Disclaimer: No money is being made by this. It is JK Rowlings world that our imagination just played in.
Chapter 2 A New Way of Life at Privet Drive
Aunt Petunia slammed the door open to the kitchen and strode in with her hands on her hips.
"Boy! I thought you said you weren't bringing any freaks to this house! Not only one, but TWO! And what was all that with that dark freak flying back through the air!" Aunt Petunia's face was white except for two red patches high on her cheeks. As she passed the stove, she grabbed a frying pan. Harry started edging towards the hallway door.
'I had my precious Diddums unloading that truck, which YOU should have been doing and you repay us like this! You will be going to your room and you will stay there!" Aunt Petunia started swinging the frying pan around. Harry didn't wait. He ran out and up the stairs to his room. Soon he heard the lock click into place.
At least it's only for a week. He could last a week. Harry flopped on his bed. He was now locked in and Remus wouldn't be contacting him for 3 days. Harry could contact him, of course, but he didn't feel this was a 'dire' emergency. He'd ride it out and see how it went.
He looked around his room and his eyes fell on Hedwig. If things went by tradition, his window would soon be boarded up, too. Harry got up to write a note.
Dear Ron,
Hey, mate. Things got a little hot here, but nothing that can't be handled. Just in case, could you keep Hedwig for me until I get there next week? Don't worry about me. I do have a way to get help if I really need it.
Thanks,
Harry
Harry rolled the parchment and wrote Ron's name on the outside. "Hedwig. Wake up, girl." Hedwig pulled her head from under her wing and took a sleepy look at Harry.
"I know you're tired as it's the middle of the day, but I need you to take this to Ron for me. Then you can stay at the Burrow. I should be there in another week."
Hedwig gave a tired hoot and stuck out her leg. Harry tied the parchment to it and Hedwig took off through the window. Harry watched her fly away sadly then turned and sat on his bed. He hated it when he was here alone. While he didn't like Hedwig missing out on flying and food, he would miss her company. She would quite often help cheer him up. Harry glanced around. What should he do now?
Harry saw the box on the desk. He got up and brought it over to the bed. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he opened up the top of the box. He reached in and pulled out the Wizarding Wireless.
Then he carefully set the wireless on the small chest by his bed and touched one of the sides. Slow, mournful sounds came out. This seemed like something that Sir Nicholas would have liked for his Deathday party, but not something Harry had any liking for. He touched another side. This side seemed to have some sort of drama going on. Harry listened for a bit, then shook his head. This sounded like one of those day-time dramas his aunt watched on the telly. He touched a third side. This one had familiar music on it. It seemed to be muggle rock music from the 1950's or 60's. He thought it might have been The Beatles. He would remember this side, but touched another. The fourth side was a play by play of a Quidditch game. He would DEFINITELY remember this station. He touched the fifth side. This seemed to be the popular WWN, Wizarding Wireless Network. He heard the announcer mention the next song would be by The Singing Sorceress, Celestina Warbeck. This one sounded somewhat familiar. He may have heard it at Hogwarts. He touched the final side and found the Chamber Music that Professor Dumbledore had mentioned. He listened for a bit. It wasn't doing anything for him at the moment, but he would try listening to it tonight to see if it would help to clear his mind.
Harry switched it back to the WWN and had the volume low. He knew they had news commentaries on this station as well as music and he wanted to figure out their schedule so he'd know when to listen.
Harry reached into the box and pulled out a small hard shape wrapped in a cloth. He unwrapped it and found a shiny badge with a 'HB' on it. This was his fathers Head Boy badge. He pinned it on his shirt and wondered if he would ever get to be a head boy like his father had. He reached into the box again. This time he pulled out a journal. He opened it up and saw it started in his father's fourth year at Hogwarts.
21-Oct-1974
I'm thinking that maybe if I write this down, we'll be able to remember some of what we are doing or maybe just keep from doing stuff twice because we forgot. We have two main projects going on right now; the animagus transformation (which seems stalled at the moment) and the Halloween prank on the Slytherins.
For the animagus thing, we've figured out that so far you need to 'meet' your animal but for some reason Hogwarts library seems to be out of books showing us how. Sirius, Peter and I each looked for books over the summer, but none of us have found much success. The Black library mostly has stuff you wouldn't want to read, but Sirius did find one promising book and was able to sneak it in with his trunk. My home library also had two books but none of them are easy reading or have direct instructions. Peter's family doesn't have a library. So we have 3 books which are difficult to read, but read we will! A pity we're keeping this from Remus. He's the one that likes to do research. Ah, well. We will get there eventually.
On to the subject with a bit better progress. The Slytherin prank! Sirius heard that the Chudley Cannons use a misting color charm which lets fans show their support by walking into the mist and changing their robes to orange. Of course, the fans do this voluntarily and it only lasts about 3 hours. Sirius thinks that this would work for us if we could get it to trigger when they leave their common room. I think that we could incorporate a hair-dye in green to complete the pumpkin look. Just in case such an opportunity would arise, I did nick several samples of such items from my mother's bathroom. Remus and Peter are doing research on how to change the hair-dye from black to green and Sirius and I will figure out the trigger needed. I think we can use the passage behind the picture of 'The Sanguine Scott' to get us in the area of the Slytherin dungeon.
Harry flipped slowly through the rest of the journal. His father wasn't a faithful writer by any means. Months would go by without an entry. It looked like this journal lasted through his Hogwarts years.
He wanted to read this but for now he wanted to see what else was in the box. He set the journal aside. He reached inside again and pulled out a small round object. It was in a cloth bag. He removed the bag and found a small golden snitch. Harry held it in his palm and laid his hand flat with an open palm. Nothing happened for a moment but then the little wings unfurled and it lifted into the air. Harry smiled. He remembered the memory of his father playing with this snitch and now here he was. The snitch wasn't as fast as a newer one and was about as easy to catch as Pig, Ron's owl, was. But still, it was entertaining for a while. He caught it easily and put it back in the bag.
The next few items pulled out were letters written to his father. Some were from Sirius and Remus and some from his mother. He set those to the side, too.
The next item in the box was a bit larger than the others had been. It was rolled up in a long roll about a foot long. Harry started to unroll it. It was a circular bullseye. Harry was confused. It didn't look like darts had been thrown at it. Harry flipped it over and saw instruction on the back.
The Spellseye
Improve your accuracy and strength with The Spellseye
Place The Spellseye against a wall and fire your spell at this moving target. If you can hit our target, The Spellseye will show you a strength rating from
1 – 10.
Spell to use: Subsisto
WARNING: Do not use other spells as they may cause damage to the Spellseye.
