Harry Potter and the New Life Chapter ten –
Well here we go Another instalment of this crazy Potter world! As always Please read and review
Harry entered the dinning room and following George he sat down on a thatched wooden seat which Harry felt was rather uncomfortable even if he did had less bruises on his back. There were no windows but many strong lights on the walls and the ceiling making Harry feel like he was underground because as well of there been no windows the walls were painted with a brown bottom half and a deep red on the top.
The tables were covered in a cloth of this same deep red but they also had a second white cloth on top to try and contrast. There was already some police men and woman sat around the table eating at the end of there breakfast and Harry thought some had a slight inpatient manner about them like Miss Carpenter but others like the interviewing officer were glad for the chance to have a little break from work. Harry carefully lowered himself into the chair trying not to lean back while George moved some toast and jam closer for him to reach easier.
"How are you feeling today James?" The officer in charge asked politely pouring Harry some hot chocolate from the pot.
"Better than I did when I was last awake but still pretty awful." Harry slowly spread jam on his toast as his whole body seemed to ache from moving down the stairs.
"Well I'm glad to see you seem to look a lot better than when I last saw you. Must be all that sleep you've been getting, or George here taking care of you." Either he generally cared about Harry which he doubted or he was joking about what Miss Carpenter must have reported when she came back. This didn't bother Harry much he was going to waste his energy on someone he hardly knew.
"How long have I been asleep?" Harry asked wondering if he was going to find everything out now after getting distracted last night quiet willingly.
"Well I don't know when you woke up but you passed out at your uncle's house about three days ago, then we brought you here and I think you sleep most of that time." He had herd what Miss Carpenter had and jumped to the same conclusion as she had because there were a few smiles around the table that Harry ignored but George seemed to be feeling uncomfortable.
Harry didn't want to say anything but he didn't think it right that a couple of grown men should find it funny what a couple of teenagers get up to specially seen as some of them were looked old enough to be at least parents to Harry and George.
"What's happened to my cousin?" They seemed to grow up again as Harry brought the conversation to something much more serious and George stopped feeling embarrassed and lifted her head back up.
"He's been arrested and is been held in a detention centre. He generally seems to feel sorry about what's happened to you and made a full confession against his father's wishes who has also been arrested for attacking you and two police officers in the kitchen with utilities." He stopped to take a sip from his coffee mug but Harry wondered about his aunt what had happened to her.
"What about my aunt?" Harry started looking at George who smiled and poured him some cereal and milk which were in containers much too heavy for Harry.
"For her own safety she has been staying with a police officer and one of her friends in a safe house." This sounded odd why was she in a safe house.
"Why is she staying there why can't she just stay at her home?" George seemed to lower her head again but Harry kept looking at the officer her was talking to.
"Well it seems you aren't the only boy that's been attacked by your cousin and his gang. You are the only one to be stabbed and get so seriously injured. But you see the story about them has got to the papers and many other boys' have come forward with information about it. The family's of these boy's are very, very angry and want there pound of flesh. This is not so bad for your uncle and your cousin because they are in isolation but your aunt hasn't been arrested and it was decided that for her own safety she should be moved away from the public eye."
Harry suddenly wondered if he was all over the muggle news as well as the wizarding one. If he was someone was bound to recognise him.
"Does everyone know that's me?" Harry asked hoping they had hidden his name.
"They know you were stabbed by you cousin but they don't know your name or your cousin's name. We managed to stop the papers from printing that because you are both under eighteen by law they aren't aloud to say who you are."
"But how come people have been getting to my aunt if no-one's aloud to print our names?"
"That's because most the boys who have come forward go to the same school as your cousin and we can't stop rumours from the play ground going home to very angry parents who already know where your cousin lives."
"It sounds like everyone my cousin's ever bullied are getting there own back. Because of me. I thought I just told you everything that happened and then it would be over, I could finish my holidays and go back to school and it will already be over."
Harry now decided this was very foolish to think but it was too late now he set things going and he would have to wait until it finally ended before he could get off.
