Harry left the letter on his pillow and turned to pick up his Firebolt when Albus Dumbledore appeared from the shadows.
"Ready, Harry?" he asked. Harry nodded and stood quietly while the Headmaster conjured a tiny pair of silver scissors out of mid-air and snipped a small bit of Harry's hair before vanishing them. This he added to a thick, bubbling potion in a small goblet which instantly changed color. In the dim light, it now looked a bit like dark wine.
Harry watched Dumbledore's transformation with interest. When he had used Polyjuice Potion himself, it had felt like he was being turned inside out. Now that he had a chance to watch it, he decided it looked just as uncomfortable as it had felt. What was even more unnerving was being suddenly confronted with a carbon copy of yourself, albeit one wearing Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles and silvery robes. As the Headmaster calmly dealt with these discrepancies, Harry continued to examine him.
"Er, sir, it still looks wrong somehow," he told Professor Dumbledore hesitantly, his mind working furiously to sort out the problem.
"Everything is reversed," Headmaster-Harry informed him calmly in Harry's voice. "I believe, Harry, that you are accustomed to seeing your image reflected in a mirror. You will realize, when you consider it, that you have never really seen yourself as others see you."
"Oh, yeah," Harry mumbled. He hastily handed over the signal stone and the Firebolt, the latter with a sudden pang. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall ever having seen the Headmaster on a broom, and he looked at Headmaster-Harry holding his precious Firebolt rather doubtfully.
"While I believe your skill on a broomstick does indeed exceed my own," Headmaster-Harry told him gently, "I also believe I can manage the trip without undue difficulty. I assure you that I shall do my utmost to avoid damaging either your Firebolt or your reputation." Harry flushed, thankful for the dim light.
"Umm, thanks," he said. "I mean, for everything," he added hastily. "Not just – "
"I believe the car is arriving," Headmaster-Harry interrupted firmly, handing him a new signal stone. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey."
Slipping the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father from its hiding place under his mattress, Harry donned it and disappeared from view. He now had a fair amount of experience in moving quietly while so covered, and he was able to make his way silently outside and into the car without too much difficulty. An American couple in Muggle evening dress got into the back seat a short time later, and they were off.
The journey was surprisingly uneventful. The couple chatted about a musical performance of some kind until they reached a stopping point a short time later.
"Sorry about the interrupted evening," the man was saying as they pulled up to a small guard station outside a large gate. "Tony will get you home safely, although rather later than you expected I'm afraid."
"Don't worry about it," the woman told him, her eyes twinkling. "Now that I'm a lady of leisure, I can afford to oversleep a little."
The man laughed, kissed her cheerfully on the cheek, and got out of the car. Before the door closed again, Harry caught a glimpse of him pulling out a badge as he walked toward the gate.
The next hours were as boring as he had been warned they might be. He sat in the back of the car in silence, covered by the Invisibility Cloak and occasionally checking his watch. The woman who remained in the car had a few more options for passing the time than Harry did, as she was able to exchange a few words with the driver or the other man seated next to him in the front of the car from time to time.
As time wore on, Harry found himself being lulled to sleep by the steady, unvaried motion of the car heading north. Carefully arranging the Invisibility Cloak so it would not inadvertently slip off, Harry allowed himself to close his eyes and slip into a light doze. It was very late, after all.
He was roused by the slowing of the car as it turned into a private drive. It was forced to stop altogether shortly after turning in, waiting for an unseen gatekeeper to allow the vehicle to proceed, and Harry sat up and looked around with interest.
There wasn't much to see in the dark as the car wound its way along the curving drive, flanked by oak trees arching protectively over the road. When they emerged from the canopy of trees, Harry caught his first glimpse of his destination. While it was nothing like Hogwarts, it was impressive for a private house, with large expanses of glass that curved in at the corners, and stone cats apparently guarding the roof. Dramatic lighting accented the formal landscaping and strategic parts of the building. Harry grinned to himself as he imagined Uncle Vernon's face if he saw where his despised nephew had been invited to stay.