Now this he could use if it still worked. How he wished he could use magic right now. Harry thought it must have been one of the stupidest rules to not allow magical use outside of Hogwarts. He sighed and rolled it back up. Best keep it out of sight and remove the temptation. Harry wondered how Sirius ended up with this stuff. Harry scraped out the last few papers out of the box. One seemed to be the Hogwarts Certificate of Completion and the others just miscellaneous letters.
Harry took off the Head Boy badge and put everything except the journal back into the box. At some point the Dursley's would be coming into his room, probably at a bathroom break and he needed to get this hidden before that happened.
Harry looked around and decided he would bury it in his trunk. It should be ok in there. The journal he would keep under the loose floorboard under his bed. That was where he kept his more precious items like his dad's invisibility cloak he'd inherited and his photo album.
He'd not been looking at his album this year so far because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep away from the picture with his godfather in it. He'd been good at avoiding things so far. It was time it stopped. Harry took the album out as he put the journal in. He opened it up to his parents wedding picture. There he was. There beside his parents was his godfather, their best man. Harry caught his breath. The tears came to his eyes.
"I miss you so much, Sirius." Harry hugged the album to his chest.
His attention was caught by the news coming on the radio. He looked at the old clock of Dudley's he had repaired on the side of his bed. It was 5:00 pm.
An attack today near Diagon Alley. The Chang family who run the Chang Cauldron Shop were attacked by Dementors…
Harry listened in shock. Could that be Cho Chang?
The amazing part in this story is that their young daughter, going into her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was able to hold off the Dementors and protect her mother and brother until help arrived. Unfortunately, her father, Ho Chang, received the kiss after he had been able to summon help for their family. All of the surviving family members have been treated and released from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Harry didn't know how to feel. He felt bad that Cho just had another loss, but also proud that the Patronus charm she had learned was able to save her and the rest of her family. The news went on to report of another attack in Bristol of a family Harry didn't know and mentioned that several muggles died as well.
Harry heard a noise at his door. He turned the Wireless off and flipped the telly on hoping they would believe any noise heard was just the telly. Uncle Vernon walked into the room. He seemed a little nervous and was carrying a hammer.
"Boy, you can take a bathroom break now. You've got 15 minutes. Get moving." Harry grabbed some things and figured he'd take a shower while he had the opportunity. He knew he'd most likely not get such a long break again; that he'd only gotten it because his uncle was going to nail shut the window.
As he moved into the hall, he saw his cousin Dudley smirking at him from his room's doorway and cracking his knuckles. Harry figured he'd better nip this in the bud right away.
"Dudley, I'm not planning on bringing this up to my friends as they have some important things to do right now, but if you even think about hurting me I will call them in and they can and will do a whole lot worse than give you a pig's tail! And don't you doubt that they would come." Harry's voice was low, but full of promise. Dudley backed down and Harry turned and went into the bathroom.
When Harry returned to his room he saw that he had been right and his window was now nailed shut. Unfortunately he noticed his trunk was gone, too, as well as the telly.
"Where's your bloody owl?" Uncle Vernon asked him.
"I told her to wait at the Weasley's."
At Harry's answer Uncle Vernon's face went white. "Y…You sent a message to your freaky friends?"
"I only asked that they keep her until I can get there. Hopefully I'll be out of here in another week. I'll keep quiet until then IF you return my stuff." Harry glared at his uncle.
Vernon's eyes shifted around nervously. He eyes kept glancing over towards where the kitchen would be if he could see through walls; where Harry presumed Aunt Petunia was.
"I…er…I'll get them back to you, but in the morning." Vernon was looking like he was trying to come up with a plan on getting Harry his stuff without Petunia knowing. Harry was briefly reminded of second year, when Ron and he used Polyjuice Potion and turned into Crabbe and Goyle. Ron had made a comment of how bizarre it was to see Goyle thinking.
"Make sure you do. You know, the Order is around and they will notice what's going on. I don't need owls to get the word out." Harry's voice was still low but resolute.
"Yes…Well…I'll just be going now." And Uncle Vernon left the room, mopping at the beads of sweat that popped out around his brow. Moments later Harry heard the lock clicking shut.
Harry heaved a sigh and threw himself on his bed. Only a week. He could last a week.
Harry's next few days were a series of highs and lows. Mostly lows. Harry tried listening to the chamber music, but he had been right and it did nothing for him. Uncle Vernon kept his word and the next morning the milk delivery mysteriously didn't show up and Aunt Petunia needed to make a run to the local grocer. During this run, Uncle Vernon brought Harry's trunk and the telly back to his room. "Just keep the volume down, boy."
Harry spent the day flipping through his father's journal and reading some of the letters. The Halloween prank went off well, but the trigger had been able to be traced back to his father and Sirius and they had to serve one of their famous detentions.
Harry tried the music again the next night, but again felt it made no difference.
The next evening, Harry had a bit of a surprise. He had a visitor. The Dursley's had decided to go out for the evening meal. This was to console Dudley, who had been notified that his services were no longer needed at the Ice Cream Parlor. Apparently, between their losing inventory (he was constantly eating it) and his rudeness to the customers (he would threaten the kids when they took too long to decide what they wanted) they had decided business would be better without him there. So the Dursley's left with Aunt Petunia loudly complaining of how the employers today had no idea of what a good employee was anymore and how dare they damage the psyche of her precious, fragile boy.
Harry was listening to a Quidditch match on his wireless. The Wimbourne Wasps were ahead of Puddlemere United by 60 points when Harry heard the tell-tale creak of the bottom step of the stairs. Harry quickly got off his bed and pulled his wand. He stood behind where the door would open, his foot slightly forward in case the door would be opened violently so it wouldn't smash into his nose. He heard the uneven tread of someone coming up the stairs and pause outside his door.
He heard a rusty chuckle and then, "Relax, Potter. It's just ol' Mad-Eye. Alohamora." The lock clicked open. Harry moved to the center of the room, wand still held in front of him. The door swung open and Mad-Eye Moody stood there. "Good instincts there, Potter. Not lettin' up your guard. I've got a delivery here for ya."
"What did you ask me to get you the last time you were here?" Harry was pretty sure this was the real Mad-Eye, but as he had thought he had known the real Mad-Eye for a whole school year when it was really a Death Eater using Polyjuice, Harry thought it better to be safe than sorry.
The rusty chuckle came again. "A glass of water for my eye. Very good, indeed. Constant vigilance! I've brought you some transportation." Mad-Eye Moody handed Harry his Firebolt.
