xXxEDITING PROCESS 7/15/09xXx


Chapter 4: No Longer Protected

With his expression frozen forever in amusement mixed with a sense of dismay, Sirius's boy draped into a calm curve as he tumbled backwards--into the black--into the demise--behind the Veil. It fluttered like a faintened heartbeat before stilling.

Harry felt his legs (...in this dream...?) pump as he raced for the dais, as Lupin wrapped his strong arms around him to hold him back-- to restrain him from catching his godfather--preventing him from leaping to his utter death. . .Sirius would come back though. . .he would never really leave him. . .

In vain, Harry struggled against Lupin violently and broke free as Bellatrix Lestrange; Sirius's murderer; bolted with a screech of joy.

He chased after her through the underground of the Ministry--wanting a taste of revenge--willing to murder for it-- he flew up the stone benches--passing his friends in the brain room so fast that they were a useless blur. Harry waited as the blue flames stopped whirling and the door appeared. Only, it was a different looking door then the one that would lead him to the fountain was. But he needed to see where it lead. . .

Beyond the brass decorated door, Harry stepped into another scene entirely.

A huge, homey mansion lit with a candlestick chandelier. The stars outside the windows twinkled on as flashing green lights and distant screaming shook the glass in their frames. It had been that close. Harry swiveled around to two figures standing near the front hall, their faces hidden from him. One of them held out a wand and was shouting at the other frantically; Harry got a good look at a dark-skinned woman with a bundle in her right arm racing up the stairs; a loud boom shook the house's framework; and Harry was dropping. . .

Harry's eyes cracked open. He moaned, looking up at his mattress. He had fallen out of bed. Again.

Reaching for his glasses on the desk nearby, Harry stood up, murmuring audibly, "Ow." His body ached where the bad fall from Mrs. Figg's funeral had happened. He stretched out his shoulders cautiously and rubbed the space between them.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING UP THERE, BOY!?"

"Practicing falling out of bed!" shouted Harry back sarcastically.

"GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

He rolled his green eyes and obeyed. Uncle Vernon met him in the kitchen, glaring furiously as his mustache twitched. "DON'T SASS BACK AT ME!"

Harry muttered darkly, "I've been having a bad week, okay? I kind of--"

"WHAT DID I JUST GET THROUGH TELLING YOU!?"

"Not to sass back but--"

"ARE YOU DEAF OR JUST STUPID?"

Harry dug a finger into his ear canal. "I'm surprised I haven't gone deaf at this rate." His uncle was about to say something else to that remark but the pierce of the telephone ringing interrupted him. Uncle Vernon stomped over to it, speaking gruffly into the mouthpiece, spit flaking it.

"WHAT!?"

Silence followed. Uncle Vernon's face pinched up. "Who?" Another period of silence. He turned scarlet faced to Harry. "It's for YOU."

Trying to hide his shock, Harry took it numbly from his uncle and stepped into the hallway for privacy. "Hello?"

"...is this Harry Potter?"

A slow warm smile crept over him; the hollow in his chest being filled with happiness. Hermione Granger's voice was talking to him.

"Hey, 'mione. How are you?"

She laughed politely, "Fine, and you?" Harry wanted to laugh back but without humor. She was always worrying.

"I'm going out of my mind. I need to get out of here." Harry said.

Hermione made a throaty noise on the other end. "Professor Dumbledore told you to stay there...you should listen to him."

"I don't care. I can't stand being here for another second. Everything here is absolutely mad, Hermione."

She whispered anxiously, "You'll have to tough it out you know. We all want you to be safe. The only way V-Voldemort can't get to you is if you stay at your aunt and uncle's house...even if they are perfectly horrid people..." Harry had to smile gleefully at this. His uncle peeked in on him.

"Alright, I won't try to escape. You are lucky you reached me when you did."

Hermione said coldly, "If that was a joke, I'm not laughing."

"Who says I was?"

A cool hush fell over the connection, and Hermione said, "Goodbye Harry."

