Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch
Chapter Two: New Neighbors
Harry awoke the next morning almost frightened that everything that had happened just yesterday was only a dream. Sirius was cleared, Pettigrew captured, Fudge resigned, and –
"Hermione." Harry suddenly realized.
He jumped out of the bed and quickly dressed after sending an owl over to number six.
Hermione,
I've just found out that you're my new next door neighbor, but the Dursleys would never let me go visit if they knew that I enjoyed it, not to mention that you're a witch and go to Hogwarts. I'll try to find an excuse to sneak over. Hoping to see you soon!
Love,
Harry
Harry watched as Hedwig flew in the window directly opposite his, which was obviously Hermione's. She let out a short yelp as Hedwig flew in through the curtains and she rushed over towards the window to look out, but all she saw was a wave of black and a door close as Harry bounded off down the stairs. Harry arrived downstairs to find Aunt Petunia's unnaturally clean kitchen was now amuck with paw prints, dirt, mud, and slobber with a grey haired dog scratching in the corner just behind the pantry doors. At the sight of Harry the dog barked and leapt up onto him, knocking him down to the floor.
"Good boy, Reggie!" Dudley, Harry's massive cousin, had just entered the kitchen, "You know what? Reggie here has decided to help out in Harry Hunting!" Dudley boomed, his many chins wobbling as he spoke.
Harry threw off the dog who looked vaguely familiar and stood up to respond to Dudley, though he was quickly cut off by a screech and Aunt Petunia rushing in.
"What in the name of God is this?" she hollered, pointing down to Harry and Reggie, "Put Reginald outside, boy, and clean up this mess!"
Harry opened the back door to let out Reginald and returned to the kitchen with a bucket of soapy hot water, a mop and a sponge. Dudley sat by one of the barstools the entire time, laughing and eating as he watched Harry clean up the mess that Reginald had made. Reginald sat down looking apologetically by the glass door near the stove.
It was nearly ten o'clock when Harry had finished and let Reginald back inside. The grey dog seemed to calm down a great deal and favor Harry over Dudley. After finishing up with some school work assigned for over the summer, Harry fixed lunch under the regulations of Dudley's diet, though they were interrupted halfway through the meal with a knock on the door.
"Dudley get the door," Uncle Vernon requested politely.
"Make Harry get it!" was Dudley's response, still enraged that he was on the diet.
"We don't want to let the have a bad impression now do we?" Uncle Vernon responded in a falsely sweet voice unusual to him.
Dudley reluctantly rose from the table, knocking over the glasses of water as he did so, and marched over to the door. Seconds later, a scream shook the house and the ground rumbled as Dudley fainted. Albus Dumbledore had strode into the kitchen in his royal purple robes and wand in hand.
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry rose from the table to greet him and fetch him a plate of something to eat.
"Who the bloody hell are you, and why are you in my house?" Uncle Vernon had leapt to his feet and was enraged that a wizard had entered it for the fourth time. This was, however, only Harry's second time seeing the Dursley's reaction to a magical person in the house aside from himself, as he had not seen them last night nor when the advance guard arrived last year.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, but you refer to me as a 'crackpot old fool who teaches magic tricks'." he surveyed them over his glasses before returning to Harry.
"Oh no thank you, my boy, I'm fine as it is, perhaps we should sit down?" he gestured over to the lounge just off the dining room. "In private." Dumbledore finished abruptly.
Once they were seated Harry immediately realized that Petunia would be eavesdropping in, so Dumbledore had used some handy silencing charms and protective wards around the are for the time being.
"Well Harry I'm sure you have many questions for me but I must let you know a few items of particular interest. You have been given that time turner for a very important reason, other than that of managing your studies and Quidditch. As you are now aware, you cannot fight Voldemort and manage to defeat him through using your own wand, but neither can he. That means that there must be some other weapon that you must find and use to destroy Voldemort for the last time. I speak of a powerful magical object that had been prophesized about thousands of years ago,"
"But," Harry interrupted, "What does this time turner have to do with Voldemort?"
Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him and continued, his long silver beard swaying back a forth slightly.
"The weapon known as the Green Flame Torch was destroyed many years ago. It is the only weapon with which you stand a chance at defeating Voldemort. There is something special about it, very powerful magic. Harry I must warn you, the task I must set before you is incredibly difficult though you must follow through with it Harry, it is your destiny."
Harry opened his mouth to interrupt but Dumbledore continued on.
"As such I shall allow you to take someone with you to help you along the way. I am afraid that it cannot be myself as Hogwarts requires my presence, as well as the rest of the wizarding world. Once you return to Hogwarts, I shall meet with you again, but until then, I believe that you have a job to do." Dumbledore rose and winked at Harry, smiling slightly as he raised his wand and vanished from sight.
Harry rose from the lounge area and exited into the kitchen to find Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon speaking in hushed tones while Dudley still lay on the floor in the hall unconscious.
"Oh, boy," Uncle Vernon beckoned him, "The neighbors at Number Six want you to do their gardening, so hurry along. And any money they give you goes straight to us, you should be old enough now to repay us for these fifteen long years we've taken you in."
Harry, though greatly excited, tried to look as disgusted as possible as he stomped out the door and went next door to Number Six, where the Grangers lived. He rang their doorbell and stood back as he heard footsteps racing down the stairs from inside.
