Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine J). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah....forget it & let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS
Chapter 3 – Occulmency & Decisions
Harry did as he was told. What he saw left him speechless. His eyes grew wide at the scene. Above a house, there hung a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding out of it's mouth like a tongue. The whole thing was blazing in a haze of greenish smoke. The Dark Mark was above no. 4 Privet Drive.
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Harry lay there beside Tonks & looked with bewilderment at what he was seeing. "What was the dark mark doing over his 'home'? Was Voldemort here? No, that cannot happen. Dumbledore always said that this place was always the safest one for him (at least, to stay alive if not for anything else). But then…" Suddenly he came back to reality from his thoughts.
"Tonks, the Dursley's are in there. Are they safe?" even though Harry never felt any 'love' for his guardians, he never wanted them in the hands of anyone like Voldemort.
"Tonks, you ok?" Harry asked again because he got no answer from her to his previous question. But he knew Tonks was there; he could feel her body pressed against his, still very tense. Still, no reply. This was starting to get a bit on Harry's nerves.
"Tonks, you sit here & keep watch while I go and have a look at the Dursley's" Harry's voice was very sarcastic when he said this. He just couldn't believe that Tonks was just staying there and not doing anything to help the Durley's. This seemed to bring Tonks back to her senses.
"You are going nowhere unless I let you go." Tonks grip tightened around Harry's arms. "Just keep still."
"Yeah, keep still…nice thing to do when your relatives may be in the hands of Voldemort." Harry could feel Tonks flinch at this name. "You sound just like Dumbledore. What's the problem with you people? Don't you value any other people's lives other than mine?" he felt sick at being given this special treatment. He never asked for all this bodyguard stuff. He had dueled against Voldemort without anyone holding him back. And for the record, he had managed to escape alive all the times, a record which not many people had lived to tell. Still everyone had to treat him like a child. "Ok. Very nice. I will just wait here with you till we start hearing the Dursley's screaming with pain. Maybe they will be cruciated first. Who knows, maybe you will even be able to enjoy it." He felt Tonks getting a bit uncomfortable due to his scathing remarks and somehow it felt nice to him.
Suddenly Harry felt Tonks relax beside him. She breathed a deep sigh of relief. "What happened, did you see the green light hitting all of them? Is their torture over?" Harry knew that he was going a bit overboard but he just couldn't stop himself. Tonks didn't reply to his questions. Obviously, she didn't like these questions very much added to the fact she didn't have enough courage to answer him without her voice quavering a bit. She was just too nervous at what had just happened.
Suddenly Harry could understand why Tonks grip had relaxed a bit. A figure, dressed in white from head to toe & having long silvery hair and a silvery beard was walking towards the house. More 'pops' announced the arrival of more people. Dumbledore and some of the Order members had arrived at the scene.
At seeing Dumbledore, Harry also got over his nervousness a bit. He had been literally tearing into Tonks with his scathing remarks. He even felt a bit sorry for her. Many a great wizard had trembled at the sight of the dark mark so Tonks reaction was pretty obvious. But Harry didn't feel like apologizing to her or doing anything of that sort. Rather he was beginning to get angrier, not at Tonks, but rather at Dumbledore. Dumbledore, the great protector of Harry, who kept his every move in view, maybe even kept a watch on what he ate. Everyone knew, he could do anything to keep Harry safe. Maybe if he assumed that Azkaban would be safe for Harry, then he would even put Harry in Azkaban. Harry had been fed up with Dumbledore's measures to keep him safe. The fact that others were now getting in far great danger, because of him, was making him quite angry. Maybe he didn't care for the Dursley's much, but he did care for his friends at Hogwarts.
"Get up. I think Dumbledore has the situation under control" Tonks whispered as she saw Dumbledore vanish the dark mark with a swish of his wand.
Harry got his anger in his control and got up on his feet as Tonks was taking off her invisibility cloak. She then got hold of one his arms and started walking towards the house.
"Who's there?" asked a threatening voice.
"It's me, Tonks. Got the hot-headed scar-boy with me." Apparently Tonks had not taken too well to Harry's remarks but Harry couldn't care less.
As the man stepped into light Harry was relieved to see a tired looking Remus with his wand pointing towards them. Remus's stare softened as soon as he saw Harry coming towards him.
"Thank god you are safe. I was so worried." Harry knew that the relief in Remus's voice was genuine. Remus was the one who had also lost too many people. Firstly, he had lost a normal life when he was bitten by a werewolf. Later, he lost James, then Peter was lost to Voldemort & lastly he lost his last remaining friend Sirius. Harry seemed to be his last remaining reason to live and he just couldn't bear the thought of losing Harry. Tonight's events seemed to have started taking a toll on Remus. He had feared that he had really lost Harry. But on seeing Harry alive and unharmed, some color started to come back in his face.
"Hello Remus. Sorry I got you so worried." If there was one person whom Harry didn't want to hurt in any way, that was Remus. He knew that Remus was still mourning Sirius's loss and tonight's events had shaken him up quite a bit.
"It's ok now that you are safe. We should get you out of here. Get your things packed." Suddenly Remus seemed very much businesslike.
"Hold on a minute. Let me talk to Dumbledore first. I have to know whats going on." Harry replied.
"Ok. Lets go inside."
As Harry was going in he looked around to see about 10 Order members guarding his home from every possible angle. If his eyes were not mistaken, then there was a cat behind one of the bushes on the other side of the road. Suddenly, hoping against hope, he looked around to see if a big black dog was anywhere nearby. Alas, no dog was in sight.
Remus seemed to have guessed Harry's intentions. "C'mon Harry" he said giving Harry a squeeze on his shoulder. Harry suddenly realized that he had been standing at the door for about a minute now without moving an inch. With a sigh he pushed open the door & walked inside not noticing Remus holding back a bit to wipe a single tear from his eyes. Oh, how much Remus hoped that Sirius had been there and he, Sirius & Harry could live peacefully somewhere. But…
Moving inside Harry found Dudley & Uncle Vernon sitting on the dining table looking very pale. Dudley seemed like he would be transformed into a pig at any moment. The look on Uncle Vernon's face when he saw Harry was one of fear and absolute loathing. He stared at Harry for quite some time before noticing that there was another person with Harry. In fact, Remus had been standing there & studying the look on Harry's uncle's face. "How can Dumbledore leave Harry at the hands of these people?" Remus found no answer to this question. He shuddered to think what Harry would face if he was left behind with his relatives.