The pulled up neatly under the portico, and Harry managed to get out and follow the woman inside without incident. Following Dumbledore's instruction, he left the Cloak on even inside the house, waiting as his unknown hostess closed the door behind them.
"You can take the Cloak off now, Harry," she said calmly, and he pulled it off with a sense of relief.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she continued, extending her hand in greeting. "I'm Catherine Clare."
Harry grasped her hand politely, pleased to note that her eyes met his without that quick, preliminary glance at his forehead which he found so annoying. "Harry Potter," he replied, feeling rather silly since she obviously knew who he was. "It's very nice to meet you, and thank you for inviting me."
"I'm sorry that the trip here was so tedious," she told him, "but I'm glad you arrived safely." She started walking into the hall, and Harry, who turned automatically to follow her, saw it properly for the first time.
The central hall, which was quite large, ran all the way through to the back of the house. It was tiled in creamy marble, although the four staircases that led to the upper floor all had carpeted runners. In the middle of the space, there was a very large, three-tiered stone fountain which was covered with statues of cats of every kind. The figure of a panther in the same position as the sphinx Harry remembered from the Triwizard maze was alone on the top tier, water sheeting lightly down from the perimeter of the circular perch to fall in the inner basin behind the figures in the second tier. The carvings ranged in size from very large to rather small, but they were all exquisitely detailed, and Harry marveled at the craftsmanship.
"I thought you might like to see your room first, and then perhaps have something to tide you over until breakfast," Miss Clare was saying. "Or lunch," she added, flashing him a quick smile, "depending on when you get to bed."
She was leading him up the first staircase on the left side, and Harry followed obediently behind her, holding his father's Invisibility Cloak and feeling rather underdressed. At the top of the stairs, they continued toward the back of the house, passing what Harry realized was another, much larger hallway running the width of the house at its center. Except where walkways crossed them on the upper level, both hallways rose fully to the height of the roof, where they were capped by arched vaults of glass that were probably much nicer in the day than they were in the middle of the night, Harry reflected. Wondering what happened when the two intersected, he looked up and saw a circular glass dome centered over the fountain below him on the right, realizing that the intersecting halls divided the house neatly into quadrants.
Feeling that he had his bearings a little better now, he prepared to note the landmarks within their current quadrant which would lead him to his room, only to find that Miss Clare was leading him to the very first door on the right off the hallway. He wasn't going to have much difficulty finding it again.
It proved to be a spacious guest room, with its own en suite bath, a couple comfortable looking lounge chairs, and even a desk. The duvet cover for the large bed was an elegant quilt in cheerful colors, bordered in a shade of red which reminded Harry pleasantly of Gryffindor. Surprisingly, there were curtains drawn across the far wall.
"The windows look out into the hall," Miss Clare explained, seeing the direction Harry was looking. "It gives the room access to some natural light, even though it's on the interior."
"Ron's room is next door to yours," she continued. "I'll excuse myself for a few minutes now to get changed. Assuming you're planning to tell him you're here - " her eyes sparkled pleasantly at him " - you can have him show you to the family room when you're ready. I'll have something for you to eat there."
"Thanks," Harry said immediately, setting the Cloak down and hurrying to find Ron.
"Ron," he hissed loudly, shaking his friend awake, "Ron!" Ron struggled his way back to consciousness slowly.
"Harry?" he asked in disbelief, sitting up rather suddenly. "What are you doing here?" Harry grinned at him.
"I've been invited to stay for the rest of the summer," he told him happily.
"You have? That's great! But I thought you were going to stay at Hogwarts next week? Mum and Dad said I could go on Monday so I'd be there when you were."
"That's what Dumbledore told everyone so I could get here safely. If Voldemort thinks I'm at Hogwarts, he won't be looking for me here," Harry explained.
Ron frowned. "He told everyone in the Order that too," he pointed out. "Even Mum and Dad."
"It's not that he didn't trust them, Ron," Harry assured him quickly. "He didn't even tell Professor Lupin - he thinks he's escorting me to Hogwarts, but it's really Dumbledore using a Polyjuice Potion. I think he was worried because the Dursleys' house was being watched."
