Title: Harry Potter and the Staff of Merlin
Author: Legolas-gurl88
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all Harry Potter characters and the original story plot… not me…
Author Note: PLEASE LOOK AT THE BOTTOM FOR IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!
Story time!
3. Return to Grimmauld Place
The next few days were quite uneventful. Harry continued to 'mope' around as Aunt Petunia called it. Harry called it that too; there should not have been any reason for him to not mope. After all, he had been stuck at his least favorite place for the past two months. But August had arrived, hotter than ever and even Uncle Vernon, who always wore nice neat suits, had to dress a little cooler. It was the night of August 4th and Harry was walking around his room, packing all his things, ready to leave, much to the suspicions of his aunt and uncle. Dinner had been a close one as Aunt Petunia voiced what she had been thinking of Harry moving around his room all day.
"What have you been doing up there all day?" Her bony horse face turned to a frown as she eyed Harry.
"Er--" said Harry, his fork stopping in midair, still holding the bit of meat that had been on it's way to his mouth. He put it down, thinking quickly, "Er… Spring Cleaning?" he finally answered, hoping that Aunt Petunia would not catch the fact that his answer had been more of a question.
"It's summer, you idiot!" shrieked Aunt Petunia.
"I know that!" Harry yelled back, "Summer cleaning, then. Summer cleaning."
"There's no such thing."
"Well, for me, there is." Harry said coldly, starting to eat his food again.
Lucky for him, Aunt Petunia had stopped there, suddenly remembering Moody's threat of coming to their house if Harry was mistreated (that they often forgot about anyway) and remained silent for the rest of the dinner, Dudley and Uncle Vernon staring at the two of them as they casually returned to their food as though nothing had happened.
As Harry packed away the last of his books and things, locked his trunk, then sat at the edge of his bed, waiting for anything to happen. Then, he heard his aunt and uncle talking below, their voices muffled by the floor. Harry, curious, slid to the floor and put his ear to it, closing his eyes to concentrate on what they were saying. They were talking about him… not unusual.
"--Vernon, he's been acting oddly all day, packing his things like he thinks he's going back to that-- that school--"
"--Well, he may think he is, but don't doubt me, Petunia, dear. He's staying right here. I won't allow him to leave the house and be with that lot--"
"But he always seems to find a way to leave--"
"We'll just have to keep our eyes on him."
"If you're sure, Vernon--"
"--Yes. There is no way he's returning to that place, Petunia. I'll give anything to squash that magic out of him, mark me."
"But we have to do something to keep him away, Vernon. He'll return somehow."
"I'll lock his door tonight then, and keep a watch on the window--"
Harry broke away from the floor, his anger boiling again. How dare they? Couldn't they just live with the fact that that was where Harry belonged? His thoughts were cut short as well as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's conversation as the doorbell rang. Harry's eyes flicked to the clock. It was nearly midnight. Who would be here at midnight? His heart jumping, Harry ran to the window and looked out. In the dim light of the streetlamps, he could barely make out red hair.
Harry smiled, ran to the door and then downstairs, bounding down each step with great speed. When he finally made himself present in front of the door, he looked up and instantly stepped backward as a red-faced Uncle Vernon advanced on him.
"HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted, spit spraying into Harry's face.
"What?" Harry asked, wiping his face clean. To show Harry what he meant, he stepped aside and pointed to the front door, sputtering in his anger, his hand shaking. There, standing in the threshold, were Mad-Eye Moody, Mr. Weasley, Lupin and Tonks, who's hair was blonde.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said as soon as she saw him.
"Harry!" Mr. Weasley said, pushing past Aunt Petunia, who was semi blocking the door to keep them away, walking around Uncle Vernon and clapping Harry on the shoulder. Then, he turned to Uncle Vernon, smiling and said, "Well, we'll just get Harry's things and be on our way, thank you--"
"I have absolutely no intention of letting the boy leave!" Uncle Vernon said as Tonks went upstairs to Harry's room (knowing where it was as of last year) to get his trunk. Harry was about to follow her to help, but, Mr. Weasley held him back.
