"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry Potter looked over to the corner of the room where his owl Hedwig sat. She had been locked in her cage all summer, except for once every three days when she carried Harry's letter to the Order. "Look lively, you get to go on a trip today."
You see, members of the Order of the Phoenix, the anti-Voldemort group, had visited King's Cross Station at the end of last year. They meant well, threatening the Dursleys that if Harry was being mistreated in any way they would come to the house and do God only knows what. Of course Uncle Vernon couldn't have that. The farther away those people were the better in his opinion. So, because they had said they would come by if they didn't hear from Harry for three days, Vernon Dursley was obsessed with Harry's letters. Like clockwork, the morning of every third day Vernon demanded to read Harry's correspondence with those freaks and approve each letter before it was sent.
"Hand it over, boy. I haven't got all day." He snatched the letter from Harry's hand as soon as it was in reach and began skimming it over. Harry was used to this by now, If there was anything in the letters Uncle Vernon didn't like, or didn't understand, he was forced to write another one, the original ripped and mutilated before being tossed into the fireplace. "This will have to do. Go get that infernal bird of yours. Go!"
Harry worked his way back up the stairs and took Hedwig's cage off her stand. He brought the entire thing down so that Uncle Vernon could unlock the cage and Harry could send Hedwig on her way. As Hedwig bounded out of the cage and stretched her wings Harry opened the window. He took his parchment back from his uncle and tied it securely to the Snowy's leg, then lifted her into the air and said, "To Remus Lupin. London." He heard Vernon Dursley's gruff voice behind him.
"To your room with you. You know the drill." Vernon chuckled, pleased with his pun. He did work for Grunning's Drill Company after all. Harry knew what he had to do. Every three days he gave his owl her freedom. Every three days he gave up his own. It was ironic really; Hedwig got to leave her cage, but Harry had to enter his. The bars were back on the windows, the locks changed, and the door reinforced. Until Hedwig returned Harry's only contact with the outside world would be through the tiny little cat-flap on the door. This was where he got his lunch, and if the owl took her time, his dinner as well.
"I won't have that owl delivering secret messages while I'm not around. Into your room boy, now!" Uncle Vernon didn't need to shout, but it seemed to make him happy to do so, and Harry would get another earful if he pointed that out. So, Harry trudged up the stairs and through his bedroom door which was quickly locked behind him.
Harry hated being alone there. He was always by himself in the summers, that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was being alone in that bedroom with nothing to do. While he was free he could walk the streets, nick newspapers out of bins, or explore the neighborhood. He had even started visiting Mrs. Figg occasionally to keep up on the wizard news. Alone in his room, however, there was nothing to distract him. His school things were locked in his trunk, which was locked under the stairs. He had managed to save a few things and hid them under the floorboard, but his Firebolt and the majority of his wizard things were still under the stairs.
Harry lay down on his bed, then, trying to distract himself, got right back up again and removed the loose floorboard. That didn't keep him occupied long. All of his homework he had already finished he smiled, thinking of Hermione and how proud she would be and the rest of the things there didn't hold his interest. He lay back down on his bed and removed his glasses, thinking he could nap until Hedwig got back, but sleep didn't find him and his thoughts turned once more to Sirius.
This was why he hated being alone here. Out there he could keep himself busy, but in his room he couldn't escape his thoughts. Sirius' last moments were etched into his mind. The Department of Mysteries, the veil, Bellatrix Lestrange… He hadn't known Sirius very long, but they grown incredibly close. Molly Weasley said Sirius couldn't separate Harry from James, and she was probably right, but for Harry- Sirius was his only link to his father and his family. That wasn't completely true, there was still Professor Lupin- Mister Lupin. Harry still had trouble thinking of him as anything other than professor and there was a stiff formality between the two that had never been there with Sirius.
From the first night they had met Harry could understand why Sirius and his father had been such good friends. He was intensely loyal, brave, and a lot of fun. He may have come from a pure-blood family but Sirius was a Gryffindor. He made the choice to believe in what he thought was right and not what his family had told him was right. Harry was reminded of the choice he made to enter Gryffindor when the Sorting Hat wanted to put him into Slytherin and he felt more connected to his godfather than ever.
Harry was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of the bolt being opened on the cat door. Aunt Petunia's bony hand came through the door holding a plate of stale bread crusts, a daub of peanut butter, and a small slab of old cheese. There wasn't even water to wash them down with. Harry ate his meager lunch slowly, while imagining things like Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizzbees, and Lemon Drops.
