Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter world have a mansion. I definitely do not have a mansion. As I am 15. And not the owner of the Harry Potter world.
One For All
Natural Anthem
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Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, A gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ÐMother Teresa
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The next day Harry felt worse. He got the list of chores off the fridge after making breakfast and groaned. He was to paint the garden shed and the fence that surrounded the house.
He trudged outside and grabbed the supplies from inside the shed. The sun was already hot on his back, so he took off his shirt. He painted the shed first, then the fence. His pants were littered with little dabs of paint. A few stray lines of paint had landed themselves on his chest and stomach. He looked like belonged in one of those art museums with a big white canvas displayed with a single dot in the middle. Underneath the painting it usually reads "This is my soul." Or something profound like that.
He sat in the shade behind the shed, deciding to wait a little before going back in the house. He heard something moving around in the grass. He looked around and found a small garden snake.
Hello there
Who are you?
I am Harry, who are you?
I am Zzzene. How can you talk to me?
I am a parssselmouth
Ah, a wizard are you? IÕve never talked to one of you before. Do you want sssomething from me?
No. I wasss jussst bored, and I decided to talk to you.
The female that lives in the houssse isss coming. I think ssshe is talking to you.
Harry jumped.
"Boy are you done?"
"Yes MaÕam."
He was allowed an apple and then told to get cleaned up and go to his room afterwards. He showered the paint that had gotten on his skin off and ridded himself of all the sweat that covered him. He got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He glanced in the mirror. He had changed a lot since June. He had a six-pack showing above the towel and his chest muscles could be seen and his arms had gained muscle too.
He walked back into his room, changed and sat down on his bed and became lost in thought.
He began to remember his dream. He could still see the womanÕs face. It had haunted him when he had woken up in the morning too, but he had been rushed into making breakfast and hadnÕt had time to dwell on it.
He couldnÕt think of what he should do, he felt he should do something to honor her and her family. He decided to spend a few moments in silence when he couldnÕt come up with anything else. He hadnÕt even known who they were, so there was not much he could do.
After a few minutes he picked up some schoolwork and decided to get some of it done. His aunt knocked on his door at 12:30 and Harry ran off to work.
He came home at his usual time but felt very tired. He suspected that the magical energy the bracelet was giving him was tiring him out. It was transferring so much his body was probably rushing to accommodate. He collapsed on his bed into a deep sleep.
Moonlight streamed into the room. His clock read 4:30. The moon would soon be setting, replaced by the sun. He may as well get up now.
Curiosity struck him, had he dreamt of VoldemortÕs killings while he was in a deep sleep like he had last time? He dug through his memory and pulled up very faint images of Voldemort killing a man then much later killing a muggle family of six people. Harry cringed. Curiosity killed the cat.
Harry went about then next few days normally, as he had been. Dreaming VoldemortÕs killings, waking up to a morning of chores, working from one to seven, coming home and doing as much homework as he could and repeating the cycle.
The mirror sitting on his desk was calling his name and glowing Friday morning. He picked it up with out a second thought.
"Hey," Harry said calmly.
Sirius smiled and greeted him. They talked for while until his Aunt yelled through the door that she had work for him.
Sirius looked at him suspiciously, and asked if he was being treated all right.
Harry reassured him, bid him goodbye and went to work for his Aunt.
That evening when he returned from work he found the Dursleys sitting down to their usual dinner. Dudley had two plates piled with food. The diet of the previous summer had not gone well with Dudley and he insisted on making up for it. Dudley was far past looking like a beached whale. More like an elephant with no legs. His nose was sort of big after all.
Harry sat down at his spot at the table and received glares from the occupants of the table.
"I will be leaving tomorrow at noon."
"What? I am not taking you anywhere boy"
"They are coming to pick me up."
"Who are they? Not those freakish Weasels?"
"The WeasleyÕs are not freakish and no not them. My Godfather and a few Order Members will be coming."
"Godfather?" said a suddenly very worried Vernon.
"Yes, about ye high," said Harry, holding his hand up about SiriusÕs height. "Convicted murderer. IÕve told you about him."
"But you said he was innocent!" Dudley exclaimed.
"Well I know he is innocent of the crimes he was convicted of course, but he has tried to commit at least one of those crimes more than once but I stopped him," Harry grinned at the scared faces of his relatives.
"How are these people coming?"
"Um. IÕm not actually sure. Maybe Floo," His uncle turned purple, "Or portkey, maybe car, or maybe apparation."
"What is apparation?"
"You appear suddenly at another location by using magic to get there. IÕm not really sure how to do it because I canÕt get by license to do it yet. Next year I can though." His relatives didnÕt seem pleased that he would be able to do even more magic the next year. They didnÕt know he was allowed to do magic currently anyway.
