Days and weeks flew by in a blur. After two weeks of school, which felt like only a few days, Christmas vacation had started. Harry was going to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and he was finally going to be seeing Sirius again. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were coming with him. Ron and Ginny were going because they lived there, and Hermione was coming to keep Harry some company. Hermione really cared about Harry's well being, and wanted to make sure nothing happened to him when she wasn't there. Lupin was coming with them as well, since he didn't have a place of permanent residence yet, and Sirius would be there waiting for him along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George, and Bill. Harry couldn't wait to see his real family again.
When he arrived at Grimmauld Place, Mrs. Weasley was standing there at the door waiting for them to enter. Lupin had been with them, but Mr. Weasley escorted them as well, in case of an attack. Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, and Sirius were all in the kitchen eating some sandwiches Mrs. Weasley had prepared when they walked in the door. Harry heard Buckbeak up the stairs in Sirius' room, and he could faintly hear the ghost still living in the attack.
"Harry! I'm so glad to see you again!" Mrs. Weasley said as he walked in. She engulfed him in a hug which seemed to last for an eternity, and it squeezed all of the air out of his lungs.
"Fine. Ignore your son," Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, don't be so silly, Ron," Mrs. Weasley replied, grabbing ahold of him as well. Harry was let free, and he wandered into the kitchen where his godfather sat, intimately engaged in a conversation about invisibility cloaks with Moody.
"Hey Sirius," Harry greeted him.
"Harry! Glad to see your home again?" he asked, though well aware of Harry's answer.
"Of course! I'm so glad to have break from school!" exclaimed Harry, plopping himself down into a chair at the table. He saw Tonks screw up her eyes, and Harry knew what she was doing. She was going to do something funny with her face. He had always wanted to me a metamorphmagus, but he learned quickly that you could only be born as one, you couldn't learn how to be one. Moments later, her nose resmembled that of a pig's. Harry laughed; Tonks had always been able to make someone smile, no matter what the situation. He grabbed a sandwich from the plate in the middle of the table, and began eating away at it. He hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning, and it was now two o'clock in the afternoon.
They scarfed down the food that was set in front of them, and when their stomachs' needs were fulfilled, they ran upstairs. Harry and Ron were sharing the one they had two summers ago, since Sirius was back in his old room. Hermione and Ginny were down the hall as usual, sharing a room they had shared for the past two summers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were down the hall further, and Lupin was sleeping downstairs in one of the rooms. Everybody else was only there visiting. Harry unpacked all of his stuff, and put it away neatly in the room, his clothes in the closet, his trunk at the end of his bed with his books and other things. His wand would lay by his bedside at night in case of an emergency, and it would be within the depth of his robes during the day. He unpacked his Lightning Star, and placed it in a corner of his room, against the wall. Ron had already finished unpacking, so once he was done, they went back down the stairs and into the basement.
The basement had been cleaned out nicely over the summer, and now there sat a few chairs, a sofa, and a small fireplace on one side. There were rows of books on one side, and many family artifacts on the other, including the picture of Phineas Nigellus, and the tapestry that held all the names of the Black family, unless Sirius' mother had blown the name off. Harry and Ron sat down on one of the sofas, and began chatting about what they wanted to do on vacation.
"I heard there's this place in France, and it's like Diagon Alley, except they have way different stuff!" Ron told Harry.
"If it's way different, then how is it like Diagon Alley?" Harry asked Ron whilst he laughed heartily.
"Shut up!" Ron laughed as well, "But it's got a lot of stores, and my dad and mum said they sell some really neat stuff!"
"Well, I guess we could see if Sirius will take us," Harry agreed.
Just then, Hermione and Ginny walked down the stairs, laughing about something Harry couldn't hear. Ginny's face had turned red, and Harry knew it must've been something that was kind of embarrassing for Ginny.
"Hey guys!" Hermione said, sitting down in one of the chairs. Ginny sat in the other, her face still a shade of crimson. They sat there and talked about various things for a while until Harry decided he wanted to go take a walk. He headed outside alone, and began his trek down the road. There was a park up ahead with swings, and a slide. There were a few kids up there, but Harry supposed they would be leaving soon, because it was getting rather late. As he reached the park a few minutes later, he plopped himself down on one of the swings, and let out a deep breath. It was then that he realized a dark hooded figure standing near one of the nearby trees.