"A lot of people make that mistake but you have done the right thing coming forward things could have turned out much worse if you hadn't of told us and had tried to carry on as nothing had ever happened. You saw how they reacted when you returned to get your stuff and you're over sized pigeon." Harry suddenly remembered Hedwig and felt very guilty for not thinking about her sooner.
"Hedwig, where is she?" They looked puzzled so Harry had to be clearer.
"My snowy owl her names Hedwig you just called her an over sized pigeon!" He finally came to his senses but he though it odd Harry had a pet owl but Harry was more interested in his friend than a couple of muggle's thinking him mad for keeping her as a pet.
"Do you have any ID for her?"
"Yes I have I got it when I brought her." Harry had the fact that it said Owls for all those wizarding needs on the front wasn't to helpful but he had ID for her.
"Well I'm sorry to say that one of our officers opened the cage to feed her but she flew away through an open window he foolishly left open." He shot an ugly look to one of the junior officers but this was good news for Harry she had been able to stretch her wings.
Harry had told her to always go to Ron if he was in any trouble and couldn't for what ever reason look after her properly so she had probably gone there.
"Oh don't worry about that she always flies to my friend's house if she doesn't like something. You probably frightened her because she didn't know you. She has this thing about strangers stroking her and touching her cage."
This made no sense to anyone but George who was more accustomed to Hedwig but they seemed to accept Harry as knowing what he meant and moved the conversation on.
"Oh yes. You did the right thing telling us and now we are just waiting for the court date to be set for both of them to go on trial. It won't be too long."
"What has my cousin been charged with?" Harry wasn't sure if wanted to know the answer to this because after all they are his only family. He was okay now but where was he going to live when this was over he hated staying at the Weasley's in a way because he didn't like taking advantage of there kind nature.
"At least your cousin will go down for manslaughter but he could go down for murder. That's because although the wounds he gave you weren't quiet fatal he left you for dead and you could very easily of died. If it wasn't for George here ringing an ambulance and no-one found you until morning with the amount of blood loss and the fact that the rain had drooped your temperature dramatically over such a long period of time you could have been dead and that's they way the judge and jury will see it. There is more than enough evidence to put him away for quiet a while the only question is how long, and weather he goes to a young person's prison or an adult one."
This put a lot of things into perspective and now most recently on the list of people who have tried and failed to kill him his own cousin was there.
They weren't family any more now he understood fully what has happened, this made Harry feel much lonelier if it wasn't for George touching his leg for support he would have been totally isolated from the world. She put her arms around him to hug him warmly but Harry was still in some state of shock however little he showed it.
"I didn't know he would get into so much trouble I never really looked at it like that before. That's the only living blood family I have left alive and one of em's nearly killed me." Harry didn't let go of George the thought of loosing her was impossible to bare so quickly after loosing Sirius.
"This may be hard for you to see but you aren't totally alone in the world, for one you seem to have George who was free to go ages ago but chose to stay and look after you. And you must have friends to stay with who care about you even if they live a long way away. If you don't because of how young you are you won't be abandoned by the law things can be set up for you to have a place to live seen as you are staying on at school by the sound of it." Harry felt like he would have to start again but said out loud that things wouldn't be that bad careful not mention the nature of Hogwarts.
"I suppose in September I was going to go back to school for another two years and that's a boarding school I live there normally most of the year it's only in the summer I have to leave it." Harry looked at the officer who didn't understand Harry but was willing to accept him.
"You like it at school I though all boarding schools were awful."
"Well this one isn't. You have to work ever so hard though and you can never get out of homework or detentions which I seam to get quiet a lot of for various reasons. But really it's a beautiful place to live in and my parents set up for me to go there when I was only a baby, because that's where they went and met, so I go to."
"So is it a privet school you pay for."
"No, not exactly. Some of the stuff is a bit expensive but you don't pay to go its just hard for a lot of people to get on the list. As soon as you are they'll accept you from what ever background, be it poor, rich, normal or whatever. Not a lot of people know about the school it is kept privet in that sense it likes to keep a low profile and to it's self but I have hardly ever had happier times when I haven't been there." Harry meant George he only ever had happier times when he had been with her because Ron counted as something he liked about school not when he was at the Dursley's.