Harry grabbed a slice of cheese and some bread and went up to his room. He sat at his desk to get some more work done. He had finished all but his Potions essay. He grinned. ÔSaving the best for last of course,Õ he thought sarcastically.
To HarryÕs surprise he finished the essay after only a couple hours. He reread it for mistakes and incorrect information and was pleasantly surprised that the essay was actually pretty good. Of course knowing Snape he would still get a D for dreadful, maybe a P for poor or perhaps SnapeÕs favorite for him, T for troll.
He tucked the essay away in his trunk and gathered all the schoolwork he had done and packed it into the trunk. He looked around for something half way decent to wear tomorrow. He was neglected most of his life, but he didnÕt want to show it. He was fine with the Dursleys ignoring him. He was used to it and figured he preferred it that way anyway. He didnÕt fancy a name like Dudders or Dudlikins.
He pulled the floorboard under his bed up and removed the items that he had placed in there. He ate some of the fudge that the Weasleys had sent him. It wasnÕt nutritious but it sure tasted good compared to the ever-exciting cheese and bread he had just had.
He looked around his room a few times to check and make sure he didnÕt leave any thing behind. He walked over to HedwigÕs cage and gave her an owl treat. She had just returned from delivering thank-you notes to his friends. He hadnÕt bothered to send them to anyone who would be at the Castle. He would see them the next day and didnÕt need to make Hedwig go to all that work. He smoothed her feathers and she hooted in appreciation.
Harry shut his trunk easily and laid his Firebolt next to it. He remembered having to help Ron pack his at the end of term by sitting on it because it wouldnÕt close. HarryÕs trunk had never had that problem. Then again Harry didnÕt really want to have that much stuff. He smiled. Less to carry everywhere and he would never use that much stuff.
The copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk looked appealing in his boredom. He read through the entire issue. By the end he was, to put it politely, severely annoyed. In nearly every article there was some reference of him being crazy. Some articles featured his insanity, others just said Ômad as Harry Potter,Õ or some other oh so witty phrase. He would really have to remember to cancel his subscription. He really didnÕt need to pay to be called crazy. Plenty of people would tell him for free. And without all that reading.
He lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep to watch murders be committed and inhumanity reign.
He woke up to his Aunt knocking as usual. Just because his murdering Godfather was coming today didnÕt change the daily schedule of the Dursleys. He rolled out of bed and donned the least grungiest muggle clothes he had and went to cook breakfast.
He took up his usual spot at the frying pan, cooking the bacon and pancakes that Aunt Petunia had set out.
The family had their usual breakfast and Harry was again stuck with a chore list. They werenÕt letting him off easy. He was to mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, weed the garden, vacuum all the rooms and take down the draperies for cleaning.
He set to work, deciding to do the indoor work first. He was finished with the vacuuming and drapes by ten and went outside to work. He trimmed the shrubs and weeded the garden by eleven and set to work mowing. He was hot and sweaty so he pulled off his t-shirt. His body was so tanned that he wouldnÕt burn in the midday sun anymore.
He was mowing the last fourth of the backyard when he head distinctive pops. He didnÕt stop, he knew what had happened and was so close to being done. He heard the doorbell ring in the front of the house and his uncle answer. He heard a slight argument but couldnÕt make out any of what was being said. He heard the back door open and several people come into the back yard.
Harry was just finishing the last line he had to mow. He shut off the mower and turned around. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Bill, Charlie, and Mr. Weasley were all standing there. ÔYou know, I donÕt think enough people came to get me,Õ thought Harry. Geez. It looked like the entire wizarding world would have come if they could. He hadnÕt been expecting so many people to come.
"Good morning Harry. Are you ready to go?" asked Dumbledore.
"Uh, I should probably change first," said Harry, looking down at his sweaty self. He had gathered several grass stains on his clothing and a couple marks of oil from door hinges.
"Alright. If you would show us to your room we can get your belongings."
Harry nodded and walked past them into the house. His Aunt glared at him as he walked past her and up the stairs. Dudley was parked in front of the TV. He trudged into his room, his train of ten people still following him. He opened his trunk and shuffled around for a new shirt. He threw it on and shut his trunk.
"Alright. IÕm ready." Bill and Charlie grabbed his trunk. Their faces showed their surprise at how light the trunk was.
"Are you sure you have everything Harry?" Asked Charlie.
"Yup. Everything I own is in there."
Some of the adults shared looks. Was he serious? The boy only owned that much stuff? They all looked around his room. There was nothing there but a bed, tiny alarm clock and a desk.
Bill immediately felt a wave of anger sweep him. When they had walked past HarryÕs cousinÕs room it had been packed full of stuff. HarryÕs room was so sparse. His Aunt and Uncle seemed to favor their own child quite completely and almost ignore Harry. Ron had talked about how Harry was treated at his relatives but he had thought it was a fabricated story to get his parents to let Harry come over during the summer.
