Chapter 2 – Meet Sophie
The next day, Harry was picked up by Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody. They were taking the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place. At this moment, Harry was very much like Mad-eye's surname: Moody. He was very quiet, and this was unusual, seeing as these people were a few of Harry's favorite people. But they knew that Harry was going through and emotional state so they, on their part, left him alone, not forcing him to talk to them.
"It's Grimmauld Place next, Ern," Stan Shunpike, the conductor, called out to Ernie Prang, the driver. When Harry heard this, he felt emotions surge through him. He was excited, anxious, depressed, annoyed and tense. He was about to go where Sirius grew up and live there for the rest of the summer.
He didn't want to go to a place where everything reminded him of Sirius. But then, his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, along with the other Weasleys and the rest of the Order, were going to be there to cheer him up. He felt a bit better when he thought of this, but still felt an unsettling sensation at the pit of his stomach when He, Tonks, Lupin and Moody got down from the bus and made their way to number twelve.
When he entered, he was greeted by Mrs. Weasley, who hugged him tightly. Ron followed and clapped his back. Hermione and Ginny gave him a hug each. Once everyone was done, they all shouted Happy Birthday, bearing gifts. He smiled and felt better. He didn't think of Sirius anymore.
"Hey. How was your summer?" asked Ron. He was smiling, but Harry could tell that he was concerned because of what had happened last term.
"It was alright. The Dursleys ignored me the entire time, and trust me, that was the best thing they've done to me ever," said Harry grinning.
"So…. Have you been, er, thinking much about, er," Hermione started timidly. Harry knew perfectly that she was talking about what had happened last term. Harry shrugged. Something was on his mind though: Why was Hermione the one who was insensitive and stuttering while Ron was the indirect one. Usually, Ron was insensitive and Hermione would roll her eyes at him. But this time, it seemed that the roles were reversed. Ron, however, did not wear the same expression of disgust that Hermione usually wore when he was being insensitive. The expression in Ron's eyes was tender, not exactly the same as Hagrid's misty expression when talking about Madame Maxime or Norbert, but it was affectionate nevertheless, and Harry wondered why he regarded her with such an expression.
All these tiny details Harry chose to ignore, for his brain felt overwhelmed with all the things he was thinking of, not only at that moment, but the entire summer long.
Before he got the chance to reply to what Hermione had said, he felt a gnarled hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Moody looking at him, both the oversized, electric-blue eye and the normal green one fixed upon him. "The Order wishes to speak to Harry," he growled, then looked at the other two. "Alone."
Harry got up and followed Moody, slightly confused. He entered the study to find most of the Order there.
"Harry Potter, meet Sophie Volkova."