing to a family he had. The two of them were quite close even though Sirius had been on the run from the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort and Kreacher, Sirius' house elf, had tricked Harry into thinking that Sirius had been in danger. Harry still blames himself over Sirius' death.
Ever since that fight in the basement, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's close friends who were not yet members had been going out of their way to make him feel safe and loved. This so far has not worked out as well as they had planned. Harry has been sinking slowly into a deep depression due to the feelings of responsibility and guilt he's been plagued with since then.
The rest of the journey to 4 Privet Drive went by without incident. After they arrived, Harry rushed to bring his trunk upstairs and closed the door behind him. Harry leaned against the door for a moment and slowly slid down to the floor. He's here, back at his aunt and uncle's house. It is hard for him to imagine what his life is going to be life without Sirius. Sirius, the godfather he had only known about for three years. The godfather he never really started getting to know until this past year. Sirius, the man who had grown up with his father and provided some of the few glimpses into Harry's past. There's so much Harry still wanted to ask, so much he still needed to know.
Harry unpacked just the bare essentials from his trunk, some clothes, parchment, ink, quills, and a couple books. He did not want to unpack everything in case he had to leave in a hurry, which judging from the past years seemed very likely. He sat down at his desk and decided to write a quick note.
Mr. Weasley,
I've arrived safely to my aunt and uncle's house. So far everything is fine, they haven't even padlocked Hedwig yet. They must still be in shock from the confrontation outside Platform 9 ¾.
I'd like to thank you, Lupin, Moody, and Tonks for standing up for me like that. I would write them each their own letters, but I am not sure how long they were going to stay in London. Please let them know that it really meant a lot to me to know that they cared that much.
I know I'm supposed to be important to the wizarding world, but it always felt like I was a burden to be kept safe, not necessarily someone to be cared for. I don't mean to include you and your family in that though. You've all always been so caring about me that I'd really like to make sure you knew that I appreciate it.
It seems yours is the only family I have left. It seems like all those who take the effort to care about me end up dead. I hope you and your family end up with more luck than the others did.
Harry
P.S. I can't wait for Dumbledore to let me leave here so I can be with my family again, if you'll have me. I wouldn't want to put your family in danger though, so maybe this is for the best.
After rolling up and securing the parchment to Hedwig's leg, Harry opened the window and let her loose.
Satisfied that everything is as settled as it can be, Harry slowly drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning Harry woke up much later than usual, at least later than is usual for being at the Dursley's. Harry reached for his glasses and got dressed. As he finished getting dressed, he saw a flutter of white outside his window. Hedwig had returned. Harry reached over and retrieved the parchment from her leg and fed her an Owl Treat. Hedwig nipped his finger gently and flew over to her cage. It turned out that there was more than one letter in the bundle Hedwig brought back.
Harry,
First off, I'd like to say that I feel like I'm speaking for all those who truly know you and care about you when I say that you are anything but a burden. It is not a burden to care for any child, much less a child who has gone through what you have in your life thus far. Molly and I realize with each year and each adventure you have that you are becoming more and more a young man instead of a child, but you should enjoy what childhood you have left while you can.
On a related note, I'm glad to see that those relatives of yours finally started to treat you decent, even if not well. I'd like you to know that I'm sorry that I did not work up the nerve to do that earlier. You would have had a much better time there if I had I fear.
Keep an eye out for one of those who were there yesterday. There are some plans being put into effect for you that I cannot put in writing in case Hedwig is intercepted. Don't worry; I have a feeling that you'll like it.
As far as coming to stay, I will try to see how soon that can happen. You might change your mind after you hear about the plan though. Let Molly or myself know either way though, you'll always be welcome.
Stay safe,
Arthur Weasley
P.S. Molly and some of the kids had letters ready for you this morning, so I am enclosing them.
Harry smiled slightly to himself in anticipation of the other letters in his hand. He searched through quickly to find one from his best friend Ron.
Harry,
Dad told us all about your letter from last night. I'm glad those Muggles finally decided to give you a break. I have a feeling the look old 'Mad-Eye' gave them had a bit of an effect on you as well though. I definitely would not want to get on his bad side.
Hopefully, Mum and Dad will be able to convince Dumbledore to let you come stay with us soon. The summer always seems to be more fun with you around.
