Chapter 2
Dinner
The day went pretty smooth, besides the fact that Aunt Petunia went on a major house-cleaning spree. Harry tried to gather up all of his belongings so that things would be ready when he left tonight. He wasn't completely sure how this was going to work. He even wondered if Adreama was going to make the Dursley's leave as well. That was pretty stupid it seemed.
When 5:30 rolled around Harry was given orders to make himself look somewhat presentable because Ms. Merchellin had wanted to have dinner with the whole family to get a 'better impression of what kind of man Vernon was.' Harry figured that was a good idea on Adrema's part.
Harry was told to help set the table, he didn't argue this. He new that with in the next hour or so he was leaving this hellhole to go back to the closest family he had ever had.
Harry sat down with the Dursley's in the living room at five 'til six waiting for the Merchellin's to arrive. Aunt Petunia was in a powdery blue dress. Uncle Vernon wore a businessy looking suit and tie. Dudley looked rather like his father only without a mustache. Harry had tried to fix his hair to please the Dursley's and wore a grey button up shirt with one of Dudley's pairs of old to small black pants.
At five after six, a cab dropped two tall dark haired women. Arianna had came with her mother. Harry didn't think she would be she did. That was even better they could talk maybe.
"Vernon you didn't tell me that there were two people coming," Aunt Petunia said heading off toward the kitchen, probably to add another plate.
"Must have slipped my mind," Vernon said making his way to the door.
Harry got up and walked to the door. Dudley pushed him out of the way. He was probably going to try and hit on Arianna. Harry snorted.
One of them knocked on the door. Dudley opened it. Arianna came through first. She gave Harry a big smile, Adreama followed looking slightly aggravated, but smiled just the same.
"Good evening Mr. Dursley," Adreama said sticking her hand out to him. Vernon grabbed it back and gave it a light shake.
"A very good one indeed," Vernon replied releasing her hand.
"This is my daughter Arianna," she said grabbing Ari by the shoulders and moving her more into Vernon's view. She shook Vernon's hand politely and then began looking around.
"This is my son Dudley," he said motioning to Dudley. "and my nephew, Harry," he said in a rather disgusted tone nodding his head toward Harry. Harry just grinned. Harry came the conclusion that this was just pretty dumb, and with that he smiled.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dinner went smoothly for the most part. At the dining room table Harry had sat between Dudley and Vernon, Arianna on the other side of Dudley then Adreama followed by Petunia and then back to Vernon. This had to have been one of the strangest dinners Harry had ever been.
They ate their lamb chop dinner rather quietly only with scattered dull talk of the weather and the lamb chops. After dinner Harry, Dudley and Arianna were excused to the living room, leaving the adults to talk business.
Harry followed Arianna into the living room behind Dudley.
"What is the grocery bill for this house every week?" she whispered over her shoulder to Harry who just chuckled a little bit.
Arianna sat in a chair across from Dudley and Harry. He got a good chance to really see her. Her fathers long black hair was hanging loosely about her face. Her grey eyes were rather dull and lifeless compared to how they once were before, well before Sirius died.
It was an awkward silence as they all sat there. Dudley kept looking suggestively at Arianna, but on the other hand she was starring around the living room popping her knuckles. When Harry finally caught her eye, he gave her a look asking "what is going on?" Her answer was very nonchalant. She moved her head toward the dinning room and then gazed in a bored tone down at her watch.
Sitting here in the living room not talking got really old really fast. Arianna began to click her tongue in her mouth boredly when she looked down at her watch again. He noticed that she was trying to hide her charm bracelet with all of its charmed charms, which moved around quite unlike a muggle one.
When she looked back up from her watch she smiled slightly and winked at Harry.
"Would either of you like a toffee," she said reaching into her handbag pulling out a few brightly wrapped candies with three curly 'W's' on them. Harry figured that it would be best to decline the offer figuring that they were probably from Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes.
"No I'm good," Harry said grinning.
"I'll have one," Dudley said reaching out his hand. Arianna obliged and placed one wrapped in blue paper in his hand. The candy barely made it out of the paper before it was swallowed and after that Arianna barely had time to contain her laugh before Dudley fell backwards into sleep against the couch. At that the two of them both burst into a fit of laughs. She had spent way to much time with Fred and George this summer that was definitely apparent.
"What was that?" Harry said in between his fits of laugh.
"A Sleeping Sweet, my own creation. That was too easy," she said as she laughed harder.
"So what is going on? This is weird." Harry asked regaining control of himself.
"Okay," she said trying to finish her laugh. "Here is what is supposed to happen. I am to help you collect all of your stuff and be out of here before your Uncle and Aunt call the muggle, um… what is it, oh, police. From that Fred is going to meet us at your window with Buckbeak and then we are flying to my house." She said clapping her hands together.
"Why aren't we just going to Grimmauld Place?" Harry said with a puzzled look on his face.
Arianna took in a breath of air, "Well Lupin decided that it would really be the best idea to throw you back into the dungeon with Kreature running around so soon, so you get to come and see my house, well I do to. I haven't been home in nearly a year." She said with a nod.
"Who all is going to be there?" Harry said still comprehending.
"Just me, you, mum, Lupin, and Fred will be there tonight. Lupin is there because Snape hasn't been around to make the Wolfsbane potion and I couldn't get a hold of the ingredients, and well tonight is a full moon. So there ya have it." She said standing up. "We really need to get ready because Fred should be here in about five minutes.