Chapter Two: New Neighbors
Harry awoke the next morning almost frightened that everything that had happened just yesterday was only a dream. Sirius was cleared, Pettigrew captured, Fudge resigned, and –
"Hermione." Harry suddenly realized.
He jumped out of the bed and quickly dressed after sending an owl over to number six.
Hermione,
I've just found out that you're my new next door neighbor, but the Dursleys would never let me go visit if they knew that I enjoyed it, not to mention that you're a witch and go to Hogwarts. I'll try to find an excuse to sneak over. Hoping to see you soon!
Love,
Harry
Harry watched as Hedwig flew in the window directly opposite his, which was obviously Hermione's. She let out a short yelp as Hedwig flew in through the curtains and she rushed over towards the window to look out, but all she saw was a wave of black and a door close as Harry bounded off down the stairs. Harry arrived downstairs to find Aunt Petunia's unnaturally clean kitchen was now amuck with paw prints, dirt, mud, and slobber with a grey haired dog scratching in the corner just behind the pantry doors. At the sight of Harry the dog barked and leapt up onto him, knocking him down to the floor.
"Good boy, Reggie!" Dudley, Harry's massive cousin, had just entered the kitchen, "You know what? Reggie here has decided to help out in Harry Hunting!" Dudley boomed, his many chins wobbling as he spoke.
Harry threw off the dog who looked vaguely familiar and stood up to respond to Dudley, though he was quickly cut off by a screech and Aunt Petunia rushing in.
"What in the name of God is this?" she hollered, pointing down to Harry and Reggie, "Put Reginald outside, boy, and clean up this mess!"
Harry opened the back door to let out Reginald and returned to the kitchen with a bucket of soapy hot water, a mop and a sponge. Dudley sat by one of the barstools the entire time, laughing and eating as he watched Harry clean up the mess that Reginald had made. Reginald sat down looking apologetically by the glass door near the stove.
It was nearly ten o'clock when Harry had finished and let Reginald back inside. The grey dog seemed to calm down a great deal and favor Harry over Dudley. After finishing up with some school work assigned for over the summer, Harry fixed lunch under the regulations of Dudley's diet, though they were interrupted halfway through the meal with a knock on the door.
"Dudley get the door," Uncle Vernon requested politely.
"Make Harry get it!" was Dudley's response, still enraged that he was on the diet.
"We don't want to let the have a bad impression now do we?" Uncle Vernon responded in a falsely sweet voice unusual to him.
Dudley reluctantly rose from the table, knocking over the glasses of water as he did so, and marched over to the door. Seconds later, a scream shook the house and the ground rumbled as Dudley fainted. Albus Dumbledore had strode into the kitchen in his royal purple robes and wand in hand.
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry rose from the table to greet him and fetch him a plate of something to eat.
"Who the bloody hell are you, and why are you in my house?" Uncle Vernon had leapt to his feet and was enraged that a wizard had entered it for the fourth time. This was, however, only Harry's second time seeing the Dursley's reaction to a magical person in the house aside from himself, as he had not seen them last night nor when the advance guard arrived last year.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, but you refer to me as a 'crackpot old fool who teaches magic tricks'." he surveyed them over his glasses before returning to Harry.
"Oh no thank you, my boy, I'm fine as it is, perhaps we should sit down?" he gestured over to the lounge just off the dining room. "In private." Dumbledore finished abruptly.
Once they were seated Harry immediately realized that Petunia would be eavesdropping in, so Dumbledore had used some handy silencing charms and protective wards around the are for the time being.
"Well Harry I'm sure you have many questions for me but I must let you know a few items of particular interest. You have been given that time turner for a very important reason, other than that of managing your studies and Quidditch. As you are now aware, you cannot fight Voldemort and manage to defeat him through using your own wand, but neither can he. That means that there must be some other weapon that you must find and use to destroy Voldemort for the last time. I speak of a powerful magical object that had been prophesized about thousands of years ago,"
"But," Harry interrupted, "What does this time turner have to do with Voldemort?"
Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him and continued, his long silver beard swaying back a forth slightly.
"The weapon known as the Green Flame Torch was destroyed many years ago. It is the only weapon with which you stand a chance at defeating Voldemort. There is something special about it, very powerful magic. Harry I must warn you, the task I must set before you is incredibly difficult though you must follow through with it Harry, it is your destiny."
Harry opened his mouth to interrupt but Dumbledore continued on.
"As such I shall allow you to take someone with you to help you along the way. I am afraid that it cannot be myself as Hogwarts requires my presence, as well as the rest of the wizarding world. Once you return to Hogwarts, I shall meet with you again, but until then, I believe that you have a job to do." Dumbledore rose and winked at Harry, smiling slightly as he raised his wand and vanished from sight.
Harry rose from the lounge area and exited into the kitchen to find Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon speaking in hushed tones while Dudley still lay on the floor in the hall unconscious.
"Oh, boy," Uncle Vernon beckoned him, "The neighbors at Number Six want you to do their gardening, so hurry along. And any money they give you goes straight to us, you should be old enough now to repay us for these fifteen long years we've taken you in."
Harry, though greatly excited, tried to look as disgusted as possible as he stomped out the door and went next door to Number Six, where the Grangers lived. He rang their doorbell and stood back as he heard footsteps racing down the stairs from inside.