Chapter 2: - The Burrow
"Give it to me you freak or I'll smash your head in!" Dudley growled as he flexed his fists, for the past hour Harry and his cousin had been fighting, it had began when Dudley had seen Sirius' ring as the Dursleys and Harry sat at the kitchen table for dinner and despite all of Dudley's threats Harry had refused to hand the ring over.
"You shouldn't be allowed anything as nice as that" Dudley said as he chased Harry upstairs onto the landing and aunt Petunia shouted for the boys to play nice, Dudley had only just started on his intimidation routine when the door bell to 4 privet drive rang.
"Give it to me!" Dudley yelled as he pinned Harry to the wall and began using Harry's torso as a punching bag,
"NO!" Harry yelled clenching his fist into a tight ball as Dudley tried to pull the ring off Harry's finger,
"I want it!" Dudley yelled again as the door bell rang once more and uncle Vernon bellowed for the boys to keep the noise down as he went to answer the door
"Who's SB anyway" Dudley demanded a wicked glint in his eyes "Your boyfriend?!"
"No" Harry raged as anger began to bubble within him "It's my godfather"
"The one that's dead?" Dudley asked gleefully
"He isn't dead!" Harry yelled as his cousin held Harry around the throat pinned to the wall and Harry sunk his teeth into Dudley's fat wrist. Dudley screamed at the pain in his wrist as he dropped Harry to the floor and Harry, over come by anger and rage that had been building up within him for the past four weeks released it on Dudley as he jabbed his cousion in the stomach making Dudley double over in pain,
"I thought you- who the-" Harry barely heard his uncle gasp down in the hall as Harry kicked Dudley in the shins making him fall to the floor as he kicked Dudley in the stomach,
"It's mine!" Harry yelled as he kicked Dudley again and again,
"HARRY!!!" Yelled a voice from behind him as feet thundered up the stairs. Harry immediately stopped, his leg half raised poised for another kick into Dudley's ample frame, he knew that voice very well indeed and slowly as a sickening terror filled him Harry turned, he knew who he expect to see but even so seeing him standing behind Remus Lupin his tall figure almost dwarfed by the low ceiling of the landing made Harry pale.
"P-Professor Dumbledore!" Harry gaped
"Remus told me you were given an exquisite ring for your Birthday" Dumbledore asked pleasantly as though he hadn't seen what had just happened or that there wasn't any moaning Dudley lying on the floor in front of his feet. Harry was stunned, his mouth opened and closed but no words came out and before he could fully comprehend what was going on his aunt and uncle thundered up the stairs,
"Now see here Dumbledoors" Vernon's voice called as he reached the top step "we don't take too kindly to you just-"
"Duddies!" Aunt Petunia wailed as she rushed to her son who was still lying on the landing floor, Harry noticed that it was then and only then that Dudley's moaning began to sound pitiful, like a wounded animal.
"What have you done to my boy!" uncle Vernon demanded of Dumbledore and Lupin, "What did you do to him!"
"They didn't do anything!" Harry found himself saying before either Dumbledore or Lupin could say anything, "I did it, and I'd do it again if I had too!" Uncle Vernon was incensed his face reddened and aunt Petunia wailed again as Dudley whimpered pitifully,
"We give you a home, and this is how you repay us!" Vernon yelled as he grabbed Harry around the throat "You've been nothing but trouble since the day your retched parents died!"
"I suggest that you remove your hand from Harry" Harry heard Lupin's voice say calmly and as Vernon turned to look at his addresser Harry could see that Lupin had his wand pointed directly at Vernon.
Vernon immediately released Harry from his grip and after he gave Harry a deathly look, which suggested that next time there wouldn't be a fully grown wizard protecting him. The Dursley all quickly headed downstairs and it wasn't until Dudley's moans had faded into the living room that anyone spoke.
"My ring, is that what you've come for?" Harry demanded of Dumbledore as though the incident with his uncle had never happened
"Harry please" Lupin urged softly,
"NO!" Harry said the anger once more rising, it had been Lupin that had spoken to him but Harry directed his words at Dumbledore as he stared into the tall headmasters eyes "All of last year I was kept on my own here, kept in the dark with you ignoring me when all I needed was to know what was going on and then finally after everything that happened you decide that only Sirius' death was enough to tell me and then you drop this huge bombshell on me and you still expect me to be your loyal lapdog!"