SiriusÕ eyes had fallen on the bars on HarryÕs window. His Godson lived in a prison.
Several peopleÕs eyeÕs were resting on the bars. Harry shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Excuse me. I have some business," said Sirius. He turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The sound of footsteps on the stairs clued everyone into his intentions.
"I think IÕll go get in on the fun," said Moody, following Sirius.
A scream, undoubtedly from Petunia echoed through the house, followed by two men laughing. Harry knew Sirius would never do anything really bad, but he was a little worried when Bill, Charlie, Shacklebolt, Remus, McGonagall, Tonks and to his surprise Snape all went downstairs with similar reasons. "Join in on the fun."
Harry shivered. It made them sound a little like Death Eaters. Mr. Weasley seemed to be examining the alarm clock. He figured that Mr. Weasley didnÕt want to harm the muggles. After all, he would probably be one of the ones sent to help with the mess. He looked at Dumbledore.
"I seem to have gone temporarily deaf. My hearing will be returning within the minute," Dumbledore explained. Yes. He was definitely crazy.
Harry walked down the stairs and into the living room. A donkey, pig, and cow stood in the living room, looking very scared. Nine very satisfied but still angry wizards stood opposite the animals.
"We let you off lightly Dursley," Sirius said, looking ridiculous talking to a cow. "If you EVER hurt my Godson again you will be dead. And I will have no problem killing you."
"Sirius?" asked Harry.
Sirius turned to face him. His features going from angry to concerned. "Are you alright? You told me you were fine! That is not what I would call fine!"
"I classify fine as no bones broken, nothing is chasing me, and I am breathing. So I was fine," Harry finished. Sirius did not look especially happy at this. Instead of replying Sirius wrapped him in a bear hug.
Dumbledore could see that people were clearly not happy with HarryÕs living conditions and Harry was becoming uncomfortable. He decided it would be best to get everyone to the castle quickly before something worse happened. Such as Vernon Dursley having a heart attack. He told everyone to grab onto the portkey. Everyone gathered around HarryÕs broom, which Dumbledore had turned into a portkey.
Harry felt the all too familiar feeling and landed hard on his backside on the floor of DumbledoreÕs office. Everyone let go of the broom except him and he leaned on the broom to push himself up. He sat down in a chair and studied his broom with his eyes. Yes. Definitely a Firebolt. People were still looking at him so he checked again. Yep. Still a Firebolt.
Everyone else took a seat and Dumbledore cleared his throat. "You will be staying in the Gryffindor tower for the rest of the summer with Sirius and Remus. We will be training you daily in Defense, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Potions," Harry wrinkled his nose at the word potions. "You will be very important in the war that is starting and we need to make sure you are ready. Do you agree to the training?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. The password to the Gryffindor Tower is MerlinÕs Beard."
Harry, Remus and Sirius stood up and grabbed HarryÕs luggage. They walked down the stone steps and past the great stone gargoyle that guarded the HeadmasterÕs office.
Sirius kept looking at Harry in the corner of his eyes, concerned. Harry seemed to be walking all right and hadnÕt mentioned anything bad about his summer yet. Then again he hadnÕt mentioned his summer at all. And his definition of ÔfineÕ was not reassuring.
Harry walked a little bit ahead of Sirius and Remus on the way up to the Gryffindor tower. He wanted to avoid confrontation as long as possible. He knew they would ask him about his summer. He knew they wouldnÕt like what he would tell them and he really hated to lie. Harry opened the portrait, careful to keep his promise about Sirius to the Fat Lady and went inside.
The common room was a welcome sight to Harry. The huge plush chairs and couches brought back memories of sitting up late talking with Ron and Hermione. The sight of the large wooden studying tables reminded Harry of all the times he had crammed for tests. Being in the common room was like being home.
Harry went and sat down in one of the big chairs by the window, overlooking the lake. He smiled as he watched the giant squid make ripples in the waterÕs surface. His smile disappeared as Sirius and Remus sat down in chairs to his right. He kept his eyes glued to the window. ÔMaybe if I donÕt look at them they would forget I am here and wander away,Õ he thought hopefully. He didnÕt really want to be asked about his life with the Dursleys.
"Harry?" Sirius said softly to get HarryÕs attention. Harry looked at him.
"How are you doing?" asked Remus.
"IÕm fine. How are you two?"
"We are fine."
"What have you guys been doing?" asked Harry, beating them to asking a question.
"Basically just stuff for the Order, we have been checking out Death Eater hideouts and working on catching any that we can."
"Where are we sleeping?"
"Up in the fifth year boyÕs dorm."
Harry nodded, stood up and levitated his trunk and other belongings that they had brought from DumbledoreÕs office. Harry dropped the trunk in front of his bed and unpacked a few items.
He leaned his Firebolt against the wall by his bed. He smiled when the memory of winning the Quidditch cup entered his memory.