Harry took hold of it. "I've missed this. I've not seen it for most of a year." Harry gently cradled the first present he'd received from his godfather carefully and laid it on the bed.
"Potter. You want to tell me about this locked door? Did our talk not help? Do you want us to talk to the muggles again, a little more…aggressively? I'll gladly talk to that Dursley fellow again." Moody got that look in his eye that gave the impression that he would greatly enjoy his little 'talk'.
Harry didn't want to stir up any more trouble. "The talk went just fine and I really appreciated it. Uncle Vernon still is leaving me alone as is my cousin. My aunt is another case, though. She can only be pushed so far and I think she's reached her limit. Any more and I would probably not be welcome back here. Not that I'd mind overmuch, but I know there is some sort of protection because of her blood tie with me. I think it is better if I just stay quiet and let the time pass. I know how to pick the lock and can get out when I need to. As it's only a week before I leave here, I think it's best just to let it play out."
Moody looked at him with a bit of respect and a lopsided grin. "You know them best, Potter. But if you ever want any help, just give a wave from the window and we'll be here. With your window closed like that, how does your owl get out?" He looked around with his magical eye. "Where is she anyway?"
"I sent her ahead to the Burrow to wait for me there. I didn't want her trapped here, too."
"Sent to the Burrow, eh? When did you send her?" Mad-Eye got a calculating look in his eye.
"I sent her the day before yesterday. Hasn't anyone mentioned seeing her?" Harry started to get a bit worried. Just now he was remembering how Remus and Dumbledore said that Owl post wasn't currently safe and here he sent her out with a note attached.
"It wasn't mentioned to me, but we'll keep a lookout for her. Well, keep on your toes, Potter!" and with that he turned and left again.
As the door was already open, Harry thought he might as well stock up a bit on the food. The cold tin of soup he got wasn't the most appetizing. Keeping the lights off he made his way downstairs to the kitchen, put his soup in a bowl and heated it in the microwave. While it was heating, he scouted for food items that wouldn't be missed and collected a small pile. After the soup was ready he ate it then washed the bowl he'd used. After putting everything back the way it had been before he came down he again made his way in the dark with his small pile of food back upstairs. Back in his room he got out the hairpin and re-locked his door. He put the food under the loose floorboard.
Harry was getting a bit worried about Hedwig, but tried to put it out of his mind. It probably just wasn't mentioned that Hedwig showed up at the Weasley's. No use worrying until he knew if he had something to worry about. Harry tried to get back into the Quidditch game that Puddlemere was now losing by 110 points. Harry wondered how Oliver Wood was doing. Last he heard he was still on the reserve team, but with how the current keeper was doing, maybe he'd get a chance to be bumped up to the regular team. Harry got out his broom polish and started to work on his broom. He heard the Dursley's return home and eventually it was time to try to sleep.
Harry kept his broom close and closed his eyes. He thought of flying. Chasing after the snitch. Umbridge's toad face leapt in front of his mind. Banning him from ever playing Quidditch again. 'Focus, Harry.' Flying. He could almost feel the breeze in his face, flying on his Firebolt. His godfather gave him his Firebolt. Sirius falling through the veil…
Harry was standing in the corner of a dark room. There was a large, throne-like chair in the middle of the room in front of an elaborate fireplace. In the chair was a tall, thin man staring into the fire. A sound in the back of the room caught his attention. The tall man turned towards the sound.
"Wormtail! Has Bellatrix reported in yet?" The tall man had a high, cold voice.
"Not yet, Master. But I have heard from Goyle. He said that the Dementors are not pleased about what happened at the Chang's. They are not pleased that a young girl was able to hold them off. They want another family."
"I don't care what they want. I want to know how that girl was able to form a Patronus! That is not something you could learn by those idiotic Ministry Fliers. There should have been no survivors. Tell Goyle to take Flint and Fermot and finish off that family! I want no failures."
"Goyle said his son reported that Potter had taught several students defensive spells during the last school year…"
"POTTER! That brat just keeps getting in my way!" A surge of anger welled up…
And Harry woke up.
'Flying obviously didn't work.' Harry thought to himself as he pressed his palm tightly on his forehead on the scar that connected him to the Dark Lord. He fumbled for his glasses and sat up in bed.
"Cho!" Harry reached for his mirror.
'Remus Lupin!" Harry's voice was urgent.
"Harry?" A sleepy looking Remus Lupin appeared in Harry's mirror.
"Remus, I just had a vision. Voldemort was angry about the Chang's surviving the Dementor attack and was going to send Goyle, Flint and someone named Fermot over to finish off Cho, her mother and brother. Can you let someone know and check it out? Please?" Harry's voice was pleading.
Remus had woken up now. "Don't worry about it Harry. I'll pass the message along and we will investigate it."
"Remus, tell them to be careful, ok?" Harry was afraid it was another trick. He was so grateful that he had someone to talk to. It wasn't all his responsibility to decide whether it was real or not.
"They will be careful, Harry. Out." Remus' face disappeared.
"Out." Harry took a deep breath and set the mirror back down. He didn't want to sleep anymore tonight. He turned on the wireless softly to the WWN. He heard the announcer say that the next song was an oldie from The Hobgoblins. Harry knew that group from somewhere. Luna's Quibbler article last year. Stubby Boardman was the lead singer. The Quibbler had an article about how Sirius Black was really Stubby Boardman. Sirius. He took out his album. He found his godfather's picture again.
"I'm trying, Sirius. I'm trying to make sure I don't mess up so badly again." Harry's thoughts turned back to Hedwig. He wondered if he had messed up there. He wished he felt he could bring that up with Remus now, but he would wait until he normally would speak to Remus tomorrow night. Harry eventually drifted off to sleep.
Harry awoke with burning in his scar and a fleeting feeling of anger that didn't feel like his own. He found the wireless was still on. He adjusted his glasses on his face and slowly sat up.
…and now for the latest headline news…Three suspected Death Eaters were lured into a trap late last night and arrested. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt confirmed that three suspected Death Eaters broke into the Chang residence and were apprehended. Ministry aurors had staked out the place and were ready when the suspects entered the home. The Chang family is safe at an undisclosed location…
Harry let go of the breath that he hadn't known he was holding. They were ok. He hadn't failed.
Harry spent the morning reading some more of his father's journal. He read of a few more pranks his father and his friends had pulled off. They weren't always against the Slytherins, but the Slytherins did seem to be the favorite target. He also reported of pranks done by the Slytherins. Most pranks he wasn't sure should even be classified as 'pranks'. Some seemed rather dangerous. There was the time Sirius found he was the victim of a leg-locker curse at the top of the moving staircases. If it wasn't for James skill in catching the Quaffle, Sirius might have been pretty badly injured. Many of their pranks seemed to involve some sort of bodily injury or trips to the hospital wing. Snape's name came up a couple of times as one who would cause some of these trips. He was apparently quite talented at potions even then and used that knowledge to get the others.