"Mr. Dursley, I assure you, Harry will be safe--"
"I don't care about the damn boy's welfare! He's not going back to that-- that-- school you lot have!"
The smile from Mr. Weasley's face faltered as his ears turned red. As he opened his mouth unsurely to speak, Moody limped forward, his wooden leg clunking on Aunt Petunia's beautifully polished floor, scratching it.
"Remember me, Dursley?" Moody said, turning his head to make sure Uncle Vernon saw his eye. Harry's uncle backed away from the approaching Moody, painfully stepping on Harry's foot. "Well, you'll have me to answer to if Potter doesn't come with us."
Uncle Vernon started mindlessly opening and closing his mouth angrily. In the end, he stared at Aunt Petunia and she nodded quickly. Then, Uncle Vernon turned back to Moody, grabbing hold of Harry's arm from behind him. He threw Harry at the Auror with such a force that Harry collided with Moody, unable to stop in time. Moody caught him, stumbling back a bit, unstable on his wooden leg.
"Fine! Take him! And I don't ever want to see him back here!" Uncle Vernon shouted.
"Oh, he'll have to come back next summer, Dursley." said Moody, helping Harry regain his balance.
"Do I have to?" Harry asked sadly.
Lupin walked forward and pulled him farther away from Uncle Vernon as though afraid for Harry's safety. Moody didn't turn his head around when Harry asked him, but Harry knew, by the look of pure disgust on Uncle Vernon's face, that Moody's eye had followed the him.
"'Fraid so, Potter. But now you know why, so no complaints."
There was a banging from the stairs as Tonks pulled Harry's trunk with her, Hedwig's cage under her arm. Harry was shocked to see the cage empty.
"I sent her on her way already. She'll know where it is." Tonks answered Harry's confused look. "Help me out with this, would you Weasley?" Mr. Weasley ran up the stairs to help her carry the trunk down.
"Come with me, Harry. We'll let them sort the last of it out." Lupin said, grasping Harry's shoulder tightly and pulling him to the door. Once they were outside, Harry took a deep breath of the cool night air. His heart was so light now, he felt he could have skipped if didn't know he'd look stupid if he did.
"It's wonderful to see you again Harry." Lupin said as they walked down the driveway. Harry ignored this as he saw a dark blue car parked in the street.
"You didn't-- this isn't your-- is it?" Harry stuttered. Lupin nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Yes. We came here via muggle car." he answered. When they reached it, Lupin took out a set of keys and unlocked the back door. "Get in, Harry," he said. Harry slid in and Lupin slammed the door shut. He went around the other way and got in the other way. They waited in silence for a bit, both looking at the door of Number Four Privet Drive. The door remained open and Harry could see that Uncle Vernon was shouting as Mr. Weasley and Tonks walked out of the door with Harry's trunk between them. Once the trunk was in the trunk of the car, Mr. Weasley got in the driver's seat and Tonks opened the back door.
"Scoot over, Harry," she demanded, sitting down in the car. "Lovely family you've got, Harry." she said sarcastically, "That aunt of yours nearly took my head off with a broom."
"Yeah." Harry answered, "She tends to do stuff like that a lot. Sorry."
"No, don't apologize!" Tonks said laughing, "I always enjoy nearly being decapitated!"
"Well, you could always join the Headless Hunt," Harry suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
"Well, just wait until Mad-Eye comes and then we'll be off." Mr. Weasley said from up front, checking his watch, "Yes. Nearly twelve thirty. I promised Molly we'd have you in by two. Ron and Hermione might be up, waiting for you, so don't expect sleep for a while."
"Trust me, that's fine." Harry said. He didn't want them to know he was depriving himself of sleep. After a bit, they all heard the door of Number Four slam shut and the clunking of Moody's wooden leg. Then, the door to the passenger seat opened and Moody sat down. Mr. Weasley started the engine and they drove off.
