Chapter 1

Late Night Mail

Harry tossed and turned but sleep was not coming. He had never felt more alone in his whole life. He was stuck at Privet Drive surrounded by people who hated him almost as bad Lord Voldemort himself. What an odd thought, that your relatives could care less if you lived or died, but then again it was the Dursleys.

Sleep it seemed had been only in desperation for Harry. Only when his body just wasn't going to function with out it because it seemed that whenever he was sleeping he was haunted. By Sirius, by Cedric, by his parents, none of them had let him get a peaceful night sleep since he returned from Hogwarts.

He had taken just to thinking during the day. About the prophecy, Sirius, even sometimes Ari would become a topic in his mind. He wondered about her, if she was okay. He had heard from her once or twice in the three weeks since they had separated Kings Cross Station. Her letters had been short and to the point. She said what little she could sneak a few code things in there as well. Just little stuff, but it made Harry feel a little bit better. A couple of her letters were more thoughtful than some of the ones he had received from Ron and Hermione. He knew things must have been very difficult at Grimmauld place, and knew that everyone would be dealing with the loss of Sirius differently.

Harry was still struggling with a way to come to terms with the loss of his godfather. It seemed that his life was filled with hardship after hardship, but it also seemed that people who died around him, were dying for him.

He was startled by something outside his window. Reflexes immediately shot him up and he grabbed for his wand on the bedside table. Walking slowly and carefully over to the window he saw that he was frightened by none other than Arianna's Barn Owl Athena.

He opened the window and stuck his arm out to her; she obliged and went to his shoulder as he walked back over to his bed turning on the light on his bedside table. Athena obediently stuck out her leg to give him the letter she was carrying.

"Go get a drink," he said to her motioning over to Hedwig's cage. She hooted quietly

and perched next to Hedwig. He opened up the letter but nothing was on it. He thought for a moment why Arianna would send him a blank bit of parchment but thought for a minute of all the ways that Ari could have hidden the writing from him. Jokingly he tapped the parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." It worked ink began shooting out from the point his wand made contact with the parchment. He smiled.

Dear Harry,

I hope this finds you well, and that you didn't wind up burning this out of rage because I used charmed ink. I hope that Athena hasn't been a pest while delivering it. It is so late right now but I couldn't sleep so I figured that you probably wouldn't mind getting mail.

You need to know that within the next week you are probably going to be back here for a while. Mum and Dumbledore have decided that your Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin should somehow be given a heads up that Voldemort is looking for you. So if your Uncle comes home saying that he is to have an important business client for dinner, it's probably mum. Ron and Hermione it seems haven't been fighting that much so far and have got Ginny and I raising our eyebrows.

I have been working with Fred and George at the joke shop. Remus told me that it was good for me to have something to do besides wandering around the house all day. I don't know it just gets so overwhelming just being here and seeing Kreacher. Right after we got home mum had to take my wand out of fear that I might kill him with it. That really didn't do much good. I almost had him strangled the next day for make a snide little remark of his. I would have had him to if Remus had come in at that exact moment and pulled me off of the little terror.

This is getting rather long I better end this letter. Hope your doing okay, and please remember don't don anything that could get you hurt because I don't want to sound like a prude Harry but there are probably Death Eaters around the corner waiting to get you. I'm not joking.

Hope to see you soon,

Arianna

He wondered if she had written it tonight and she wasn't sleeping well either. That thought felt weird. They were feeling the same even thought they were miles and miles apart. He wondered to what it would be like going back there and living with Kreacher.

Harry let Athena stay with Hedwig until morning. It wasn't a long trip but he wanted to write Arianna back, but not now for the first time in ages he really wanted to get some sleep. The thought of being back with his friends and the people he cared for most over took him the feeling left him with enough warmth to get a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

When Harry finally woke up the next morning he stretched his body and took in a big breath. He wetted his lips as he grabbed his glasses and looked around. The morning sunlight was streaming in though his window. He dressed quickly remember that he needed to write Ari back after seeing Athena dozing in Hedwig's cage. He pulled out a quill and a fresh piece of parchment.

"Good Morning Ari," trying to make his letter sound interesting.

Good Morning Ari,

Hope that you slept well last night. Sorry I didn't reply right away I was tired and went back to sleep shortly after reading your letter.

Seeing as how he didn't have any invisible ink he tried to code the letter.

I can't wait until Uncle Vernon has his dinner guests. I am very happy. I hope everything is going well with you and that you don't kill any creatures. They might through you into Azkaban for that, but then again, if no one is there to guard you, you and the others might break out pretty easily.

He read and then reread though it trying to see if it was very obvious.

Hope to see you soon,

Harry

He stuck his arm out for Athena and attached the letter to her leg. He walked over to the window, opened it and let Athena on her way. He watched her fly until he could no longer see her and then plopped back on his bed. He thought about what he was going to do today. Wondering when Adreama and Lupin were going to bust him out of the Dursley's prison. His thoughts wandered around aimlessly like this for around thirty minutes.

He heard his Uncle's new fancy company car pull out of the driveway. Dudley hadn't really bothered him much, well none of them had for that matter. Well, after Moody's speech he gave to them he shouldn't really be surprised. He got up and out of boredom began rummaging thorough his trunk. He found his most prized positions along with some odds and ends. His quidditch robes, Firebolt, school books, robes, broken quills, rumpled up parchment, and a shattered mirror. Harry's lungs seized up when he saw it. A nauseous feeling hit the pit of his stomach. He slammed the trunk shut and took several deep-calming breaths.

That mirror might have saved Sirius. No, it would have saved Sirius. If only Harry hadn't been so damned pig headed about not getting Sirius involved with his occulmency. Harry sat there and leaned against the trunk with his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were loosing color. He hadn't really put that much effort into thinking about the mirror. What happened happened, there was no way around it, but Sirius was gone. He wasn't going to come back and it had been because of Harry's stubbornness. Rage suddenly filled up inside him. In this lifetime he figured that he really wasn't supposed to be happy. That was his conclusion. Life had been cursed out of his parents and then knocked out of his godfather. Misery.

He joined the Dursleys at dinner that night. It was a light meal. Dudley had told his parents not even to buy the snack foods that he loved. He had lost a lot of weight over the last year at his school. He was school champion boxer. Harry knew this because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon loved bringing it up to everyone he met.

"Tomorrow night I have invited a prospective client to our home for dinner." Uncle Vernon said as he was finishing his third piece of pie.

"This is a major deal. It could put us out of this dump." He continued sitting down his plate. His gaze suddenly became very intent on Harry who had been trying very hard not to grin when his Uncle had brought it up. Vernon, who had noticed Harry's odd behavior at his comment spoke up, "There are to be absolutely NO faults in this dinner," he said with his face intent very much on Harry.

Vernon went on and on about how much he needed this deal. When he had winded himself from talking Harry was able to excuse himself and go back up to his room. He was going to get out of this place and back with people that he could talk to. He decided that's what he really needed just to talk, to vent for a while. He really wanted to talk with someone anyone it didn't matter. He just needed someone it seemed to pat him on the back and say it is going to be okay. That's all he really needed.