He pulled out his wand and set it on the table beside the bed.
I"CuriousÉCuriousÉ"
"Sorry," Harry said, "but whatÕs curious?"
Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with is pale stare.
"I remember every wand IÕve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather Ð just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother Ð why, its brother gave you that scar."
Harry swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, rememberÉI think we must expect great tings from you, Mr. PotterÉ.After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things Ð terrible, yes, but great."(Harry Potter and the SorcererÕs Stone)I
Harry shivered. Mr. Ollivander could definitely be creepy. Within his first few minutes in the wizarding community someone had already claimed he was like Voldemort and proclaimed he would do great things. Great omen.
Harry continued to take things out of his trunk. He removed his schoolbooks and his cauldron and set them under the bed. He set his birthday presents on the table next to his wand. He sat down as he pulled the photo album Hagrid had given him out.
He opened the large book and looked down at the pictures. Pictures of the Marauders and Lily were mixed throughout pictures from HarryÕs own life. He stopped and looked at a picture of Ron, Hermione and him standing together under a tree by the lake in third year. They all looked so happy. Nothing bad had happened that year really. He supposedly had a murderer after him, but really that was no different than his other years and the killer that year had turned out innocent.
Harry started then froze when he found a weight on the bed next to him. He looked up quickly and saw that Sirius had come into the dormitory and sat down next to him.
Sirius jumped slightly when Harry jumped. He wanted the boy to become comfortable around him, not hide under the furniture every time he came around.
"Harry?"
ÔDammit. He noticed,Õ Harry thought.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
Sirius looked sadly at him. He knew that something was bothering him but he wouldnÕt tell him. "Please know that you can talk to me about anything Harry. I would never think anything worse of you, only more of you."
Sirius had gone back down stairs shortly afterward, after talking a little bit to Harry about some of the pictures in the album. Harry had soon pulled out the book on advanced spells he had found next to SiriusÕs bed and had read until dinner.
Or at least he tried to read. He found a few useful spells but soon fell asleep in his bed.
In his dream he found himself standing on a cloud. This particular cloud had a tree growing out of it and a small pond with fish in it. More proof that he was crazy. Even his dream clouds were weird.
Harry jumped from where he was sitting beside the pond. He had been watching the fish when he saw LenaÕs reflection beside him. "Hello Harry."
"Hi. Where are we this time?"
"Oh just a cloud I like to come to."
"Ok. Why?"
"I have some things I wish to talk to you about."
"Ok. Talk away then, dinner is in a few hours."
Lena laughed. She moved her hand over the water and it showed Sirius and Remus talking in the common room. He couldnÕt hear what they were saying but Lena soon started talking, drawing his attention from the water to her.
"Terrible times are coming. The weight of the world will soon be on your shoulders Harry. I am here to advise that you form close bonds with these two men," she pointed to Sirius and Remus. "They will care for you like a family would. They both need you in their lives and you will find that you will need them. Forming a tight bond with them now will help you greatly."
"What am I supposed to do? Just walk up and tell them you told me to befriend them?"
"No. They will accept all attentions from you. They both love you but are afraid to scare you away. By you coming forward to them you will have more time to spend with them."
"Why do they need me?"
"War is upon the earth. In times of war close family is the only thing you can rely upon, family includes close friends. They have been through war before. All that is left of their family is each other and you. In addition you are strong Harry. You have a way of solving problems for people selflessly and inspire happiness and hope in many."
"IÕm not sure I completely understand, but I will try to become close with them I guess."
"Never underestimate the power of a hug Harry. It can lift a spirit from the depths of darkness to a world of light."
As Lena began to blur she hugged Harry. Harry was back in his dorm. Yes. He really needed a thesaurus. He used weird to describe his last meeting with her. Judging from her actions, he would be meeting her again. He would have to get creative and think of more adjectives instead of just weird.
Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and went down to the common room. Dinner would be soon and he wanted food to put it quite frankly. Dinner was brought up to the common room by Dobby. Harry, in an attempt to avoid awkwardness yet again, invited Dobby to eat with them. He didnÕt know how to approach the subject of becoming close with them yet, he barely knew them and he knew if he was talking with them all he would think about was his meeting with Lena.
A very thrilled Dobby sat on the floor, after refusing to sit on a chair, and ate dinner with them. Harry talked to Dobby about his freedom and the other house elves most of the time. After dinner Harry sat in a chair by the lit fireplace and read more from his book.
By ten oÕclock HarryÕs eyelids were drooping. He marked his place in the book and went up the stairs to bed. Soon after he was settled in in the dark room he heard Sirius and Remus come up the stairs and go to sleep. ÔJust wait till I tell Dean a werewolf has been sleeping in his bed. Too bad Ron knows Sirius is innocent, otherwise I could tell him a murdererÕs been sleeping in his,Õ Harry thought, just before drifting off.