"You mean Dumbledore turned into you? That must have been weird," his red-headed best friend told him, yawning. "Everyone'll be surprised to see you at breakfast. Unless you want to wake them up now? Hermione's next door, and Ginny and the parents are across the hall."
"That's okay, they'll be here in the morning," Harry said. His stomach growled. "But can you show me where the family room is? I'm really hungry, and Miss Clare said she'd have some food sent there."
Ron obligingly swung his legs out of bed and started feeling for his slippers.
"Sure, mate. I'll come with you." It took Ron only a minute to find his robe and lead Harry back out into the hallway.
"What's it like here?" Harry asked him curiously as they started down another set of stairs leading toward the back of the house.
"Pretty cool," Ron told him. "Catherine Clare is nice, and the house-elves take care of everything, which is great for Mum. There's a pool out back, and we've been swimming a lot. But Ginny and I still aren't allowed in the meetings. She may be a little young, but we're graduating in a year," he complained. Ron opened one of the doors at the foot of the stairs and led him into another room, adding, "But you'll never believe what Mum's been doing," as they walked inside.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Remus was yawning as he put his broom away, wondering if Kate was still up.
"Master Remus, sir," Stade's high pitched voice piped up behind him, and Remus turned around to see the house-elf beaming happily at him, "Miss Catherine asked if you would join her in the family room, sir."
"Yes, of course," Remus replied instantly, and Stade winked out of the hall as Remus started striding toward the family room. The doors were open, and he could hear Ron speaking as he approached.
"So Ginny was just standing there, dripping wet, and absolutely furious."
"What did Fred and George say?" Harry asked, and Remus stopped dead just inside the doorway.
"Harry?"
Catherine, Harry, and Ron all looked over at him, and then Harry was out of his chair and coming toward him, smiling at his bewilderment as Harry shook his hand eagerly.
"I've been wondering how things went after I left," Harry said.
"But how did you get here?" Remus asked him. "You were still in Dumbledore's office when I left, and I flew straight here." He looked at Catherine in inquiry, "I thought only the family could Floo or Apparate in?"
Harry grinned, and his expression for a moment was the same mischievous one that Remus had seen on James' face more times than he could remember. The effect was a little disconcerting.
"That wasn't me," Harry explained, heading back to the table where he was part way through a plate of scrambled eggs and muffins. Remus sat down beside him, and a clean place setting appeared in front of him. "I rode here with Miss Clare using my dad's Invisibility Cloak."
"Dumbledore thought there might be an attempt on Harry as he flew to Hogwarts, so he - Dumbledore - used Polyjuice Potion to take his place," Catherine added. "But I take it he got to Hogwarts safely?" Catherine offered him some scrambled eggs, which Remus declined, choosing a strawberry muffin instead.
"Yes, he did, but we were attacked on the way," Remus told her as he buttered his muffin.
"Is everyone all right?" Harry asked.
"I think so, but I can't say for sure," Remus answered, somewhat evasively, thinking of Mundungus, Sturgis, Hestia, and Tonks. "We got separated and I flew on to Hogwarts to check on Harry. Tonks and Kingsley were handling the situation, and Minerva just told me that Dumbledore wanted me to come here."
He was pretty sure Catherine understood that there was more to be said, but he hadn't anticipated the look he received from Ron Weasley. Ron's eyes were frightened, but his lips were pressed firmly together. He seemed to be determined not to ask.
"I do know Charlie's fine," Remus assured him quickly, as he realized what was bothering the youngest Weasley son. "I saw him at Hogwarts before I came here. He and Moody stayed to give their report but there wasn't a scratch on him, I promise."
"Thanks," Ron told him quietly, looking down at his nearly empty plate.
"Can I get you something else?" Catherine asked him gently.
"No, thanks. I'm fine," Ron said quickly. "Ready to turn in, Harry?" Harry pushed his chair back immediately.
"Sure. Is my trunk here yet?"
"I'm afraid not," Catherine told him. "Maybe tomorrow. Is there anything I can get you tonight?"