In the afternoon, Harry heard his name being called from his mirror.
"Remus!" Harry picked up his mirror and smiled in it. "It worked!"
Remus laughed. "Yes, it worked. The Order was able to get some Aurors to the Chang's and set a trap. The Chang's were sent to a safe house for a short while until the Ministry sets up a few more wards around their house. They each will also have an emergency port-key to use for the rest of the summer."
"I'm so glad." Harry sat back and smiled. "I was worried it might have been another trap. How was the Ministry convinced to send the aurors?"
"They are paying Professor Dumbledore a bit more attention lately. On the other hand, Harry, I take it that the Occlumency is not coming along too well?" Remus arched an eyebrow.
Harry scowled. "No. I'm trying some different things and hopefully I'll run across something that will help me clear my mind. But I haven't run across the right thing yet."
Harry could see Remus run a hand through his graying hair. "Harry, what is this I'm hearing about you being locked in your room again? Do you want someone to come out and talk to the Dursleys?"
Harry shook his head. "No. Aunt Petunia witnessed our little confrontation a few days ago and it kind of pushed her to the edge. Anything more and I think she would go over it. I can last it out. By the way, have you been in contact with the Weasley's at all? Have you heard if Hedwig's all right?"
Remus looked concerned and said, "She turned up yesterday morning. She seems a bit ruffled and has an injury on her side, but is already almost better. She didn't have any note with her, however. Moody said you had sent a note. What did it say?"
"I don't remember exactly. I think I just asked Ron to watch over her for the next week." Harry scrunched his forehead trying to remember what he wrote.
"You didn't say you were going there, did you?" Remus asked.
"I just don't remember, Remus. I don't think I said it outright, but I may have implied that I would be seeing him. I don't know. You think she was intercepted?"
"It's a strong possibility. Just who intercepted her and why?"
Harry spent the next few days passing time, just waiting until he could leave. He listened to the Wireless and read more letters. He tried to keep depression at bay, but being confined didn't give him any outlet for working out any bouts of grief or aggression. Harry heard once from a rushed looking Remus to confirm that he would be picked up on Friday night at 8:30 pm. They would fly to the Weasley's and the next day attend the Will reading in Diagon Alley.
Finally Friday arrived and Harry had everything packed. Harry heard the Dursley's leave. They had taken lately to going to the Symphony each Friday evening for a nice family outing. Grunnings had season tickets and Vernon managed to get seats near his boss. This made it convenient for planning for when the best time for the Order to pick up Harry was. Harry picked the lock on his door and went downstairs to wait.
At 8:30 there was a knock on the door. Harry opened it to find several people waiting outside. After verifying they were who they said he let them in. Remus was near the lead and Harry gave him a brief hug. Remus looked him over. Harry had some shadows in his eyes again.
"Remus, my trunk is ready. I'll just run upstairs and get it." Harry started to turn away when Remus grabbed hold of his arm.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but you won't be able to stay with the Weasley's just yet."
Harry turned to look at Remus. Not stay at the Weasley's? "What do you mean, Remus?"
"There has been increased Death Eater activity in Ottery St. Catchpole. We believe they're staking out the Weasley's waiting for your arrival." Harry instantly got an alarmed look in his eyes. "The Weasleys are safe enough right now. The wards around their house are enough to hold off several Death Eaters, but if they would attack enforce, we are afraid they would fall. We do not believe that the Death Eaters would use that much force…unless they were given a great incentive to do so, namely having you there. I'm afraid you will have to come back here after this weekend." Remus looked like he would rather be saying anything other than that to Harry.
Harry was beginning to panic. He convinced himself he could last a week, but the rest of the summer? He didn't want to go to Sirius' house either, but if it was between that and the Dursley's…"What about Headquarters with you?"
"No one is staying there regularly at the moment. I have to go back out as soon as this weekend is over. Dumbledore believes it would be better if the Weasleys stayed at the Burrow this summer. Buckbeak was temporarily moved to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid until plans can be finalized for him to be moved to a preserve in Romania that Charlie found. You can't stay there by yourself."
Harry's shoulders slumped. Remus put his arm around his shoulders and guided him to the steps. "Let's pack a few things in a bag for this weekend. It will be alright, Harry. We'll figure something out. We'll be staying at Headquarters tonight instead of the Burrow. It will be safer for everyone that way. You'll see everyone tomorrow. Ron and Ginny seem very anxious to see you."
Harry turned without a word and headed upstairs to his room. Remus followed behind with a sad look on his face. Harry opened his door and led the way to his trunk. He opened it and started sorting through the clothes, pulling out some to wear for the next day. He then found his bag of items for the loo and pulled that out as well. Remus brought out a backpack from his robe and put the stuff into it.
"Is there anything else you want to take?"
Harry thought for a moment then pulled out his invisibility cloak and handed it to Remus. "For sneaking back in." He had his wand and a cloak out already for traveling. He grabbed his Firebolt, silently turned and went back out the door. Remus followed behind him. In the hallway, Harry turned back to the door and locked it. Remus looked at him confused.
"Why did you do that?"
"If I have to come back it would be better if they never knew I had been missing."
Remus still looked confused. "Wouldn't they find out in the morning?"
"No. They don't necessarily see me when they unlock the door. I have to listen for when the lock unclicks. If I miss it…well, that's my problem then, isn't it?" Harry said a bit sarcastically.
"Oh, Harry…We will figure out something. I promise."
"Red sparks! That's the first signal!" Dedalus Diggle's voice called from downstairs, as excited as ever. He had made his way to the kitchen window to keep watch.
Everyone made their way through the kitchen and out the back door to wait in the garden. Remus looked around at the completed garden.
Harry noticed and said, "They paid some contractors to come in and finish up the job. I saw them drive up earlier this week." Harry looked around. It still looked as boring as before to him. Everyone mounted up and got ready to fly.
Off in the distance they could see a bit of a green cloud rising in the air.
"That's the wrong direction, and it's not sparks. Something's wrong!" Kingsley Shacklebolt's low voice broke into the waiting silence.
Everyone watched as the green cloud slowly formed a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Harry stared as if in a trance. It was forming not two miles away.
Remus came running over to Harry. Kingsley Shacklebolt started issuing orders. "Remus, you take Harry with your emergency port-key. We'll go and investigate what's happening over there."