Suddenly, Dumbledore came into sight followed by Petunia Dursley. Obviously both of them had been talking ever since Dumbledore had arrived there. Aunt Petunia's eyes were a bit red but Harry seemed to have not taken any notice of that.
"Professor, what happened here? Who shot up that mark? Wasn't this the safest place for me to stay?" questions came pouring out of Harry's mouth. He had his anger under his control but his voice seemed to have an edge to it.
"Well Harry, I don't think now is the right time & place to talk about it. I think we should get you to a safe place where your questions can be answered properly." Dumbledore answered matter-of-factly. Before Harry could protest Dumbledore turned to Remus and said "You and Tonks take Harry to a safe place and wait for me" Remus nodded in understanding and took Harry to his room. Within a few minutes, they had packed Harry's things and were out of the door.
"Tonks…TONKS!!!"
"oh Remus…sorry, I was just talking to Dung" Tonks replied as she came running up to them.
"We have to take Harry to a safe place. Dumbledore asked both of us to go along with him." Remus didn't notice the frown on Tonks face as he said this.
"So our wonder-boy needs 2 escorts, does he?" a cold voice said from behind.
"Did your lord send you to spy on me?" Harry turned around to face the person who was the number 3. on his most-hated list (the first 2 were Voldemort & Wormtail).
"Severus, don't start anything now. We have to get Harry moving now." Remus interrupted before Snape could answer Harry which was a good thing seeing the look on Snape's face. If looks could kiil, then Snape would have killed Harry then and there.
Several pop's around them announced the arrival of ministry aurors. Before anyone could move, Remus stuck out his wand.
BANG. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt separating the ministry aurors from Harry, Remus & Tonks. Many of the aurors fell over trying to get out of the way of the bus. Also, Harry flattened his hair to cover up his scar.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch
or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take
you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be
your conductor this evening." This voice rang out as the door of the Knight Bus opened to reveal a lad who was around 21. "Oh, Neville. Nice to see you again. Are these pals of yours?"
Tonks and Remus stared at Harry for a moment. "Neville!!".
"Yeah Stan, can you just get us off here REAL quick? I'll pay you as soon as we are off. Please hurry." Harry said as he hopped in followed by Tonks and Remus.
"Sure can. Hey Ern, take 'er away." Ernie Prang, an elderly wizard wearing very thick glasses & who drove the Knight Bus, nodded even as he could see some of the ministry aurors rushing around the back of the bus.
There was another tremendous BANG, and the next moment Harry, Tonks & Remus found themselves flat on the floor, thrown backward by the speed of the Knight Bus. Some of the aurors on the road fell back in a reaction to the sound.
As the newest passengers were pulling himself up, they heard Stan ask "So, where are you off to?".
"1, Grimmauld Place." It was Remus who replied.
"It'll be 13 sickles for each. Why don't you get yourselves a bed while Neville here can pay the fare." Stan said.
Both Tonks & Remus were for the nearest empty beds while Harry paid Stan the money plus an extra galleon for keeping his request. Stan looked very happy at that. "Gee, thanks Neville, that's very kind of you. So why were there so many wizards out there? It wasn't anything serious was it?" Stan voice suddenly became serious.
Harry could feel the indirect reference to Voldemort in Stan's question. "No Stan, just a bit of misunderstanding. You know how our minister is, jumps at anything which can guarantee him some good publicity" Harry said in a monotonous tone as he got to his bed. Stan nodded his head apparently satisfied with the answer. "How long will it take us to get there?" Harry diverted the conversation away from the topic on hand.
"Well, 'u should be there in about 25 minutes, what do you say Ern?" Ern nodded in reply.
"Thanks Stan. You and Ernie are always very helpful." This statement apparently suggested that Harry wanted to finish off the conversation. Stan seemed to get the hint and just said "'u are welcome, Neville".
"Why does he call you Neville?" apparently, curiosity had got the better of Tonks's anger.
"Well, I had used this bus to – well – go to the Leaky Cauldron in my second year and didn't want to give away my identity."
"Does Neville know?" this time it was Remus.
"No. And hopefully he won't." Harry chuckled at the thought of the expression on Stan's face if he found 'another' Neville around.
Just as Ern took the bus around a tight curve which resulted in some houses jumping out of the way (& Tonks screaming), Harry looked around to see the bus was empty except for them.
"1, Grimmauld Place in 1 minutes time." Harry thought that Stan's voice seemed like that of a football commentator. Obviously, Stan had grown quite a bit from the last time Harry had seen him. Also, his voice had changed a bit.
Harry & Remus got to their feet and managed to get hold of a rod when the bus screeched to a halt. Tonks, who had been less lucky, was thrown off her feet and slided towards the front of the bus. She got up cursing herself under her breath. Both Remus and Harry smiled to each other. Even though everyone knew that Tonks had a habit of stumbling over things (or whatever it was on her path), she made each of the cases look very unique.
"Here you go. Nice having you and your friends, Neville."
"Nice to see you - and Ern once again, Stan." This comment from Harry seemed to broaden the smile on Stan's face. Another loud BANG and the Knight Bus was off.
"Ok, get moving fast" Remus was looking around him just to make sure no one else was there.
Soon all of them reached 12, Grimmauld Place which was the headquarters of the Order of Phoenix. Harry went in after Tonks (who stumbled again at the entrance) and Remus brought up the back. As soon as Harry entered the house, he expected Sirius to run out to meet him. But today, there was no Sirius. He sighed and started to move towards the dining room while the photograph of Sirius's mother started screaming at them. Harry turned to Remus & asked "You guys could do nothing to shut her up?"
Remus shook his head and said "All of us have tried, even Dumbledore, but no one can shut her up or take off the photograph from the wall"
Harry pondered on this for a second and said "If no one can take her off the wall, then take the wall off" which resulted in Remus & Tonks getting confused. "I mean, she is attached to the plaster on the wall. Just take off the plaster"
Suddenly the portrait became quite as the meaning of Harry's words became clear to all present. They both looked at Harry as if Harry had grown brains as big as pumpkins.
"Don't look at me like that. It's called common sense" with that Harry turned away to find something.
Remus & Tonks nodded and within seconds they had taken of the painting along with quite a bit of the plaster.
"When you guys are done, just bring her in here." shouted Harry from the dining room. Inside, they found Harry with a bottle of whiskey.
