Of Age
Chapter 1: Fabrication and Revelation
Fabrication
It was the third day. He hated the third day. This was the day he had to write the letter, he hated writing the letter. They thought they were helping him, but they only made it worse. It made him happy when it happened, the group of witches and wizards threatening the Dursley's. Harry was to write often, letting the wizarding world know how his relatives were treating him. If he did not write every three days, they would assume the worst and introduce a whole lot of magic into the prim, orderly, logical world of 4 Privet Drive. Harry had expected fear to coerce his relatives into at least treating him like a human, he was wrong. If anything, he was treated worse. Bars on windows, locked in room, very little food, trunk locked up in the cupboard under the stairs. In short, Harry was a prisoner. He was allowed to send Hedwig every three days with a letter to #12 Grimauld Place, but the words they contained were not his own. An angry Vernon Dursley dictated them to him. They were short letters, and did not contain the sort of glowing report that would surely give him away. His last one read as such:
Everyone,
Things here are pretty much the same as last time, doing chores and homework but all in all not too bad. Hope to see you soon,
Harry
The worst came after; after the bars were unlocked long enough for Hedwig to soar out the window in the direction of London before being slammed shut again. Then, smugly satisfied with his charade, Vernon would launch into Harry for his ungrateful behavior, unnatural existence, and heavy burden that he imposed on his family. Harry longed for the days when he was simply ignored by the Dursley's. At least then he could find comfort in silent dreams of returning to Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world that had been his home for the past 5 years. Now, however, it took every once of self control he could muster for Harry not to blast his way out of Privet Drive, consequences be damned.
And today was the third day. Having been woken up at precisely 6am to prepare breakfast, Harry was accosted for everything from the morning paper being delivered late to Vernon burning his lip on the morning coffee. "Too bloody hot, Boy!" Vernon swore, "honestly, even a trained monkey could make coffee, they must not expect much of you at that school else you'd flunked out by now, idiot..." Harry now sat at his small, unvarnished desk, quill and ink at the ready. He nervously awaited the pounding of the steps that would signify Uncle Vernon's arrival to prepare the newest fabrication. All too soon 20 pictures Dudley began rattling in their frames, signaling that it was time. Harry spent hours trying to find a way to send some sort of real message with his letter. He tried to add code, anything that would tip them off that "all was not well in Denmark." Unfortunately, Vernon would accept no embellishments from Harry. He wrote word for word what he was told, and if he varied, even in punctuation, he was made to scrap the parchment and start again.
"Alright then, here it comes."
Everyone,
All is fine here on Privet Drive. In fact, this morning Aunt Petunia prepared a wonderful breakfast (Harry grimaced as he wrote these words, remembering the work he'd done to prepare breakfast). I plan to spend the day helping her with the roses and tidying up this room. Can't wait till September 1st, all my love,
Harry
Once Vernon had inspected the letter for accuracy, he pulled the heavy brass key ring from his pocket and ceremoniously unlocked the window. Hedwig looked mournful as he tied the parchment to her right leg. With a soft nip on the finger and a disdainful look to Vernon she hopped to the open window and soared off to Order headquarters.
"Those wierdos thought they could frighten me, showed them haven't I boy?" Uncle Vernon spit emphasizing the word "boy," some of it landed on Harry's cheek. Rage radiated from Harry's emerald eyes, and Vernon grasped the opportunity. "Going to do something are you, finally reached the age when you think you can bough up to the man whose put a roof over your head your entire life? I'll show you what we did to ungrateful scum like you in my day," and with that he swung hard with his right hand across Harry's cheek. The problem was that Vernon's right hand was still holding the heavy brass key chain; the impact had cut Harry's face in several places including the eye.
The very next second the walls of the Harry's tiny bedroom began to shake. Harry feared he was doing wandless magic, similar to when he blew up his aunt Marge, grew his hair back, or set the python on Dudley. He did not, however, feel the surging of power inside himself that usually corresponded to his using magic. It was only when he heard breaking glass and Petunia's fearful scream of "who are you?" that Harry began to think that maybe he hadn't been the cause of the commotion that was now engulfing Privet Drive.
Revelations
Harry woke up with a pounding headache. It took him a few moments to realize where he was, and once he did dozens of questions immediately formed in his still foggy brain. Harry is under a stiff linen sheet, on a stiff small bed, in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. How did he get there, what happened to the Dursley's, what happened just now, were some of the more pressing questions Harry had before being interrupted from his hysteria by the calm soothing voice of one Albus Dumbledore.
"Ah, dear Harry, I see that you've woken. If you are not feeling too peeky, I'm afraid we have much to discuss." The headmaster conjured a chair with a flick of his wrist and, sitting at the foot of Harry's bed, patted the boy's leg before beginning. "I'm afraid, Harry, that I must begin with some unpleasant news. Three days ago, your aunt and uncle's house was destroyed."
"Destroyed! But Professor, I was there three days ago, it, it only happened this morning."
"My dear boy," the headmaster continued, "you have been here, at Hogwarts, recovering for 3 full days, I'm afraid its true."
"But sir, I didn't mean to do it, it's just I lost my temper, I was scared, I was…" Harry intended to continue giving excuses as to why he blew up 4 Privet Dr. when he was silenced with a wave of Dumbledore's hand.
"You did not do this Harry. We do know who did it, what we do not know is how they were able to do it. You see Harry, as I explained to you at the end of last term, there are, rather were, certain protections keeping you safe at your Aunt's house. Apparently, those protections failed, and Tom Riddle's minions were able to enter the property. Can you tell me what you remember?"