"How far is it to Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.
"About half an hour." Mr. Weasley said, as they turned around a corner.
"Good thing Arthur knew how to drive or we would never have thought of a new way of getting you out of there." Lupin said.
"Why do you need a new way every year?" Harry asked.
"Has your uncle called any places every time they're invited to something over the mail to confirm that it's true?" Tonks asked.
"Yeah.""There you go." she replied. "Last year I sent them that All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition letter, remember? Now they know our strategies and they try to prevent them."
"Quite smart in that sense for Muggles." Moody said from the front. "But that's their problem; they try to prevent us from doing things that we've done in the past. They don't think about what we could do. Constant vigilance, I always say."
"Yeah, you always say that, Mad-Eye." Tonks said.
"Do you ever listen to me?" Moody asked.
"No."
"Well, that's why I say it. So you'll listen."
"But that's stupid, Mad-Eye!" Tonks said as they passed another row of houses.
"Quiet down," said Mr. Weasley, "I need to concentrate. This isn't as easy as it looks, you know."
"Sorry, mate." Tonks said. "So, Harry, have a good birthday?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the presents." Harry said, "There were so many owls that I was afraid they were going to make too much noise."
"We debated on that." Lupin said.
"What?"
"Whether or not we should send them all at once. In the end, we decided to do it."The car was quiet for the next fifteen minutes and they all watched more houses go by.
"Almost there. Give it another ten minutes." Mr. Weasley said. "This is fascinating!"
"What's so fascinating about what?" Tonks asked.
"Driving down a muggle road, seeing things from a muggle perspective!"
"Oh yes! It's a barrel full of laughs for the three of us back here." Tonks said sarcastically. She, Lupin and Harry were all crammed in the back and were finding it hard to move without disturbing the other two. "Just get us home, Arthur."
"Will do. Ron and Hermione will be so excited when you walk in Harry!"
The last of the driving had finally finished and Mr. Weasley was pulling into a gravel driveway, which led to nowhere. Suddenly, as Harry watched number ten and number thirteen Grimmauld Places jump out of the way and a number twelve appear.
"Get out, Harry." Mr. Weasley said, "We'll park the car. Lupin, would you go with him?"
"Of course." Lupin answered and he and Harry stepped out. As soon as the car door slammed shut, Mr. Weasley accelerated towards a parking spot.
"Come on, Harry. I'm sure Ron and Hermione are waiting for you." Lupin said and he and Harry walked to the door. It was flung open instantly and Harry suddenly found he couldn't breathe as brown, bushy hair was pushed into his face and his ribs and lungs were being crushed by arms wrapped around him.
"Oh Harry! You're finally here!" Harry's friend Hermione squealed excitedly. "It's been so long! How are you? How was your summer? Your birthday?"
"Hello Hermione," Harry gasped as she let go of him and pulled him inside, completely ignoring Lupin who was smiling.
"Everyone! Harry's here!" she shouted loudly and, as though it were now by reflex, the curtains that had hidden Mrs. Black's portrait flared open and Mrs. Black's yellowish face glared out, her eyes popping as she stared at Harry.
"YOU!" she screeched, "GET OUT! GET OUT, YOU FILTHY HALFBRED SLIME! YOUR UNWORTHY NAME IS EVEN UNFIT TO BE MENTIONED HERE! GET OUT! GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!!"
Lupin instantly ran to the portrait and tugged on the curtains to close again, but they wouldn't budge. Harry and Hermione's conversation was cut short as they too ran to help Lupin close the curtains. Finally, after what seemed ages, the curtains were pulled closed and Mrs. Black's screams were blocked. Harry, Hermione and Lupin's ears were now ringing with the words Mrs. Black had uttered.
"Come on, Harry," whispered Hermione, "You can see everyone tomorrow when we're all awake." They walked out of the room and up the stairs at the side of the room. They were halfway up them when they heard a crash.