"Well you aren't ready to be going places by yourself yet but you will be in a few days time I expect. Will you be taking George with you to your friends house?" George was slightly worried what she would do if Harry left her behind. But he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Of course I will. They are very nice people and won't mind anyone extra much, house is swarming with people most the time any way. I get the feeling even with a few day's rest I still won't be better so I was thinking of going there until I could actually move without aching every where. And then I wasn't sure I was going to see what came up."
He wanted to spend the rest of the summer with George and it didn't really matter where and he hadn't thought much further ahead then that.
"Fair enough would you like us to get in touch with them or are you going to tell them you would like to stay for a bit."
"They already know I'm coming this summer so if I turn up a bit early they won't mind. It's never bothered them before and they are expecting me to come Ron keeps pestering his mother for it to be sooner. And I'm quiet sure George will be very welcome, Hermione always is but I think that's because it is a bit male the house."
"How do you mean a bit male does your friend have lots of brother's or something." He asked actually been friendly because he was interested and not just polite.
"Err, yes. Ron's our age and he has a little sister in the year below and then five older brother's and his mum and dad. So Ginny jumps at the chance for any female to come and stay no-matter how old they are just to even things out a bit."
"That does sound like a very male house and I understand now why you say it probably wouldn't matter too much for you to stay." But George wanted to know who Hermione was having probably heard her mentioned and Harry hoped she hadn't read any witch weekly by Rita Skeeter.
"Who's Hermione, James?" Harry remembered how Hermione said girls act when you talk about other girls so he made Hermione out to be more of Ron's friend.
"I know her through Ron. She's a friend and Ron seems to like her a lot so she's always around." Thinking bad he was calling her only a friend when Harry did think highly of her but after all she was the one tell him to say something like that.
"Oh okay. She sounds alright. Is she definitely going to be there?" Harry didn't think he was out of hot water yet but he wasn't going to blow it with her over Hermione who is only a mate.
"I don't know I haven't seen her since we left school so she might be or she might have been and gone before we get there." Harry thought this was an okay answer he just hoped she couldn't read his mind, seen as it was extending the truth a little bit.
"Oh well. She can't be a bad person if Ron likes her so much, she like him back." Oh dear she thought Ron and Hermione might be some sort of item how he was going to get out of this he didn't know.
"Erm I don't really know he gets right protective over her sometimes but they don't half argue sometimes over really daft stuff." This was true but he hoped he wouldn't have to carry on much further in case she was there and George really did meet her which was bound to at some point. But luckily he was rescued by one of the older fatter officers sat further down the table.
"Sounds like there married." The other men all laughed and Harry had to admit it was very funny and seemed to satisfy George's interest in Hermione. He didn't want to fall in the trap that she thought there had ever been anything going on between them, when there hadn't and she was just a friend.
Harry stayed in the police hotel with George for about three more days and Harry did start to feel much better and happier. That was probably because George hardly ever left him and had slept in the same bed ever since. The police officer's weren't around much for Harry to notice but he new they must be there and on the fourth day Miss Carpenter barged in again luckily to a more dressed pair of them and said they needed to talk downstairs.
It was time for the evening meal on the fourth day and Harry and George made there way down in there own time to the dinning room to find the main officer had returned to talk to them. Sitting down easier now George pulled there plates towards them and steadily they started to eat.
"I'm glad to see you look much better and I have some good news for you. A date has finally been set for the trial. The 29th August a lot sooner than I had anticipated but that's a good thing. It may last more than one day but you shouldn't be required to be there for more than one hopefully. Now I need to ask both of you if you would like to stand in the witness box or would it be better to do it by video like I said before."
Harry didn't want to stand up in front of everyone and speak but he knew he had to do, tell them what had happened and watch what happens. After all he's lived with these people nearly all his life and it would be right to finally tie all things up with them officially.
