Chap-3 ( Meetings)

The first one to talk was Ron, " How are you mate?" When Harry didn't answer he asked again, " How was your summer?"

Harry didn't mind answering. He looked around the room. It was the same except for Sirius. He was gone. He looked at their faces. All were waiting for him to talk. Even the Weasley twins were solemn. He finally uttered, " How long have you been staying here?"

Hermione answered, " I have been here since the first week of July however the Weasley's were here from the beginning."

It was an awkward moment of silence so the George spoke up, " Want to try this?" He held up a white sweet.

" What is it?" Harry asked suspiciously, " It won't turn me into a bird or something, will it?"

Fred smiled, " Just try it." The others were smiling too. They apparently knew what it was. Harry felt like an outsider in their world. He put it in his mouth and after a while his body was transparent. He was shocked and demanded, " What in the world is this?"

" Ghostly ghost," Fred explained, " Turns you into a ghost for five minutes. A sickle each."

It was the first time Harry smiled after entering Grimmauld Place, Sirius's childhood home. " I'll take five." Harry took out couple of sickles from his pocket.

" Sorry," George said, " Not for sale, yet"

" How's your business?" Harry asked.

" Great," The twins said in unison and left with a small pop.

" How did you do on your O.W.L s?" Hermione asked, " I'm not much satisfied with mine. I got-"

Ron cut her off, " He knows, we sent him an owl, remember?" Hermione looked a little taken back but Ron didn't seem to notice, " What did you get?"

Harry knew he had to tell them sooner or later, " It was alright. I did pretty well." He dug out the letter form his trunk and reluctantly handed it to Hermione. She looked at it for a while and looked shocked.

"You did better than me," She stuttered.

Ron snatched the letter form her, " Let me see, let me see."

Ginny looked disgusted, " The letter is already in your hand, Ron."

Ron though shocked didn't look sad liked Hermione but happy, " You beat her, Harry." He hugged Harry.

Ginny also looked happy, Congratulations!" She shook his hand.

It took Hermione a while to recover and then she also shook Harry's hand, " Congratulations! Sorry about that. I was a little sad about my result. You know not all O's."

" It's all right," Harry looked at Ron, " How was your summer?" The ice was broken between them. They all chatted like old buddies which they were.

The rest of the holiday was great. They spent time playing chess, exploding snap, chatting, etc. Harry was feeling less ambitious and stopped studying defense and dark arts. Harry also shut himself from Voldemort. He didn't want to see those horrible stuff now that he was with his friends and not to mention family. The time also came when he met up with Kreacher. That bloody elf was responsible for Sirius's death. He wanted to kill that elf, the moment he first laid eyes on him after arriving but unfortunately his wand was not with him.

" Why did you lie?" He snarled, his green eyes blazing. Kreacher looked scared. It was probably the first time Harry saw him scared. Harry wanted an answer though he knew it from that elf. " Why did you lie?"

He asked again looking more dangerous. His eyes were like fire.

" Sorry, Master," Kreacher was on his knees, begging. A few seconds later the elf was writhing in pain, just like the crucitias curse.

It was a few minutes before some of the order came barging in. There was a meeting today and the others were upstairs. Harry was sent downstairs to bring something to eat and it was the day after he had arrived.

" What are you doing, Harry?" Lupin demanded and Harry looked up, "Nothing." He quickly left and Kreacher's pain also stopped. The order was just stunned.

The incident wasn't mentioned again and everything was also back to normal. Harry was quite sure the others were too scared to ask anything. He didn't mind as he didn't want to talk about it. Kreacher from that day forward never came near Harry. September first came and the morning was a rush. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were trying to get things packed as quickly as possible as they forgot to do it before. Mrs. Weasley was yelling at the top of her lungs to get everything organized as was Sirius's mum, " Filthy mud bloods. Dishonor to the wizarding kind…."

They left at half past ten accompanied by Moody, Lupin, Tonks, and the twins. They were allowed to join the order after leaving school. All went well and they entered platform 9 ¾ unharmed. As Harry was about to enter the train Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry, " Be Careful, Harry dear. Try to control your rage."

Moody also came over. Harry was surprised. was he going to hug him? " Molly is right," he growled, " Control your rage."

Harry was surprised. Why were they telling him to control his rage? He decided to think about it later and boarded the compartment to find Neville only waiting.

" Hi! Harry," He smiled, " How was your summer?"

" Great," Harry told him.

" Where is Ginny and Luna?" Neville's eyes searched the room.

" Ginny is a prefect," Harry sighed, "And Luna is probably somewhere reading the Quibbler upside down."

Neville smiled, " How did you do on your O.W.L s? I got outstanding in herbology and Defense. Thanks to you. Gran was so proud."

Harry smiled, " Good to be of any help. I did pretty well too. You fought great last year."

Neville face turned great, " I'm so sorry about your godfather. It was the only parent you knew. I can't imagine what will happen if my grandmother…."

Harry decided to change the conversation, " What are you taking for N.E.W.T s?"

Neville didn't answer but changed the conversation, " Are you planning on continuing DA?"

" Not sure," Harry told him, " It won't be illegal now and the ministry is providing some defense classes. So it won't be necessary. I heard that Fudge isn't taking Voldemort seriously."

" Yeah," Neville frowned, "He thinks Voldemort is still powerless. After all he didn't start attacking…"

Ginny, Ron, and Hermione came in couple of hours later. The meeting was a little longer than usual. Harry guessed it was because of Voldemort. Luna was also no where to be seen.

" Where is Luna?" Neville asked.

" Don't know," Ginny said, " Didn't see her yet."

The next of the train ride was spent talking about the summer, school and playing games. They all sat down together at the gryffindor table as the sorting began. Harry was happy to see that only a handful were sorted into Slytherin though most were sorted into Ravenclaw. After the sorting Dumbledore said his usual words, " Welcome to Hogwarts and welcome back, tuck in." Food appeared magically and all started eating. As they were half way through dinner, McGonagall mysteriously asked Hermione to follow her and they didn't return for the feast. After dinner the plates wiped themselves clear and Dumbledore gave his speech, " Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. First years are not to be seen near the forbidden forest and so are our older students. Mr. Filch has reminded me to tell you that magic is not permitted in the corridors and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes items are forbidden for use in this castle. Other list of items can be seen at his office if anyone wants to see.

" This year we would be welcoming a new addition to our staff. Please welcome our new Defense Against Darks Arts professor, Jane Potter."

At the mention of her name many students including the gryffindor trio gaped instead of clapping. Professor Potter was a witch apparently the same age of Professor McGonagall. She had dark hair with white streaks and looked rather sick though dressed in neat emerald robes. She had the same strict face as McGonagall. Harry couldn't help but thinking were they related after all he never heard of his father's family. No one ever told him if they were alive or not. When the students failed to clap, the staff clapped leaded by Dumbledore. Dumbledore then continued with his speech which Harry didn't bother listening.

" Is that your Aunt or something?" Ron asked carefully studying him.

" Never heard of her," Harry answered, " I don't think so or why wouldn't I be living with her rather than the ….." Harry's question was answered. He needed protection from his mother's blood not his father's.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Thanks for the reviews.