"Tonks!" Mr. Weasley and Lupin yelled.
"UNWORTHY SCUM! VILE MUDBLOODS AND WEREWOLVES! THIS HOUSE DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU! GET OUT! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS!"
Hermione and Harry walked into the boys' room and closed the door. Mrs. Black's screams were muffled, but they still got the picture of what she was saying. There were two separate beds in the room. The one to the right was empty but the person in the one to the left was occupied. The blankets moved around and Ron's face appeared from under them.
"Harry?" Ron croaked.
"Shh, Ron. Go back to sleep." Hermione said.
"Nah. Not when Harry's here. How are you, mate?"
"You should really be asleep, Ron. Go back to bed. I won't be long."
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Ron's come over sick. He's been sick for about a week, so it shouldn't last much longer." Hermione whispered, tiptoeing to the door and turning the doorknob slightly. "I'd better go. I'll see you--" but she was cut off as the door opened. Hermione jumped back to avoid colliding with it. In the entrance, Harry could see Mr. Weasley and Lupin coming in, carrying Harry's trunk. Mrs. Weasley came in after them, carrying a bottle of potion and a goblet and dressed in a bathrobe.
"See you tomorrow, Harry!" Mr. Weasley, Lupin and Hermione whispered, all disappearing from the room. Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a small hug.
"Hello, Harry, dear. How are you?" she asked quietly.
"Good, thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said.
"That's nice. Now, you get into bed. I'll be away in a minute; I've just come to give Ronnie his medicine."
"Aw, Mum!" Ron groaned from under the sheets. Apparently, he had been listening in on the conversation.
"Now, Ron, it will make you better!" said Mrs. Weasley pointedly.
"What if I don't want to get better?" Ron asked stubbornly.
"Don't be silly, dear, of course you want to get better!" Mrs. Weasley answered, uncorking the potion bottle and filling the goblet with a smoking, yellow-greenish potion that looked more like poison to Harry. It probably tasted like poison, too, according to the look on Ron's face when he drained it.
He brought the goblet away from his mouth, sputtering.
"There now, that wasn't hard, was it?" Mrs. Weasley said, patting her son's back.
"Have you tried to drink that stuff?" Ron yelled. Mrs. Weasley didn't answer. In a second, she was gone.
"How are you, Harry?" Ron asked, trying to start a new conversation.
"Fine." Harry lied. In fact, he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Without undressing, he sank into bed and instantly fell to sleep.
…Voldemort was laughing. Harry was screaming. Cedric was screaming. Hermione and Ron were screaming. Sirius was screaming.
Not Harry! Please, take me instead! Don't kill Harry!
Harry's mother was screaming…
Lily! Take Harry and go! I'll hold him off! Go!
Harry's father was screaming…
Wormtail was screaming…
Everyone was screaming…
Harry woke with a start, gasping and he sat bolt upright. So did Ron.
"Harry?" Ron asked. "What's up?"
"N-nothing, Ron." Harry answered, trying to calm his breathing. "Just a dream I had. Go back to sleep."
"If you're sure you're alright--"
"Yes, Ron! I'm fine! Go to sleep. You need it."
"…Okay." Ron answered tiredly and let his head fall back onto his pillow. Within a few minutes' time, Ron's snores filled the room. Harry lay awake the rest of the night, fearful of his dreams and what torments of his past they would bring up next…
The next morning, Harry got out of bed at six o'clock, after an uneventful night of forcing himself to stay awake. It was still a little dark. The sun hadn't even made itself present yet, but it's rays were peeking over the hills already. Harry dressed into something different and went downstairs, tiptoeing the whole way. He tiptoed across the room with Sirius's mum's portrait and opened the door to the kitchen. No one was inside, so he walked in and sat at the table, in Sirius's old chair.