Harry gulped as he turned back around and began walked slowly down the hill. He didn't want to have any sort of encounter with that evil-looking hooded figure. Though as soon as he began walking, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He felt someone breathing down upon his neck. He knew it must've been that person in the cloak. He turned around, and just as he suspected, there was a man standing there, the person who had been wearing the hood and standing by the tree.
"Harry Potter...You are in great danger! There is sure peril awaiting you back at Hogwarts. You mustn't return!" the man said to him in a cold, drawling voice.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. He was very confused.
"You must not go back to Hogwarts! If you do, something bad will happen. I can't say what, but just trust me, Harry Potter. You mustn't return or You-Know-Who will have something there waiting for you!" The man disappeared into thin air with a crack, leaving Harry standing in the park thinking about those words.
"What could Voldemort have in store for me?" Harry asked himself as he walked back towards Headquarters. He was going to tell the others what had happened to him. He knew Dumbledore would be able to help him out.
He entered the house once more, and found Dumbledore in the kitchen talking to Remus and Sirius.
"Dumbledore, can I speak with you outside?" Harry asked his Headmaster.
"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore replied, leading the way out into the hall outside the kitchen. "What is it?"
"Well, Professor, I was out on a walk, and this man stopped me and told me that I was in great danger if I went back to Hogwarts after Christmas break," Harry told him.
"Oh dear Lord..." Dumbledore said, his eyes widening and his mouth left open.
"What's wrong?" Harry inquired.
"Well, Harry, I had a dream last night about something bad happening to you at Hogwarts, and now this man tells you that you are in danger, I'm starting to think you might actually be in some sort of danger," Dumbledore answered. "Now, Harry, I don't want you going outside at all the rest of your time off of school. I have to be getting back to Hogwarts now. It is urgent that I speak with Minerva and Severus." Dumbledore disappeared in a snap of his fingers, and Harry left the hallway. He took a seat by Sirius and Lupin, both of whom had looks of confusion on their faces.
"What happened, Harry?" Remus asked. There was a hint of sincere worry in his voice, and it was in that fatherly tone Lupin often had.
"I just had a little chat with some guy up at that park. He said if I went back to Hogwarts after vacation, I would be in great danger. Personally, I don't think he's right. Nothing could happen to me at Hogwarts. Though Dumbledore does seem to think something might happen. That's why he went back to Hogwarts to talk to Snape and McGonagall," Harry told them, grabbing an apple off the kitchen table. He took a large bite out of it, and wiped his mouth.
"WHAT?!" Sirius spit out some of the water he was drinking, and stared at Harry, a look of pure terror on his face.
"Don't worry, Sirius. Dumbledore will make sure nothing happens. Remember, the only one he fears is Dumbledore," Lupin reminded him.
"Yeah, Sirius, don't worry about me. You have enough to worry about," Harry told Sirius. "Listen, I've had a long day. Let me just go get some rest," Harry told the two reunited friends. He left the kitchen and trudged up the stairs to his room. It was just how he left it. Ron was downstairs somewhere with Hermione and Ginny, talking about only God know's what.
He laid down on his bed, and closed his eyes. It was only a matter of minutes before he fell asleep.
Before he knew it, Christmas had come, and there were presents galore at the end of his bed, making it look as if a mountain had sprung up from his floor. There had to have been at least twenty presents. It made Harry feel pretty glum though, because at the end of Ron's bed were a mere eight presents. He grabbed ahold of the first present he saw, and quickly ripped off the paper that was wrapped around it. Inside was a red and gold sweater that had the letter 'H' printed on it, and below it was the words 'Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.' There was a note on it that read:
Harry
I know it isn't much, and I know you get one every year, but I know you'll love this sweater anyway. It'll help you keep warm! I'm sorry we couldn't get you anything else. We've been having a bit of trouble lately. Merry Christmas, Harry!
Yours sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley
Harry unfolded the sweater, and pulled it over top of the old, stained white shirt he was wearing. It looked as if Ron was putting his on too. Under the letter 'R' was the words 'Gyffindor Prefect.' He grabbed the next present, and tore that one open as well. It was a box of Fred and George's latest invention, Extendable Eyes. They were kind of like Extendable Ears, except you saw through them instead of hearing.
The next present was from Ron. It was a box of candy, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. He grabbed a few jelly beans, and picked through them. He found one he thought was key lime, but spit it out when he found that it was, in fact, a vomit flavored.
"What kind was that?" Ron asked. He was laughing jovially whilst staring at Harry spit out the jelly bean.