"Harry-" Dumbledore said soothingly
"I don't want to hear it, this is my ring and there's nothing wrong with it!"
"Harry this isn't you talking" Lupin said gently as he placed his hand softly on Harry's shoulder,
"Strange that it's my mouth the words are coming out of!" Harry said savagely as he shrugged Lupin's hand free "You said you wanted to be my friend, But I don't need any friends!" with that Harry stormed into his bedroom slamming the door behind him.
'WHAT DID YOU DO!?' Harry's voice screamed inside his head even though he was angry at Dumbledore there was no need for him to have lashed out at Lupin like he had. From behind the closed door Harry could hear mumbled voices, no doubt belonging to Dumbledore and Lupin as they talked about him
'And why shouldn't they?' the voice said he hadn't exactly been himself, lashing out at Lupin, moping around his room for weeks on end just waiting for something that may or may not happen, no wonder Lupin had been concerned by his quick change in attitude, but why did everyone suspect that Sirius' ring was the course? Why did everyone want to take his ring from him? Besides his firebolt, the racing broom that Sirius had given to Harry as a Christmas present during Harry's third year at Hogwarts, Harry didn't have anything that truly belonged to Sirius. The only picture that he had was one from his parents wedding and even that was very big.
Harry felt his face burning red and his eyes growing moist as slowly his vision blurred and his hands shook as the rage that had built up within him released in a torrent of tears.
"What's wrong with me?" Harry mumbled to himself as he buried his head into his knees, his moods where changing faster then a Streeler could change colour.
"Get up!" uncle Vernon yelled the following morning as he banged on Harry's bedroom door. The blows reverberated through Harry's entire body and his head hit the back of the door making Harry groan. Exhausted Harry had fallen asleep where he had sat the previous night, barring his bedroom door. Slowly as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with one hand and the back of his head with the other Harry got to his feet. His wrist watch read 06:00.
"What's going on?" Harry asked as he opened his bedroom door,
"I want you dressed and packed and down these stairs in half an hour boy!" roared uncle Vernon his voice hard and cruel. Harry didn't understand what was going on, he could hear his aunt and uncle's voices as they talked in the entrance hall but he couldn't make out any of the words. A sickening feeling filled Harry's stomach as he heard his uncle head outside towards his car. Why at six in the morning was uncle Vernon preparing his car for a long journey? It was Friday and usually on a work day Vernon Dursley wouldn't have been awake for another hour, as it only takes twenty minutes to drive to Grunnings drills, the place where Vernon Dursley had worked his entire adult life. And why did Harry have to pack?
"Am I leaving?" Harry asked and was startled by the alarm that was in his voice "But where to?"
"Just get packet!" Aunt Petunia called as she hurried into the kitchen. It took Harry five minutes to get washed, pull on new jeans and Tonks' T-shirt and other five minutes to empty the contents of his wardrobe into his school trunk along with homework, firebolt, birthday presents and cards. By ten past six Harry was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, Hedwig's cage in one hand and his other holding a handle to his trunk.
"Put them in the car" uncle Vernon growled as he opened the front door and aunt Petunia hurried after her husband carrying a flask of tea and a plastic container full of sandwiches,
"Why?" Harry asked nervously as he dragged his trunk and Cage out onto the drive. It was evident by his uncle's tone that he hadn't forgotten what had happened the previous night between Harry and Dudley, and obviously, Harry thought, it had been Dudley's version of events that had been taken as being entirely true.
"Because you're to go to that horrid weasel family" aunt Petunia said her noise wrinkling at the thought as though a bad smell had suddenly drifted passed.
"How come?" Harry asked and instantly regretted the question as his uncle turned on him
"Because that Dumbledoors freak said so! Now shut up and get in the car!" Vernon Dursley roared. Harry, muttering the correct pronunciation of his headmaster's name under his breath stored his trunk in the cars boot and placed Hedwig and her cage in the backseat. Harry then climbed in next to her.