"Hey, you are not supposed to drink that stuff" Tonks said with an edge to her voice. Apparently, she was still a bit angry with Harry & also was a bit tired.
Harry just smiled and asked "You guys know some good cleaning spells, right?" Remus nodded in agreement while Tonks stayed still. "Just place the photograph here." Harry said pointing to a place before him. They did as they were told. Harry opened up the bottle of whiskey & poured it over the photograph which was now constantly shouting "NO, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME"
"Oh yeah, we can" said Harry quietly. Remus, who by this time had got hold of the idea, was standing with his wand ready. When Harry nodded, he muttered something which lead to a tiny red light been emitted from his wand. The light hit the photograph which started to burn. After about 5 ear-shattering minutes, all that remained of the photograph was some black ashes. Remus cleared this up with just a swish of his wand.
"Is Kreacher still here?" Harry's voice sounded so cold and full of hatred that both Tonks and Remus were startled. Not getting a reply Harry asked once again "Is – Kreacher – still - here?" this time more slowly to make his intent clear. If Kreacher was still here then Remus would have to clear up some more ashes.
"No Harry, he went to serve Bellatrix." It was Remus who replied since Tonks was still staring at Harry. No one had ever heard of so much hatred in Harry's voice, not even when he spoke of Voldemort.
"You sure?" Harry asked not believing he won't be getting a chance to get even with Kreacher though he was only a house-elf. Remus just nodded his head.
"Ok. I just hope that Bellatrix does not kill him." Remus still looked grimly at Harry while Tonks shuddered at this 'wishful' thinking of Harry. Remus seemed thoughtful. This Harry didn't seem to be the one which he knew. This Harry seemed to be too eager to take revenge. But, then again, the day Sirius had died, Remus had come back here with the same intention but had found that Kreacher had escaped.
"Ok. Everyone wait here while I go and have a look whether Dobby is here or not" Tonks broke the uneasy silence. Soon Tonks was back.
"Hey Tonks" Tonks looked up "I am sorry for whatever I said. I mean, I know what I meant but I didn't want to make it personal." Harry looked Tonks dead in the eye when he said this. Tonks just nodded her head in understanding.
"What was that about?" Remus seemed perplexed.
"Well, when I saw the dark mark over my home, Tonks held me back – for my own good. Well, let's say that nowadays, I do not like to be held back by others & I just let off some steam." Remus silently listened to it.
"Hey, you don't know a simple cleaning spell?" Harry asked Tonks and managed to change the direction of the conversation.
"Well, mom does that. I just…well…" Tonks seemed embarrassed. Remus & Harry both laughed at Tonks's embarrassment making the environment light at the expense of Tonks.
"Ok, OK…I will learn it. Tell me the incantation Remus." But Remus reacted as if he had heard nothing. This went on for about 5 minutes until everybody felt hungry. "Ok Dobby, bring it on." Tonks shouted towards the kitchen. Soon everyone was busy eating.
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"So, what happened tonight?" was the first question Dumbledore asked when he came in with Moddy, McGonagall and Snape. This was quite unlike Dumbledore because he always used to first ask Harry how he was or how he was feeling. So this is what Dumbledore is like when he is proved wrong, Harry thought. This is the Dumbledore who cares more for Harry Potter than just for Harry. Also, there was no twinkling in his eyes today.
Tonks filled them up with the details (including Harry's scar-attack as Tonks described it) leaving out the part of the one-way conversation that Harry had with her. Harry felt grateful to her but he wasn't afraid of anything which she might have said about him. After all, they were his true feelings and why should he bother hiding them.
"Now Harry…" Dumbledore looked around at Harry after he was satisfied with Tonks's update of the scenario.
"No professor. Let me ask you something." Harry interjected much to the astonishment of everybody there. No student had ever talked to the headmaster in the tone in which Harry spoke.
Dumbledore said nothing & just nodded.
"Are the Dursley's ok?" even Harry felt surprised that this was his first question. Dumbledore just nodded. Seeing that he wouldn't be able to get much more out of Dumbledore in this fashion, Harry decided that this had to be a point-to-point question/answer round for Dumbledore.
"What did they say about this…and about me?"
"Well, they were very scared, especially your Aunt. She has an idea of what that mark means. Also, they never want to see you again."
"Good" Harry felt grateful that at least something good had come out of this whole thing. "Then inform them that their wish will be fulfilled." Dumbledore didn't say anything about this.
"What about the ministry aurors? How did they come to know about this?"
"Well Harry, the ministry has special magical objects which can identify the appearance of the mark. They are kind of the radar like things which the muggles use. So that answers your questions, right?" Dumbledore was trying to get down to his questions now.
"No professor. There are some more. Hopefully, you don't mind." Professor McGonagall looked shocked at this statement and pursed her lips. The others also seemed surprised. Everyone knew that Dumbledore cared for Harry very much and they didn't expect these kind of remarks from Harry.
"What did Fudge say?"
"Well, the minister wanted to know where you are. Some of the aurors had reported that they had seen you get on the Knight Bus in front of them. I just informed him that you were at a safe location."
SAFE. Privet Drive was supposed to be safe too. But Harry decided to restrain himself for the moment.
"My last question professor, who did it and how could this happen?" this question seemed to trouble Dumbledore but there was no escaping it. Everyone in that room wanted to know the answer to that.
"Well…I have been doing some thinking about it. I believe it was Voldemort himself" this seemed to shock everyone there. No one expected Voldemort to expose himself so soon after the recent events of DoM where he had lost many of his faithful death-eaters to the ministry.
"But professor…" Snape stopped when Dumbledore raised his hand.
"I know what you were about to say Severus but I find no other explanation. That house is or rather was protected beyond anything you can imagine. I believe everyone apparated right in front of the house and was also able to disapparate from there. Even the Knight Bus was able to reach it. All this is or might I add 'was' impossible until before tonight's events."
"How come? Is it something like the Fidelius charm?" it was Remus who spoke this time.
"Well, it's similar to that in a sense but way too much powerful. It covers almost all types of threats. None of the things, like apparition or the Knight Bus or the Dark Mark could have been there. BUT tonight, all of them were there." Dumbledore let out a large sigh. Everyone waited for him to continue.
"Tonight, I presume Voldemort was able to penetrate through all this."
"But how sir?" Harry asked.