"No, thanks," he answered, cheerfully slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders in a gesture of comfort and solidarity. "Ron will loan me some pajamas. I'll be fine."
"Just give one of the house-elves a call if you need anything, and have a good night," Catherine said.
Harry nodded his thanks, and said good night to Professor Lupin before he and Ron headed back upstairs.
Remus finished the last bite of his muffin. "I think I'll head upstairs to bed as well."
"I'll walk with you," Catherine said immediately, and they left the family room and crossed the hall to head upstairs. They proceeded in companionable silence until Remus stopped just outside his door.
"Mundungus and Sturgis were knocked off their brooms well above the tree line," he told her quietly. "Tonks took a few bad hexes, but she should be okay. I don't know what happened to Hestia - she was Disillusioned, and I never saw her after we were attacked."
Catherine nodded her comprehension. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"That's not what I meant," she said. Remus looked at her in silence.
"Remus, the only reason you weren't told was that Dumbledore didn't think that, in an emergency, you would instinctively react to protect him the way you would to protect Harry," Catherine told him very firmly. "I agreed with him."
"That - was the reason?"
"The only reason. I wanted to make sure you knew that." Her blue-gray eyes were clear and direct as they met his.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Thank you." Catherine nodded and continued around the corner.
"Kate?" he called, and she stepped back into view. "You were right," he admitted. "There was a point - " he broke off abruptly, not wanting to go into detail. "Anyway, I didn't have any time to think about it, I just reacted. If I had known it was Dumbledore, I might not have done the same thing. I don't know if such a small thing would have betrayed the plan, but I would have hated it if I had been the one to give everything away - and it would have been wrong to take the chance."
Her expression had lightened as he spoke, and when he finished, she smiled at him before disappearing around the corner again. Remus went to bed in a much better frame of mind.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Harry settled into life at Stone House easily. His trunk and Hedwig's cage arrived the following day, and he was happily surrounded by people who cared about him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were thrilled to see him at breakfast the day after his arrival. Mr. Weasley pumped his hand enthusiastically several times, while Mrs. Weasley hugged him very hard, and then immediately started loading his plate with food. Hermione had also given him an enthusiastic hug, while Ginny had grinned at him companionably, with no sign of the shyness that he remembered from when they had first met.
Harry found that he was looking forward to his birthday this year. Last year's had been difficult, with the searing anguish of losing Sirius still fresh. Harry still missed his godfather terribly, but the pain seemed to have settled into a duller ache and he found that he was once again capable of laughter. For a time, he had thought he would never laugh again.
He woke on the morning he turned seventeen to find what looked confusingly like a room full of house-elves. When he groped for his glasses, he found that there were only four, all of whom were beaming at him. Much to his astonishment, they immediately starting singing 'Happy Birthday' to him, smiling happily as they sang. When they finished, they all bowed in unison.
"Uh, thanks," Harry said, not really sure what he was supposed to do. Evidently that was acceptable, for they all bowed again and popped out. Harry got dressed with a pleasant sense of anticipation.
As the day wore on, there were more nice surprises. The pancakes at breakfast looked perfectly normal at first, but when buttered, the number '17' appeared in the middle in Gryffindor red. The syrup, when poured, formed the words "Happy Birthday, Harry!" before settling more evenly across the pancakes. Harry had never had maple syrup before, and found it tasted surprisingly good too. At lunch, the food behaved normally, but the drinking glasses had a tendency to toast him on their own, and the serving dishes holding his favorite foods kept scuttling up to his place at the table whenever he set his fork down.
In the middle of the afternoon, Ron suggested going for a quick swim before dinner. Harry had seen the pool outside the back door, but hadn't ventured into it yet. He'd never really been swimming much, unless you counted his experiences with Gillyweed in his fourth year, so he was a little nervous about the idea, not to mention the fact that he didn't even own a swimsuit. But Ron borrowed one of Bill's that they adjusted to fit him, and Harry agreed to give it a try. He was pleased to discover that he didn't really have to swim, he could just sort of frolic around in the cool water under the summer sun, and he decided he could enjoy this.