I have so much to tell you once you get here. I hope to see you soon.
Ron
Harry sat still on his bed for a minute wondering what Ron could possibly have to tell him that his father wouldn't have known, yet couldn't be trusted to Hedwig. After a few minutes of thought, he moved over to the last letter in the envelope.
Dear Harry,
I'm surprised you've not learned by now that Arthur and I consider you and Hermione as much a member of our family as our own children. Of course we want to keep you safe, but not because of You-Know-Who, but because we care about you. Harry Potter. Not because of your scar or your Quidditch skills or anything else, but because you're you.
I remember the first time I had ever seen you. You were such a polite young man. Imagine my surprise when I get a letter from my youngest son telling me about the new friend he made. We received letter after letter explaining the 'adventures' the three of you got into. He never referred to you as anything other than Harry. It wasn't until we received a message from Percy that we learned that is was really you.
Ron had already told us about how much you disliked your relatives. I had actually already knitted your jumper that you received that Christmas before we had received Percy's message. Then after hearing the stories that my boys told me after rescuing you in the summer after your first year, I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised that you were able to grow up into such a brave, caring, and honorable young man.
I am quite sure you are aware of some of the differences in opinion your godfather and I had about what was best for you. We both did and said what we did out of our feelings for you. Your godfather loved you dearly and would have done anything in his power to keep you safe and happy. So would Arthur and I. So would the rest of the family.
I don't want you worrying about putting us in danger. You know as well as I do that my family is already a target due to the numbers of us already involved. Those that are not involved in the fight against Voldemort are already targets just for being friends with you. Turning your back on them will not take them off of that list Harry. When the most powerful dark wizard in a century has your family targeted, what's a little more danger to help protect someone you care about?
Think about what I've said Harry. If you ever need to talk or anything at all, we'll all be here.
Molly Weasley
Harry sat back on his bed after reading the letter from Mrs. Weasley. 'Do they really care that much about me, or are they just trying to pity the orphan with no one to take care of him?' Harry thought to himself. 'Regardless, I know I care about them. What kind of repayment for their kindness is getting them all killed?' He reached down to the last unopened letter and noticed with a mild shock that it was from, of all people, Ginny. 'I wonder,' Harry mused, 'why Ginny's writing me a letter. She has a hard enough time talking to me.'
Something about that last thought startled Harry just a bit. He thought back on the past year's events. Ginny demanding to come with to help save Sirius, the conversations about and during D.A., the comforting comments made when he was banned from Quidditch, the way she reacted anytime anyone mentioned Cho. It all started to make a little sense to Harry. She's been trying to be a friend all year and he was too wrapped up in his own troubles to notice it. She might even still like him; though he thought that was unlikely after the way he's treated her.
He reached down to open the last letter, when there was a pounding on the door. "Are you awake yet, boy? We haven't got all day to be waiting for you to come down you know." It was his uncle.
"I'll be right down Uncle Vernon." Harry quickly put his letters under his loose floorboard and finished getting dressed. "You better go hunt or something for now, Hedwig. I'm still not sure if they're going to let you stay free. Come by a bit later though, I should have some letters for you." Hedwig looked at Harry as though to say that she understood why he was keeping her away. She flew to his shoulder and roughed up his hair with her wing before turning around and flying out the window.
Now that his owl was safe and the letters hidden, Harry made his way downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. He double-checked the fit of his wand in the wrist holster his friend Ron had given him the year before. Harry was determined to not be caught unawares again, not with what he knew about the prophecy that Dumbledore had explained to him at the end of the last year. It was an awful lot of pressure to put on someone, especially a young boy who was not even sixteen yet. Then again not much of Harry's life could be considered normal.
Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the living room where he heard his uncle talking. "We promised ourselves that there'd be none of that abnormality in this house. If he's so daft that he needs summer school you can just take him back to that school for freaks he spends so much time at!"
Harry tensed for a second. 'Summer school? No one mentioned anything about that to me. Well, I can't very well run out the door, they'd see me anyway.' Harry considered his options and realized that he didn't have very many. Since he didn't know to whom his uncle was talking, he decided to err on the side of caution. 'Well, here's hoping who ever is on duty for the Order would have at least sent out the word.'
Harry spun around the corner ready to hex anyone in the room, and saw…TBC