Lemon Drops reminded him of Dumbledore, and Harry still had a lot of anger toward the old man. He knew Dumbledore was looking out for Harry's best interest, but he had been betrayed. And because of that betrayal, and his foolishness, Sirius had died. How many other things was Dumbledore hiding from him? How many more people would have to die before this was all over? How many would be because of what Harry did? Harry lay his empty plate in front of the door and went back to his bed.
Like they so often did when he was thinking of Sirius his thoughts lingered on Bellatrix Lestrange. Even though Harry blamed himself, and Dumbledore, for the events leading to Sirius' death, Lestrange was the one who had sent the final curse that knocked him into the veil. Harry spent much of his time alone plotting revenge fantasies and he saw all kinds of things in his mind's eye. Bellatrix Lestrange chained to the wall, hanging by her thumbs in Filch's dungeon. Bellatrix Lestrange writhing in the pain of a thousand Gubraithian fires. Bellatrix Lestrange with cuts on every part of her body, hurting, causing pain, but no blood. There couldn't be blood, because then she might die. Death was too good for her. She needed pain. She needed to suffer. She needed to feel the hurts she had caused, not only him, but countless others. His fantasies sometimes included Neville Longbottom who, truth be told, deserved revenge just as much as he did. Neville Longbottom casting the Cruciatus again and again as Bellatrix lost more of her mind, piece by piece. Neville Longbottom taking justice from her flesh, bit by bit, cut by cut, until there was no flesh left to take. The two of them together exacting revenge… tap, tap, tap.
Harry was brought out of his daydreams by a light rapping on the window. Hedwig was back. "You're back early today. You have to go downstairs, I can't let you in this way." Hedwig looked at Harry in disdain then flew off around to the front of the house. Harry was worried, Hedwig usually didn't come home so quickly. She took her time and enjoyed what little freedom she had. Even knowing he would be let out soon did little to quell his fears that something wasn't quite right.
He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and listened as they paused outside his bedroom door. Harry heard the key fumble in the lock and then the door was pushed open. Dudley stuck his fat blond head around the corner. "Hi cousin, your owl's back. I suppose you're to be let out now." Dudley didn't look at all happy about this as he turned back into the hallway. Harry followed him out, pausing to wonder at how civil Dudley was being. Just as this thought entered his mind he felt Dudley's monster foot under his and then he lost his balance. I should have known, Harry thought as he tumbled down the stairs. He landed on his back at the bottom of the stairs and opened his eyes to see Vernon's red face and pompous, overgrown moustache.
"Be careful, boy! You could have broken one of your aunt's pictures!"
Or my neck, thought Harry as he shot a glare at Uncle Vernon's back. Harry looked to the top of the stairs and saw Dudley doing a poor job of stifling his laughter. Harry was quickly losing his temper and tried to keep his anger in check. He knew he had difficulty controlling his emotions when he was around the Dursleys; he felt like he was constantly being tested. Harry turned back to the window and waited for Uncle Vernon to take the letter and put Hedwig back in her cage. Harry was then allowed to carry her into his room.
Dudley had gone from the stairs, which suited Harry well, and he made it to his bedroom without event. He placed Hedwig's cage back on her stand, and after giving her some treats he turned to leave, but when he got to the hallway Hedwig gave a low mournful cry. Harry turned to look at her. Nothing seemed broken and her feathers weren't ruffled, so there didn't seem to be any trauma. Harry knew Uncle Vernon checked the owl for incoming messages and he had been rough with her before, but that didn't seem to be the issue this time. Harry gave the owl a quizzical look and she hooted in that lowly manner again. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Her unusual behavior ceased.
"Is that what you wanted? Me to shut the door?" asked Harry. Hedwig cooed softly, signifying she was happy. She then stretched her leg out and held up one wing.
There, under her wing, behind the leg and in front of the tail, was a small piece of parchment. Harry was excited. He figured his friends had been writing to him, but that Uncle Vernon had intercepted the letters. He finally was going to hear from his friends. Harry unwrapped the parchment carefully, sticking his fingers through the bars of the cage, and pulled it out slowly. He gave Hedwig an extra helping of owl treats in gratitude and pulled one of Dudley's old astronomy books off the bookshelf. He hid the letter inside the book and then opened his door. The Dursley's would be suspicious if the door was shut too long and Harry couldn't let them know he had a letter.