"Will anyone think less of me for not standing up?" Harry was willing if he had to but he wasn't going to jump at the chance.
"No it's quiet normal for even adults to do it by video link. Basically you sit down in front of the camera and someone will ask you some prearranged questions and that is it for both of you. Remember we took some picture at the hospital of all the bruises and where the knife went. Well they will be used as evidence you just have to sign to say these are real pictures of your wounds and no-one else." Harry hadn't seen what he looked like because he didn't want to look in the mirror when George changed his bandages but he wanted to now.
"Do I get to see them to? I was a bit to out of it to see them fresh and they feel different now." The officer had anticipated this and pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
"You can have your copy if you like or we can throw them away after you've seen them." He held them out to take but Harry hesitated before taking the envelope.
"I'd rather keep them. I've been having a bit of trouble accepting all this and I know Ron won't understand at first. Might have to show them to him." George stroked his leg like she always did to show she understood but the officer looked at him blankly for a moment so Harry extended on his words a bit.
"Ron sometimes has trouble understanding what it's like when I go there his family is so big and it's always happy there he doesn't understand however hard he tries. He's seen far worse things in real life than this and he would want to know. Just to talk to me about it."
He understood now Harry hadn't really talked to George about it and George sort of understood why. The police officer now understood that Ron was very close to Harry and he wanted to get it off his chest and Ron was the one to help him.
"Okay I understand everyone needs someone close to talk to but don't try and bottle things up for long it doesn't work in the long run." Harry agreed but that didn't stop him from trying sometimes. This man had no idea what had happened to Harry only a few weeks ago when Sirius died but George had some idea but never asked to know more as every time he touched on the subject he went quiet and quickly changed the subject.
"Well you can go there tomorrow now if you think it's okay the main reason to keep you here is for things to die down a bit which they have. To find you some where to stay which we have and to wait for a court date which has now been set so as long as you are feeling well enough we can send you back to normal as can possibly be."
Harry was happy at this thought although he got the feeling he may not get the chance to be as close to George as he had been especially if he spends the rest of the summer at the Weasley's.
"When do we leave and where are we because I kind of was asleep on the trip here and missed it?"
"You're about 20mins drive from your aunt and uncles house. And we can take you where ever you like first thing tomorrow morning so I suggest you get some sleep to night." He gave a meaningful look of behave your self's and continued.
"And pack up your things to night before you go to sleep I'm hoping to leave as early as possible in the morning. So try and be ready."
"Okay we will be." George replied figuring it was none of his business what they get up to behind a closed door.
"Good. Are you still planning to go and stay with your friend?"
"Yes we were." Harry replied but he wasn't to sure for how long he wanted to stay there he figured he would have to talk to George about it and they could go stay in a bed and breakfast or something.
"Where do they live because we can take you there?" Harry glanced at George trying not to say it but let her understand they are a wizarding family and muggle contact is not good unexpected.
"Err, I was going to meet them in London so you could take us to a station rather than drive us down be more comfortable that way. I do feel a lot better but I couldn't sit in a car all that way seatbelt would rub against the wound." Harry hoped this would be a good convincing way to stop them from escorting Harry and George right to the house.
"Oh okay, we can put you on a train to London and pay for you to travel and I will right a letter to your friends parents what's there name?" Harry though this was okay but he wasn't going to give it to them without at least reading it if at all.
"There called Mr and Mrs Weasley and they live at The Burro, it's the name of there house I forget the address." After carefully eyeing Harry he seamed satisfied.
"Okay but it might be best not to take you to your local station the hype hasn't quiet died down yet so I'll take you to the next closest one which is about half an hour down the line. Now I suggest you go to bed and get some sleep because if you aren't up and ready for nine o'clock tomorrow I'll send Miss Carpenter in to get you up again."
With that Harry and George decided it would be best they left because all the police men were laughing at the memory of the last morning wake up they had received. Returning quickly to there room to save any added embarrassment mainly for George.
Well I think that was a boring but necessary chapter well
Read and review please!