Remus took off the simple gold chain around his neck. He held it out for Harry to touch. Harry closed his eyes and touched it. Remus said something under his breath, then counted backwards. "Three…Two…One."
There was a sudden pull and rush of color and sound. When Harry landed, he stumbled against the wall. He leaned there for a moment catching his breath then slowly slid down it to sit on the floor. "I absolutely hate port-key travel." he said quietly.
Remus bent down to help Harry up. Harry just looked up at him. Remus tilted his head to the side then sat down beside him.
"Why do you hate port-key travel?"
"The first time I used a port-key was for the World Cup. Death Eaters had their little rampage there and that was the first time I'd ever seen the Dark Mark. The next time I used a port-key was the 3rd task. First I was taken to see Voldemort get his body back, then I came back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body right into the arms of Barty Crouch Jr. The fourth time was right after Sirius died. Dumbledore made one for me to get back to his office. And now this. Someone who lives near me is getting attacked. I've never used a port-key where something bad hadn't just happened or was about to happen. I hate port-key travel." Harry shrugged.
"I'm sorry Harry. If there had been another way…You know that the port-key itself doesn't cause these things to happen."
"Oh, I know that logically." Harry said impatiently. "It's just hard for me to think about that mode of travel. I know it's something I'll get used to. I'll have to." Harry paused for a while then looked over at Remus. "How long do you think until we know what happened?"
Remus sighed and told Harry he just didn't know. They both sat there a little while longer. Harry finally leaned forward and used his broom he still had in his hand to get to his feet. He helped Remus to stand and squared his shoulders. He looked around and jerked in surprise. They were in the entrance hall to Number 12 Grimmauld Place in front of the closed curtains of Mrs. Black's portrait. Their voices must have been quiet enough to not disturb her. Remus motioned with his hand and Harry silently followed him.
Remus led him up the stairs. As they passed the House Elf heads, Harry noticed a new one. Kreachers head was added to the end of the line. "I guess I don't have to ask what happened to Kreacher."
Remus shook his head. "He did it to himself somehow after he betrayed Sirius. He was laughing while he did it."
They continued on to the room he had shared with Ron the previous year. Remus put the backpack with Harry's things on the bed. Harry looked around. The portrait of Phineas Nigellus was empty. Harry started feeling edgy. "Could we go somewhere else?"
Remus nodded and they left the room. Remus took him down to the kitchen and started making some tea. Remus told him a bit about staying here alone. He seemed to like going on the missions as much to be able to get out of here as to help The Order. Harry couldn't blame him. He knew what it was like being somewhere you didn't want to be and if something needed doing that you could do elsewhere…of course, he should go.
They slowly drank their tea and had a few biscuits until a knock was heard at the door. Well, more like the screams and shouts of Mrs. Black were heard after she heard the knock at the door.
Remus and Harry hurried into the entrance hall and Harry opened the door while Remus dealt with Mrs. Black. Hestia Jones hurried in. She was slightly out of breath. They all made their way back to the kitchen. Harry got another mug and poured her some tea. She sat down and took it gratefully.
"It was mostly over. When we got there only one Death Eater was still around. The family was all dead. It was a muggle family. Last name of Evans."
Harry's mouth opened. "Evans?" He looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow.
"They couldn't have been relation. Lily said she had no extended family."
Harry's eyes suddenly widened. "I wonder if that was Mark Evans family. Mrs. Jones, was there a boy around eleven there?"
"Yes there was. A pity."
"Did you know Mark Evans, Harry?" Remus asked.
"Not really. Dudley and his gang went after him last summer after Dudley became too scared of me."
Hestia Jones just seemed confused at this but Remus understood and Harry didn't feel like explaining. Remus closed his eyes. "What happened to the Death Eater?"
"He got away. When we all showed up so quickly he just apparated out. Kingsley tried to pick up the trail, but he must have had this pre-planned and made a few jumps and used a port-key. The others are working on clean up. We think it was just a coincidence that it happened where and when it did. The rest should be here soon."
Soon the others started coming. Harry waited in the hall for them so they wouldn't have to knock loudly and Mrs. Black's portrait wouldn't start her screaming. Harry followed them down to the kitchen and while they all talked to each other about what happened, he got them all some tea. Harry just stayed quiet and out of the way. He had always had quite a talent at not being noticed when he wanted. The Order members started comparing this attack with others they had seen or heard of. Harry learned more now than he had from the Prophet or the Wireless. There had been attacks almost nightly, somewhere, but mostly in the muggle areas. The attacks against wizards were mostly Dementor attacks and those were mostly against half-bloods or muggleborns. Mr. Chang had been a half-blood who had spoken out against the Dark Side.
Eventually Remus did notice Harry was still there and motioned for him to leave the kitchen. Remus went with him to his room. "You will have a long day tomorrow, Harry. Why don't you turn in for the night. After going to Gringotts for the Will reading, a group of us will be getting together here to remember Sirius."
Harry just nodded and turned towards the bed. Remus quietly left the room.
The following morning Harry woke up early. He got up and made his way to the kitchen. Harry started getting the ingredients together to make a couple of omelets and made some toast. He was frying the omelets when Remus made his way down to the kitchen.
"That smells good. What are you putting in there?"
"It's mostly bacon, cheese and some leftover ham I found. You want some?"
"Of course! I usually only have a bit of toast because I have to admit that I can't cook one bit."
Harry placed the omelet and a few strips of bacon in front of Remus. Remus reached over and grabbed a few pieces of toast off the warming plate. Harry poured him some pumpkin juice and Remus laughed. "I feel like I'm back at Hogwarts!"
"Yeah, well…" Harry had his own plate ready and sat down across from Remus. Together they ate their way through the rest of the breakfast. "You know, Remus, I am pretty self-sufficient. I can take care of myself."
"You cannot stay here alone, Harry. You helped clean it out last year. You know there are things in here that could cause injury. Someone else needs to be nearby to get help."
"OK! I'll give it up."
"You don't have to give up on staying here, just on staying here now. I promise I will figure some way for you to stay here, even if I have to cancel my mission."
"No. Don't do that, Remus. I'm sure that's more important than my wanting to be away from the Dursleys."
"Harry, you're important, too. At least to me. We, as the Marauders have let you down too many times. It's time for that to stop. I swear I will find some way to have you leave the Dursleys. Next week is the full moon, but I will figure something. Marauders Honor." Remus had a very serious look as his eyes gazed into Harry's.
"Thanks, Moony." Harry had a half-grin on his face, but the look in his eyes was guarded, like he couldn't let himself really believe. Remus decided that he would do everything in his power to get the belief back in his eyes.