"Yuck! Vomit!" Harry replied, taking a swig from the glass of water beside his bed. He grabbed the next present and ripped it open, only to find that it was a book on Animagi forms, from Lupin. He skimmed through the pages and found numerous notes written on the sides of the pages. They were written by a quill. There was a note attached to the outside, and Harry read it to himself.
Harry,
This book was the one that your father, Sirius, and Peter used when they were learning to be animagi. The notes on the side of the pages were ones that James wrote down while reading through it at night. I hope you enjoy it!
Sincerely yours,
Remus Lupin
Harry sat the book down on his bedside table, and put his glasses on his face before proceeding to the next present, which happened to be from Hagrid. Before he opened it, he knew what it would be. It was the same thing he got every year: rock cakes. And they were indeed rock cakes. He threw them on the floor near Hedwig's cage, and they still did not break from impact. Hedwig nibbled at one before deciding to throw it out the window onto the pavement. Harry heard it crash to the ground, but Harry could hear from the sound that it still had not broken.
He shrugged and reached for another present. The next one was from Dumbledore. Harry could tell from the handwriting on the outside that said 'To Harry.' He gently unwrapped the present, and found that inside was a golden snitch, enclosed in a plastic case. There was a note attached which Harry read to himself. It said that the snitch was the one Harry caught in his very first Quidditch game as a Gryffindor player. He sat the snitch on the top of his bed, and wiped a tiny tear out of the corner of his eye. He remembered his first Quidditch game, and how happy he was. That was definitely one memory he would never forget.
Sirius' present was the next that he opened. It was a book of spells used for pranking others. He skimmed through the book and saw many spells that he wanted to use on Malfoy the next time he saw him. He wanted to get revenge on Draco for all of the things he had pulled over the years, and he knew that book would definitely come in handy, especially the section that talked about spells that would make the victim belch at any desired time.
He finished opening his presents only a few minutes later. He had received wand polish and a homework planner from Hermione, some polish for his broomstick from Ginny, a few quills and some parchment from Dean, and some owl snacks from Seamus. Tonks and Moody had bought him a joint present, which happened to be some Dark Detectors. It turned out that Tonks thought they worked as well. When he finished, he ran downstairs as fast as he could with Ron at his heels. Sirius and Remus were sitting at the kitchen table talking, and eating breakfast.
"Harry, eat quickly. We're going to visit Dumbledore when you're finished eating," Lupin informed him. He sounded scared about something, and Harry knew whatever it was, it couldn't have been good.
When he arrived at Grimmauld Place, Mrs. Weasley was standing there at the door waiting for them to enter. Lupin had been with them, but Mr. Weasley escorted them as well, in case of an attack. Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, and Sirius were all in the kitchen eating some sandwiches Mrs. Weasley had prepared when they walked in the door. Harry heard Buckbeak up the stairs in Sirius' room, and he could faintly hear the ghost still living in the attack.
"Harry! I'm so glad to see you again!" Mrs. Weasley said as he walked in. She engulfed him in a hug which seemed to last for an eternity, and it squeezed all of the air out of his lungs.
"Fine. Ignore your son," Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, don't be so silly, Ron," Mrs. Weasley replied, grabbing ahold of him as well. Harry was let free, and he wandered into the kitchen where his godfather sat, intimately engaged in a conversation about invisibility cloaks with Moody.
"Hey Sirius," Harry greeted him.
"Harry! Glad to see your home again?" he asked, though well aware of Harry's answer.
"Of course! I'm so glad to have break from school!" exclaimed Harry, plopping himself down into a chair at the table. He saw Tonks screw up her eyes, and Harry knew what she was doing. She was going to do something funny with her face. He had always wanted to me a metamorphmagus, but he learned quickly that you could only be born as one, you couldn't learn how to be one. Moments later, her nose resmembled that of a pig's. Harry laughed; Tonks had always been able to make someone smile, no matter what the situation. He grabbed a sandwich from the plate in the middle of the table, and began eating away at it. He hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning, and it was now two o'clock in the afternoon.
They scarfed down the food that was set in front of them, and when their stomachs' needs were fulfilled, they ran upstairs. Harry and Ron were sharing the one they had two summers ago, since Sirius was back in his old room. Hermione and Ginny were down the hall as usual, sharing a room they had shared for the past two summers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were down the hall further, and Lupin was sleeping downstairs in one of the rooms. Everybody else was only there visiting. Harry unpacked all of his stuff, and put it away neatly in the room, his clothes in the closet, his trunk at the end of his bed with his books and other things. His wand would lay by his bedside at night in case of an emergency, and it would be within the depth of his robes during the day. He unpacked his Lightning Star, and placed it in a corner of his room, against the wall. Ron had already finished unpacking, so once he was done, they went back down the stairs and into the basement.