"Ah Harry, do you remember how Voldemort came back?" Harry nodded. "Well, my theory is that the blood relation between you and Voldemort let him get there tonight. But mind you, he himself could not proceed all the way to the house. Just around the house, there are stronger wards. When he was able to penetrate the outer wards, we didn't notice because of the blood relation. But the inner wards detect the intentions of the person towards you. As soon as he reached those, he was unable to go further. At that point, I was notified that the wards were under attack. So, I apparated there as soon as I could. As for the dark mark, I think he sent it up in desperation." Dumbledore finished.
Everyone sat stunned for a while. No one had ever thought Voldemort could be so bold.
"But then why didn't he do this before?" suddenly this question seemed too obvious to Harry.
"Well, I have another theory for that. When he came back, he was not as strong as he is today. He has been gaining strength for the past 1 year. Also, it may be that he had never thought of this as a possibility. He was so busy getting the prophecy last year that he might have not thought of it. Coming to his actions tonight, I don't think he did it on purpose. He sort of 'tried' it and it clicked. I think this was an act of desperation than of self-belief."
"Desperation?" Tonks asked
"Yes. Voldemort has lost many of his followers. Also he couldn't get the prophecy. Maybe he just wanted to finish this chapter of his life with his own hands." Dumbledore concluded. "Well, I think all of us had a busy night. We should all retire." said Dumbledore as he got up.
"Oh professor, will I see you here tomorrow? I have some things to discuss." Harry's voice seemed to have urgency.
"Of course Harry. Will the afternoon be ok?" a bit of twinkling in Dumbledore's eyes were back. Harry nodded. "Oh, can someone say why Mrs. Black is so quite tonight?".
Tonks told Dumbledore about what Harry had suggested. The twinkling seemed to grow a bit. "Good job Harry. I never thought of that myself." Dumbledore said as he turned to leave. Harry nodded again & said 'Good Night' to everyone who was leaving.
"You remember your room, Harry? On the second floor?" Tonks asked. Harry nodded. He retired to his room along with the others. There were sufficient rooms in the black manor for about 10 people. So Tonks and Remus had no problems settling themselves. Harry just hoped that he would have a good night's sleep without having any bad dreams.
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"Slept well har?" Tonks seemed to be back in her high spirits at the breakfast table. Harry just nodded in reply. "Well, I gotta go. Duty calls." Tonks finished her breakfast and went out. She was an auror at the ministry. Both Harry & Remus couldn't hide a smirk when they heard Tonks stumbling (again) at the doorway.
"Well Harry, what do you plan to do today?" Remus asked. Harry pondered over this question for a while & replied "Maybe I should take a leafout of Hermione's life. I will stay at the library for a while." Harry had been thinking about his living here from early morning onwards. He had decided that everything will have to be done when the right time came. But for now, he would have to turn over a fresh leaf in his life…even if it would be for a short period.
"Ok. Just call me or Dobby if you need something." Remus finished up his breakfast and went to his room to finish some of his pending work. Apparently, Dobby was now working for the Order after Kreacher left.
Harry went to the library and started to look for the things which he wanted most. The first was a book which had a detailed mention of the Fidelius charm. Harry went through it very carefully. It seemed a very strong bit of magic since the book said that not many wizards or witches could perform it satisfactorily. Many would place something under the Fidelius charm which would reappear after a few minutes or hours. It mentioned that for someone to perform the Fidelius charm, he/she had to concentrate on the object very thoroughly. It should be such that in their inner mind, they had to have an almost perfect picture of the object they wanted to hide. Harry decided to try it on a small bottle (which Dobby had provided him when asked for). He tried to concentrate so that he could 'see' the bottle inside-out. He tried to view every curve of the bottle within his mind. All he could visualize was the outer portion of the bottle. All of a sudden, he noticed that it was time for lunch. He had not noticed that he had spent over 5 hours doing this. He closed the book and replaced it back at its place. When he arrived at the dining table, he saw Remus already sitting there. Both had a quite lunch and went back to their works. Harry waited in the library for Dumbledore to come. After about an hour, Dumbledore arrived.
"Sorry, I am a bit late. Have you been waiting for long?" Harry just gave a weak smile in return. "So Harry, you wanted to say something?"
"Well professor, I don't have much to say about what happened yesterday but there is something I haven't told you yet." Harry went on to recount his dream of Voldemort talking to Wormtail. Dumbledore seemed to be in deep thought when Harry interrupted his chain of thoughts "Sir, I think Voldemort may be trying to implant more images in my mind so as to mislead ALL of us." Harry said.
"You may be right Harry. From what you just said, I think you want me to help you out a bit with this, right?" the twinkling was back in his eyes now. Harry just nodded in reply.
"So, when do you want to start your Occulmency classes with me?" Harry had been expecting this question. So much like Dumbledore, he knew just about everything.
"As soon as possible. How about we start right now?" Harry asked. Dumbledore smiled at the reply.
"I don't have much time today but I will still give you some basic idea about Occulmency." With this, Dumbledore talked about the basic principles for about half-an-hour. "I have to leave now Harry." He said looking at his watch. "Think over what I have said just now." Dumbledore turned to leave.
"Professor, when will you come back for these classes?"
"How about everyday for 2 hours in the afternoon around the same time as today?" Harry seemed pleased at the reply. His smile gave the required reply to Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave an acknowledging smile as he left.
After Dumbledore left, Harry went back to trying to visualize the bottle for his Fidelius charm practice but couldn't make any headway. Too tired, he had an early dinner and went up to his room saying a quick 'Good Night' to Remus (Tonks had still not returned). Once in his room, he decided to go over what Dumbledore had said to him. To master Occulmency, Harry had to get a control over his mind, had to understand what he wanted others to see & what to keep to himself. He started by what Dumbledore had said to him – meditation. He started his meditation as Dumbledore had instructed him to do, sitting down in the lotus position and closing his eyes. Initially, he could feel everything that was around him, even the fluttering of the window curtains seemed quite easy to distinguish. But after about 10 minutes, some of the objects around got blurred in his inner mind. Slowly, his mind fell into absolute darkness. It seemed that he was looking inside his mind. Suddenly he felt very calm. There were no problems, no attacks, no Voldemort, no deaths, nothing at all to distract him. It seemed like he had reached a place where there was nothing other than peace. And he started liking it very much. He could see a lot of things, like Cedrics death. But this time, it was not with the pang of guilt which always overtook him when he thought about it. This time he saw it from the perspective of a third person. This time, as he saw the entire thing happen again, he felt that he could not have done anything to save Cedric. He never had a chance to do it. He felt that if he had a chance and had failed to save Cedric, then it might be worth blaming himself. Seeing that he didn't even have the time to react to the circumstances, he started to believe for the first time that he was not to be blamed. If anyone was to be blamed, which should be the case for the untimely death of any human, then that was Voldemort – and Wormtail.