Well here we go Another instalment of this crazy Potter world! As always Please read and review
Harry entered the dinning room and following George he sat down on a thatched wooden seat which Harry felt was rather uncomfortable even if he did had less bruises on his back. There were no windows but many strong lights on the walls and the ceiling making Harry feel like he was underground because as well of there been no windows the walls were painted with a brown bottom half and a deep red on the top.
The tables were covered in a cloth of this same deep red but they also had a second white cloth on top to try and contrast. There was already some police men and woman sat around the table eating at the end of there breakfast and Harry thought some had a slight inpatient manner about them like Miss Carpenter but others like the interviewing officer were glad for the chance to have a little break from work. Harry carefully lowered himself into the chair trying not to lean back while George moved some toast and jam closer for him to reach easier.
"How are you feeling today James?" The officer in charge asked politely pouring Harry some hot chocolate from the pot.
"Better than I did when I was last awake but still pretty awful." Harry slowly spread jam on his toast as his whole body seemed to ache from moving down the stairs.
"Well I'm glad to see you seem to look a lot better than when I last saw you. Must be all that sleep you've been getting, or George here taking care of you." Either he generally cared about Harry which he doubted or he was joking about what Miss Carpenter must have reported when she came back. This didn't bother Harry much he was going to waste his energy on someone he hardly knew.
"How long have I been asleep?" Harry asked wondering if he was going to find everything out now after getting distracted last night quiet willingly.
"Well I don't know when you woke up but you passed out at your uncle's house about three days ago, then we brought you here and I think you sleep most of that time." He had herd what Miss Carpenter had and jumped to the same conclusion as she had because there were a few smiles around the table that Harry ignored but George seemed to be feeling uncomfortable.
Harry didn't want to say anything but he didn't think it right that a couple of grown men should find it funny what a couple of teenagers get up to specially seen as some of them were looked old enough to be at least parents to Harry and George.
"What's happened to my cousin?" They seemed to grow up again as Harry brought the conversation to something much more serious and George stopped feeling embarrassed and lifted her head back up.
"He's been arrested and is been held in a detention centre. He generally seems to feel sorry about what's happened to you and made a full confession against his father's wishes who has also been arrested for attacking you and two police officers in the kitchen with utilities." He stopped to take a sip from his coffee mug but Harry wondered about his aunt what had happened to her.
"What about my aunt?" Harry started looking at George who smiled and poured him some cereal and milk which were in containers much too heavy for Harry.
"For her own safety she has been staying with a police officer and one of her friends in a safe house." This sounded odd why was she in a safe house.
"Why is she staying there why can't she just stay at her home?" George seemed to lower her head again but Harry kept looking at the officer her was talking to.
"Well it seems you aren't the only boy that's been attacked by your cousin and his gang. You are the only one to be stabbed and get so seriously injured. But you see the story about them has got to the papers and many other boys' have come forward with information about it. The family's of these boy's are very, very angry and want there pound of flesh. This is not so bad for your uncle and your cousin because they are in isolation but your aunt hasn't been arrested and it was decided that for her own safety she should be moved away from the public eye."
Harry suddenly wondered if he was all over the muggle news as well as the wizarding one. If he was someone was bound to recognise him.
"Does everyone know that's me?" Harry asked hoping they had hidden his name.
"They know you were stabbed by you cousin but they don't know your name or your cousin's name. We managed to stop the papers from printing that because you are both under eighteen by law they aren't aloud to say who you are."
"But how come people have been getting to my aunt if no-one's aloud to print our names?"
"That's because most the boys who have come forward go to the same school as your cousin and we can't stop rumours from the play ground going home to very angry parents who already know where your cousin lives."
"It sounds like everyone my cousin's ever bullied are getting there own back. Because of me. I thought I just told you everything that happened and then it would be over, I could finish my holidays and go back to school and it will already be over."
Harry now decided this was very foolish to think but it was too late now he set things going and he would have to wait until it finally ended before he could get off.
