Chapter 17: Swimming and New Families

 The next week was a rather interesting one at the Burrow, especially with multiple families occupying it. Anyone who looked probably would have guessed that Molly Weasley and Anna Granger had known each other since birth rather than for just one week. Arthur and Jeff were having a field day comparing the muggle and wizard technological advances and Mr. Weasley was learning plenty about muggle dentistry.

 On one of the warmer days of the summer many occupants of the household found themselves outside by the lake. Ginny and Hermione were already dressed in swim suits. Ron was already wearing a pair of trunks when Harry declined to go swimming at all but soon found himself being handed a spare suit anyway. Obviously Ron had misinterpreted his reasons for refusing. He would have asked to borrow a suit otherwise. The truth was that he didn't want them to see him. He still had scars from what his uncle had done and was still extremely thin. It was not a state he wished to appear in front of anyone in. Thankfully he hadn't had to explain it to Hermione's family yet. He didn't want anymore questions either. He thought of using glamour charms which he'd become exceptionally good at but he was still afraid he'd lose concentration and have the charms fall.His goal was to block off that part of his life, but he still couldn't stop remembering.

 Jeff Granger was once again pondering the strange behavior of his daughter's young friend. He watched as the boy refused repeatedly to go swimming and wondered why. As everyone else splashed and yelled Harry seemed to sink into the trunk of a shady tree, almost invisible. He'd never gotten a straight answer from his daughter when he inquired after the youth and he was positive now that she didn't want to tell him. Soon he watched all the children, including Hermione, file into the house. Harry was the only one left out there and didn't seem to notice the other man. Mr. Granger watched in silence as the boy got up and walked towards the lake. Harry stopped at the edge of the lake as he peeled the large shirt off. Mr. Granger could barely keep himself from gasping at what he saw. How could someone so young have so many scars and... where had they come from? He was fairly sure now about the boy's strangely nervous attitude. Hell, he practically looked anorexic, obviously malnourished. It was quite clear now exactly what Hermione had been trying to avoid telling him. He watched another scene unfold before him though, and found that there might be a bit of hope for the boy after all. He slipped away quickly leaving the two of them to privacy.

~*~

 Harry looked at his reflection in the lake and his face adopted a scowl. He looked down at his chest to see the scars. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles and you could count his ribs.

"Why do I have to be this?" he asked himself faintly. He hated it. He hated his uncle too. He could never be normal. He hadn't even been able to go swimming with his friends today because of what his uncle had done to him.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"Harry, What's Wrong?" spoke a voice from behind him.

He turned  around startled. "Ginny, I didn't see you back there."

"So what's wrong," she asked curiously.

"Can't you tell?" he questioned grimly, reaching for his shirt but she stopped his hand.

"Harry, There's nothing wrong with you."

"You don't have to lie to me you know," he replied. "I'm not blind."

"You are when it comes to judging yourself," she stated firmly. "You always refuse to see the good in yourself."

"Ginny, don't tell me that's what you think when you see these scars," he replied. "I can't even be comfortable enough to go swimming with my friends any more."

"You know what," said Ginny giving him a false glare.

"What?"

"You're going swimming right now."

And at that she pushed him into the lake, diving in herself afterward. Soon they'd both surfaced and after much giggling and dunking they finally stood still in the water.

"Thanks Ginny," said Harry.

"For what?" she replied curiously.

"You're the only one who's not afraid to knock some sense into me."

"Anytime, Harry. Anytime..."

~*~

Harry fidgeted nervously as he sat at a rather full kitchen table in the Weasley household a week later. Apart from the redheaded family there also sat Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black. Everyone was overjoyed at Pettigrew's capture. Harry was ready to move in with Sirius right away but unfortunately things wouldn't be as simple as he'd thought. They'd first have to manage to convince Fudge to give Sirius a trial. Then after that he'd still have to try for guardianship and the courts would have to decide if he was a suitable guardian. Then of course there were heaps of paperwork. Needless to say, it could very well take all year. Harry was disappointed but decided that any family would be better than the Dursleys and if Dumbledore had picked them, well that had to make them demi-gods or something.

