A\N: In case you haven't noticed, I revised the last chapter, and erased the last bit. Samayn and hpcrazy – I put there personal responses for you, so if you didn't see it, check them out.
Disclaimer: What could possibly make you think that I own Harry Potter??? Do I look like I'm richer than the Queen of England? Somehow, I don't think so…
Chapter 5: The Fidelius Charm
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"Why do you think Dumbledore wants to see you now?" asked Ron, as he, Harry and Ginny walked down the stairs.
"I dunno," said Harry, "probably wants to check that I'm OK or something."
They walked down and entered the kitchen. Dumbledore was already sitting there, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Tonks, and the twins, who have already apparated downstairs. Dumbledore smiled as they entered. "Hello Harry. I have to say that you demonstrated today an excellent skill of sensing danger. You should be proud of yourself, your actions saved both you and your relatives."
"Erm… thank you," said Harry, embarrassed, "but it's not that special… I mean, I knew it wasn't right, because Remus – " But Dumbledore cut him off. "It doesn't matter. The fact remains – had you not been cautious, things might have turned out very differently. Now, I believe that Remus has already told you about the Fidelius Charm?"
"The Fidelius…?" asked Harry, puzzled, "Oh, the Secret Keeper thing? Yeah, he did."
"Well, then," Dumbledore started saying, but suddenly Ron jumped. "Oh, please, sir, can I be Harry's Secret Keeper?" he asked eagerly.
"I am afraid not," Dumbledore smiled sadly, "As much as I know you are willing to do it, and as much as myself and Harry trust you, it is not safe – neither for you, nor for Harry."
"Oh," sad Ron, disappointed, "sure…"
"I want this done with as soon as possible, so I must ask you all to leave the kitchen – except for Harry, of course," said Dumbledore, standing up. Everybody got up, and started getting out of the kitchen. Ron whispered, "Good luck", and Harry smiled nervously. Finally, he was left alone with Dumbledore, who beckoned Harry towards him.
"I want you to stand, close your eyes and relax. It won't hurt, but the feeling can be strange. The most important thing," he emphasized, "is to stay calm. Ready?"
"I think so," said Harry, closing his eyes and feeling more nervous. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. It is going to be OK, he said to himself.
"Fidelius dissimulo incantato," whispered Dumbledore, and Harry heard the swish of his wand. He felt as though his insides were spinning fast, and as though something from within him was breaking out, and going into Dumbledore's wand. "Alieno," said Dumbledore, and Harry sensed something like wind flowing past him.
"You can open your eyes, Harry, it's over."
Harry opened his eyes and examined himself. He didn't see anything different. "Er… Professor? Are you sure it worked?" he asked, worried that maybe something went wrong.
"You'll see in a minute," Dumbledore smiled mischievously, and went to open the kitchen's door. "Come in, everybody," he called.
Ron was the first to enter the kitchen. He looked around, his eyes met Harry's, but he didn't seem to notice. "Where is he?" he gasped. The others, filling in the kitchen, looked like they didn't see anyone in the room, too. Dumbledore was the only one looking directly at Harry. "You see? They can't see you. Say something, and they won't hear you, either," he said.
"So it did work?" asked Harry, amazed. True enough, nobody heard him. Except for Dumbledore, of course – "Yes, indeed. So, do you want to stay invisible or would you rather be seen and heard?" he asked, clearly enjoying the effect of his charm.
"No, I think I want them to see me," grinned Harry, "but wait – let me scare Ron a little." He went over to Ron, and stood, facing him, almost touching him, so that the first thing Ron would see when the charm is lifted would be Harry's face. "Now you can tell them," he grinned again.
"Alright," smiled Dumbledore, "Harry Potter is in the Lewis Mansion, in the kitchen." Just as he finished saying the words, Ron jumped back in fright, and Ginny gasped.
"You scared the hell out of me," said Ron angrily, but then smiled, "It was cool!!"
"Way to go, Harry," laughed George, who, along with the rest of the people in the kitchen, was now able to see him, "actually, that gives me an idea… Fred, come on." And with this, the twins disapparated somewhere.
