Harry looked around Ron's kitchen. Lupin was there, waiting for them.
"Hello."
"Hello, Professor."
Ron asked, "Er, Professor? What are you doing in my house?"
"Waiting for the three of you to show up. Please step away from the fireplace so the others can come in behind you."
"Others?" Hermione asked, puzzled. She moved with the rest.
Dedalus Diggle and Kingsley Shacklebolt came through the fire, one directly after the other.
"Harry, have you settled things at Gringotts?"
"Yeah. Everything's set." Harry felt hollow inside. They'd be going back to Sirius's house. And Sirius was dead. He wasn't going to be there. He didn't want to go anymore.
"Alright. Kingsley, you take Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to Headquarters via the Knight Bus. Dedalus and I will take Harry on the broomsticks."
"My broomstick is in my trunk. At number 12," said Harry.
"No. It was dropped off here this morning. Though that is where your trunk is."
They ate a late lunch and then Kingsley and Harry's friends went outside and called the Knight Bus. Dedalus Diggle went off to patrol the perimeter.
"We'll start off in a couple of hours. We want a little more cloud cover. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's school things have already been moved to Headquarters."
"Why don't we all travel by Floo powder? It'd be much quicker."
"You never know who's monitoring the Floo network."
"But we traveled the Floo network to get here. We were supposed to."
"Yes but it's expected that you and Hermione travel to the Burrow during the summer and likely that it's from Diagon Alley. Nothing to get suspicious about. In fact it might have been suspicious if you hadn't arrived here by Floo powder."
Harry said nothing.
"I enjoyed reading your letters this summer. Though I admit it was strange to see them signed with your father's name."
"I was only following the instructions you gave me. Call myself James and use a different name for anyone else when possible. I'm sure Tonks loved being called Dora," he finished sarcastically. Nymphadora Tonks preferred to be known by her surname only.
"Harry, no need to get angry. I know these past few months have been hard on you. They've been difficult for me too. I knew Sirius much longer than you did and I tell you he died the way he wanted to! You must make peace with his death, Harry! If you don't it will eat you alive. The same way your parents' death ate Sirius and me."
Harry was silent.
"12 years alone to brood over the fact that if he hadn't changed Peter to their secret-keeper they would be alive today! It was killing him, Harry. Killing him! Sirius would have died before betraying your parents and so would I! When we'd realized what had happened we felt responsible. It was awful! You don't know what it's like!"
Harry raised his eyebrows at this little display of anger that was so uncommon in Remus Lupin. "And you were the level-headed one of the bunch, weren't you?"
"I'm sorry, Harry." He sighed. "I suppose you do know what it's like."
"Yes, I do. You had no more control over what happened to my parents than I did over what happened to Cedric," he said firmly. But I do feel responsible about what happened to Sirius.
"It's nearly time to go."
"Alright."
"There are more guards coming. We're waiting for them to arrive before we leave."
"How many?"
"4 more."
"So that's 6 total? Just to fly me to London?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Dumbledore feels it necessary."
"Who's coming?"
"Nearly the same guard as last year. Elphias Doge, Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, and Hestia Jones. And of course Dedalus Diggle and myself."
Harry nodded. This was certainly getting old. People tailing him wherever he went. He hated it, that's what it'd been last summer. He had a sudden thought. "Was I being watched the whole summer? Like last year?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Harry."
"I'm not a little kid anymore, Professor."
"Who knows that better than I do, Harry?"
"Everyone still treats me as one though. Like if they aren't there they think I'm going to break my neck and then I won't be alive to kill Voldemort for them," he said bitterly.
"Harry, I never heard the Prophecy," he said quietly.
"Me and my big mouth. I'm as bad as Hagrid."
One by one the Advance Guard arrived to take Harry away. The sky was beginning to darken as they mounted their brooms and all flew away into distance.
They landed outside of number 12 Grimmaulde Place, which appeared out of nowhere between numbers 11 and 13, and Harry felt satisfied. If nothing else, he could hang out with his friends.