 Now Harry was sitting at the table with his trunk behind him against the wall. Within minutes he'd be traveling to the Karsen household to meet the family he'd be staying with.  Harry thought Dumbledore must have guessed about the aversion he felt to portkeys because the man was opening up the fireplace as he'd done the week prior when transporting the Grangers (who were now very happily settled in). Also, Sirius would be accompanying Harry to the Karsen Home to help him get settled in. Harry didn't know when he'd been more grateful. Dumbledore had taken care to inform them of Sirius' circumstances and apparently they had actually encouraged him to bring Sirius by. Harry bid the Weasleys and Grangers goodbye before he followed Sirius and Dumbledore through the fireplace.

 The room he stepped into from the fireplace was all beige and cream colored with a few scarlet throw pillows on the couches and chairs. Harry wondered if it was easier for wizards to have all white furniture because stains were so much easier to remove. He didn't have time to ponder that thought further because he was soon being greeted by Julia and John Karsen.

"We're so glad to meet you," said Julia. "Hopefully you'll just make yourself at home."

Mr. Karsen gave the same sentiments and Harry was introduce to the two children. The boy introduced himself first as Brian and informed Harry that he'd be sharing a room with him. Harry was instantly grateful for all the practice he'd been putting into his silencing spells when he heard this.

"I'm Lexie," the girl told him. She had honey colored hair and grey-blue eyes. She smiled as she introduced herself. Both children seemed non-phased by Sirius Black being in the room and Harry guessed that they'd been informed already. Eventually things settled down and Dumbledore had to leave once more. Sirius stayed a short while longer but soon had to depart as well.

"Good Luck Kiddo," he said, nearly crushing Harry with the hug he gave. "Make sure you owl me."

Harry smiled and nodded at his mother hen of a godfather. It was nice to know that he cared so much.

 The first week with the Karsens was for the most part uneventful and Harry began to grow more comfortable, though he still couldn't just help himself to anything in the household like he'd been instructed. They were so welcoming but he thought he'd feel like too much of an intruder if he did that. Brian seemed to be of a good sort and had befriended him. Lexie was great too. Harry knew that Brian had been adopted when he was only a baby but he had yet to hear of Lexie's story though he somehow felt that he already knew. He hadn't asked her yet, because he'd yet to tell them his story. His dreams continued but silencing charms allowed him to keep it a secret, or at least he thought so.

 What he didn't know was that the other boy had been watching him on various occasions and that both he and Lex were growing concerned. On the bright side Harry was in constant contact with his friends, or rather mainly Ginny. Hermione and Ron tended to send joint letters now when they wrote- unless of course they were fighting and one wished to complain about the other. They didn't seem to fight as much now though, or rather not to the same extreme and it seemed Ron was always quick to apologize.

 Harry sat with Brian and Lexie in the sitting room off both bedrooms. The children had both been given rooms in the basement by their parents and a joint living room. Harry had been surprised when he'd noticed the muggle appliances in the household but he supposed that unlike Hogwarts there wasn't enough magical interference here to overload them. They were all relaxing on the sofa when someone finally asked the question they'd all been waiting for to be asked.

"So Harry," asked Brian, "How exactly did you end up here."

 Harry froze for a minute before even trying to think of what to say. His mind raced and he managed only one sentence at first.

"It was my uncle." Neither of them were surprised and Harry noticed this. He was wondering if his hunch had been correct about who exactly Lexie really was. For now, he felt some odd urging to finish his story and he did.

"..It was really Ginny who found me out," he told them, "Ron was getting suspicious but I think she was the only one who really knew and then there went fourteen years of carefully hiding it down the drain."

"Ginny?" questioned Lexie with a strange look on her face.

"Yeah," said Harry, "Ginny Weasley."

"So she saved you too," said Lexie.

"Yeah, I guess she did."