There he remained for a while when he heard a tapping. Harry gazed upward at the small window at the top of the room. Hedwig was outside, flapping her wings. Harry walked to the window to let her in, then sat back down as Hedwig swooped down and landed in front of him, hooting. Harry responded by stroking her feathers and she closed her eyes lazily. So did he. He was still so tired. A little nap wouldn't hurt… he fell asleep before he knew it.
This dream wasn't like all the others. It was a happy dream of Phoenix songs and Quidditch games. Harry was flying around the Quidditch stadium at Hogwarts. His stomach was filled with the familiar sensation of flying. Harry raced Hedwig around and around, the crowd cheering. Suddenly, about a hundred dementors approached the stadium. Harry reached in his pocket for his wand and pulled it out.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, but instead of the familiar stag bursting out from the end of his wand, a snake flew out. It started to choke him. As he struggled with it, his broom went out of control and dive-bombed into the ground. The snake swallowed Harry whole and he was still yelling for help.
"Help! Help! It's got me!" Harry yelled.
"Harry! Harry! Wake up!" he heard shouting, but he continued to yell when he realized someone was really yelling at him. His eyes opened and he sat up as he felt someone shaking his shoulder. Harry looked around and saw Lupin looking at him worriedly, Hedwig perched on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Lupin asked, his hand remaining on Harry's shoulder.
"Y-yeah." Harry panted. He stood up. "Sorry. I fell asleep."
"I can see that, Harry," Lupin said. "Sit down. I'll make you some tea."
"Why are you awake this early?" Harry asked, returning to his seat.
"It's almost the full moon. I don't sleep very well when a full moon comes up." Lupin said, pulling out a teacup from the cupboard, then, poured some water into a teapot. He tapped it with his wand at the teapot whistled.
"Oh." Harry said, not knowing what to say.
"Why are you awake, Harry? I daresay you should be getting some sleep as you only have one more month of summer break."I-I haven't been able to sleep that well lately." Harry stumbled over these words. They weren't the whole truth, but they were part of it.
"I understand, Harry." Lupin said, pouring the steaming tea into the teacup and adding a teabag. Then, he reached into another cupboard and pulled out a large bottle of potion and a goblet.
"Monthly ritual, Harry," Lupin said, gesturing to the potion. "I've got to take the potion now or I won't become a cute little harmless werewolf. You understand."
"Yeah." Harry said halfheartedly. Lupin handed him the tea and sat down across from him, sipping the potion and grimacing. For a while, he and Harry remained in silence. Harry looked at a burn on the table while Lupin observed Harry.
"This seems familiar, eh, Harry?" Lupin asked, taking another sip from the goblet.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Remember in your third year? Ron and Hermione had gone to Hogsmede and you came to my office for tea."
"Oh, yeah."
"So many things have happened since then." Lupin said dreamily. "Like, now I don't have to keep secret that I am, in fact, a werewolf. And you've found out Sirius's identity."
"I don't want to talk about that." Harry said sharply. Lupin stopped.
"I know it must still be a painful subject for you, Harry." he said quietly.
"I don't want to talk about it." Harry repeated. He took a sip of tea as if finalizing the topic.
"I know you don't, Harry, but you are not the only one who lost someone special that night. Just remember." Lupin said delicately.
"Yeah." Harry said.
"And know this; if you ever need anything, I'm here." Lupin said, putting the goblet on the table and trying to catch Harry's eye. However, Harry avoided eye contact.
"Trying to take Sirius's place, are you?" Harry asked.
"Never." Lupin whispered. "Harry, I would never try to take Sirius's place, but I just want you to know you can come to me for anything. I am your father's other trusted friend."
"So was Pettigrew, but that didn't come off so well, did it?" Harry stood up.
"Sit down, Harry." Lupin said. It was not a suggestion. Harry sat. "I understand why you are so angry. You have more worries and cares than all of the Order and your classmates put together and that's not easy. But you're trying to hide from everyone and everything. Just open up. I would listen to you. Ron and Hermione would listen to you. I'm sure even Severus would listen to you if you gave him the chance to show his paternal side."