One For All
Natural Anthem
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Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, A gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ÐMother Teresa
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The next day Harry felt worse. He got the list of chores off the fridge after making breakfast and groaned. He was to paint the garden shed and the fence that surrounded the house.
He trudged outside and grabbed the supplies from inside the shed. The sun was already hot on his back, so he took off his shirt. He painted the shed first, then the fence. His pants were littered with little dabs of paint. A few stray lines of paint had landed themselves on his chest and stomach. He looked like belonged in one of those art museums with a big white canvas displayed with a single dot in the middle. Underneath the painting it usually reads "This is my soul." Or something profound like that.
He sat in the shade behind the shed, deciding to wait a little before going back in the house. He heard something moving around in the grass. He looked around and found a small garden snake.
Hello there
Who are you?
I am Harry, who are you?
I am Zzzene. How can you talk to me?
I am a parssselmouth
Ah, a wizard are you? IÕve never talked to one of you before. Do you want sssomething from me?
No. I wasss jussst bored, and I decided to talk to you.
The female that lives in the houssse isss coming. I think ssshe is talking to you.
Harry jumped.
"Boy are you done?"
"Yes MaÕam."
He was allowed an apple and then told to get cleaned up and go to his room afterwards. He showered the paint that had gotten on his skin off and ridded himself of all the sweat that covered him. He got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He glanced in the mirror. He had changed a lot since June. He had a six-pack showing above the towel and his chest muscles could be seen and his arms had gained muscle too.
He walked back into his room, changed and sat down on his bed and became lost in thought.
He began to remember his dream. He could still see the womanÕs face. It had haunted him when he had woken up in the morning too, but he had been rushed into making breakfast and hadnÕt had time to dwell on it.
He couldnÕt think of what he should do, he felt he should do something to honor her and her family. He decided to spend a few moments in silence when he couldnÕt come up with anything else. He hadnÕt even known who they were, so there was not much he could do.
After a few minutes he picked up some schoolwork and decided to get some of it done. His aunt knocked on his door at 12:30 and Harry ran off to work.
He came home at his usual time but felt very tired. He suspected that the magical energy the bracelet was giving him was tiring him out. It was transferring so much his body was probably rushing to accommodate. He collapsed on his bed into a deep sleep.
Moonlight streamed into the room. His clock read 4:30. The moon would soon be setting, replaced by the sun. He may as well get up now.
Curiosity struck him, had he dreamt of VoldemortÕs killings while he was in a deep sleep like he had last time? He dug through his memory and pulled up very faint images of Voldemort killing a man then much later killing a muggle family of six people. Harry cringed. Curiosity killed the cat.
Harry went about then next few days normally, as he had been. Dreaming VoldemortÕs killings, waking up to a morning of chores, working from one to seven, coming home and doing as much homework as he could and repeating the cycle.
The mirror sitting on his desk was calling his name and glowing Friday morning. He picked it up with out a second thought.
"Hey," Harry said calmly.
Sirius smiled and greeted him. They talked for while until his Aunt yelled through the door that she had work for him.
Sirius looked at him suspiciously, and asked if he was being treated all right.
Harry reassured him, bid him goodbye and went to work for his Aunt.
That evening when he returned from work he found the Dursleys sitting down to their usual dinner. Dudley had two plates piled with food. The diet of the previous summer had not gone well with Dudley and he insisted on making up for it. Dudley was far past looking like a beached whale. More like an elephant with no legs. His nose was sort of big after all.
Harry sat down at his spot at the table and received glares from the occupants of the table.
"I will be leaving tomorrow at noon."
"What? I am not taking you anywhere boy"
"They are coming to pick me up."
"Who are they? Not those freakish Weasels?"
"The WeasleyÕs are not freakish and no not them. My Godfather and a few Order Members will be coming."
"Godfather?" said a suddenly very worried Vernon.
"Yes, about ye high," said Harry, holding his hand up about SiriusÕs height. "Convicted murderer. IÕve told you about him."
"But you said he was innocent!" Dudley exclaimed.
"Well I know he is innocent of the crimes he was convicted of course, but he has tried to commit at least one of those crimes more than once but I stopped him," Harry grinned at the scared faces of his relatives.
"How are these people coming?"
"Um. IÕm not actually sure. Maybe Floo," His uncle turned purple, "Or portkey, maybe car, or maybe apparation."
"What is apparation?"
"You appear suddenly at another location by using magic to get there. IÕm not really sure how to do it because I canÕt get by license to do it yet. Next year I can though." His relatives didnÕt seem pleased that he would be able to do even more magic the next year. They didnÕt know he was allowed to do magic currently anyway.
Harry grabbed a slice of cheese and some bread and went up to his room. He sat at his desk to get some more work done. He had finished all but his Potions essay. He grinned. ÔSaving the best for last of course,Õ he thought sarcastically.
