Harry Potter and the Lost Prophecy
Chapter 1
As the train slowed down in the approach to King's Cross, Harry thought he had never wanted to leave it less. He even wondered fleetingly what would happen if he simply refused to get off, but remained stubbornly sitting there until the first of September, when it would take him back to Hogwarts. When it finally puffed to a standstill, however, he lifted down Hedwig's cage and prepared to drag his trunk from the train as usual.
When the ticket inspector signaled to him, Ron, and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him whom he had not expected at all.
There was Mad-Eye Moody, looking quite as sinister with his bowler hat pulled low over his magical eye as he would have done without it, his gnarled hands clutching a long staff, his body wrapped in a voluminous traveling cloak. Tonks stood just behind him, her bright bubble-gum-pink hair gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the dirty glass station ceiling, wearing heavily patched jeans and a bright purple T-shirt bearing the legend 'The Weird Sisters'. Next to Tonks was Lupin, his face pale, his hair graying, a long and threadbare overcoat covering a shabby jumper and trousers. At the front of the group stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, dressed in their Muggle best, and Fred and George, who were both wearing brand-new jackets in some lurid, green scaly material.
"Ron, Ginny!" called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying forward and hugging her children tightly. "Oh, and Harry dear – how are you?"
"Fine," lied Harry, as she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Hello, Harry," said Lupin, as Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry and turned to greet Hermione.
"Hi," said Harry. "I didn't expect…what are you all doing here?"
"Well," said Lupin with a slight smile, "we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home."
"I dunno if that's a good idea," said Harry at once.
"Oh, I think it is," growled Moody, who had limped a little closer. "That'll be them, will it, Potter?"
He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder; his magical eye was evidently peering through the back of his head and his bowler hat. Harry leaned an inch or so to the left to see where Mad-Eye was pointing and there, sure enough, were the three Dursleys, who looked positively appalled to see Harry's reception committee.
"Ah, Harry!" said Mr. Weasley, turning from Hermione's parents, whom he had been greeting enthusiastically, and who were taking it in turns to hug Hermione. "Well – shall we do it, then?"
"Yeah, I reckon so, Arthur," said Moody.
He and Mr. Weasley took the lead across the station toward the place where the Dursleys stood, apparently rooted to the spot. Hermione disengaged herself gently from her mother to join the group.
"Good afternoon," said Mr. Weasley pleasantly to Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt right in front of him. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."
As Mr. Weasley had singlehandedly demolished most of the Dursleys' living room two years previously, Harry would have been very surprised if Uncle Vernon had forgotten him. Sure enough, Uncle Vernon turned a deeper shade of puce and glared at Mr. Weasley, but chose not to say anything, partly, perhaps, because the Dursleys were outnumbered two to one. Aunt Petunia looked both frightened and embarrassed. She kept glancing around, as though terrified somebody she knew would see her in such company. Dudley, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to look small and insignificant, a feat at which he was failing extravagantly.
"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," said Mr. Weasley, still smiling.
"Yeah," growled Moody. "About how he's treaded when he's at your place."
Uncle Vernon's mustache seemed to bristle with indignation. Possibly because the bowler hat gave him the entirely mistaken impression that he was dealing with a kindred spirit, he addressed himself to Moody.
"I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house – "
"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," growled Moody.
"Anyway, that's not the point," interjected Tonks, whose pink hair seemed to offend Aunt Petunia more than all the rest put together, for she closed her eyes rather than look at her. "The point is, if we find our you've been horrible to Harry – "
"-And make no mistake, we'll hear about it," added Lupin pleasantly.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley, "even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone – "
"Telephone," whispered Hermione.
"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to," said Moody.
Uncle Vernon swelled ominously. His sense of outrage seemed to outweigh even his fear of this bunch of oddballs.
"Are you threatening me, sir?" he said, so loudly that passersby actually turned to stare.
"Yes, I am," said Mad-Eye, who seemed rather pleased that Uncle Vernon had grasped this fact so quickly.
"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?" barked Uncle Vernon.
"Well…" said Moody, pushing back his bowler hat to reveal his sinisterly revolving magical eye.Uncle Vernon leapt backward in horror and collided painfully with a luggage trolley. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."
He turned away from Uncle Vernon to survey Harry.
"So, Potter… give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along…."
Aunt Petunia whimpered piteously. It could not have been plainer that she was thinking of what the neighbors would say if they caught sight of these people marching up the garden path.