"Oh, their ideas…" nodded Mrs. Weasley disapprovingly. "Let go, Molly, they do have some useful ideas sometimes," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes? Like what, exactly?" she said angrily. "Like… like this Cleaning Cream of theirs – it cleaned the whole kitchen," answered Mr. Weasley hopefully. "Arthur, have you forgotten how it ended??" she cried. "Oh, that's right… I thought it were the Spinning Socks that did that," he said thoughtfully.
"What are…?" Harry started asking quietly. "Later," Ron muttered, as Dumbledore approached them.
"Harry, take this," he said and gave Harry a small note, written in his small handwriting, "and give it to those that'll come here, if you want them to see you. Also give it to your relatives, I think that it'll be better if they can see you."
"Thank you, professor," said Harry, taking the note and putting it in his jeans pocket.
"I'm returning to Little Whinging now. Be careful, Harry, and goodbye," said Dumbledore.
Harry bid him goodbye, and turned to Ron. "Shall we go back to our room?" he asked.
"Yeah, alright," said Ron. When they went out of the kitchen, Harry noticed that the Torch of the Green Flame was now attached to a bracket above the fireplace in the hall of the Mansion. He felt, yet again, like he knew this place, as though he'd been there in a different life. When they got back to their room, he asked, "So what are the Cleaning Cream and the…"
"The Spinning Socks? You probably guessed," said Ron, "that it's a couple of Fred and George's inventions. When you polish something with the Cleaning Cream, it becomes bright and clean for a half an hour or so, but then turns to be moldy and disgusting. Obviously, it wears off after a few hours, but you can't remove it with spells. Mom cleaned the whole kitchen with it, so you can imagine what it looked like afterwards… And the Spinning Socks are socks, that if you wear them, you start spinning just like a toy top, so you crush everything around you, because it's very difficult to stop. They gave it to me, and as soon as I entered the kitchen, I started spinning… It took a lot of time to repair the broken chairs, let's put it that way."
"So they didn't waste time, I see," grinned Harry.
"Yeah… Hey, how were your OWLs?" asked Ron.
"I got an 'O' in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures; an 'E' in Charms, Herbology and Potions; and a 'P' in Divination, Astronomy and History of Magic," answered Harry, "How about you?"
"Well, I got an 'E' in Defense, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Charms; an 'A' in Herbology, Potions and History of Magic; a 'P' in Astronomy," said Ron, and then added gloomily, "and a 'D' in Divination. But it's not like I really care anyway," he said in a happier voice. "I'm taking Defence, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology next year. Finally, the happy day arrived – we don't have to study Potions anymore!!! No more Snape!!"
"Speak for yourself," said Harry, annoyed, "I am taking Potions, and I'm not taking CoMC…"
"What?!" cried Ron, outraged, "You are going to spend two years with Snape, willingly? Are you out of your mind? And besides, you've got an 'E' – would he agree to take you?"
"I'm not out of my mind, but I have to take Potions if I want to be an Auror… And McGonagall promised me last year that she'd help me achieve it, so she talked Snape into letting me into his classes. Although I still can't see why he agreed…" said Harry thoughtfully.
"Well, I don't envy you…You know, I can only imagine Hermione's reaction when she got the owl with the O.W.Ls – she probably got an 'O' in everything, it must have been the happiest day in her life," laughed Ron.
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A couple of hours later, Mrs. Weasley came to call them to have lunch. "Harry, dear, I think you should also call your relatives, they are probably hungry, too."
"Dudley certainly is," grinned Harry, "Sure, I'll call them." He went to their door and knocked. "Aunt Petunia? Uncle Vernon?" But nobody answered.
"Oh, wait," said Ron, "they can't hear you…"
"Right… I forgot… You knock, then," said Harry.
Ron knocked. But still, nobody answered. He knocked again and again – no response whatsoever. "Do you think something happened to them?' asked Ron hesitantly. "Nah, they are probably afraid of answering, they think you'll curse them," laughed Harry, "never mind that, let's go, I'm starving." And with that, they went down to eat.
A\N: You know what to do, just review :) I really hope that I will be able to write the next chapter asap, in the meantime – review!!
I would also like to thank all the people in Harry Potter Forum in Nana who are reading my story and loving it. Thank you!!
Chiliz – if it weren't for you, this chapter would be written much slower, thanks for the support!!