Harry gave a mental shake. "So what time are we supposed to be at Diagon Alley? And how are we getting there?"
"We will have an escort coming here around 10:00 am and we should meet with the goblins at 11:00. We should start getting ready soon."
Harry and Remus concentrated on finishing their breakfasts and then went upstairs to get dressed.
Shortly after 10:00 Harry and Remus met with their escorts. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody were to form the guard for Harry. Kingsley led them to a mid-sized car. Kingsley and Mad-Eye got in the front while Tonks, Harry and Remus were in the back. They drove to where the Leaky Cauldron entrance was. Kingsley parked the car and they got out. Kingsley took the lead with Mad-Eye in the rear, eyeball rolling to the back of his head under his bowler hat watching behind them, and Tonks and Remus were on either side of Harry. Harry hated this.
They made their way through The Leaky Cauldron and out the back to the entrance of Diagon Alley. As they made their way down the Alley, Harry would occasionally see other people he knew, mostly Order members. As they were passing Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Harry noticed Cho Chang sitting with Michael Corner at one of the tables. She looked up as he passed.
"Harry!" Cho sprang out of her seat and ran towards Harry. Michael got up as well and stood a ways off watching. "Harry, I'm so glad to see you!" Cho's eyes were beginning to tear up.
"Cho, I heard what happened. I'm sorry for your trouble." Cho was very near Harry now and threw herself into his arms. Harry closed his arms around her and Cho burst out in tears.
"Oh, Harry. I want to thank you. If it hadn't been for you, I don't know what would have happened." Harry tensed. Did she know about his vision? Harry didn't think anyone knew about that.
'It was so awful, Harry. I couldn't do it! I tried to think of a happy memory just like you taught us, but all I could hear were the screams about Cedric being dead. I couldn't form my Patronus. All that came out was some mist. You had told us that it would be harder and that it was serious, but I just thought they were pretty. When I needed it, I couldn't form one and my father…my father…" Cho broke down again. Harry relaxed a little. She was thanking him for teaching the Patronus Charm.
"It's ok to grieve for what happened to your father. Let it out. Remember your father was a hero for getting help to the family he loved." Harry tightened his arms around her. She gave a shudder and collapsed into more sobs.
"But I failed them! I couldn't form a Patronus. If I could have done it maybe my father would have been saved."
"Cho, I know more than most that you can only do the best you can in the situation. To second guess afterwards is bad for you. Instead of focusing on blaming yourself, remember your father loved you and wanted to save you. Everyone has problems with that charm sometimes. Dementors are evil and very powerful. At the time you COULDN'T do the charm. If you could you would have. Accept that it was something you had no control over. Even getting the mist to hold them back is a major accomplishment. YOU saved your mother and brother."
Most of the storm seemed to pass and Cho eventually pulled back and looked up at him. "You really are something, Harry." She gave a small smile. She finally noticed the small group around Harry.
'Professor Lupin and Professor Moody! And you two are two of the Aurors who came out to our house a few days back, aren't you? Are you all with Harry?"
Remus Lupin smiled at her gently and replied, "Yes, and I'm afraid we need to get to our appointment."
Cho turned to Harry with a curious look. "Oh. Where do you have to be?"
Harry gave a sad smile in return. "We're going to Gringotts to hear the reading of my Godfather's Will. He was killed a short while back."
Cho reached over and grabbed Harry again. This time to give him a hug. "I'm so sorry…" Tears started falling again.
Harry looked over to Michael Corner and nodded to him. Michael came over and took Cho's arm to lead her away.
Harry and his entourage continued on their way.
As they entered Gringotts, Harry was pounced on by Ron and Ginny.
"Harry, mate! Good to see you. What happened to your shirt?" Ron eyed the wet patches on his shirt with curiosity.
"I ran into Cho outside." said Harry.
Ron grimaced. "Enough said." Ginny got a sympathetic grin on her face.
"What are you guys doing here?" Harry hadn't known they would be at Gringotts.
Ginny answered him. "Oh, Mum and Dad needed to come to this thing, too, so we asked if we could come along so we could see you."
Mrs. Weasley hurried up to them. "Oh, Harry. Let me take a look at you. You look tired. Are you sleeping all right?" Harry couldn't answer her question as he currently couldn't breathe in one of Mrs. Weasley's hugs.
"Let him breathe, Mum. Things will be fine, Harry. You'll see." Ron grinned at Harry. Ginny was, too. Harry thought they were taking things a bit lightly. They didn't have to go back to the Dursley's.
Remus walked over and touched Harry's shoulder. "We need to go in now."
He guided Harry over to a door. Harry looked back and gave a half wave to his friends. He saw them and the rest of his guard heading for some seats on the other side of the bank. As he entered he saw that the group consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus, himself and some other lady he didn't know. She had black hair, with a bit of gray at her temples. She had a very aristocratic heart-shaped face and a reserved expression. When she saw Remus, she smiled. Her whole face changed and Harry could see a bit of laughter in her eyes.
"Harry, let me introduce you to Andromeda Tonks. Andi, this is Harry Potter." Remus smiled at the slightly older woman.
"I'm pleased to meet you. Are you Tonks mother? Sirius' cousin?" Harry was curious. He could see a bit of both of them in her; her aristocratic good looks and dark hair like Sirius and the heart-shaped face of Tonks.
She was giving Remus a withering look. "What is it with these nicknames? Andi, indeed! Only you kids ever called me that! And I don't know why my Nymphadora doesn't use her proper name. Just 'Tonks'. Really. She was as lovely as a wood nymph when she was born so I gave her a beautiful name." She gave her hand to Harry to shake.
Harry could understand. Teenagers, at least muggle-raised teenagers would more likely think of nymphomaniac rather than a wood nymph. Harry just smiled and shook her hand.
At that time a goblin came in. He walked over behind a desk and said in a high, slightly squeaky voice, "Shall we begin. Please take a seat."
Everyone found a seat; Andromeda Tonks sat on the end, then Remus, Harry, Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley. The goblin continued. "Welcome to Gringotts. My name is Mordrack. We are here for the reading of Sirius Black's Last Will and Testament. All present should include Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, Andromeda Tonks and Arthur and Molly Weasley. All are present? Yes? Then we shall continue." He spoke quite quickly. Another goblin entered the room carrying a box with the Black Family Seal on the front of it. He placed it on the desk in front of Mordrack and quickly left. Mordrack ran a long finger along the top and it parted like a ziploc bag. He reached inside and lifted out several parchments. He started reading the first parchment.