"Why is Fred coming?" Harry asked leading Arianna up the stairs to his room. She probably thought he was going to need to pack up.
"Well see Harry, Fred and I are like, I don't know, involved, and he was the only one I could really convince Buckbeak not to try and butcher." She said bracingly.
Harry let out a small "Oh," and opened the door to his room. He should have known Fred and her had been really close during the last year. How Fred had given her a big hug when the all had gotten back to Kings Cross Station, and how Ari had just fallen to pieces right there on the spot. It made sense.
It was still going to be alright though. Harry hadn't had any feelings like that for her just like she was a good friend.
Harry turned the light on in the room. Arianna looked around, "I didn't think that you were going to be completely ready," she said noticing his trunk in the middle of the floor and Hedwig hooting quietly in her cage. Ari bent down and stroked her head. Harry looked around giving one last good look at the room making sure he hadn't left anything out. His eyes rested on the bedside table where he saw one of the pictures Adreama had given him of his parents. He picked it up and proceeded to put it into his trunk when Arianna stopped him.
"Is that them Harry," she said motioning to the picture. Harry nodded and handed the picture frame over to her. "Your mum was so beautiful," she said looking down at the picture. It looked like her eyes were fogging up a little bit when she handed the frame back to Harry who finished putting it into his trunk.
They sat there for a minute. Arianna was playing with the charms on her bracelet. He saw how she was holding the black onyx dog one. She had put up a good show tonight. He saw now how she was fighting tears when she looked up at Harry.
"Are you okay?" Harry said to her. At that she jerked up blinking her eyes quickly to get out the tears.
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same question," she said grinning a little bit. "I was really worried about you when you left at the station. I am sorry that, well that we didn't really have a chance to say good bye. I just, I don't know lost it I guess. . ." she said her voice trailing off.
He heard a loud caw from the window. Arianna got up to look out it. At that someone tapped on the window that Arianna opened. Harry heard a shuffling but couldn't see anything. He figured Fred and Buckbeak where both under disillusionment charms. He was half right. Fred had pulled an invisibility cloak off his face as he snuck through the window.
"Boo," he said as he finished taking the cloak off. "Hey there Harry," he said shaking Harry's hand, "are you ready then."
"Yeah. It is good to see you. Everything going well," he said.
"Excellent," he said grabbing his wand out of his deep blue robes. He shrank Harry's luggage down small enough that Arianna stuck it in her purse. She giggled slightly and shook her head.
"We ought to let Hedwig just follow us," she said moving towards the owls cage.
"Yeah go ahead she'll follow then we can stick her cage into your purse to," he said opening the cage letting Hedwig out onto his shoulder. Fred then shrank her cage as well.
"Are we ready then," Arianna said putting Hedwig's cage along with Harry's luggage into her purse heading over to the window.
Downstairs he heard a glass break.
"Yeah we need to go now, I think mom just broke the news," she said whistling to Buckbeak who was taking a nap below. Buckbeak obliged and hovered up by the window. The three of them bowed to him, he returned the bow and Arianna got on first followed by Fred and then by Harry.
"Follow us girl," Harry said releasing Hedwig off his shoulder.
"Well lets go Buckbeak," Arianna said. The hippogriff flapped his wings with immense power and took off up into the air.
"So how far away is your home," Harry asked feeling the cool night air on his face,
"About 160 KM, but with Beaky it will probably only take about thirty minutes," she said turning her head slightly back to look at Harry.
Harry nodded his head. "How is the joke shop going then," Harry asked to Fred.
"We are doing great. Business is amazing giving the circumstances. We have in three months beaten Zonko's entire income." Fred said excitedly. "I think it is one of our employees that keeps bringing them back," he said winking and nodding at Ari.
"I heard that," Arianna said from somewhere ahead.
Harry felt a freedom that he hadn't in a long time. It was great. He loved to fly it had just always felt so natural; although being on the ass end of a hippogriff wasn't the greatest it was still good.
They went on like this for another twenty minutes. Harry loved seeing the moon rising from this height although he was sure that Lupin didn't have the same opinion. It was nice to see all of the little lights that dotted the countryside.
He suddenly felt a small lurch forward.
"We're almost there," Arianna said. Harry heard the excitement in her voice. She was going home.
"Is that it," Harry said pointing to a large white house in a clearing in the forest.
"Yeah," Ari said.
She was pulling Buckbeak down near a small stable. Her house was beautiful. It was surrounded by a large lush green yard and a flower in the back with a fountain. The house itself had many windows with lights coming out of some of them.
"You guys can wait here, I am going to put Buckbeak into a stall. I won't be long," she said as she went in leading Buckbeak in.
"This place is beautiful." Fred said looking around at the garden and the house.
"Yeah. It is. She is probably really happy to be home. You know. It would be a little odd to be a way from home like that," Harry said. "So what is the thing with you and her," Harry added smirking at Fred.
Fred though didn't get the joke or didn't take it as one. "I don't know, it is like one minute she can be so happy and smiling but then just fall to pieces or something, but she is an amazing person. I didn't even realize what all that goes on in her life until well we started going together. She is an amazing person." Fred said looking around to the barn.
Harry nodded. He and Arianna had been good friends but, not like him and Ron or Hermione. She was just there.
"Well let's go in," she said grabbing Fred's hand, and the headed up to the house.