The basement had been cleaned out nicely over the summer, and now there sat a few chairs, a sofa, and a small fireplace on one side. There were rows of books on one side, and many family artifacts on the other, including the picture of Phineas Nigellus, and the tapestry that held all the names of the Black family, unless Sirius' mother had blown the name off. Harry and Ron sat down on one of the sofas, and began chatting about what they wanted to do on vacation.
"I heard there's this place in France, and it's like Diagon Alley, except they have way different stuff!" Ron told Harry.
"If it's way different, then how is it like Diagon Alley?" Harry asked Ron whilst he laughed heartily.
"Shut up!" Ron laughed as well, "But it's got a lot of stores, and my dad and mum said they sell some really neat stuff!"
"Well, I guess we could see if Sirius will take us," Harry agreed.
Just then, Hermione and Ginny walked down the stairs, laughing about something Harry couldn't hear. Ginny's face had turned red, and Harry knew it must've been something that was kind of embarrassing for Ginny.
"Hey guys!" Hermione said, sitting down in one of the chairs. Ginny sat in the other, her face still a shade of crimson. They sat there and talked about various things for a while until Harry decided he wanted to go take a walk. He headed outside alone, and began his trek down the road. There was a park up ahead with swings, and a slide. There were a few kids up there, but Harry supposed they would be leaving soon, because it was getting rather late. As he reached the park a few minutes later, he plopped himself down on one of the swings, and let out a deep breath. It was then that he realized a dark hooded figure standing near one of the nearby trees.
Harry gulped as he turned back around and began walked slowly down the hill. He didn't want to have any sort of encounter with that evil-looking hooded figure. Though as soon as he began walking, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He felt someone breathing down upon his neck. He knew it must've been that person in the cloak. He turned around, and just as he suspected, there was a man standing there, the person who had been wearing the hood and standing by the tree.
"Harry Potter...You are in great danger! There is sure peril awaiting you back at Hogwarts. You mustn't return!" the man said to him in a cold, drawling voice.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. He was very confused.
"You must not go back to Hogwarts! If you do, something bad will happen. I can't say what, but just trust me, Harry Potter. You mustn't return or You-Know-Who will have something there waiting for you!" The man disappeared into thin air with a crack, leaving Harry standing in the park thinking about those words.
"What could Voldemort have in store for me?" Harry asked himself as he walked back towards Headquarters. He was going to tell the others what had happened to him. He knew Dumbledore would be able to help him out.
He entered the house once more, and found Dumbledore in the kitchen talking to Remus and Sirius.
"Dumbledore, can I speak with you outside?" Harry asked his Headmaster.
"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore replied, leading the way out into the hall outside the kitchen. "What is it?"
"Well, Professor, I was out on a walk, and this man stopped me and told me that I was in great danger if I went back to Hogwarts after Christmas break," Harry told him.
"Oh dear Lord..." Dumbledore said, his eyes widening and his mouth left open.
"What's wrong?" Harry inquired.
"Well, Harry, I had a dream last night about something bad happening to you at Hogwarts, and now this man tells you that you are in danger, I'm starting to think you might actually be in some sort of danger," Dumbledore answered. "Now, Harry, I don't want you going outside at all the rest of your time off of school. I have to be getting back to Hogwarts now. It is urgent that I speak with Minerva and Severus." Dumbledore disappeared in a snap of his fingers, and Harry left the hallway. He took a seat by Sirius and Lupin, both of whom had looks of confusion on their faces.
"What happened, Harry?" Remus asked. There was a hint of sincere worry in his voice, and it was in that fatherly tone Lupin often had.
"I just had a little chat with some guy up at that park. He said if I went back to Hogwarts after vacation, I would be in great danger. Personally, I don't think he's right. Nothing could happen to me at Hogwarts. Though Dumbledore does seem to think something might happen. That's why he went back to Hogwarts to talk to Snape and McGonagall," Harry told them, grabbing an apple off the kitchen table. He took a large bite out of it, and wiped his mouth.
"WHAT?!" Sirius spit out some of the water he was drinking, and stared at Harry, a look of pure terror on his face.