Harry hung up, feeling worse then before. Didn't they understand this was hard on him too? His uncle stopped spying from around the kitchen's door frame and towered over him, threatening, "Pay attention boy, I'm taking Dudley to another match. We won't be back until tomorrow night. Behave with your aunt or you will regret the day you were born." Harry merely muttered under his breath.

As the Dursley van left the driveway, Aunt Petunia threw a rag at him curtly, "Start your chores." When Harry tried to make eye contact with her, she ignored him, walking to the opposite end of the house. He worked on the flower gardens, dusted the house, vacuumed, and washed the inside and outside of the front den's windows. Harry was halfway through the afternoon washing the Dursley's other car when a familiar prickle of apprehension bristled the hairs on his neck. Someone was watching him.

It didn't feel friendly. Harry gently set down his things. All of a sudden, Aunt Petunia appeared, seizing his elbow with her sharp clean fingernails digging into his skin as she pulled him none-too-kindly to the front door. "Get inside now!"As it was locked and she gazed fretfully out of the door's upper window, Aunt Petunia took that moment to whirl around to him and demand, "Stay here," before running into the hallfway.

Deeply and honestly confused, Harry followed after to her to the family room find that his aunt had vanished.

"Is scaredy Potter looking for his Aunty?" A horrible screechy laugh followed. A flash of black dust and Bellatrix Lestrange materialized. Harry screwed up his eyes a moment in wishing that this moment was truly not happening. When he reopened his eyes, she had pointed her wand at him and her heavily lidded eyes narrowed with pleasure.

"I'm on strict orders. There's no one here to stop me little baby Potter. No Aurors. No friends. No one here to save you."

"Except me." Harry smirked as Remus Lupin came from behind Harry, looking grayer and shabbier then ever but a sight or sore eyes indeed.

Bellatrix snorted loudly at him. "Look who joined us. The werewolf." She stressed the word 'werewolf' to make it sound like it was the most disgusting sound on Earth. Lupin's lined face hardened.

"Harry, leave now."

When Harry took a step back, the Deatheater kept her wand at him. "Oh no, you aren't going anywhere, Potter."

Lupin took out his wand to level it at her. "You will let this boy go, Bellatrix."

She sneered and shouted at the top of her lungs, "STUPEFY!" at Harry who didn't have his wand with him. He was deadened in place. Something rose in his chest, making his head and face tingle. Before the spell could reach him, it bounced back to the Deatheater. She disappeared in a puff of rapid black smoke before the spell could reach her and at that same moment, Lupin grabbed Harry's arm to Apparate them.

In the hallway of Grimmauld's Place, Harry dropped onto his knees, feeling extremely faint. As if he had ran several miles without a break. Lupin helped him into a chair in the next room, handing him a block of chocolate.

Harry frowned, "I wasn't attacked by dementors." His father's friend pushed it at him cheerfully.

"It helps when you are drained." Upon testing a chunk, it turned out to be true. Lupin observed, "That's pretty advanced."

"What's advanced?"

The lined man perched on a bench nearby. "Wandless magic. Most witches and wizards can't even block the simplest spells without a wand. What you did back there was something more advanced in magic level." Harry thought back to the Dudley-turning-into-a-pig incident.

Lupin grinned at him as if reading his thoughts, "You aren't in trouble for turning your cousin. Only you and I know, oh, and Dumbledore."

"Was I being followed this summer?"

"By me. You really do need to keep your temper about you." Harry blinked sleepily as Lupin added matter-of-factly, "Tired, Harry?"

He chuckled, rubbing his eyes under his glasses, "Aunt Petunia had me doing chores all day...wait, what happened to her when Belltrix showed up?" Harry's heart leapt into his throat, as he began fearing the worst.

"She's just fine now." Lupin clasped his shoulder kindly, "Honestly, why don't you get some rest?"

Harry whispered, "No...s'ok..." His eyelids drooped as the other man helped him up and led him upstairs though Harry refused copiously. He fell asleep as his head hit the pillow in Siriu's room.