Suddenly, Harry came back to reality. As soon as he found the correct person responsible for cerdic's death, his concentration broke a bit, making him aware of the surroundings. "That's enough for the first day." Harry murmured as he looked at the clock on his room. He had been meditating for around 25 minutes. "Ok, I will be able to have more control on my mind in the coming days. Then I will be able to regulate the timing's myself…hopefully."
Harry lay back on his bed and went over his meditation part. His meditation had shown him things from a different perspective. Also, he believed that this new perspective was the right one. If only he could see this correct picture in reality everywhere, without his eyes closed…he decided that he will practice meditation regularly. With this thought, Harry went to sleep. If anyone had watched him that night, then they would have been able to see the calmness on his face as he slept.
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"Hey, you look different today. Seems like you had a good night's sleep." Tonks said as Harry got down for his breakfast. "I agree" Remus joined in.
"Well, yeah…I had a sound sleep after many days." Remus frowned at this remark but Harry's smile seemed reassuring to him.
"You got back late yesterday?" this time it was Harry who had asked the question.
"Well, the minister called all the aurors to his office and gave a lecture about how to trace you. You should have seen him speaking. It seemed as if he had just finished his 100'th successful rescue mission." Tonks growled.
Harry & Remus were just listening to her quietly. No one dared to pass any comment now. Obviously, yesterday had not been a good day at the office for the ministry aurors.
Tonks gave a full description of what Fudge had said. Fudge had pointed out that Harry was becoming dangerous. He had even talked of the possibility that Harry had sent up the dark mark. Obviously, he & Dumbledore did not believe in the same theory. Suddenly Tonks looked at her watch and went flying out, murmuring something like "have to meet Fudge to explain where I was that night…". Her flying out was only interrupted by a short curse as she stumbled on the doorway. Everyone, except Tonks, found this the most normal thing to happen. It seemed even Dobby knew it was going to happen because, as Tonks ran out, every sound from the kitchen stopped. After the sound of Tonks stumbling reached everyone, a short giggle followed by sounds implied that Dobby had resumed his work.
Today was like just the previous day for Harry. He took the bottle in the library & started concentrating on it's shape again. This was becoming really hard. "How am I supposed to know the interior of the bottle?" the book said that to hide all the surfaces, he had to visualize all of them. He smiled at the hought of what this house would have looked like if the outer walls had been hid only to reveal all of the insides to everyone on the road. Suddenly Harry had an idea. The writer had said that to hide something using the Fidelius charm, one had to visualize the objects one wanted to hide. Harry had taken this sentence too literally. Suddenly he realized that he had avoided doing the easy thing first. He had to visualize the bottle as a whole and not as something which was made with many curves & joints. If he did that, then the whole bottle will be hidden. He kicked himself for been so daft.
This now seemed an easier option. Harry was still having trouble thinking of the bottle as a whole but still it seemed easier than trying to guess what the inner sides would look like. He had spent almost half-an-hour thinking of the bottle as a solid object but the shape never took a clear form in his mind. It always seemed a bit hazy. Mind…did someone say mind. Harry thought about this & kicked himself again (oh, I shouldn't make this a habit. It hurts). He took the bottle in his hands and had a good look at it from all the angles. He then set it down on the library desk once more and closed his eyes. Slowly, he felt the surroundings starting to fade. After about 10 minutes, he was able to have a peek into his mind once again. It seemed his eyes were looking directly at some solid thing which people called a mind. He could see various thoughts of himself, his friends, Hogwarts etc. he started concentrating & tried to visualize the bottle. He still couldn't do it. Then it occurred to him that he didn't need to visualize the bottle. It was already implanted in his mind. He had seen it from every angle possible so his brain had recorded everything. Slowly, he started to try to shift his thoughts. It was difficult to begin with. He wasn't able to do anything on his own. His thoughts seemed to move freely as it they had a mind of their own. Suddenly, the bottle came into view. There it was. A perfect 3 dimensional figure. He could see it…he could see it. He was very ecstatic. This blurred his vision and his concentration broke. He opened his eyes and looked at his watch. 35 minutes, he smiled. So I was able to hold on for long enough to find the exact thing I was searching for, Harry seemed very happy at this thought. As Harry was thinking about it, Remus opened the door.
"You don't seem to be reading anything. I thought a library was meant for reading." Remus said.
"Actually I was meditating a bit. Dumbledore said it would help me get a grip on my mind." Actually this was the truth, but in this case it was only half-true. Harry didn't want anyone to know he was trying to learn the Fidelius charm.
Remus seemed satisfied with the answer. "Ok buddy, let's go & have some lunch."
"So, what have you…been doing lately?" Harry asked, pausing to take another bite from his plate.
"Some Order business, Harry." Remus replied. He knew that Harry didn't like to be excluded from news regarding Voldemort or death-eaters but he also couldn't tell anyone outside the order of their finding. On seeing the look on Harry's face and before Harry could comment any further, Remus added "I am sorry I am unable to say more. You understand that I can't tell you about the Order, don't you Harry? I have sworn myself to secrecy. Do you want me to break it?"
It looked to Harry that all he had to say was an 'yes' to Remus and he would answer Harry's every question but Harry couldn't bring himself to do it as much as he would have liked himself to do it. "No" came the answer.
The pained look on Remus's face faded away. He knew how hard it had been on Harry the past few months. He knew how he himself wanted to reach out & take Harry in his arms, hug him and tell him everything he knew. But he knew that all this was impossible. At least, for now.
"Have I come too late?" a jovial voice said from the doorway.
"Oh professor, you are just in time. We have only just begun." Remus said to the figure in white who had something in his mouth (lemon drops most probably, Harry thought). "Dobby, the headmaster is here." Lupin continued.
He had hardly finished saying it when all the plates filled themselves up again with an extra plate coming into view. The conversation turned to the news about Hogwarts and how Hagrid was visiting some giants in the far-east to get them to fight on their side. When their lunch had been finished, Remus excused himself. Dumbledore got up & Harry followed him to the library.