To HarryÕs surprise he finished the essay after only a couple hours. He reread it for mistakes and incorrect information and was pleasantly surprised that the essay was actually pretty good. Of course knowing Snape he would still get a D for dreadful, maybe a P for poor or perhaps SnapeÕs favorite for him, T for troll.
He tucked the essay away in his trunk and gathered all the schoolwork he had done and packed it into the trunk. He looked around for something half way decent to wear tomorrow. He was neglected most of his life, but he didnÕt want to show it. He was fine with the Dursleys ignoring him. He was used to it and figured he preferred it that way anyway. He didnÕt fancy a name like Dudders or Dudlikins.
He pulled the floorboard under his bed up and removed the items that he had placed in there. He ate some of the fudge that the Weasleys had sent him. It wasnÕt nutritious but it sure tasted good compared to the ever-exciting cheese and bread he had just had.
He looked around his room a few times to check and make sure he didnÕt leave any thing behind. He walked over to HedwigÕs cage and gave her an owl treat. She had just returned from delivering thank-you notes to his friends. He hadnÕt bothered to send them to anyone who would be at the Castle. He would see them the next day and didnÕt need to make Hedwig go to all that work. He smoothed her feathers and she hooted in appreciation.
Harry shut his trunk easily and laid his Firebolt next to it. He remembered having to help Ron pack his at the end of term by sitting on it because it wouldnÕt close. HarryÕs trunk had never had that problem. Then again Harry didnÕt really want to have that much stuff. He smiled. Less to carry everywhere and he would never use that much stuff.
The copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk looked appealing in his boredom. He read through the entire issue. By the end he was, to put it politely, severely annoyed. In nearly every article there was some reference of him being crazy. Some articles featured his insanity, others just said Ômad as Harry Potter,Õ or some other oh so witty phrase. He would really have to remember to cancel his subscription. He really didnÕt need to pay to be called crazy. Plenty of people would tell him for free. And without all that reading.
He lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep to watch murders be committed and inhumanity reign.
He woke up to his Aunt knocking as usual. Just because his murdering Godfather was coming today didnÕt change the daily schedule of the Dursleys. He rolled out of bed and donned the least grungiest muggle clothes he had and went to cook breakfast.
He took up his usual spot at the frying pan, cooking the bacon and pancakes that Aunt Petunia had set out.
The family had their usual breakfast and Harry was again stuck with a chore list. They werenÕt letting him off easy. He was to mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, weed the garden, vacuum all the rooms and take down the draperies for cleaning.
He set to work, deciding to do the indoor work first. He was finished with the vacuuming and drapes by ten and went outside to work. He trimmed the shrubs and weeded the garden by eleven and set to work mowing. He was hot and sweaty so he pulled off his t-shirt. His body was so tanned that he wouldnÕt burn in the midday sun anymore.
He was mowing the last fourth of the backyard when he head distinctive pops. He didnÕt stop, he knew what had happened and was so close to being done. He heard the doorbell ring in the front of the house and his uncle answer. He heard a slight argument but couldnÕt make out any of what was being said. He heard the back door open and several people come into the back yard.
Harry was just finishing the last line he had to mow. He shut off the mower and turned around. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Bill, Charlie, and Mr. Weasley were all standing there. ÔYou know, I donÕt think enough people came to get me,Õ thought Harry. Geez. It looked like the entire wizarding world would have come if they could. He hadnÕt been expecting so many people to come.
"Good morning Harry. Are you ready to go?" asked Dumbledore.
"Uh, I should probably change first," said Harry, looking down at his sweaty self. He had gathered several grass stains on his clothing and a couple marks of oil from door hinges.
"Alright. If you would show us to your room we can get your belongings."
Harry nodded and walked past them into the house. His Aunt glared at him as he walked past her and up the stairs. Dudley was parked in front of the TV. He trudged into his room, his train of ten people still following him. He opened his trunk and shuffled around for a new shirt. He threw it on and shut his trunk.
"Alright. IÕm ready." Bill and Charlie grabbed his trunk. Their faces showed their surprise at how light the trunk was.
"Are you sure you have everything Harry?" Asked Charlie.
"Yup. Everything I own is in there."
Some of the adults shared looks. Was he serious? The boy only owned that much stuff? They all looked around his room. There was nothing there but a bed, tiny alarm clock and a desk.
Bill immediately felt a wave of anger sweep him. When they had walked past HarryÕs cousinÕs room it had been packed full of stuff. HarryÕs room was so sparse. His Aunt and Uncle seemed to favor their own child quite completely and almost ignore Harry. Ron had talked about how Harry was treated at his relatives but he had thought it was a fabricated story to get his parents to let Harry come over during the summer.
SiriusÕ eyes had fallen on the bars on HarryÕs window. His Godson lived in a prison.