"I, Sirius Black, last remaining Black male descendent of the Most Ancient House of Black, do hereby bequeath the following:
To my favorite cousin, Andromeda Black Tonks, I hereby leave twenty-five percent of all liquid assets in the Black Family Vault, number 238, as well as twenty-five percent of all liquid assets in my personal vault, number 859. Andi, I hope you do well with your life. By the way, I've met your kid and you've done a good job raising her."
Andromeda Tonks had a small smile on her face and was slightly shaking her head back and forth. Harry heard her mutter. "Him and those nicknames."
"To Arthur and Molly Weasley, I hereby leave five percent of all liquid assets in vaults 238 as well as vault 859. I thank you for being there for Harry while I couldn't. Please continue to be there for him when he needs support."
Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes. She reached over to Harry and took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Mr. Weasley gave Mrs. Weasley a pat on her other arm.
"To my godson, Harry Potter, I hereby leave my Triumph Motorcycle to be held in the care of Remus Lupin until you come of age, if you haven't already, as well as half of all remaining assets. I love you, Harry. I know you don't need any of this money as your parents left you enough, but it's all I have to give. I love you like you were my own son. Keep out of trouble or at least try to.
Harry felt tears in his eyes. Money wasn't all he had had to give. He had shown Harry love at every turn. That was worth more than money. That was everything.
"To my friend, Remus Lupin, I hereby leave the other half of all remaining assets. This includes any property owned. Take care of Harry. Try to keep Molly from coddling him too much."
Harry heard a small humph to his side. Molly didn't appreciate that comment.
"And take care of yourself, too. You're a good friend. Don't cut yourself off from others. You and James are my brothers.
'Now I hope you all can remember the good times we had. Now go have a party in my name.
The goblin looked up at Remus. "Here is where we have the problem, sir. The next section lists the assets of Mr. Black and under property it lists that there is a house, but it doesn't give the location. I'm afraid you and Mr. Potter are owners of a house, but we cannot tell you where it is. We have been trying to find the property for weeks to no avail. I know we had record of it before. We will continue to try to scry the location, but I felt this meeting could not be put off any longer."
Remus shook his head. "I know of the property. I'm sure when the time is right it will appear back on your papers."
The goblin nodded. He took the bottom sheet of parchment out and handed it to Mrs. Tonks and indicated she should pass it along. "Very well. If everyone would place their hand on this sheet one at a time to verify your understanding and acceptance of the proceeds, we can conclude. Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter, there are a few additional details that should be sorted as to how you want the liquid assets disbursed. Stocks cashed in or their value paid out from your shares."
Harry was confused. He didn't know anything about any of that stuff. Remus took pity on him. "Harry, will you trust me to take care of it for now? We can go over this later."
Harry gave a sigh of relief. He nodded at Remus and the goblin and left with the others.
Ron and Ginny met him back in the main lobby. Andromeda Tonks walked over to Harry. "I'm glad to meet you, Harry. It sounds that Sirius cared a lot for you and I can tell you cared a lot for him. I'm glad he had that love in his life. He had gotten so little while growing up." She looked over to Tonks. "Nymphadora, dear, will you be coming over later for dinner?"
Tonks rolled her eyes at her name. "I don't think so. I have a late shift tonight." She gave her mother a hug and Andromeda left.
"You looked like a lovely wood nymph when you were born?" With those words Harry was on the receiving end of a glare from Tonks.
"You will forget anything my mother may have told you. You will call me Tonks."
Remus came out from the goblins' office and walked over to the group. "Well, shall we get going?" Together they left. At The Leaky Cauldron, Ron told Harry that they'd see him soon. They needed to go home first and then they'd show up at Headquarters later.
When they reached Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry got out of the car and went to the kitchen. He started making himself a sandwich. Remus came in the kitchen a little later. "You may want to save some room for the food later. There will be quite a bit of food here. People will start coming here around 2 pm."
"Where is the motorcycle that Sirius mentioned? I don't remember seeing it before."
"It's actually upstairs on the top floor. There is a rooftop entrance that Sirius made last year. That's how Buckbeak came in and out as well."
"Oh. Can you show me?" Remus agreed and the two went up to the top floor to Mrs. Black's old room. Remus walked over to double pocket doors that Harry believed to be a closet. Remus slid the two doors into the wall. A small corridor was behind them which went about 5 feet before becoming a ramp going up into the ceiling. A trap door lay across the ceiling. In the front part of the corridor was a black motorcycle.
"This exit is charmed to put a temporary disillusionment charm on whoever exits. Sirius would take Buckbeak up here to get some fresh air and a bit of exercise. The disillusionment charm only lasts an hour, but at least they got some air."
"I never thought about what Buckbeak did for exercise." Harry was closely looking at the bike. "I used to have dreams when I was younger about a flying motorcycle. I guess it was from when Hagrid brought me to the Dursley's on this. How in the world did Hagrid manage to ride this? This is just a normal sized bike."
"This bike has charms to adjust to the rider. There are a few other enchantments on it as well. I'm not sure I remember them all. Someday we'll have to try to figure them out."
After a while, they returned down the stairs. It was now almost 2:00. A knock came from the front door. Remus opened it and Mrs. Weasley walked in carrying several bags. Behind her came Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. Each were carrying some sort of box or bag.
"Down to the kitchen, now." Mrs. Weasley whispered.
Each person tiptoed down to the kitchen. Ron hurriedly put his bag on the table and went over to Harry. He looked quite excited.
"Hey, Harry. I have something for you. An early birthday present." Mrs. Weasley looked fondly over at Ron. "My Grandmother Prewett died a month ago and Mum got some of her stuff. We got these two trunks that Grandmother had kept after my Uncles Gideon and Fabian died. One was going to be for Ginny and one for me. But I was thinking. Since I know your trunk had that 'thing' happen to it I thought that I would let you have mine."
Harry was suspicious. What 'thing' happened to his trunk? Ron seemed to be giving him a silent message to play along. Remus' head came up sharply and he looked intently at Harry.
"Oh! That's great Ron. I didn't know what I was going to do." Ron grinned at Harry in approval. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to burst with pride that her son was willing to give his inheritance to his friend when his friend needed it so badly. Harry wasn't sure why he needed a used trunk when his trunk was fine, but he'd play along for now. Maybe Ron could explain later.
Ron pulled a small box out of a shirt pocket. "I'll explain how it works. It has a shrinking charm on it. All you need to do is put your thumb over this design on the top like so and put your other thumb on this other design on this side. Mum can cue it to you, can't you Mum?"