"'Bye, then, Potter," said Moody, grasping Harry's shoulder for a moment with a gnarled hand.
"Take care, Harry," said Lupin quietly. "Keep in touch."
"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs. Weasley whispered, hugging him again.
"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry's hand.
"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione earnestly. "We promise."
Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station toward the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 38, pg. 870
It was around 9:30 when Harry woke up. The date was July 10th, and sunlight was streaming through the windows in his bedroom. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and reached over onto the nightstand to grab his glasses. After putting them on, he threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Looking into the mirror, he saw the same things that he saw everyday: towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes, and other assorted things in their correct places. Ever since he had come back from Hogwarts for the summer, each day was like a repeat of the last. Nothing ever differed in the Dursley household for Harry. Every day, he would do some of his schoolwork, take a walk through Surrey, and cross off another day on the calendar that counted down the days until his return to Hogwarts on September 1st.
'Today's going to be just like any other day,' Harry thought as he brushed his hair. 'Why do I even hope for change? It's never going to –'
He stopped his thought and turned his head as the doorbell rang downstairs. From the bathroom doorway, he could see the distorted image of people through the front door. Aunt Petunia's call of 'I'll be right there!' could be heard from the kitchen, followed by her footsteps as she appeared in the foyer to open the door.
She opened the door, looked out at the people standing on the front step for a second or two, and then slammed the door. Harry looked at her questioningly as he walked halfway down the steps as Uncle Vernon asked, "Who was it?"
"Oh, nobody, Vernon. Just some people selling phone service," Aunt Petunia replied as the doorbell rung again. "Ignore it. If we don't answer, they'll just go away."
Harry sat down on the steps and waited as the doorbell rang three more times. When it rang the fourth time, Uncle Vernon stomped into the foyer, threw open the door, and said, "Why don't you people – " He broke off with a gasp and slammed the door shut. He then whirled on Harry, who was still sitting on a step halfway up the staircase.
"I forbid you to open this door, no matter how many times these people ring the doorbell," Uncle Vernon snarled at him, purple in the face. "Do you understand?"
Harry nodded, not wanting to get yelled at. As soon as Uncle Vernon returned to the living room, Harry marched the rest of the way down the stairs and pressed his nose to the door. Standing on the front porch were Mr. Weasley, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Lupin. He waved to try and get their attention but they seemed to be distracted, so Harry came up with a different plan.
He exited the house through the back door as if he was going on his daily walk, and came around to the front of the house, where Moody and Tonks were arguing, Mr. Weasley was ringing the doorbell, and Lupin seemed to be looking for a way to break up the argument.
"-I say that if someone doesn't come to the door in the next 30 seconds, we blast the door open," Moody was saying to Tonks.
"That wouldn't be a great idea, Mad-Eye," Mr. Weasley put in. "The last time I tried to help, we ended up wrecking half the living room. I don't want him to start throwing ornaments at my head again, especially if we want him to sign the papers."
"Well then, Arthur, what do you suppose we do?" Tonks asked.
"I don't know, what do you think, Remus?" Mr. Weasley asked, turning to Lupin.
"We could just ask Harry how we could get into the house," Lupin said calmly, smiling at Harry.
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Moody asked, impatience in his voice.
"I suppose I could help with that one," Harry said, smiling back at Lupin as everyone else whirled around to face him.
Everyone goggled at Harry for a moment until Tonks turned back to face Lupin, looking upset.
"You knew he was standing there, Remus?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Well then, why didn't you say something?"
"You were too busy arguing, I doubt you would have noticed even if I had said something," Lupin said, smiling again.
"Okay, enough of this talk – Potter, could you show us a way in?" Moody asked.
"Sure, follow me."
Harry led the four of them around the back of the house to the back door. Tonks made to open the door, but Harry held up his hand.
"Hang on, I want to make sure nobody's around before I let you in. I'll be right back."
Harry slipped inside the house and looked around. Both the kitchen and the den were devoid of the Dursleys, and Harry could hear movement coming from upstairs. He opened the back door and motioned for them to come in.
"Harry, could you go upstairs and get your aunt and uncle?" Lupin asked. "We – er – want to have a word with them."
"Sure, but I can tell you that you'll be lucky if Uncle Vernon doesn't start chucking ornaments at all your heads," Harry said, grinning at Mr. Weasley.
Harry left the den and headed upstairs. Dudley was in his room, listening to music through his headphones (which Harry could tell was way too loud – he could hear the music loud and clear from the doorway), and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were in their room doing something. Their bedroom door was shut, so Harry knocked.