Several peopleÕs eyeÕs were resting on the bars. Harry shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Excuse me. I have some business," said Sirius. He turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The sound of footsteps on the stairs clued everyone into his intentions.
"I think IÕll go get in on the fun," said Moody, following Sirius.
A scream, undoubtedly from Petunia echoed through the house, followed by two men laughing. Harry knew Sirius would never do anything really bad, but he was a little worried when Bill, Charlie, Shacklebolt, Remus, McGonagall, Tonks and to his surprise Snape all went downstairs with similar reasons. "Join in on the fun."
Harry shivered. It made them sound a little like Death Eaters. Mr. Weasley seemed to be examining the alarm clock. He figured that Mr. Weasley didnÕt want to harm the muggles. After all, he would probably be one of the ones sent to help with the mess. He looked at Dumbledore.
"I seem to have gone temporarily deaf. My hearing will be returning within the minute," Dumbledore explained. Yes. He was definitely crazy.
Harry walked down the stairs and into the living room. A donkey, pig, and cow stood in the living room, looking very scared. Nine very satisfied but still angry wizards stood opposite the animals.
"We let you off lightly Dursley," Sirius said, looking ridiculous talking to a cow. "If you EVER hurt my Godson again you will be dead. And I will have no problem killing you."
"Sirius?" asked Harry.
Sirius turned to face him. His features going from angry to concerned. "Are you alright? You told me you were fine! That is not what I would call fine!"
"I classify fine as no bones broken, nothing is chasing me, and I am breathing. So I was fine," Harry finished. Sirius did not look especially happy at this. Instead of replying Sirius wrapped him in a bear hug.
Dumbledore could see that people were clearly not happy with HarryÕs living conditions and Harry was becoming uncomfortable. He decided it would be best to get everyone to the castle quickly before something worse happened. Such as Vernon Dursley having a heart attack. He told everyone to grab onto the portkey. Everyone gathered around HarryÕs broom, which Dumbledore had turned into a portkey.
Harry felt the all too familiar feeling and landed hard on his backside on the floor of DumbledoreÕs office. Everyone let go of the broom except him and he leaned on the broom to push himself up. He sat down in a chair and studied his broom with his eyes. Yes. Definitely a Firebolt. People were still looking at him so he checked again. Yep. Still a Firebolt.
Everyone else took a seat and Dumbledore cleared his throat. "You will be staying in the Gryffindor tower for the rest of the summer with Sirius and Remus. We will be training you daily in Defense, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Potions," Harry wrinkled his nose at the word potions. "You will be very important in the war that is starting and we need to make sure you are ready. Do you agree to the training?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. The password to the Gryffindor Tower is MerlinÕs Beard."
Harry, Remus and Sirius stood up and grabbed HarryÕs luggage. They walked down the stone steps and past the great stone gargoyle that guarded the HeadmasterÕs office.
Sirius kept looking at Harry in the corner of his eyes, concerned. Harry seemed to be walking all right and hadnÕt mentioned anything bad about his summer yet. Then again he hadnÕt mentioned his summer at all. And his definition of ÔfineÕ was not reassuring.
Harry walked a little bit ahead of Sirius and Remus on the way up to the Gryffindor tower. He wanted to avoid confrontation as long as possible. He knew they would ask him about his summer. He knew they wouldnÕt like what he would tell them and he really hated to lie. Harry opened the portrait, careful to keep his promise about Sirius to the Fat Lady and went inside.
The common room was a welcome sight to Harry. The huge plush chairs and couches brought back memories of sitting up late talking with Ron and Hermione. The sight of the large wooden studying tables reminded Harry of all the times he had crammed for tests. Being in the common room was like being home.
Harry went and sat down in one of the big chairs by the window, overlooking the lake. He smiled as he watched the giant squid make ripples in the waterÕs surface. His smile disappeared as Sirius and Remus sat down in chairs to his right. He kept his eyes glued to the window. ÔMaybe if I donÕt look at them they would forget I am here and wander away,Õ he thought hopefully. He didnÕt really want to be asked about his life with the Dursleys.
"Harry?" Sirius said softly to get HarryÕs attention. Harry looked at him.
"How are you doing?" asked Remus.
"IÕm fine. How are you two?"
"We are fine."
"What have you guys been doing?" asked Harry, beating them to asking a question.
"Basically just stuff for the Order, we have been checking out Death Eater hideouts and working on catching any that we can."
"Where are we sleeping?"
"Up in the fifth year boyÕs dorm."
Harry nodded, stood up and levitated his trunk and other belongings that they had brought from DumbledoreÕs office. Harry dropped the trunk in front of his bed and unpacked a few items.
He leaned his Firebolt against the wall by his bed. He smiled when the memory of winning the Quidditch cup entered his memory.
