Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far and here's the next chapter! Oh and I think we've established the fact that I don't won Harry Potter!
Harry spent the majority of Saturday morning in a kind of excited trance. Time seemed to move so slowly that he was afraid the Weasleys would never show up. He was so disoriented that he began to think they were late, when looking at the clock on his bedside table, found that it was only 10:30. The Weasleys weren't due for another four and a half hours.
The knowledge that Sirius might still be alive was eating at Harry's insides. His anxiety to tell someone, Ron or Hermione, was so overwhelming that he considered marching downstairs to tell Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia just for the sake of getting it out.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia on the other hand were just as anxious as Harry was about the arrival of the Weasleys. Aunt Petunia had gone on a wild cleaning spree that morning, even cleaning Harry's room while she was at it. Uncle Vernon though had sat in the living room, pretending to read yesterday's paper (the current one lay forgotten in the driveway outside). Neither of them would ever forget what happened the last time the Weasleys had shown up.
After a late lunch of turkey sandwiches, the Dursleys retired to the living room where Harry could hear the sound of the television in the background and the nervous whispering of Aunt Petunia. He sighed and went upstairs to his room. He was halfway through checking his room for forgotten items when the doorbell rang causing him to jump. They were finally here.
Harry locked up his trunk and began to drag it downstairs, when he reached the landing he was confronted by an amusing scene. His aunt and uncle were standing on the left of the hall while Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and Reamus Lupin, stood on the other side. An awkward silence gripped the hall and Harry could have laughed. Upon seeing him at the foot of the stairs, Mr. Weasley's face lit up and he smiled.
"Hello Harry!" He said, eager to break the quiet. He walked over to shake Harry's hand. "How have you been?"
"Good." Harry lied, trying to catch Ron or Hermione's eye.
"Well I suppose we'll all be off then." Mr. Weasley said tentatively with a glance at the Dursley's. They were almost out the door when to Harry's amazement…
"Have a good term."
It had been Uncle Vernon and Harry's jaw dropped at the unprovoked goodbye. Then he realized that Uncle Vernon probably didn't want any trouble from Mr. Weasley like there had been last time.
"Bye," Harry said walking out the door.
There was an old green car sitting in the Dursley's driveway, it was dotted with little rust spots all over it and Harry couldn't help but wonder where the car had come from. As if reading his mind Hermione leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"We think Mundungus stole it." She sounded disapproving, but Ron laughed as he helped Harry load his Hogwart's trunk into the trunk of the decrepit old car.
The three of them crammed into the back seat while Mr. Weasley and Lupin sat in the front. Lupin turned around in his seat the better to talk to Harry.
"How has your summer been?" Harry thought his voice sounded hoarse and wondered if there had been a full moon recently.
"It's been OK, I guess." He answered and Lupin only stared placidly back at him as if expecting more.
"Are you alright?" Lupin asked and Harry was bewildered, of course he wasn't alright, but did Lupin really expect him to pour out all of the emotions he was feeling, right here in the car!
"I'm fine." Harry lied quietly.
He wished they would get to London sooner, he had to tell Ron and Hermione about the phantom letter. Harry stared out the window. That letter had to be from Sirius, who else would have sent it? Who else would have known what a muddy paw print might mean to Harry?
"Harry what's up?" Ron whispered in his ear. Harry noticed that Hermione was watching him too. Harry glancedto the front to see if Lupin or Mr. Weasley were listening, but they were involved in a conversation about thecar's muggle radio.
"The other night," he started, "I got a bunch of letters. One each from you guys, one from Hagrid, and ..." His voice trailed off and he found that now he was on the verge of telling them, maybe he didn't want to?
"What Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I got a letter from Sirius." Ron stared openmouthed and Hermione gasped rather audibly, but Lupin or Mr.Weasly didn't notice.
"How are you sure?" Hermione asked as the car turned to go down the street where Grimwauld place was situated.
"I'll tell you when we get inside."
They helped him move his trunk inside where Harry noticed that the entrance was a lot different from the last time he had seen it. Mrs. Weasley had come into the hall to greet them and she was speaking loudly, Harry thought this was stupid because she would surely wake up the creepy portrait of Mrs. Black. When Harry turned to the wall to see if the curtain was drawn over the portrait, it was gone. He was staring at a blank expanse of yellowing wall paper.
Mrs. Weasley had moved over to hug Harry.
"Harry dear how are you? Its so good to see you, have you been eating well at your Aunt and Uncle's? You look a little bit peaky." She pushed his hair off his forehead to feel his temperature, Harry could see Ron stifling a laugh out of the corner of his eye.
"Mum its not like he was thrown in a cage or anything!" Ron said with a laugh.
"Well, you can't be too sure with those people." Mrs. Weasley muttered under her breath, making Ron laugh again.
"What happened to the portrait of Mrs. Black?" Harry asked although not too concerned, the picture had been very annoying, and he was quite satisfied to see it gone.
"Our guest got rid of it. She did it in such a jiffy, I felt like a fool for not having done it myself." She said with a small laugh.
"Guest?" Harry asked. Since when did the Order invite guests to their secret headquarters. Kind of silly, thought Harry.
"Oh yes, Miss Arias has been staying with us for the past few days."
"Arias?" Harry asked. "Wasn't she in the Daily Prohpet the other day?"
"Yes, I was." A voice answered him from the doorway to the cavern-like kitchen. Attica Arias moved into the light of the entrance hall. "It seems that the Prophet is beginning to run out of things to report and has moved onto praising people it had otherwise previously defaced."
Attica Arias wasn't very tall, she was level with Harry, but she held herself with a sense of purpose and power that Harry had only seen in one other person and that was Albus Dumbledore. She had very light blonde hair, he was sure it was very long, but like Professor McGonagall it was pulled back into a bun, but it wasn't nearly as tight a bun as Harry's transfiguration teacher's was. Her eyes were a slightly luminescent green, and unusually bright. She had the power to hold a person's gaze like Dumbledore could.
"Harry," Lupin said, pulling Harry's attention away from the woman in front of him. "This is Attica Arias. She's come back from the states to join the Order. She'll beat Hogwarts this year as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher."
She held out her hand and Harry shook it.
"Er, its nice to meet you." He said awkwardly.
"The pleasure is mine Mr. Potter." She said holding his eyes with her gaze, and she smiled.