He sat down with his back against the wall and propped the book up on his knees. He opened to the page that hid the letter and, looking up to check the coast was clear, unfolded the letter and placed it neatly between the two pages. If one of the Dursley's walked by it would look like he was simply reading the book, from the hallway there was no way to see the letter hidden inside. The letter was from Ron and Harry began to read it, savoring each and every letter on the page.
July 30th
Hi Harry,
I don't think you got my last few letters. I tried sending them on Hedwig, but maybe they're not getting to you. Hope you find this okay. You-Know-Who is being quiet again. We don't know what he's up to, but Dumbledore's working on it and he says not to worry. Hermione's worried about you, says you're in trouble. She says your letters are being searched and that's why you won't write anything in them. I said "He's fine. He'd tell us if he wasn't," but I promised to get a letter to you somehow. Just in case Hermione's right -I don't think she is- I tied this letter to Hedwig's tail. Hope you find it easy enough.
Dumbledore won't let us come get you yet. We all want to, but Dumbledore said he "has his reasons." We'll come get you as soon as we can. I'm not going to wait much longer for that old man. Write back to us and if you have to, do what I did and tie it under to her tail.
Bye Harry,
Ron
Harry was glad Hermione at least figured it out. He silently gave thanks that Ron had actually come up with the idea of hiding a letter in her tail. Who knew that Ron could be clever? He reread the letter, and was still angry that Dumbledore wouldn't let him leave. He knew Dumbledore's reasoning, but still didn't feel it was necessary. Voldemort had tried to kill him several times now and Harry had survived each one. The blood bond protection he gained by living with Petunia didn't seem like much to him. Especially since Voldemort had used Harry's blood to acquire his new body two years ago and was immune to it now. He would much rather be at Headquarters with his friends than on Privet Drive with the Dursleys, even if he was safer here.
Harry went back downstairs for dinner, avoiding and ignoring the Dursleys as much as possible. Dinner was a better meal than his lunch and consisted of potatoes, roast beef and carrots and of course he had plenty of water to wash it down with. He was only allowed water from the tap, but still it was better than what he was provided while he was locked in his room. He even got to have seconds on the roast beef when Dudley decided he didn't want to finish his 5th helping. All through dinner Harry's mind was on his letter upstairs and he couldn't wait to get back upstairs to go through it again.
After dinner Harry excused himself and went back to his room. Funny, he thought, how he would have given anything to be able to leave this room earlier today, but now that was where he wanted to be. Harry got out the old astronomy book and began to re-read his letter but stopped quickly. He glanced at the date. July 30th. Why was that date familiar? Harry pulled out his calendar. It wasn't a holiday. So why? Then he remembered. Tomorrow was the 31st. His sixteenth birthday.
Birthdays were nothing special to Harry, but he hoped to at least hear from Ron and Hermione and maybe get a visit from the Order. They had said they would stop by. So with his mind on happy thoughts for once he lay down and quickly fell asleep.
Harry Potter woke the next morning to the sound of the alarm clock. Harry glanced down to the clock below and cried aloud, "Dawn, why did you set the alarm for 5:15?"
"Because I wanted to be the first to wish you Happy Birthday, Harry." Dawn replied from below. Harry always had the top bunk. When they were younger Dawn was afraid of heights and he graciously let her have the bottom bunk. Granted, when they were sharing the cupboard under the stairs it was the thin, cramped top shelf, but still. "Happy Birthday Harry." Why was Dawn always so chipper in the morning?
"Thanks, now turn that stupid thing off!" It was times like these Harry Potter wished he was an only child. He rolled over and pressed his face against the wall trying to shut out the light. That worked for that, but he couldn't block out the sounds of the sparrows outside. He lay still awhile, then got angry at the birds, then angry at Dawn. It was his sister's fault he was awake now anyway. Harry gave into his frustration and pulled himself out of bed, climbing carefully down the ladder before pulling open the window shade. The light hit Dawn square between the eyes and she winced at the unwelcome brightness.
"What are you doing, Harry? I wanted to get some more sleep."
"Yeah, well, so did I. You woke me up first." Harry was obviously angry again. Dawn tried to calm him before he woke their aunt and uncle.
"I wanted to be nice, you know. It's not everyday my big brother turns sixteen." Dawn said this very calmly, hoping Harry would get the hint. He didn't.
"You're the only one that notices anyway. Nobody else gives a damn." Harry was touchy at the best of times; he was a downright bear when he didn't get enough sleep.