They went inside without ringing the doorbell.
"Hello, Professor."
Ron asked, "Er, Professor? What are you doing in my house?"
"Waiting for the three of you to show up. Please step away from the fireplace so the others can come in behind you."
"Others?" Hermione asked, puzzled. She moved with the rest.
Dedalus Diggle and Kingsley Shacklebolt came through the fire, one directly after the other.
"Harry, have you settled things at Gringotts?"
"Yeah. Everything's set." Harry felt hollow inside. They'd be going back to Sirius's house. And Sirius was dead. He wasn't going to be there. He didn't want to go anymore.
"Alright. Kingsley, you take Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to Headquarters via the Knight Bus. Dedalus and I will take Harry on the broomsticks."
"My broomstick is in my trunk. At number 12," said Harry.
"No. It was dropped off here this morning. Though that is where your trunk is."
They ate a late lunch and then Kingsley and Harry's friends went outside and called the Knight Bus. Dedalus Diggle went off to patrol the perimeter.
"We'll start off in a couple of hours. We want a little more cloud cover. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's school things have already been moved to Headquarters."
"Why don't we all travel by Floo powder? It'd be much quicker."
"You never know who's monitoring the Floo network."
"But we traveled the Floo network to get here. We were supposed to."
"Yes but it's expected that you and Hermione travel to the Burrow during the summer and likely that it's from Diagon Alley. Nothing to get suspicious about. In fact it might have been suspicious if you hadn't arrived here by Floo powder."
Harry said nothing.
"I enjoyed reading your letters this summer. Though I admit it was strange to see them signed with your father's name."
"I was only following the instructions you gave me. Call myself James and use a different name for anyone else when possible. I'm sure Tonks loved being called Dora," he finished sarcastically. Nymphadora Tonks preferred to be known by her surname only.
"Harry, no need to get angry. I know these past few months have been hard on you. They've been difficult for me too. I knew Sirius much longer than you did and I tell you he died the way he wanted to! You must make peace with his death, Harry! If you don't it will eat you alive. The same way your parents' death ate Sirius and me."
Harry was silent.
"12 years alone to brood over the fact that if he hadn't changed Peter to their secret-keeper they would be alive today! It was killing him, Harry. Killing him! Sirius would have died before betraying your parents and so would I! When we'd realized what had happened we felt responsible. It was awful! You don't know what it's like!"
Harry raised his eyebrows at this little display of anger that was so uncommon in Remus Lupin. "And you were the level-headed one of the bunch, weren't you?"
"I'm sorry, Harry." He sighed. "I suppose you do know what it's like."
"Yes, I do. You had no more control over what happened to my parents than I did over what happened to Cedric," he said firmly. But I do feel responsible about what happened to Sirius.
"It's nearly time to go."
"Alright."
"There are more guards coming. We're waiting for them to arrive before we leave."
"How many?"
"4 more."
"So that's 6 total? Just to fly me to London?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Dumbledore feels it necessary."
"Who's coming?"
"Nearly the same guard as last year. Elphias Doge, Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, and Hestia Jones. And of course Dedalus Diggle and myself."
Harry nodded. This was certainly getting old. People tailing him wherever he went. He hated it, that's what it'd been last summer. He had a sudden thought. "Was I being watched the whole summer? Like last year?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Harry."
"I'm not a little kid anymore, Professor."
"Who knows that better than I do, Harry?"
"Everyone still treats me as one though. Like if they aren't there they think I'm going to break my neck and then I won't be alive to kill Voldemort for them," he said bitterly.
"Harry, I never heard the Prophecy," he said quietly.
"Me and my big mouth. I'm as bad as Hagrid."
One by one the Advance Guard arrived to take Harry away. The sky was beginning to darken as they mounted their brooms and all flew away into distance.
They landed outside of number 12 Grimmaulde Place, which appeared out of nowhere between numbers 11 and 13, and Harry felt satisfied. If nothing else, he could hang out with his friends.
They went inside without ringing the doorbell.