He pulled out his wand and set it on the table beside the bed.
I"CuriousÉCuriousÉ"
"Sorry," Harry said, "but whatÕs curious?"
Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with is pale stare.
"I remember every wand IÕve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather Ð just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother Ð why, its brother gave you that scar."
Harry swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, rememberÉI think we must expect great tings from you, Mr. PotterÉ.After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things Ð terrible, yes, but great."(Harry Potter and the SorcererÕs Stone)I
Harry shivered. Mr. Ollivander could definitely be creepy. Within his first few minutes in the wizarding community someone had already claimed he was like Voldemort and proclaimed he would do great things. Great omen.
Harry continued to take things out of his trunk. He removed his schoolbooks and his cauldron and set them under the bed. He set his birthday presents on the table next to his wand. He sat down as he pulled the photo album Hagrid had given him out.
He opened the large book and looked down at the pictures. Pictures of the Marauders and Lily were mixed throughout pictures from HarryÕs own life. He stopped and looked at a picture of Ron, Hermione and him standing together under a tree by the lake in third year. They all looked so happy. Nothing bad had happened that year really. He supposedly had a murderer after him, but really that was no different than his other years and the killer that year had turned out innocent.
Harry started then froze when he found a weight on the bed next to him. He looked up quickly and saw that Sirius had come into the dormitory and sat down next to him.
Sirius jumped slightly when Harry jumped. He wanted the boy to become comfortable around him, not hide under the furniture every time he came around.
"Harry?"
ÔDammit. He noticed,Õ Harry thought.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
Sirius looked sadly at him. He knew that something was bothering him but he wouldnÕt tell him. "Please know that you can talk to me about anything Harry. I would never think anything worse of you, only more of you."
Sirius had gone back down stairs shortly afterward, after talking a little bit to Harry about some of the pictures in the album. Harry had soon pulled out the book on advanced spells he had found next to SiriusÕs bed and had read until dinner.
Or at least he tried to read. He found a few useful spells but soon fell asleep in his bed.
In his dream he found himself standing on a cloud. This particular cloud had a tree growing out of it and a small pond with fish in it. More proof that he was crazy. Even his dream clouds were weird.
Harry jumped from where he was sitting beside the pond. He had been watching the fish when he saw LenaÕs reflection beside him. "Hello Harry."
"Hi. Where are we this time?"
"Oh just a cloud I like to come to."
"Ok. Why?"
"I have some things I wish to talk to you about."
"Ok. Talk away then, dinner is in a few hours."
Lena laughed. She moved her hand over the water and it showed Sirius and Remus talking in the common room. He couldnÕt hear what they were saying but Lena soon started talking, drawing his attention from the water to her.
"Terrible times are coming. The weight of the world will soon be on your shoulders Harry. I am here to advise that you form close bonds with these two men," she pointed to Sirius and Remus. "They will care for you like a family would. They both need you in their lives and you will find that you will need them. Forming a tight bond with them now will help you greatly."
"What am I supposed to do? Just walk up and tell them you told me to befriend them?"
"No. They will accept all attentions from you. They both love you but are afraid to scare you away. By you coming forward to them you will have more time to spend with them."
"Why do they need me?"
"War is upon the earth. In times of war close family is the only thing you can rely upon, family includes close friends. They have been through war before. All that is left of their family is each other and you. In addition you are strong Harry. You have a way of solving problems for people selflessly and inspire happiness and hope in many."
"IÕm not sure I completely understand, but I will try to become close with them I guess."
"Never underestimate the power of a hug Harry. It can lift a spirit from the depths of darkness to a world of light."
As Lena began to blur she hugged Harry. Harry was back in his dorm. Yes. He really needed a thesaurus. He used weird to describe his last meeting with her. Judging from her actions, he would be meeting her again. He would have to get creative and think of more adjectives instead of just weird.
Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and went down to the common room. Dinner would be soon and he wanted food to put it quite frankly. Dinner was brought up to the common room by Dobby. Harry, in an attempt to avoid awkwardness yet again, invited Dobby to eat with them. He didnÕt know how to approach the subject of becoming close with them yet, he barely knew them and he knew if he was talking with them all he would think about was his meeting with Lena.
A very thrilled Dobby sat on the floor, after refusing to sit on a chair, and ate dinner with them. Harry talked to Dobby about his freedom and the other house elves most of the time. After dinner Harry sat in a chair by the lit fireplace and read more from his book.
By ten oÕclock HarryÕs eyelids were drooping. He marked his place in the book and went up the stairs to bed. Soon after he was settled in in the dark room he heard Sirius and Remus come up the stairs and go to sleep. ÔJust wait till I tell Dean a werewolf has been sleeping in his bed. Too bad Ron knows Sirius is innocent, otherwise I could tell him a murdererÕs been sleeping in his,Õ Harry thought, just before drifting off.