Harry could not believe his ears, Death Eaters had breeched Privet Drive, could Hogwarts be far behind. His instinct was to question Dumbledore, but the solemn look in the headmaster's face took Harry back, so clearing his throat, he began his narrative of the summer's happenings. He left nothing out of his story, the fake letters, the starving, and finally the hitting. When Harry relayed that particular bit of information, the headmaster stood up immediately, looking as if the mystery had been solved.
"I would not have thought this a possibility Harry, but your Uncle broke the blood protection that was keeping you safe. You see, no matter how poorly had been treated by the Dursley's in the past, you were always physically safe; undernourished and unloved yes, but physically safe. When your uncle struck you, and drew your blood, Privet drive was no longer safe for you from the inside. Suffice it to say, that in one blow, your uncle caused 16 years worth of magic to cave in on itself. The Death Eaters I'm sure took no time in taking advantage of the situation.
"What about the Dursley's sir? If I have been unconscious for three days, what happened to them, and how did I escape the Death Eaters?"
"I shall answer the easiest question first, you escaped Privet Dr. because of the Order, specifically by Mr. Lupin and Ms. Tonks. You see Harry, the wards protecting what was once your relative's house were equipped with a sort of alarm, once the ward's had been breeched, we were notified instantly, and help arrived just as quickly. As for your family (Harry rolled his eyes at the word), your aunt and cousin are doing just fine; they were able to escape to a basement and suffered only minor injuries. Your uncle was not as fortunate. He was hit by a curse which I'm sure was directed at you, the Avada Kedavra."
It was not at all surprising that Harry felt no sorrow at this news. As a matter of fact, he felt a sense of relief, one that he was almost instantly ashamed of. "And the house," he asked, fearing the worst.
"I'm afraid it was complete destroyed. Running to the basement was the only thing that kept your aunt and cousin alive, it took ministry aurors hours to find them. I'm sorry Harry." With that Dumbledore turned to leave but stopped just before the door. "Harry, once you have had a chance to take this all in, there are more things to discuss. Over dinner, perhaps?" Harry nodded silently and the headmaster disappeared from the infirmary.
By mid-afternoon Harry was feeling restless. He had many questions, and he feared what else Dumbledore had to tell him. The first bit of news was a shock, was he saving the biggest bombshell? What else could have happened? Just before his imagination carried him away, Dumbledore again came through the door of the hospital wing. "Come Harry, Poppy assures me you are fully recovered. As most of the staff are on holiday, I believe something more intimate than the Grand Hall is appropriate for dinner, my office?" Harry quickly padded across the hospital floor and followed the headmaster out. In the hall Dumbledore began his singular tale of recent events. "I'm sure Harry, that you have not been allowed the luxury of taking in the Daily prophet?" When Harry shook his head the headmaster continued. "Harry, since your incident at the Ministry of Magic last term, many things have happened very quickly. Several death eaters are now in Azkaban, and Minister Fudge has formally accepted Tom's return. Another side effect is that the members of the Order of the Phoenix who battled Death Eaters that fateful night have been awarded the Order of Merlin, third class."
"That's great," Harry said, wondering what significance that had, and feeling suddenly sorrowful at being reminded of the night his godfather was killed. They had arrived at Dumbledore's office and sat down to a delicious looking place setting. Harry was suddenly ravenously hungry. They ate in silence until finally Dumbledore pushed back his plate and began again.
"Sirius, was not awarded the Order of Merlin for his participation that fateful day, as he was technically an outlaw at the time," Harry's head snapped up at the mention of the name. "However, Remus Lupin was awarded the Order of Merlin. Do you know what this means, Harry?" He didn't, and shook his head as such. "What this means, Harry, is that now, despite the negative stereotypes associated with your former professor's condition, he is a recognized hero. His status in society has gone up, if you will. As a result of this, two procedures were performed on Mr. Lupin. The first was that Remus submitted to a pensieve exam, and the second a sworn Veritaserum induced testimony. Can you guess to what end? Harry dared not hope, but his suddenly bright eyes urged the professor to continue. "Your godfather, Harry, has been officially cleared of any wrong doing, he has been posthumously pardoned." Harry was overjoyed, now the whole wizarding world knew that Sirius was innocent, he sadly wished it could only have come a little sooner. Dumbledore's words shook him from his silent reverie.
"With his name cleared, Sirius' estate can now be addressed. There will be an official reading of the will, which I'm sorry to say, will take place tomorrow morning at the Ministry. I'm afraid your presence will be required, as your name appears in the will. I shall of course accompany you to the proceedings; we shall leave by floo at precicely 8am. You may utilize your normal dormitory for tonight, the password is Wizzard Wheezes.
A mentally exhausted Harry plopped down on his four poster bed shortly after. Several realizations hit him at once. First of all, Professor Lupin, who had been his favorite Defense teacher, was now a hero. And as such he would be able to find the full time employment that had long eluded him. He was also free from the stigma of being a werewolf. This brought Harry complete satisfaction. Noone deserved it more that Lupin. Harry also realized that presumably, everything he owned (which amounted basically to his books, robes, and firebolt) was destroyed along with 4 Privet Drive. He also realized that his Aunt Petunia, who had always been a full time homemaker, was now without her breadwinner. Overall, it was a very disturbed Harry that drifted into an even more disturbed sleep.