"A lot of people make that mistake but you have done the right thing coming forward things could have turned out much worse if you hadn't of told us and had tried to carry on as nothing had ever happened. You saw how they reacted when you returned to get your stuff and you're over sized pigeon." Harry suddenly remembered Hedwig and felt very guilty for not thinking about her sooner.
"Hedwig, where is she?" They looked puzzled so Harry had to be clearer.
"My snowy owl her names Hedwig you just called her an over sized pigeon!" He finally came to his senses but he though it odd Harry had a pet owl but Harry was more interested in his friend than a couple of muggle's thinking him mad for keeping her as a pet.
"Do you have any ID for her?"
"Yes I have I got it when I brought her." Harry had the fact that it said Owls for all those wizarding needs on the front wasn't to helpful but he had ID for her.
"Well I'm sorry to say that one of our officers opened the cage to feed her but she flew away through an open window he foolishly left open." He shot an ugly look to one of the junior officers but this was good news for Harry she had been able to stretch her wings.
Harry had told her to always go to Ron if he was in any trouble and couldn't for what ever reason look after her properly so she had probably gone there.
"Oh don't worry about that she always flies to my friend's house if she doesn't like something. You probably frightened her because she didn't know you. She has this thing about strangers stroking her and touching her cage."
This made no sense to anyone but George who was more accustomed to Hedwig but they seemed to accept Harry as knowing what he meant and moved the conversation on.
"Oh yes. You did the right thing telling us and now we are just waiting for the court date to be set for both of them to go on trial. It won't be too long."
"What has my cousin been charged with?" Harry wasn't sure if wanted to know the answer to this because after all they are his only family. He was okay now but where was he going to live when this was over he hated staying at the Weasley's in a way because he didn't like taking advantage of there kind nature.
"At least your cousin will go down for manslaughter but he could go down for murder. That's because although the wounds he gave you weren't quiet fatal he left you for dead and you could very easily of died. If it wasn't for George here ringing an ambulance and no-one found you until morning with the amount of blood loss and the fact that the rain had drooped your temperature dramatically over such a long period of time you could have been dead and that's they way the judge and jury will see it. There is more than enough evidence to put him away for quiet a while the only question is how long, and weather he goes to a young person's prison or an adult one."
This put a lot of things into perspective and now most recently on the list of people who have tried and failed to kill him his own cousin was there.
They weren't family any more now he understood fully what has happened, this made Harry feel much lonelier if it wasn't for George touching his leg for support he would have been totally isolated from the world. She put her arms around him to hug him warmly but Harry was still in some state of shock however little he showed it.
"I didn't know he would get into so much trouble I never really looked at it like that before. That's the only living blood family I have left alive and one of em's nearly killed me." Harry didn't let go of George the thought of loosing her was impossible to bare so quickly after loosing Sirius.
"This may be hard for you to see but you aren't totally alone in the world, for one you seem to have George who was free to go ages ago but chose to stay and look after you. And you must have friends to stay with who care about you even if they live a long way away. If you don't because of how young you are you won't be abandoned by the law things can be set up for you to have a place to live seen as you are staying on at school by the sound of it." Harry felt like he would have to start again but said out loud that things wouldn't be that bad careful not mention the nature of Hogwarts.
"I suppose in September I was going to go back to school for another two years and that's a boarding school I live there normally most of the year it's only in the summer I have to leave it." Harry looked at the officer who didn't understand Harry but was willing to accept him.
"You like it at school I though all boarding schools were awful."
"Well this one isn't. You have to work ever so hard though and you can never get out of homework or detentions which I seam to get quiet a lot of for various reasons. But really it's a beautiful place to live in and my parents set up for me to go there when I was only a baby, because that's where they went and met, so I go to."
"So is it a privet school you pay for."
"No, not exactly. Some of the stuff is a bit expensive but you don't pay to go its just hard for a lot of people to get on the list. As soon as you are they'll accept you from what ever background, be it poor, rich, normal or whatever. Not a lot of people know about the school it is kept privet in that sense it likes to keep a low profile and to it's self but I have hardly ever had happier times when I haven't been there." Harry meant George he only ever had happier times when he had been with her because Ron counted as something he liked about school not when he was at the Dursley's.