His uncle lowered his vast frame into the drivers seat and began to back the car out of the drive, as Harry turned to reach for his seatbelt for a split second and just out of the corner of his eye he saw the same dark figure that he had done the previous night. But has Harry twisted in his seat to get a better view he heard a loud CRACK.
"Damned exhaust" Harry's uncle grumbled as he changed gears, but Harry had heard that noise lots of times before and he knew that it was no car backfiring. It belonged to a witch or wizard Apparating. Someone had been watching him! Harry knew that know, the cloaked figure in the lamplight hadn't been a figment of his imagination they had been real. The question now was which side where they on? Where they a member of the order that Dumbledore had sent to keep an eye on him? Or was they truly a deatheater as their dark cloak had suggested?
Harry was left to ponder this on his journey to the Burrow, the name that Mr and Mrs Weasley had called their oddly shaped home. The journey took the best part of the day and it was very uncomfortable driving with uncle Vernon as neither Harry nor his uncle made any attempt at making a conversation and the silence was stifling. Only the tiny voices of the radio provided alleviation, that and the scenery.
Harry had only travelled to the Burrow twice since he had been friends with Ron once by flying car and the second time was by Floo powder, Magical dust that allowed people to travel via magical fire places. In both cases the journey had taken a fraction of the time that normal travelling did.
The Journey was made even more unbearable by the fact that Harry really wanted to know what had changed Dumbledore's mind, in all of Lupin's visits Lupin had always insisted that there wasn't any possibility of Harry leaving Privet drive prior to his going back to Hogwarts and that Privet drive was the only place that Harry could be safe from Voldemort.
'Surly this wasn't all because of his ring?' Harry thought as the sky outside the car began to fade and the cars headlights had to be turned on.
It was pitch black when finally uncle Vernon stopped the car in the lane a little way from the Burrow,
"Well?" He snapped "You're here get out" Harry did as he was told. He dragged Hedwig and her cage out of the car spilling a few droppings on the seat covers and left her besides the hedgerow as he retrieved his trunk from the cars boot. As soon as the boot was closed uncle Vernon took off leaving Harry standing in the dark lane. Harry now wished he had chosen to wear Hermione's present rather then the ripped one that Tonks had sent him as the cold summer breeze froze him to the core.
"Thanks for the lift!" Harry called sarcastically; his teeth chattering as he watched the car follow the narrow lane until its lights became obscured by the twisting hedge as Vernon Dursley went in search of the motorway.
Hedwig hooted in protest as Harry pulled her cage up under his arm and taking hold of one of the trunks handles hoisted it on its end. It wasn't no more then a hundred meters to the gate that separated the Weasley's home from the dark lane but with Hedwig screeching indignantly with every step and his heavy cumbersome trunk sinking into the muddy track Harry was finding it very hard going.
"Be quiet Hedwig" Harry pleaded as Hedwig screeched and rattled the bars of her cage almost franticly "Hedwig you're not helping!" Hedwig's huge wigs beat against her cage hitting the bars, the force toppled Harry over and he had no choice but to drop Hedwig unceremoniously to the ground as he flung his hands out to prevent himself falling flat on his face. Noisily Hedwig's caged bounced and rattled as it rolled into the hedgerow coursing Hedwig to screech even more.
"Thanks Hed" Harry grumbled, as he stood and wiped his muddy hands onto the legs of his jeans. In the darkness Hedwig's cage was barely noticeable as it lay amongst the ruff ground and low branches of the hedge. But even if Harry wasn't able to have seen an inch in front of his face Hedwig was making enough noise to be easily located.
"All right! All right! Calm down will you" Harry called as he headed towards Hedwig "I'm coming! This is your fault you anyway, you do know that don't you?" as he got closer Harry could see that Hedwig's cage had rolled onto its side and that Hedwig was now standing on what had only a few seconds ago been the side of the cage, her feet sinking into the sludge and her beautiful snow white feathers where now wet and thick with mud as she still continued her screeching and her frantic wing flapping.