"Uncle Vernon? Aunt Petunia? Could you come down to the kitchen for a moment?" Harry asked through the closed door.
"Why do you need us down there, boy?" Uncle Vernon asked.
"Because we'd like to have a little chat with you," Mr. Weasley said, startling Harry and making him jump.
"Who's – " Uncle Vernon said as he opened the bedroom door, then visibly paled. "You let him in here, didn't you, boy? I told you not to open the front door to any of them!"
"He didn't open the front door to us," Tonks said, stepping in front of Mr. Weasley to stand next to Harry on the landing outside the Dursleys' bedroom door. "He opened the back door."
Uncle Vernon made to hit Harry, but stopped as Lupin appeared by Tonks's side with a pop, his wand pointing directly at Uncle Vernon's chest. Another pop, and Moody stood on Harry's other side.
"Don't even think about it, Dursley," Moody said, eyeing Uncle Vernon with intense dislike. "We want you and your wife down in the kitchen. You both come quietly, or we do this the hard way."
Uncle Vernon stood there on the landing, looking around at the people assembled outside his bedroom door, a vein pulsing rapidly in his temple.
"After you," Tonks said happily, pointing her wand in the direction of the kitchen.
Five minutes later, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody were seated around the kitchen table, talking about something that Tonks and Harry couldn't hear, seeing as they were in the parlor with both sets of doors shut.
"What are they talking about that's so important I can't hear it firsthand?" Harry asked as he paced around the table.
"I'm not allowed to tell you," Tonks replied, picking up a yo-yo that Dudley had left on the ground and beginning to play with it. "You'll find out soon enough."
"I'm almost sixteen, I should be allowed to hear these type of things firsthand, not be treated like a child and told afterwards!" Harry said, stopping his pacing to look at her.
"I know how you feel, Harry," Tonks said, looking up at him while continuing to yo-yo. "Being the youngest Order member does have its drawbacks. I remember feeling this way all the time when I first joined. I felt like I was being babied, but they did it for a reason. A good reason, which I learned after it was almost too late.
"There was this one battle that many of the aurors were called to, as well as most of the Order members. I was told to stay behind so that I could call for reinforcements if someone came back from the battle and said they needed help. I, however, wanted to go to battle to fight with the top aurors the Ministry had, and I did."
"Yeah?" Harry said, sitting down next to her on the couch. "How did that teach you a lesson?"
"I was almost killed by a Death Eater," Tonks said quietly. "One of the aurors gave his life for me."
There was silence for a few minutes. Finally, Tonks spoke again.
"The only reason why we're protecting you so much is because … well … if we lose you, the wizarding world collapses. It may not seem this way to you, Harry, but … you're our king on the chessboard of this war."
"But what if I don't want to be your king?" Harry asked, smiling slightly despite the seriousness of the situation as he remembered last year's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match and the 'Weasley Is Our King' line.
"You don't really have a choice," Lupin said quietly as he entered the parlor and held the door open for Tonks, who was exiting. "I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, but it's the truth."
"I just want to blend into the crowd for once – you know, be normal," Harry said quietly as he stared off into the corner of the room.
"I know, Harry," Lupin said as he sat down on the couch next to Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. "But during a war like this, there isn't time to be normal. Maybe you'll be able to someday. As for now, we must do whatever it takes to win this war. But enough of this serious talk, there are more cheerful things to do, like going upstairs to pack your trunk."
Harry turned to look at Lupin questioningly.
"Why? I don't leave for Hogwarts for another month and a half."
"This is true. But you do leave for Grimmauld Place in approximately" - Lupin consulted his watch – "one hour, so get packing."
"Another set of Order meetings?"
"Nope," Lupin replied, smiling. "Your new permanent place of residence."
"So I'm living by myself now?" Harry asked, looking perplexed.
"No, not quite. I now have guardianship over you. You'll be living with me – until you're eighteen, that is. After that, where you live is up to you."
"Really?"
"Yes," Lupin responded. "I know I'm not Sirius, or your mother and father, for that matter, but I'll do my best."
"Thank you so much, Professor Lupin," Harry said, smiling at him sincerely.
"You're welcome. However, since it's been three years since I taught you, call me Remus," Lupin replied.
"Alright. I'll go start packing."
A/N: This is the revised version of the story, and I hope you like it. Feel free to leave me feedback, just hold off on the flames. Love you guys!