"That's not true. You've got Ron and Hermione, and even Hagrid sends you something every year. And don't swear. Aunt Petunia will wash your mouth out with soap." Mentioning their aunt seemed to get through to Harry and he lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Fine. Just don't wake me this early, again, ever." Harry thought he would appeal to Dawn's common sense. "I'm not my best when I don't get enough sleep."
"You do just fine at Hogwarts," Dawn pointed out.
"That's different. I like it there." Dawn couldn't help but feel hurt. She thought she was important to him, too. And even though Hogwarts was her home as much as it was Harry's, Dawn liked their summers together, just the two of them. It made her nostalgic for the times when they were growing up and it was just the Potter siblings against the world.
"You don't like it here?" she asked.
"Of course not, you know that!" Harry said with indignation. "If you weren't here to talk to I'd have gone crazy by now." Harry meant that, too. He couldn't imagine how his life would have turned out if he didn't have his little sister to rely on when he wasn't away at school.
"Don't forget that," Dawn said in a mock angry voice, slightly mollified that Harry admitted enjoying her company.
Harry and Dawn Potter spent the rest of the morning doing their chores and preparing for the Dursley's to wake up. It always made Vernon especially happy to find his favorite shirt pressed and starched, and when he came to the breakfast table his plate was already laid out before him- not too hot and not too cold, but just the way he liked it. Petunia was thrilled she didn't need to make breakfast, although she complained the orange juice was too thick and the eggs were too runny. She had to find something to complain about since it was the Potter kids that made it. As Harry had guessed the Dursley's didn't acknowledge his birthday or say anything nice to him, but Uncle Vernon was in a rare good mood so Harry decided to ask him a question.
"Uncle Vernon. Can I send Hedwig with another letter today?" Harry continued before Vernon could interrupt. "It's just that I forgot to ask when they're going to pick us up. My friend Ron said that Dawn and I could stay at his house for a while this summer." Harry liked putting Uncle Vernon in these situations. He knew that Vernon would be extremely happy to get the Potter children out of his house, but he would be just as happy to deny them something they wanted. Uncle Vernon eyed Harry carefully.
"And why can't it wait two days?"
Harry answered quickly, "I was just wanted to know when we could leave is all." Dawn tried to warn him with her eyes, but it was too late. Vernon had seen her warning.
"No. You can wait, boy. They won't be getting you any time soon. Nobody wants you and your runt sister. God only knows what we were thinking when we took you two in." Harry was disappointed, but let Vernon finish his tirade. After breakfast he avoided Dudley and went up to his room to be alone. It didn't work as Dawn came up soon after. She closed the door behind her.
"Hey, Harry," she tried. He didn't respond. "Come look at this." Harry climbed down from his bunk and went to look. It was easier than arguing with her. Harry watched as Dawn opened the window and pushed up the screen. The bars were still in the way, though and there's no way Hedwig could fit through there.
"Look closely, Harry. I found it this morning." Harry didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"What? I don't get it." Harry continued looking at the window dumbly.
"You can be so clueless sometimes." Dawn pointed to a small gap between the paneling and the window. Harry started to get an idea of what his sister was so excited about. He watched as Dawn pulled the paneling straight off the wall, revealing a gap easily large enough for Hedwig. Harry even thought he could fit through it himself if he needed to.
"Dawn, that's amazing!" Harry was thrilled with the discovery. "Wow! I'm so jealous." Harry had thought about looking for things like that before, but had never taken the time to actually try them, thinking there would be no way the Dursley's would leave something that obvious. He reminded himself to give thanks for shoddy construction. He turned to look at his sister and saw her big smile- the one he didn't see often enough. He gave her a quick hug and said, "This is the best birthday present ever."
It didn't take long for Harry to write a quick letter to Ron and Ginny. In it he detailed how the Dursleys had been treating the Potter children and how they had been reading his letters as well. He then told them how Dawn had figured out a way to sneak Hedwig out the window. He was quite proud of his little sister and didn't mind showing it off. Harry quickly tied the finished letter to Hedwig's outstretched leg and checked to see if Vernon's car was in the driveway. It wasn't; he must have headed off to work already. As soon as he knew the coast was clear he sent Hedwig off and watched as she squeezed through the window and flew off towards London.
As Dawn was replacing the paneling on the wall Harry realized something. "What happens when they look in and see Hedwig's gone?"
"Oh… Uh… Oops," Dawn said. "Hadn't thought of that. We could put something in front of the cage so they couldn't see into it."