"What's gotten into you?" Harry asked as he crouched low and fumbled for cages handle, but no sooner had he got the cages handle in his hand, then he realised what was making Hedwig so frenzied. Deep within the hedgerow and directly in front of him where two large bright yellow eyes looking out at him
"Arrrghhh!" Harry yelled in fright as he fell backwards and Hedwig screeched even louder, the eyes in the hedgerow narrowed at the noise and slowly the creature began to move forwards Harry pushed himself backwards across the muddy lane distancing himself from the creature as it emerged from its hiding place, Where Harry saw much to his relief that the creature wasn't anything more threatening than an overly large old tabby cat.
"HARRY!" Called voices from the direction of the burrow as green lights suddenly rushed out into the lane, turning his head Harry could see Mr Weasley, Bill and Fred and George hurrying towards him holding their illuminated wands high as Ron followed behind.
"Harry are you alright?" Mr Weasley called as all the Weasleys quickened their pace at the sight of Harry in the middle of the lane.
"I'm fine" Harry called as he looked back towards Hedwig and the cat as it sniffed at her cage,
"What you doing down there, mate?" Fred asked as finally the Weasleys gathered around Harry and their illuminated wands cast the surrounding area in light.
"Shoo!" Ron hissed at the cat, which looked up at the people around it as though it regarded them all as insignificant pests that had spoilt its fun and then as slowly as it had appeared it headed back into the hedgerow, its lion shaped tail held high.
"That" Harry said nodding his head towards the place in the hedge where the cat had disappeared "scared Hedwig half too death. I lost my balance and I fell"
"Where was your uncle?" Mr Weasley enquired as he helped Harry to his feet
"Oh, he'd driven off by then" Harry relied; Mr Weasley didn't look very impressed. Neither Mr nor Mrs Weasley had ever criticised the way that the Dursleys had looked after Harry but it was obvious from the time that Harry had spent with the Weasley family that neither Mr nor Mrs Weasley preferred the way that Harry was treated by his only living blood relations. And the look on Mr Weasleys face showed that he didn't quite like the idea of Vernon Dursley dumping Harry in the middle of a dark secluded lane, no matter how close to his final destination it had been.
"Come on Harry lets get you cleaned up" Bill called as he picked up a still screeching Hedwig and cage and the twins carried the trunk between them. Harry was welcomed at the entrance of Burrow by Mrs Weasley and Ginny who was standing in the porch light. Mrs Weasley smiled as she saw Harry and the rest of her family and she hurried across the small front yard beckoning them all inside the house.
It wasn't until the noise of the owl's cries had faded and the lights that had been cast by the wands had gone that the cat finally re-emerged from the hedgerow. It purred softly as it moved towards a large oak tree where, on the lowest branch that over hung the lane and looking directly towards the Weasley family home stood a large grey bird. The bird stretched it's wings and glided soundlessly to the ground where, before it's feet had even touched the wet soil it had transformed into a tall cloaked figure.
"Scaring owls again? Shame on you" The figure chastised the cat as it purred even louder and the figure stooped and picked the old cat up and both owner and animal continued their vigil.
"Oh Harry, dear, are you alright?" Mrs Weasley fussed as she guided Harry inside the house "What happened? You're all muddy and your T-shirts torn-" she said concerned, plucking at a designer tear and pulling a thread from the T-shirts purposefully frayed hem.
Harry hadn't the heart to tell Mrs Weasley that he had been scared by a moth bitten old cat and that the T-Shit had been made that way and by the looks on Ron, Bill and the twins faces neither did they, it was Mr Weasley that spoke,
"He's quite alright Molly, dear. Just let's get everyone inside and we'll have a nice hot tea." Mrs Weasley guided Harry towards the kitchen while Mr Weasley and Bill waited for the rest of the family to enter the house. Harry could hear Mr Weasley's and Bill's voices out in the hallway as Mrs Weasley lead Harry towards the large open Kitchen fire that was crackling happily in it's hearth.
Harry warmed himself as he strained his ears trying to listen to the voices but he couldn't make out any words over the din of the Weasley children's feet as Ron, Fred, George and Ginny followed their mother and Harry into the kitchen. Heavy wooden chairs scrapped on the tiled floor as Harry finally gave up listening and turned to look at the Weasley's.
"I bet you're starving Harry dear" Mrs Weasley called as she began preparing a meal by braking three large eggs into a frying pan and pointing her wand at a cupboard on the wall where a plate suddenly whizzed onto the large scrubbed kitchen table.