"Well you aren't ready to be going places by yourself yet but you will be in a few days time I expect. Will you be taking George with you to your friends house?" George was slightly worried what she would do if Harry left her behind. But he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Of course I will. They are very nice people and won't mind anyone extra much, house is swarming with people most the time any way. I get the feeling even with a few day's rest I still won't be better so I was thinking of going there until I could actually move without aching every where. And then I wasn't sure I was going to see what came up."
He wanted to spend the rest of the summer with George and it didn't really matter where and he hadn't thought much further ahead then that.
"Fair enough would you like us to get in touch with them or are you going to tell them you would like to stay for a bit."
"They already know I'm coming this summer so if I turn up a bit early they won't mind. It's never bothered them before and they are expecting me to come Ron keeps pestering his mother for it to be sooner. And I'm quiet sure George will be very welcome, Hermione always is but I think that's because it is a bit male the house."
"How do you mean a bit male does your friend have lots of brother's or something." He asked actually been friendly because he was interested and not just polite.
"Err, yes. Ron's our age and he has a little sister in the year below and then five older brother's and his mum and dad. So Ginny jumps at the chance for any female to come and stay no-matter how old they are just to even things out a bit."
"That does sound like a very male house and I understand now why you say it probably wouldn't matter too much for you to stay." But George wanted to know who Hermione was having probably heard her mentioned and Harry hoped she hadn't read any witch weekly by Rita Skeeter.
"Who's Hermione, James?" Harry remembered how Hermione said girls act when you talk about other girls so he made Hermione out to be more of Ron's friend.
"I know her through Ron. She's a friend and Ron seems to like her a lot so she's always around." Thinking bad he was calling her only a friend when Harry did think highly of her but after all she was the one tell him to say something like that.
"Oh okay. She sounds alright. Is she definitely going to be there?" Harry didn't think he was out of hot water yet but he wasn't going to blow it with her over Hermione who is only a mate.
"I don't know I haven't seen her since we left school so she might be or she might have been and gone before we get there." Harry thought this was an okay answer he just hoped she couldn't read his mind, seen as it was extending the truth a little bit.
"Oh well. She can't be a bad person if Ron likes her so much, she like him back." Oh dear she thought Ron and Hermione might be some sort of item how he was going to get out of this he didn't know.
"Erm I don't really know he gets right protective over her sometimes but they don't half argue sometimes over really daft stuff." This was true but he hoped he wouldn't have to carry on much further in case she was there and George really did meet her which was bound to at some point. But luckily he was rescued by one of the older fatter officers sat further down the table.
"Sounds like there married." The other men all laughed and Harry had to admit it was very funny and seemed to satisfy George's interest in Hermione. He didn't want to fall in the trap that she thought there had ever been anything going on between them, when there hadn't and she was just a friend.
Harry stayed in the police hotel with George for about three more days and Harry did start to feel much better and happier. That was probably because George hardly ever left him and had slept in the same bed ever since. The police officer's weren't around much for Harry to notice but he new they must be there and on the fourth day Miss Carpenter barged in again luckily to a more dressed pair of them and said they needed to talk downstairs.
It was time for the evening meal on the fourth day and Harry and George made there way down in there own time to the dinning room to find the main officer had returned to talk to them. Sitting down easier now George pulled there plates towards them and steadily they started to eat.
"I'm glad to see you look much better and I have some good news for you. A date has finally been set for the trial. The 29th August a lot sooner than I had anticipated but that's a good thing. It may last more than one day but you shouldn't be required to be there for more than one hopefully. Now I need to ask both of you if you would like to stand in the witness box or would it be better to do it by video like I said before."
Harry didn't want to stand up in front of everyone and speak but he knew he had to do, tell them what had happened and watch what happens. After all he's lived with these people nearly all his life and it would be right to finally tie all things up with them officially.