"So Harry, did you do some meditation?"
"Yes sir. Last night I did some…for about 25 minutes. And I meditated about 35 minutes today also." Harry didn't want to go into the details of what he saw.
"And does today's meditation have something to do with this bottle on the table?" queried Dumbledore with twinkling eyes.
Damn. "Well, yes sir. Actually, I was trying to see this bottle in my mind but the thoughts were moving so fast that I could not see it properly. It seemed I had no control over the flow of my thought…" Harry trailed of satisfied at the explanation he had given for the bottle been there.
Dumbledore said nothing and carried on "Then you'll find today's lesson useful." With that, they started that days lesson.
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This same routine went on for about a week. His daily schedule had some time for practicing the Fidelius charm. In a week, Harry was able to gain some control over his thoughts & their movements. He had been able to hold on the image of the bottle in his mind long enough to cast the incantation for the Fidelius charm. The bottle had been hidden from view for only 2-3 seconds but Harry felt quite happy with his progress. The rest of the time of the day, he read books on Occulmency, Meditation and Buddhism. Buddhist monks seemed to have quite a hold onto their minds. Well, if I have to fight Voldemort, then I will have to get a hold on my mind too, he thought. In a week's time, Harry had been able to stop Dumbledore once from probing his mind though it had been for a very short period of time. Dumbledore always took care not to search for something that might be too sensitive for him and Harry was also pleased with that.
On the eight day from his arrival at the headquarters, Dumbledore told him about that day's lesson which exited Harry very much though it also brought him a lot of grief. Dumbledore was starting to teach him how to distinguish between his own thoughts and that which had been implanted in his mind. If only he knew how to do this before then Sirius would have been alive, he thought.
"But professor, if I learn to stop Voldemort from entering my mind, then why do I have to do this? If he can't enter my mind, then I won't have any other thoughts than those which are my own."
"Very good Harry. I was expecting you to say this." He always expects me do to everything. Even if I die today, he will say that he was expecting it. "The thing is that, sometimes, you have to let others inside your mind. Learning to block others is very nice but once the person who is trying to enter your mind senses that he is been unsuccessful, he will try other methods to achieve his goal. So, you see, just let the others access to some part of your mind and let them see things which, mind you, should not be too important to you or them. It should be some casual thoughts. If you do it in the correct fashion, then they will think that they have been successful in entering your mind. After that, they will implant images in your mind if they want to. In such a case, you will need to distinguish between your own & the new thoughts."
Harry saw that the logic behind this was correct. He was about to say something when Dumbledore continued…
"You see Harry, when someone is accessing your mind, a link opens between the two minds. In such a case, once you learn Legilimency, you will be able to access their minds without letting them know but only if you are careful enough. At such times, you will have to be VERY clear about which thoughts are your own. I hope I am clear about this." Dumbledore stated.
"Perfectly sir."
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Harry's routine went unchanged for the next day. But the day after that, he had some surprise in store. Early morning, Dumbledore came in with a goblin. Apparently, he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. Harry missed the introduction part as Tonks came running in to see who had come. Harry just said hello to the goblin & sat down when both Dumbledore and the goblin had seated themselves.
"Well Harry, Mr. Larynth here is in the department of Gringotts which keeps track of people's will. The subsequent transactions from the execution of the will is done by another portion of Gringotts. He has come here to discuss Sirius's will with you." These words almost freezed Harry to the spot. The whole scene at the DoM suddenly rushed back to him. He didn't even nod when Dumbledore asked "Are you ok Harry? Should we start?". Dumbledore waited for some time for Harry to recover and then nodded "Mr. Larynth, you may proceed now."
The goblin seemed to nod and took out a piece of parchment & read out the will. It seemed that when Bellatrix had been in Azkaban, Sirius had become the sole holder of the Blacks family valuables & vault. Sirius had made Harry the owner of everything he possed except for 12, Grimmauld Place which would be shared by both Harry and the Order of Phoenix. The goblin finished by asking Harry to come down to Gringotts in the next week to handle all the paperwork. When queried about why he hadn't brought it with himself, the goblin reminded Harry that he wasn't responsible for the actual transactions mentioned in the will. When all the things had been taken care of the goblin said goodbye to Harry and the headmaster got up to lead him up to the fireplace. "Gringotts, London branch" were the last words muttered by the goblin there.
"You are rich Harry, you are rich" Tonks seemed more excited than Harry himself. Obviously, anyone in Harry's position would have felt quite happy unless they could see what was going on in his mind. "Must meditate about the DoM" Harry made a mental promise to himself.
Apparently, from what Mr. Larynth had said, Harry was now the sole owner of Sirius's personal vault as well as the Black Family Vault. And going by the long line of the Black family & the size of this house, it must be quite a lot, Harry thought. "Family vault? Family vault? Do the Potters have a family vault too?" Harry asked himself. Not knowing he thought the best approach was to ask Dumbledore about it. Dumbledore came back after a while and just smiled towards Harry. Apparently, he was also happy at Harry's inheritance of the Black property. Only if he knew how much Harry would have loved to give away all the money to get back Sirius…
"Sir, I would like to go to Gringotts soon." Harry found himself speaking to Dumbledore after they had had lunch and were still sitting at the dining table. Remus had excused himself while Tonks (who had the day off) sat there, excited at the prospect of Harry owning so much. Dumbledore didn't seem pleased at this thought but the look on Harry's face gave him the impression that he desperately wanted go through his dead godfather's belongings.
"Ok Harry, just do one thing. Take someone with you ok? Either Remus or Tonks." Harry nodded knowing that this was not a question, rather a statement. "When do you plan to go?"
"Well sir, I have some things to do. Then I will see when I am able to go there." Harry replied truthfully though he knew that it wasn't the full truth. If only the others knew what he was up to, they would never let him step outside the headquarters.
"I will go with Harry. Remus is just too busy with the Order work sir" Tonks was almost jumping on her feet. Dumbledore just smiled at her and said "It's Harry who takes the decision."
"Harry Harry Harry….please…pretty please…I have never been to see even our family vault…pretty pretty please…"
"Hold on…ok ok, you get to come along." Tonks looked like she was getting ready for an adventure. It seemed she expected a treasure at the end of it. Of course, a treasure was there but not for her.
"Sir, I wanted to ask you some things for quite some time now."