"That's another thing," Harry said. Now that he had gotten started on the topic, he wasn't going to stop so easily. "Everyone says they understand what I'm going through. But they don't. They don't know how it feels to have lost your parents and you can't even remember them. They have no clue what it's like to become famous before they can even talk. How it feels to know that the darkest and meanest person in the whole of the world is after you and you haven't even gotten out of school."
"I will not say I understand, Harry, because when you put it that way, I don't." Lupin said quietly. "What I am trying to say is that you are not alone in this war-- the most important part in it, yes-- but you are not alone. We are trying to fight and to save lives, Harry. Don't think for a second we haven't made sacrifices too."
Harry didn't know what to say to this. It amazed him that Lupin would talk like this because he had only known Lupin to be kind. But when he spoke just a second ago, his voice had been tainted with bitterness.
"I, as well as you, lost my best friend that night fifteen years ago. I, as well as you, lost my other best friend that night a few months ago. You are not the only one who misses them, Harry. You are not the only one who can't stand being in this place because it brings so many memories of Sirius back to haunt you." Lupin stood up, leaving his empty goblet on the table. Then, without another word, he turned and left the kitchen, leaving Harry alone again to brood on his thoughts, Hedwig hooting quietly.
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Thanks y'all for the wonderful reviews! I thought a little tension between Harry and Lupin is what the story needed. Review time!
Black Sentinel- Thanks a bunch! Don't worry, I'll keep writing until I die!
Trinityelf- Hey, thanks for taking the time to write a 2nd review! I hate it when that happens! It happens to me a lot as well! I liked Fred and George's present as well! I got your e-mail also! Yeah, Ellen is your sister's nickname. Where did she get Ellen from? I'm glad you had a good time! Talk to you online in August. I'll print out the chapters and send them to you while you're away!
The evil witch queen- Good guess, but once again, it's incorrect! Don't worry! You'll find out who the person is next chapter! You are guessing the right gender, I'll give you that much. I've got a clever present planned from Ron and Hermione, but I have to find out how it works myself before I write it on paper. Nope, it's not a new broomstick… close! You can e-mail me if you want, but I have two e-mail addresses and I rarely check the one that is up on my bio page. Actually, I have been checking it more lately, so you could and I could give you my other e-mail address on that. Thanks a bunch for reviewing!
Ellen- Yo, yo, Ellen! Sup? Nah, I'm just kidding! Where does the name 'Ellen' come from? I'm glad you like my story! Are you looking forward to having the computer all to yourself for a while, while Trin is away? That would be fun to write a POTC/HP fanfic! Good idea! Talk to you later!
MalusMagus- It's great of you to ask questions like this, but I'm sorry to say that you don't know who the other DADA teacher is. I didn't do anything on purpose. But I quote from Dumbledore's letter in the first chapter, "If it becomes too much for you to handle, we can have the other Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for years 1-5 and 7 take over for you." Yup, in this fanfic, it's important to read every word… even those nasty little italics that I always find difficult to pay any attention to in fanfiction.net stories. And you will find out who the other DADA teacher is in a few chapters. Thanks for reviewing!
Okay, so here is the important notice:
NOT-SO-IMPORTANT-TO-SOME-BUT-MIGHT-BE-TO-OTHERS-AUTHOR'S-NOTE: I will be gone from June 18-27 and the day I get back I will have to get my wisdom teeth out, so I will be out of it. I could quickly put in another chapter BEFORE my wisdom teeth are taken away from me, but then I will be out of it for a while afterwards. But don't expect another chapter during those days that I am gone! Thanks so much for your patience with me, but June was a VERY busy month for me and I can't wait until it's over!
Also, please check out my bio page! I always have updates and fun little facts about me! Let me know if you visit it, but it's to let those of you who are waiting for other stories of mine, how far I am on them. I update it every so often. Thanks!
PLEASE REVIEW!
May broomsticks be in your dreams!
Luv,
Legolas-gurl88