"Like what?" asked Harry. Dawn stared at him blankly. "One of us is going to have to stay up here and keep the door closed until she comes back. Nothing else to do is there?" At that moment there was a loud knock on their door.
"What are you two doing in there!" yelled Aunt Petunia. "I want this door open! I won't have you plotting behind closed doors in my house." Harry and Dawn stared at each other for a second, panicked. Harry leapt in front of front of the empty cage and nodded to Dawn to open the door.
"S-sorry Aunt Petunia." Dawn stammered. "The wind must have closed it."
"I don't believe you." Aunt Petunia stared at Dawn for a minute before turning to Harry. "I'll be right downstairs and I want no funny business. I'll know if you try to sneak something past me." She was beginning to sound like Uncle Vernon. Harry suppressed a giggle as a fleeting image of Petunia with a bushy moustache on her horse-like mouth crossed his mind's eye.
"No, Aunt Petunia. We'll behave. We always do." He mumbled the last part under his breath as Petunia turned to leave. Dawn gave him a light smile.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Harry had pulled the old coat rack out of the closet and placed it just in front of Hedwig's cage. It didn't look too out of the ordinary and succeeded in hiding Hedwig's absence somewhat. Dawn had opened the loose floorboard and pulled a few white quills out and put them inside the cage to complete the effect. They took no chances however and Harry and Dawn made sure that one of them was in the room at all times. The only time they dared leave the room together was when Petunia called them for lunch, which Harry bolted down quickly and then went straight back up to the bedroom. After they had been locked in all day yesterday, and with their self imposed sit in, the Potter children were beginning to get rather bored.
"Okay, Harry. I was going to give this to you later, but this will keep you occupied for a while." Dawn pulled a large notebook out of the back of the closet. "It's your birthday present."
"Thank you, Dawn." Harry looked at his gift. It wasn't gift wrapped or anything, which was sort a tradition between them. Every July 31st for Harry, and every September 22nd for Dawn, they were given a handmade gift from their sibling. It had started out as necessity, they had no money, after all, but after they learned about their Gringott's vault they had kept the tradition of hand making gifts. Last year Dawn had presented Harry a pop-up book she had made detailing his glorious defeat of Voldemort during Harry's first year. Harry looked down at the notebook in his hands. "How did you know I wouldn't look there, anyway?"
"You never look in the closet. You just throw your dirty clothes in there and wait for them to pile up. It wasn't hard." Harry chuckled at his sister's frankness. "Go ahead open it."
Harry opened the first page. On the first page, in Dawn's flowing, classy script, were the words "The Life and Times of Dawn and Harry Potter" subtitled "Dawn's version." He looked at Dawn after reading the title. "Now you have to give me one from your point of view. But not for my birthday!" she warned him. "Be creative and invent your own present."
Harry gave Dawn a sheepish grin and thanked her for the present. He sat down at his desk and went to turn the page. "You don't mind if I read this now, do you," he asked her lightly. She shook her head and Harry began reading the first page.
Harry read all about his and Dawn's life growing up. Most wasn't new to him, but he learned some things about his sister he never knew- how horrible it was to live with the Dursleys during Harry's first year at Hogwarts, how scared she was she wouldn't be able to go when it was her turn and the enormous relief when her Hogwarts letter came a year after his, Dawn's fear and terror when Harry couldn't make the train her first year, and how for a while people thought she opened the Chamber of Secrets before they turned on Harry. He read about her involvement with the Sirius Black episode her second year and he read about how she felt watching Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry read each word carefully, taking in every nuance of his sister's writing. Just as he was finishing up, having read about the Department of Mysteries from Dawn's point of view (just reaching the part where her wand was broken by a Death Eater's Reducto Curse) when a high pitched scream startled him from the pages.
"Aunt Petunia," Dawn whispered. Harry was worried. The only thing that could entice a scream like that from Petunia was magic, and Harry was on the alert for Voldemort's men. He silently signaled for Dawn to stay behind him as he pulled out his wand and crept silently out of their room and onto the landing. Harry listened intently and made out a gravelly, unfriendly voice. They were asking for him. Harry Potter. Harry crept out a little farther and glanced down towards the front door. He could see someone standing there. Someone in a long black cloak.
So how's that for a beginning. This is quite a long chapter and I don't expect them all to be this long, but there was a lot that needed to be set up. Thesecond chapter will be posted in a few days. Ta.