"I guess I am a little hungry" Harry lied. In truth he was starving as he hadn't eaten all day, because even though aunt petunia had made sandwiches for her husband to eat on his journey he had refused to share any with Harry and in the rush of leaving privet drive Harry hadn't even had any breakfast.
"I'm hungry too" Ron chimed and received a withering look from Ginny,
"You only ate an hour ago"
"Yeah but I'm working now, I've got to keep my strength up haven't I?" Ron reproached in a tone that suggested this was obvious.
"You've got a job?" Harry asked amazed and wondered why his best friend had never written to tell him such good news. But as soon as Harry thought this he remembered the still unopened letters that now lay in his trunk which Ron and Hermione had written him over the holidays.
In light of Ron's news Harry couldn't even begin to guess the things that his friends may have written, Harry had thought he had known what his friends letters contained, Ron's would have glazed over the events of the night in the ministry where Sirius had fallen through the vial, his letters and would have mentioned the weather and Quidditch. Where Hermione would have encouraged Harry to talk about his feelings and explained that death was a natural part of life. At the time Harry hadn't wanted to know, he hadn't wanted his friends pity or sympathy, but now? Now Harry had realised that just like last year when he had been separated from his friends, he had missed so much. Ron was obviously moving on with his life and Harry? Harry still didn't know how long his would last.
"I did write to tell you" Ron said feebly cutting across Harry's darkening thoughts, as Harry looked down at his hands,They were covered thickly in mud but the knowledge that he still wore Sirius' ring brought a smile to Harry's face.
"I'm glad for you" Harry said and he truly was
"It's a really great job, Harry" Ron said enthusiastically, obviously pleased that Harry was pleased,
"No it isn't" Fred contradicted, as Ginny grinned and Ron tried his hardest to ignore the twins
"The pay's really good too"
"No it's not!" George said
"And the works really rewarding and I was obviously the best candidate for the job"
"No you weren't!" George protested
"We only gave you a job because mum told us too!" Fred finished in the same tone as his twin as Ginny laughed silently and Ron's face turned red.
"He works at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes with us and Lee Jordan" George continued as he explained to Harry, "Business has been booming ever since we first opened"
"We took on Lee to manage the store while we worked on making products" Fred continued,
"But as soon as the Holidays started demands been constantly high and Lee couldn't cope with sales on his own"
"So we took on cheap labour" George said grinning as his looked at his younger brother and sister
"You're working too?" Harry asked Ginny
"Well the wage is actually quite fair" Ginny said smiling
"Fair!" Fred gasped in mock offence "A Galleon a day is more then fair!"
"Zonko's only pay their staff seventeen sickles a day" George said knowingly "You should come see the store Harry, you'll like it after all you made it all possible"
"What?" Ron said shocked
"Possible by encouragement little brother, by encouragement" Fred growled as he stared daggers at his twin for his loose tongue. No one but Harry, Fred and George had truly known where the money had come from to set up the twins shop and Harry hadn't wanted anyone to know who the twins' benefactor was. But Ron although looking slightly confused seemed to have bought Fred's explanation. Ginny on the other hand stared at Harry in complete understanding but if she was tempted to question Fred's explanation further she wasn't given the chance as Mr Weasley and Bill entered the kitchen.
"I think Hedwig is calming down now" Bill called as he removed the snowy Owl from her muddy cage and placed her gently onto the perch next to Errol the Weasley's family Owl. Bill then began cleaning Hedwig's dirty feathers using a spell from his wand,
"She really didn't like that cat did she Harry?" Mr Weasley asked lightly as he strode to a vacant chair and stored his wand in his robes pocket.