"Of course I can, dear. Come over here, Harry." Mrs. Weasley positioned Harry's hands on the box as Ron had said, "Agnoscere". The box began to grow into the size of a trunk. Harry opened it and saw it had more room in it than the outside would have you believe. In the bottom of the trunk was a letter.
"That's my birthday letter for you. Read it when you get home, OK?" Ron was still looking at Harry very intensely and Ginny, also, seemed to almost bounce with anticipation.
"All right. Thanks, mate." Harry closed the trunk again, placed his thumbs on the two designs and the trunk shrunk back to the size of a box. Harry picked it up. "I'll bring it up to my room."
Mrs. Weasley commandeered Ron and Ginny into unpacking bags and boxes and setting out the food from them. Harry brought the box to his room and put it in the backpack then returned downstairs. He was assigned to let people in.
Dedalus Diggle came in with Sturgis Podmore. They had instruments with them. Dedalus had bagpipes and Sturgis had a stringed instrument. Hagrid came and gave Harry a hug. Harry half-hoped Madam Pomfrey would come next so she could check for broken ribs. Professor McGonagall came next with Hestia Jones. Professor Dumbledore came alone.
Harry looked at him with a sad smile. "The next great adventure, Professor?"
Dumbledore smiled at him. "Yes, Harry. The next great adventure."
Harry made his way up to the drawing room. There were a lot of groups with "Do you remember when…"s and short bursts of laughter following whatever story was told. When the music started, Mrs. Black's portrait started screaming, but no one could hear her over the music. A few people danced to some of the tunes. There was stew set out on a table along the wall with a pile of bowls and silverware next to it. Bread and cheese was set out throughout the room and there was Butterbeer and Firewhiskey flowing. Fred and George came over to Harry and Ron and handed them two glasses. Harry and Ron looked at them suspiciously and wouldn't drink until Fred said, "We wouldn't prank you today, mate. The only prank this one contains…"
"...is one that you'll want. Believe us." George continued.
Harry decided to give it a go and downed a large gulp of it. He immediately started coughing and felt his throat burning up until it hit his stomach. From there the warm fire gently spread through his whole body. Ron was watching Harry with curious dread, wondering what would happen.
"Firewhiskey?" Harry gasped.
"All Right!" Ron quickly chugged some back and started coughing as well.
Fred and George were laughing. "We charmed the glasses to look like it's only Butterbeer."
After that the afternoon came in and out of focus for Harry. At one point he made his way to the kitchen. There he saw Bill and Charlie playing a card game with Dung and Kingsley.
Back in the drawing room, Fred and George made their way to Harry with another charmed glass which they gave him before Mrs. Weasley herded all her younger children off back to the Burrow.
At one point Harry was sitting by himself along the wall just watching everyone enjoy themselves. There were a few tears shed every so often, but overall the feeling was an indulgent reminiscing. Professor Dumbledore sat down next to Harry.
"How are you doing, Harry?" The Professor was looking at Harry with concern.
Harry shrugged. "I just don't understand how people can enjoy themselves at something like this."
"Most have done their initial grieving already. They all miss Sirius, but in this tradition the gathering of friends and family after the death is to help encourage and uplift each other."
Harry nodded to the Headmaster and Dumbledore stood back up. "Harry, you, ah, should probably discontinue your consumption of that…interesting…Butterbeer in your glass."
Harry glanced guiltily at his glass which was only a quarter full. "Yes, Headmaster," he said with a half-grin. Harry didn't know how Dumbledore always knew this stuff, but Harry resigned himself to dumping it out. Harry got up and made his way to a nearby bathroom sink to dump the contents of his glass.
A few more hours and Remus made his way over to Harry. "I think it's time for you to return to Privet Drive." Remus seemed to be a bit relaxed and Harry wondered how many Firewhiskey's he'd had.
Harry and Remus went to Harry's room and got the backpack.
"How long will this continue downstairs?" Harry wondered at what point people would leave. Some had left earlier, but others were still coming or looked to be quite settled in for some time.
Remus sighed and smiled. "They say, 'the sleep that knows no waking is often followed by the wake that knows no sleeping!'"
"Oh. How will I be getting back to the Dursleys?"
"Professor Dumbledore had a special port-key made for you."
Harry stiffened. "Please, Remus. Not a port-key. What about the Knight Bus?"
"That's too public. We don't have a full guard to escort you and I don't think those downstairs are necessarily in shape to guard you."
Harry's eyes lit up. "What about the Triumph? You said that puts a disillusion charm on you as you leave. We shouldn't need more than an hour if we fly. It's dark out."
"Harry…"
"Please, Remus. You know my history with Port-keys. Don't make me take one tonight."
Harry could see Remus debating with himself. Harry pleaded with his eyes as much as he could. Remus finally folded.
"All right. We'll take the bike. Come with me before I change my mind. Dumbledore will probably blow a gasket when he finds out."
Harry practically dragged Remus up the stairs and into Mrs. Black's bedroom. He opened the pocket doors and then went to the roof doors to open them. Above them the stars were shining. It was a clear, warm evening. Remus pushed the bike up the ramp. As he passed through the door, he disappeared. Harry could only see him a bit when he moved. Harry followed him out of the door and could feel the cold sensation like an egg was broken over his head. He looked down and saw he was disillusioned as well. He closed the roof door.
Remus got on the bike first and Harry climbed on behind him. He could feel the bike lengthening to fit the two comfortably. They took off for the skies.
It was great. Harry gave a whoop and he could feel Remus laughing. The trip went all too quickly. Remus landed in the Dursley's back yard. Together they made their way to the kitchen door. All was dark inside. The Dursleys were asleep for the night. Remus opened it with a quiet "Alohamora" and they entered and made their way to Harry's room. Inside Harry's room, Harry started to unpack the backpack to give it back to Remus. The disillusionment charm wore off while he was doing this. He was glad it did since it was difficult to unpack something that hardly looked like it was there.
As he removed the box he received from Ron, Remus said, "You know, I hadn't noticed any 'thing' wrong with your trunk." He looked at Harry as if expecting a comment.
Harry shifted a little nervously. "Well, you know…"
Remus laughed softly and said, "Harry, I don't know what's happening, but I've been on enough adventures myself to know when something is up. Be smart about it is all I'm asking. If it's something that we should know, let us know. Otherwise be careful. You have the mirror, right?"
Harry nodded. Remus gave him a one-armed hug and said goodbye. As Remus went to open the bedroom door, Harry called to him. "Remember to lock it from the outside when you leave."
Remus gave a wince and again said, "I will get you out of here, Harry. I promise." And with that, he left.