Hermione and Ginny came down to join them later, and the foursome improvised a game that sort of resembled water volleyball, except that the ball was enchanted to move rather unpredictably and at varying speeds. After a while, the older Weasleys came outside, relaxing on the patio and chatting amongst themselves while house-elves popped in and out offering them trays of food and colorful drinks. Harry, absorbed in the game, didn't notice when Professor Lupin and Catherine Clare joined them, but the large popping noise he heard when a Portkey deposited Neville Longbottom on the lawn near the pool did get his attention.
"Neville?" he asked, allowing the enchanted ball to hit the water in front of him with a splash. Neville's round face was beaming at him from above a colorfully wrapped package that he dropped immediately as he lost his balance and stumbled on his arrival.
"Sorry, Harry," Neville told him, scrambling to pick it up again. "I don't think it broke. Happy Birthday."
Harry climbed out to greet Neville, looking over at the others in the pool and Professor Lupin in unspoken query, but they all simply smiled at him, apparently unsurprised by Neville's sudden arrival. A moment later, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan appeared on the lawn as well. They were very casually dressed in T-shirts and swimsuits, and both of them were bearing gifts as well.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," Seamus called cheerily. Dean just waved his present at Harry and grinned, and then more people started popping onto the lawn.
Harry found the whole thing a bit overwhelming, although in a good way. The others got out of the water to help him manage the growing pile of presents people kept pressing upon him, which allowed him to focus on greeting the stream of new arrivals. Food started appearing in larger quantities, arranged on tables around the pool, and music began to play in the background, and suddenly it was a party.
He was looking around in bewilderment at what suddenly seemed to be an enormous crowd of people when Hermione laughed and tucked her arm in his.
"There are only seventeen," she told him kindly. "One guest for every year. We made up the guest list and Dumbledore arranged the Portkeys. Everyone goes home at ten, so I suggest you enjoy it while you can."
Grinning back at her, Harry decided to take her advice. He talked and danced and laughed and ate and played in the pool - and generally had a wonderful time. Even though some of the guests, all fellow students, were known to him primarily through "Dumbledore's Army," no one mentioned a word about Voldemort or the latest news or the Dark Arts the entire evening. They all seemed determined to enjoy themselves, and it looked to Harry like they were succeeding.
Shortly after ten o'clock, the four students who remained were trying to gather up Harry's presents and restore some order to the pool area when Professor Lupin tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"Would you come with me, Harry? There's one more present for you," he told him quietly. Harry looked at him blankly.
"But you already gave me the - "
"It isn't from me."
Ron stopped struggling with some magical wrapping paper that persisted in trying to wrap itself around his hands to look up and say, "Go on, we can finish up here," so Harry followed Professor Lupin back into the house.
Remus led him into a room he had never been in before and unlocked a corner cabinet to draw out a Pensieve which he set before Harry.
"These are from Sirius," he said simply. Harry stared down at the dancing flashes of silver in the Pensieve and then back up at Professor Lupin.
"You mean, these are - "
"Some of his memories." Harry felt tears springing to his eyes, and his throat didn't seem to be working properly.
Professor Lupin seemed to understand. He slipped an arm around Harry's shoulders, and told him, "I'll teach you how to work it yourself tomorrow, but maybe just one memory tonight?" He looked into the Pensieve with an air of concentration, still holding on to Harry, and then touched it with his wand. The room they were standing in vanished.
Sirius was lounging in a room Harry had never seen before. It wasn't exactly neat, but there was a comfortable disorder about it that seemed to suit Sirius. His godfather looked much younger, dressed - somewhat - in a carelessly knotted robe and reading The Daily Prophet. After a short time, he cast it aside with a derisive snort, looking around restlessly.
At that moment, the fireplace flared green and James Potter stepped out of it, grinning irrepressibly. Harry realized with a start that he was now almost as tall as his father, and the thought gave him a queer aching feeling inside.
"Got any coffee?" James asked cheerfully. Sirius looked at his best friend - who in addition to looking freshly showered and shaved was dressed in rather striking dark gray robes - and glared at him.