"No" Harry relied as he remembered the events of the night
"We've introduce three new products last week" Fred said eagerly "Really their just rejected ideas for the skiving sick boxes, but we've introduced them has trick sweets"
"And if business continues we've got plans for expansion later on in the summer" George said happily,
"Tea Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked cutting across her son
"Err please Mrs W-" Harry began before,
"Business is really booming Harry. It's better then we could ever imagine"
"Be quiet boys" Mrs Weasley called, and much to Harry's relief the twins fell silent,
"Come and sit down, Harry" Mr Weasley said indicating the chair next to him where the magically moved plate lay as Mrs Weasley dished fried food onto it and then began handing plates to her children,
"You should really wash up first, Harry dear" she said indicating his still muddy hands,
"Oh Yeah" Harry said, His mind was half trying to focus on the things that where happening around him and half on the nagging feeling that some how, some where something wasn't completely right. Maybe it was the fact that he was hungry that was making him feel this way? Harry thought or maybe the image of the figure that he had now seen twice outside privet drive was still bothering him? Or maybe it wasn't anything at all Harry thought as he headed towards the kitchen's small ceramic sink to wash his hands.
"Harry, Did Lupin tell you that the ministry has issued even more educational decrees over the summer?" Bill called, breaking the silence that had fallen on the room.
"No" Harry replied as he turned and dried his hands on a towel that Mrs Weasley gave him.
"It's a really good one this time, mate!" Fred called cheerfully
"It's the only good thing the ministry has ever done!" George echoed after his twin
"Makes you wish you could return doesn't?" Fred said
"Definitely" George said enthusiastically "Especially now that all Teachers have to apply for teaching licenses"
"Which means that they all have to take exams to prove that they are able to teach to approved ministry standards!" Fred called cheerfully
"It isn't a laughing matter boys" Mrs Weasley chastised her sons "Now eat, you must be famished" she directed this last part to Harry as she guided him towards the plate of food.
"Apparently they'll all have to take exams or something" George continued ignoring his mother
"And Dumbledore was furious when he found out. He thought that the ministry had finished messing around with Hogwarts, especially now that every one knows you-know-who is back" Fred said.
Fred just like his family and the rest of the wizarding world all referred to Voldemort as You-know-who, Despite the fact that as members of the order of phoenix they we're all encouraged to say Voldemort's name properly, but just like the rest of the wizarding world the Weasley's had all grown up fearing Voldemort and so never spoke his true name.
"It's awful Harry" Ginny said softly "Poor professor McGonagall, it must be very degrading for her, taking exams at her age just to prove she can teach properly, even though she's been teaching all her life!"
"Can you imagine Snape sitting an exam?" Fred called as he, George and Ron laughed. Harry knew that they were only making conversation for his benefit but Harry didn't have to imagine how Snape would have looked taking an exam, Harry could remember.
It wasn't his memory; not really, it was a memory that had belonged to Snape himself. A private memory that Snape had never wanted anyone to see but Harry had. It had happened months ago now, when Harry had been forced to take lessons on Occlumency, a form of magic where the caster could close their minds from outside penetration, But Harry had failed to master it and because of that he had been drawn to the very bowls of the Ministry of magic by Voldemort where Voldemort had tricked him into retrieving the prophecy that had foretold of Voldemort's defeat or Harry's death. But the skirmish that had taken place between order members and Deatheaters had denied Voldemort the full knowledge of the prophecy and Harry had once more been denied a home with his godfather.
"Eat" Harry heard Mrs Weasley urge as he pulled himself away from his thoughts to see that he wasn't the only person at the table who had a plate full of Fried eggs, bacon, fried bread and tomatoes.
"It gud to 'ave oo 'ack" Ron said through a mouth full of food and Harry smiled at his best friend, Harry was glad to be back at the Burrow even though he still didn't understand why Dumbledore had sent him there.
"That's a very handsome ring you've got there Harry" Mr Weasley said in his kind and fatherly voice, Harry instinctively snatched his ring hand out of view and cursed himself for being so stupid.
How he had been so blind Harry didn't know! Mr Weasley worked as an inspector for the misuse of Muggle artefacts department within the ministry of magic; of course Dumbledore would send him to the Burrow; it wasn't so Harry could be amongst friends or that Harry would be well looked after! It was purely because Dumbledore wanted his ring, Sirius' ring!
"There's nothing wrong with it" Harry snapped as the room suddenly fell silent and all heads turned to look at him and Mr Weasley
"Well of course there isn't" Mr Weasley said happily "I never implied there was, it's just such a nice looking ring"
The Weasley family's conversation started once more but throughout the meal Harry could feel that Mr Weasley's eyes where still on him.