"Go on Harry"
"Why are there no Order meeting been held?"
"Actually you see, we have been having some meetings of a very select group of people. As most of them are at Hogwarts, you won't have any trouble guessing their names, we meet at my office for anything important. But we have had only one meeting in the days since you have come here."
"And what about the death-eater activities?"
"Yes, yes. I have also been thinking about it. It seems that Voldemort is trying to recruit some new death-eaters. Many people have been reported missing for only a night or two. Their family members had no idea about where they had been but it is our assumption that they have been been recruited. Voldemort is short of death-eaters at this moment."
"So why isn't Fudge do anything about this sir?"
"Well Harry, it seems our minister thinks that all these people have just been enjoying themselves for a night. He thinks this is perfectly normal for people of their age" Harry's cheeks colored a little at this comment. "Anyway, there is little or no scope for stopping these people. It is their choice to make"
"But sir, they surely know the consequences?"
"Yes. But they also know that if Voldemort is able to get his allies together then he will be virtually unstoppable. There will be no ministry, no Azkaban, no law to stop them unless someone stops Voldemort." His eyes glittered behind his glasses as he looked at Harry with a smile after this comment.
Harry just looked at him and then shrugged himself to get to his next question.
"What about the Weasleys sir?"
This conversation went on for quite some time. Tonks had left the table and Dumbledore informed Harry that the Weasley were fine except that Molly Weasley was very concerned about Harry and wanted to come over here. Ron was also desperate to meet Harry but Dumbledore had said that Harry needed some time alone. After a big verbal fight (mostly from Mrs. Weasley while Dumbledore was trying to convince her), they had consented to leave Harry alone for a few more days. After another week, they would move over to the headquarters. Bill was now back at The Burrow. He was currently working for the London branch of Gringotts. Harry felt a bit grateful to Dumbledore that he had kept the Weasleys out. It was not that he ddn't like them. It was just that Mrs. Weasley was too protective of her. Also, Dumbledore had been right about what he said, Harry needed some time alone. It turned out that Hermione was ok too. She didn't know about the dark mark above Harry's home. Apparently, no one knew otherwise, Harry knew, there was no way to stop Mrs. Weasley from coming here (Mr. Weasley surely knows. He must have kept quite). Harry was also a bit angry that no one had written any letters to him but felt a bit grateful to them. At least, he was getting the space he needed. Also, he hadn't written to them either, so they must have thought that he didn't want to be disturbed.
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The next 3 days went by in a dizzy. Harry had made it a routinue to get up at 5:30 in the morning, have a slight workout & then he started to meditate. His routine ended again with meditation till 12:00 at night. He had been working really hard on his mind. He had been able to successfully block Tonks probe into his mind when he had asked for her help. He knew that to keep his mind protected from someone of Dumbledore's or Voldemort's power, he had to concentrate and practice even more. He had imagined his mind as a dome shaped structure (at least, that's what the brain looked like, he thought) and had divided it into a small outer dome and a large inner dome. He tried to keep the day-to-day natural thoughts in his outer shell while the inner one was his private chambers. He was now able to shift his thoughts with a bit of difficulty but Dumbledore had assured him that with time, it would become very easy. He had even grasped the basics of distinguishing between his own thoughts and images planted by others. Slowly but surely, the progress he had made in the past 13 days had been more than in the past year he had practiced with Snape. He had even been able to block Dumbledore from getting into his private thoughts twice more. His Fidelius charm practice had progressed a lot too. He was now able to hide the bottle completely until he gave the password. He had even hidden some of the books in the library which he didn't want others to access (he had found out quite a number of books which were very useful in understanding dark wizards thinking). Overall, he was very pleased and felt that he would now be able to progress on himself. Also, he felt he was now ready to go to Gringotts for the execution of Sirius's will.
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"Tonks, hurry up or I will go alone." This was the third time Harry was calling Tonks but Tonks did not reply. He started pacing around when Tonks appeared. "What took you so long?" Harry stared at her.
"Sorry har, Order business" came the guilty reply. Harry immediately felt sorry for being rude again. "Oh sorry Tonks, I don't know why I scream at you. I apologize." Harry replied. This seemed to improve her mood. She just nodded, looking towards the Harry and asked "Can we leave?"
"This is so unlike Tonks. She always is so cheerful. Even after my apology, she looks glum. What Order business did she have? Dumbledore knew that I would be going today, then why did he hold up Tonks so long? Maybe she has done something wrong for which Dumbledore…no, he wasn't the type who reprimanded someone. Then what is so wrong that Tonks won't look me in the eye?" Harry got lost in his thoughts. Even though Tonks looked cheerful now (also she had blonde hair), Harry just knew something was wrong.
"Hey har, can we go?"
Harry looked at Tonks for a long second. He was sure Tonks was hiding something which he should know. Then he tried something which he had never done before. If there was one thing Harry had learnt from Dumbledore which could make other's uncomfortable, it was that 'one should always look confident even though he may not be'. He was trying to do exactly that.
"Tonks, what is it that you are hiding?" Tonks was taken aback at this question.
"Harry, how…how did you…you…sorry…" Tonks stuttered. This was enough for Harry.
"What are you sorry about?" Harry asked, looking confidently but growing very curious.
"We should go now. I will tell you in Diagon Alley." Tonks replied in a hushed voice. Harry gave her a look which she couldn't interpret and nodded. They went up to the fireplace & soon came out at Diagon Alley.
As they were walking towards Gringotts Harry gave Tonks a questioning look. Tonks squirmed uncomfortably at this look. After a long second, she said "Dumbledore wanted me to ensure that you didn't bring anything unwanted to the headquarters."
Harry looked a bit relieved. "Now that I can't promise or rather won't promise. You know, I have to do that." In response to Tonks frightened look Harry continued "Ok…don't get jumpy…Fred and George have opened their new shop and I daresay that I will buy something for Remus."
"No. that is not the point" Her voice seemed to fade away. They were very near to Gringotts when Harry stopped and turned to her "What do you mean?"
"Keep walking, there are several Order members out here." Tonks whispered as she tried to pull him along.
"WHAT? Are you saying that they are following us?" Harry's whisper carried all the rage in him. The rage which he had kept buried under a smiling face for the past 14 days could be clearly seen on his face. Tonks looked at him for a moment and stumbled. No one would have thought that was unusual but only Tonks knew the real reason. The fury on Harry's face was beyond anything she had seen. She had never thought that Harry could be so frightful. No wonder, he had fought the dark lord twice and escaped.