"At this hour? Go away." James just grinned at him and pushed a pile of robes off a chair so he could flop down in it, kicking a book further down the coffee table and propping his feet up.
"Can't. You've got company coming."
"I do?" Sirius asked him, frowning. "Did I invite those twin charm dealers over and forget about it?"
"Prat," his friend said affectionately. "I did the inviting. You're hosting a meeting of the Marauders this morning. The least you could do is provide a little coffee when Moony and Wormtail arrive."
"Why can't we have it at your place?" Padfoot complained. "Then you could provide the coffee." James looked at him skeptically.
"I could have gotten you up, dressed, and out of here at this hour? Coffee's easier. Come on, wave a wand." Sirius glared at him again, but gave his wand a desultory flip which seemed to produce noises in the background.
"Am I allowed to ask why I'm playing host this early in the morning and not at a nice, respectable hour later in the day? Like noon. Or maybe six-thirty at night."
"Nope. Not 'til they get here." James' grin was back in full force.
Sirius looked at him assessingly. "What are you up to?" he asked, sounding suspicious. James just shook his head and laughed.
A shrill scream issued from the kitchen. Sirius made another indolent gesture with his wand, and a tray bearing a coffee service zoomed in to hover over the table.
"At least move your feet," Sirius groused. His best friend chuckled and sat up, helping himself to coffee once the tray settled down on the table.
When the doorbell rang, Sirius remained seated and opened the door with his wand. A much younger version of Remus Lupin stepped through, looking unsurprised to see the door open without seeing his host. He was dressed neatly and simply, and smiled when he saw his friends.
"Peter can't make it," Remus told them, sitting down with James and Sirius.
James looked irritated for the first time since he'd arrived. "Again? What's going on with him?"
Remus shrugged. "He didn't say. His note just said he'd get in touch with one of us later."
"Peter's Peter," Sirius said. "So what's up?"
The irritation faded from James' face, slowly replaced by his trademark grin. "Guess."
Sirius snorted. "How am I supposed to guess?" he asked. "My brain isn't awake yet."
Remus was studying Harry's father assessingly, and then a look of comprehension came over his face. All he said was, "Congratulations," but he rose to shake James' hand and give him a brief, brotherly hug. James laughed delightedly.
"You always were the smart one," he said still laughing. "You'll be there?"
"Of course," Remus told him, grinning back at him. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"What on earth are you - " Sirius broke off suddenly, looking as if he had been momentarily stunned. "You can't be - " His eyes met those of his best friend with an expression bordering on awe.
"She accepted me!" James confirmed, almost chortling. Sirius bounded off the sofa and wrapped James in a fierce bear hug, a grin splitting his face.
"Prongs, you old - " Words seemed to fail him.
"Isn't it wonderful? I can't believe Lily Evans agreed to marry me!"
Sirius seemed to be recovering a bit from his initial shock, and was now grinning almost as broadly as James. "I can't believe it either," he retorted. "She's much too good for the likes of you."
"Absolutely," James agreed without hesitation. "I just have to keep her from figuring that out until after the ceremony!" All three of them laughed. "Going to play 'best man' and keep me from screwing this up before we're safely wed?" he asked Sirius.
"Only 'cause it's Lily," Padfoot countered. "If it was anyone less wonderful, I'd think the best man's duty would be to rescue you from a life of monogamy!"
"I think the best man's first duty is to propose a toast to the bride," Remus interjected smoothly, handing Sirius his coffee cup and picking up his own.
"Good point," Sirius agreed, clearing his throat ostentatiously. "To the future Mrs. James Potter," he began, "may our errant friend somehow manage to give her all the happiness she deserves!"
"Hear, hear," Remus and James chimed in. As they drank the toast to his mother, the memory swirled away and Harry found himself again looking down at the Pensieve. He looked up at Remus with everything he couldn't say in his eyes, thankful that his father's friend understood.
Professor Lupin's arm was still around his shoulder, and he gave him a quick one-armed hug. "Happy Birthday, Harry."