"Will anyone think less of me for not standing up?" Harry was willing if he had to but he wasn't going to jump at the chance.
"No it's quiet normal for even adults to do it by video link. Basically you sit down in front of the camera and someone will ask you some prearranged questions and that is it for both of you. Remember we took some picture at the hospital of all the bruises and where the knife went. Well they will be used as evidence you just have to sign to say these are real pictures of your wounds and no-one else." Harry hadn't seen what he looked like because he didn't want to look in the mirror when George changed his bandages but he wanted to now.
"Do I get to see them to? I was a bit to out of it to see them fresh and they feel different now." The officer had anticipated this and pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
"You can have your copy if you like or we can throw them away after you've seen them." He held them out to take but Harry hesitated before taking the envelope.
"I'd rather keep them. I've been having a bit of trouble accepting all this and I know Ron won't understand at first. Might have to show them to him." George stroked his leg like she always did to show she understood but the officer looked at him blankly for a moment so Harry extended on his words a bit.
"Ron sometimes has trouble understanding what it's like when I go there his family is so big and it's always happy there he doesn't understand however hard he tries. He's seen far worse things in real life than this and he would want to know. Just to talk to me about it."
He understood now Harry hadn't really talked to George about it and George sort of understood why. The police officer now understood that Ron was very close to Harry and he wanted to get it off his chest and Ron was the one to help him.
"Okay I understand everyone needs someone close to talk to but don't try and bottle things up for long it doesn't work in the long run." Harry agreed but that didn't stop him from trying sometimes. This man had no idea what had happened to Harry only a few weeks ago when Sirius died but George had some idea but never asked to know more as every time he touched on the subject he went quiet and quickly changed the subject.
"Well you can go there tomorrow now if you think it's okay the main reason to keep you here is for things to die down a bit which they have. To find you some where to stay which we have and to wait for a court date which has now been set so as long as you are feeling well enough we can send you back to normal as can possibly be."
Harry was happy at this thought although he got the feeling he may not get the chance to be as close to George as he had been especially if he spends the rest of the summer at the Weasley's.
"When do we leave and where are we because I kind of was asleep on the trip here and missed it?"
"You're about 20mins drive from your aunt and uncles house. And we can take you where ever you like first thing tomorrow morning so I suggest you get some sleep to night." He gave a meaningful look of behave your self's and continued.
"And pack up your things to night before you go to sleep I'm hoping to leave as early as possible in the morning. So try and be ready."
"Okay we will be." George replied figuring it was none of his business what they get up to behind a closed door.
"Good. Are you still planning to go and stay with your friend?"
"Yes we were." Harry replied but he wasn't to sure for how long he wanted to stay there he figured he would have to talk to George about it and they could go stay in a bed and breakfast or something.
"Where do they live because we can take you there?" Harry glanced at George trying not to say it but let her understand they are a wizarding family and muggle contact is not good unexpected.
"Err, I was going to meet them in London so you could take us to a station rather than drive us down be more comfortable that way. I do feel a lot better but I couldn't sit in a car all that way seatbelt would rub against the wound." Harry hoped this would be a good convincing way to stop them from escorting Harry and George right to the house.
"Oh okay, we can put you on a train to London and pay for you to travel and I will right a letter to your friends parents what's there name?" Harry though this was okay but he wasn't going to give it to them without at least reading it if at all.
"There called Mr and Mrs Weasley and they live at The Burro, it's the name of there house I forget the address." After carefully eyeing Harry he seamed satisfied.
"Okay but it might be best not to take you to your local station the hype hasn't quiet died down yet so I'll take you to the next closest one which is about half an hour down the line. Now I suggest you go to bed and get some sleep because if you aren't up and ready for nine o'clock tomorrow I'll send Miss Carpenter in to get you up again."
With that Harry and George decided it would be best they left because all the police men were laughing at the memory of the last morning wake up they had received. Returning quickly to there room to save any added embarrassment mainly for George.
Well I think that was a boring but necessary chapter well
Read and review please!