"Don't worry, Sirius. Dumbledore will make sure nothing happens. Remember, the only one he fears is Dumbledore," Lupin reminded him.
"Yeah, Sirius, don't worry about me. You have enough to worry about," Harry told Sirius. "Listen, I've had a long day. Let me just go get some rest," Harry told the two reunited friends. He left the kitchen and trudged up the stairs to his room. It was just how he left it. Ron was downstairs somewhere with Hermione and Ginny, talking about only God know's what.
He laid down on his bed, and closed his eyes. It was only a matter of minutes before he fell asleep.
Before he knew it, Christmas had come, and there were presents galore at the end of his bed, making it look as if a mountain had sprung up from his floor. There had to have been at least twenty presents. It made Harry feel pretty glum though, because at the end of Ron's bed were a mere eight presents. He grabbed ahold of the first present he saw, and quickly ripped off the paper that was wrapped around it. Inside was a red and gold sweater that had the letter 'H' printed on it, and below it was the words 'Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.' There was a note on it that read:
Harry
I know it isn't much, and I know you get one every year, but I know you'll love this sweater anyway. It'll help you keep warm! I'm sorry we couldn't get you anything else. We've been having a bit of trouble lately. Merry Christmas, Harry!
Yours sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley
Harry unfolded the sweater, and pulled it over top of the old, stained white shirt he was wearing. It looked as if Ron was putting his on too. Under the letter 'R' was the words 'Gyffindor Prefect.' He grabbed the next present, and tore that one open as well. It was a box of Fred and George's latest invention, Extendable Eyes. They were kind of like Extendable Ears, except you saw through them instead of hearing.
The next present was from Ron. It was a box of candy, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. He grabbed a few jelly beans, and picked through them. He found one he thought was key lime, but spit it out when he found that it was, in fact, a vomit flavored.
"What kind was that?" Ron asked. He was laughing jovially whilst staring at Harry spit out the jelly bean.
"Yuck! Vomit!" Harry replied, taking a swig from the glass of water beside his bed. He grabbed the next present and ripped it open, only to find that it was a book on Animagi forms, from Lupin. He skimmed through the pages and found numerous notes written on the sides of the pages. They were written by a quill. There was a note attached to the outside, and Harry read it to himself.
Harry,
This book was the one that your father, Sirius, and Peter used when they were learning to be animagi. The notes on the side of the pages were ones that James wrote down while reading through it at night. I hope you enjoy it!
Sincerely yours,
Remus Lupin
Harry sat the book down on his bedside table, and put his glasses on his face before proceeding to the next present, which happened to be from Hagrid. Before he opened it, he knew what it would be. It was the same thing he got every year: rock cakes. And they were indeed rock cakes. He threw them on the floor near Hedwig's cage, and they still did not break from impact. Hedwig nibbled at one before deciding to throw it out the window onto the pavement. Harry heard it crash to the ground, but Harry could hear from the sound that it still had not broken.
He shrugged and reached for another present. The next one was from Dumbledore. Harry could tell from the handwriting on the outside that said 'To Harry.' He gently unwrapped the present, and found that inside was a golden snitch, enclosed in a plastic case. There was a note attached which Harry read to himself. It said that the snitch was the one Harry caught in his very first Quidditch game as a Gryffindor player. He sat the snitch on the top of his bed, and wiped a tiny tear out of the corner of his eye. He remembered his first Quidditch game, and how happy he was. That was definitely one memory he would never forget.
Sirius' present was the next that he opened. It was a book of spells used for pranking others. He skimmed through the book and saw many spells that he wanted to use on Malfoy the next time he saw him. He wanted to get revenge on Draco for all of the things he had pulled over the years, and he knew that book would definitely come in handy, especially the section that talked about spells that would make the victim belch at any desired time.
He finished opening his presents only a few minutes later. He had received wand polish and a homework planner from Hermione, some polish for his broomstick from Ginny, a few quills and some parchment from Dean, and some owl snacks from Seamus. Tonks and Moody had bought him a joint present, which happened to be some Dark Detectors. It turned out that Tonks thought they worked as well. When he finished, he ran downstairs as fast as he could with Ron at his heels. Sirius and Remus were sitting at the kitchen table talking, and eating breakfast.
"Harry, eat quickly. We're going to visit Dumbledore when you're finished eating," Lupin informed him. He sounded scared about something, and Harry knew whatever it was, it couldn't have been good.