Chapter 2: Meanwhile…

Harry Potter was once again, stuck at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's place. And once again, he was bored out of his mind. Torturing Dudley had long since lost its appeal and the letters from Ron and Hermoine--although each endearing and greatly anticipated by Harry--could only keep his attention for a limited amount of time. After reading and rereading each letter, he would settled back into a lethargy that could last for hours on end.

Ever since he had come back from Hogwarts, he had been under house arrest. (Which meant that he could not go to Ron's house.) But this time, it wasn't by his Aunt or Uncle orders, it was by the wishes of the Order of the Pheonix. They wanted him to be safe and secure from the ever growing threat of Lord Voldemort. The fight against which, had turned into an almost full scale war. Unexplained explosions, mysterious murders, and glimpses of people in strange clothing had become commonplace on the muggle news. Of course, the muggles had no idea of what was really going on, but they attempted to understand nevertheless. Secret drug rings, gang wars, and ruptured gas lines were the common reasons behind these incidents. And the majority of muggles seemed to of been buying it.

"Dudley! Supper!" Harry heard his Aunt shriek. Harry got up and made his way downstairs, his mood perking up slightly.

Meals had become one of the only sources of entertainment for Harry during the holidays. It was due mainly in part to the fact that Hedwig was not the only other living thing that Harry had brought home for the holidays. Vowing to protect Harry, "Mad Eye" Moody had taken up temporary residence in the quiet, suburban, magic-free home. And of course, Uncle Vernon was not at all too happy. Meals came with a sort of excited tension; the feeling that something about to explode. And every once in a while, it did.

"AAAAAARGH! Daddy! His eye fell into my soup!"

"Oh. Sorry about that." said Moody, gruffly.

"Sorry? SORRY! Your bloody eye just fell into my son's soup. What if he accidentally ate it?! He could have been poisoned, or at the very least, could of choked to death!" roared Harry's uncle; his face, turning once again to its famous purple color.

"I don't think anyone would want to see the insides of that tub-of-lard." growled Mad eye.

"Daddy!!!"

"You. Take. That. Back."

"Are you threatening me Mr. Dursley?" said Mad eye as he began to stand up. His scarred face coming into clear view. "Because if you are, then let me remind you that I have no qualms with seeing you as a fruit fly for an hour or two."

Mr. Dursley shut up after that, and so did the rest of Dursleys. The thought of magic being done to them was quite frightening. But Harry on the other hand, thought it would be quite funny if Mad Eye actually did turn his uncle into a fruit fly. He spaced out for a moment just thinking about the possibilities. After a minute or two, his brain eventually returned.

"So what has happened in our world today, Mad eye." asked Harry. Harry had asked Mad eye this same question, nearly everyday that he had been back from Hogwarts. Somehow, Mad eye was able to learn about every event that was happening in the wizarding world, even while he was stuck at the Dursleys. Of course, the secret dealings of the Order of the Phoenix were still off-limits, but usually he would have something to say about an attack or two and maybe an important announcement made by the minister of magic. The Dursleys were able to listen to Mad Eye as well, but Harry could tell by Uncle Vernon's loud obnoxious humming, that they were trying their best not to.

"Something weird happened at one of Outposts in Romania." growled Mad eye. "A group of strange, pig-like creatures, armed with swords and armor, attacked a group of our men last night. The creatures were disposed of, but we still don't know what they are…"

'Pig-like? Hmm...Maybe they're some of Dudley's friends,' thought Harry smiling to himself.

"…And it seems that Professor Dumbledore has finally filled the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

"Is it Lupin?" said Harry with his face lighting up. He hoped it was Lupin. Lupin was still the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that Harry had ever had.

"Are you crazy, boy. Lupin is too busy to be teaching. In fact, anyone that is qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts is too busy nowadays."

"Well…then who did Professor Dumbledore get?" Harry asked. Mad eye shrugged.

"Some man going by the name of Professor "Green". Dumbledore didn't seem all that impressed, but I imagine it was the only person he could get with a week before the school term starts."

Harry felt a little disappointed, and he began to hope that this "Green" fellow didn't turn out to be another Gilderoy Lockhart.

"So are you prepared to go back to school, Harry?" asked Mad eye as he was finishing his small portion of Aunt Petunia's roast beef. Harry nodded. He had been ready for weeks. His trunk and all his things were packed and stacked near his bedroom door. Hedwig was still out delivering a final letter to Ron and Hermoine. But Harry knew she would be back in time. Harry could barely wait to get on the train back to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was his home, unlike this awful, evil place.

"Good." grunted Mad eye as he took a big drink from his hip flask. "Oh, and I almost forgot." he then reached inside his traveling coat. (something that he seemed to like wearing everywhere)

"Happy birthday" said Mad eye as he extended a hand containing a small wrapped package. Harry took it and opened it as Dudley looked at him, jealously. Inside, Harry found a dagger. One almost identical to the one that Sirius had given him, but was destroyed when he tried opening a door with it last year.

"I know it isn't Sirius's. But I felt that you needed something other than a few photographs to remind you of him."

Harry smiled sadly at the thought of his dead godfather. Remembering everything that Sirius had done for him in the two years that he knew him, he carefully took the dagger and placed it back in it's case. After he thanked Mad eye, he began to climb upstairs, as a jealous Dudley began to plead with his parents, and his Uncle Vernon continued to hum.

x.x.x.x.x.x. End of Chapter 2 x.x.x.x.x.x.

Short? Yeah, I know it is. But I am really tired right now and I don't feel like adding anymore. But I will take the time to answer a few good questions.

Why isn't Link petrified by all the magic going on?- He's actually been in Britain for awhile now. I'll explain it later in the story.

Wouldn't Zelda be better as a teacher because she can use magic?-I think it's a common misconception that Zelda is the only one that can use magic. Link can use magic too you know. That's what the green bar in the games was for. Din's Fire, Nyrule's Love, Farore's Wind; those were all magic spells, and all the special arrow attacks were magic too. Anyway, I've already read a story where Zelda was a Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, and that basically had her kicking ass in nearly every chapter. It bothered me slightly because it was always Link that saved the day in the games. Zelda was always the one being rescued. (Zelda fanatics please don't hurt me.)

You should a make Link a student instead of a teacher. - Sorry about that. A block of cheese yesterday told me to make Link a teacher. And you never want to see a block of cheese angry….

Ok, I'm done for today. Thank you emilydacat, CrypticElf, Kikyos killer, and Moo for reviewing. I hoped I established the world of Harry Potter firmly in this chapter. I apologize for any spelling and grammatical mistakes. I'm a horrible proofreader.