"Well, actually, they are trying to safeguard us." Tonks was trying to keep her voice from quavering.
"Are there any death-eaters in the vicinity?" suddenly Harry's fury seemed to leave him and he seemed a bit concerned and happy. "If there are, then I could have some fun." His voice seemed to have a strange tinge to it.
"No. actually, no one wants you to bring back anything from the Black Vault." Tonks replied. She was afraid that if she held back things from Harry now then he will be angrier at her later at the headquarters. By what she had already seen in his reaction, she knew she would have more than she could handle.
"So that's it, is it?" Harry asked. "We'll have to wait for that."
With that, Harry led the way towards the Gringotts entrance followed by a nervous Tonks. After all the paperwork had been done, the goblin asked whether Harry would like to visit the vaults. After an affirmative nod from Harry, the goblin escorted him to a cart and said "Nirmuck here will take you to the vaults". A small goblin came forward. He stared at Harry, reading every detail minutely, stopped for a moment at Harry's scar and then stopped his examination. Obviously the scar had come in handy at many times, Harry thought since he didn't like the examination. After a whirlwind ride, they reached Sirius's own vault. He collected some things and went on to the Black Family Vault. He took more than an hour to look around. Again, he picked up many things and handed them to Tonks who looked like she had been asked to drink the skele-gro potion. Every time Harry gave her something, she would shrink them and put them in her bag which had been charmed to be feather-light. After everything had been taken which seemed necessary to Harry, he turned around to Nirmuck. "Nirmuck, could you please give me some information?" Harry was at his best behavior. He knew that goblins could be put off very easily. Also, he was cursing himself inwardly for forgetting to ask Dumbledore.
"If it is in my hands, then I will do it." came the reply.
"Is there any Potter Family Vault?" Nirmuck nodded in reply. "Can I access it?" Nirmuck seemed at a loss. It seemed like he was trying to remember all the laws of Gringotts which may be violated by doing this. Harry concluded that this was a very young wizard because of the time he took to reach the decision. After a long silence Nirmuck nodded obviously satisfied that he was not breaking any rule.
"But Harry, you are not supposed to go there. You will have to ask Dumbledore for his permission." Tonks immediately knew she had said something wrong. She started to look away from Harry.
"Look Tonks, can we talk about this later?" came the civil reply. Knowing that nothing could be done now, Tonks nodded. Again a whirlwind ride took them to the Potter Family Vault. Once there, Harry queried "How do I open it? I don't have the key."
Nirmuck looked at Harry and said "You don't need a key to open this vault. All you have to do is walk right through the door."
At this, Harry stared at him. What did this goblin think about him, a fool who would just walk straight and bang his head on a thick door of god-knows how many charmed metals. He was about to say something when he remembered about the entrance to platforms 9 ¾. He nodded at the goblin and went straight ahead. Harry tried to touch the door once he reached it. Instead of coming in contact with solid metal, his arm went straight through it. Harry quickly pulled back his arm and looked at it with disbelieve. He heard Tonks gasp behind him. Then he summoned up his Gryffindor courage and walked straight ahead.
The whole world seemed to burst into songs around him. But it held only for a second as he walked straight through the door. He looked back and saw that he could clearly see the goblin and Tonks outside though they couldn't see him (Tonks looked close to panic). It seemed the door was made of glasses he had seen in movies where police interrogation took place (Why does my uncle have to see such violent movies and then think of me as the villain?). He then looked around the room and his eyes spread wide. He sure was glad that he hadn't asked Dumbledore for permission to come here.
After another hour, Harry came out with a sack in his hand. He had found the sack inside and seemed to have quite a bit of problem dragging it. The effect of pulling this heavy luggage seemed to cover up the excitement on his face. Tonks came running and instantly shrunk it and put it her bag. Then both of them were off towards the Gringotts office. He didn't feel like enquiring for Bill Weasley today. As they walked out of the door, Harry said "Tonks, promise me you won't tell Dumbledore about this." Tonks didn't answer. After walking for sometime, she said, "I won't tell him what you took but I will tell him you took something and if he wanted to know about it then he will have to talk to you. But I won't tell him that you visited your family vault. After all, he had asked me to just cover your visit to the Black Vault." Harry seemed satisfied with this answer. This may turn out better than I thought, he smiled inwardly.
They then went back to the headquarters using the floo network. Once there, Harry asked Tonks to follow him to his room. Once there, he took the bag from Tonks and took out his things. He asked Tonks to enlarge everything back to their original size. Tonks did as she was told and then left. Harry took a bunch of papers which he had got from the Black Family Vault. When he took away the papers from the vault, he got only a copy of the original. Apparently, Gringotts didn't allow anyone to take away the originals unless they made a written application. Harry went through some of the papers and his eyes lit up. Suddenly, two voices started to speak in his head. Harry sat down to think. He started meditating. He wanted to decide which one of the voices in his head was correct. After another 30 minutes, he had decided what to do.
Tonks and Remus were sitting near the fireplace when Harry came down. He looked at Tonks questioningly since he was sure that Dumbledore had heard of her report. Not getting a reply, Harry sat down on the empty chair next to them and said "Remus, I wanted to say something." Remus nodded with a questioning look.
"Well, I am going to be 16 in a few weeks. I hope we will be able to celebrate it together. But before that, I wanted to make sure of some thing. I have thought of taking some decisions on my own. Apparently, some people believe that I am still a child." Tonks squirmed uncomfortably in her chair as Remus kept wondering where this was leading to. "Well Remus, I hope you will support me when you know the reasons. After Sirius, you…" his voice trailed off. Both of them knew that they just had each other to call a family, at least in emotional terms. "Well, that's what I wanted to say. Thanks for listening."
As Harry got up, Tonks said in a tone which Harry come to connect to her been nervous at the time "Dumbledore will talk to you tomorrow."
Harry gave her a smile and nodded.
That night, no one noticed a skinny 15 year old boy walking up to the house 1, Grimmauld Place, dragging a very heavy trunk since he wasn't allowed to do magic outside school until the age of 17. That boy stuck up a wand, paid the conductor & got onto the bus for an unknown location. If someone had looked closely at him, they would have been able to see a satisfied smile on his face.
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A/N:
Ok guys, here's the 3'rd chapter :)
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