Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All locations, items, spells, characters, ect. are most likely property of J.K. Rowling.
Review Responces:
volleypickle16: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it.
Jen: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Shadowrayne: I think the movies just make Ron/Hermione seem like the only possibility. I don't agree with Ron/Hermione, because I'm a Ron/Luna fan. Harry/Luna is kinda cool too though. Thanks for reviewing!
yaminy-grint4eva: Nooooo! I'm gonna be a freshman taking 4 advanced classes. My readers arn't going to like that... I reviewed the story with melinda in it. I really like that one. Thank you for reviewing!
Dreamer: It's good that it's making more sense now. Thanks for reviewing!
MuGgLeNeT27: Yay, an honest opinion! I understand where you're coming from. I don't read Ron/Hermione usually, because it's just not a ship I like. I don't know if I'll even have to do the Harry/Hemione anymore though. I came up with some alternate scenes for it in my head. Not sure what I'm going to do yet though. A lot of people seem a bit angry with the tension I think. I'm sorry to say, it's going to stay though. If you don't want to read because of that, I'll understand. Chapter 11 will tell you why Harry is acting that way though. You may want to at least take a look at it when I get it up... whenever that will be. Thanks for reviewing!
Eric2: Actually, James was suppose to be angry with himself about Wormtail. Guess I didn't do that very well. I always break stuff when I'm mad, so all the characters will be doing the same. James is a bit depressed also though. Thank you for reviewing!
Krissy: Well, the Harry/Hermione thing is not for sure yet. I just keep changing my mind... It won't be all smooching in the hallways and stuff though if I put it. Ah, another reader with a comment on the Harry/James tension. I'll explain it all in chapter 11. Thanks for reviewing!
Silvercrystal77: Thank you for reviewing!
Faith-Tse: Well, that emphasis on soon didn't really work, sorry. Thnaks for the review! (and the hugs and cookies) How does Wormtail play a part? Hmm... Well, umm... Wormtail gave Voldemort information... and umm... put the knife on the floor and stuff. He knows where Godric's Hollow is of course. Harry was asleep when Peter snuck in... The wards and stuff set up don't work while he's a rat. Umm... this made more sense to me when I was telling it to myself... Just work with me there. Thanks for reviewing! Maybe I can give you a better explanation another time for the posessing.
Longing: Yes! A fellow Ron/Luna shipper at last. I'm sure you could write a really nice story if you spent enough time on it. Thanks for the review!
MarijeLupin: Thanks for reviewing!
lily-potter2010: Yay! First year is hardest... dang. Hope I have free time for all my wonderful readers still. Thanks for reviewing!
PrincessSkywalkerOrgana: Long pen name... think I'm gonna copy and paste that from now on... More is comming!
hye em yes: Yay, not as upsetting! How long that will last, I have no clue... Thanks for reviewing!
sumrandumperson: Er... I will miss you if you stop reading... Harry doesn't like James much for a few reasons. You'll know them in chapter 11 if you do continue to read.
yache: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you are enjoying it.
born2driveat16 and Steph2010: (You're both the same person, right?) I love the PoV idea! I think I'm going to do something very similar to that as chapter 11. I'll be sure to deticate it to you of course. :) Wow, another person asking about the hate thing... Thanks for reviewing!
Tanya J Potter: Wow... you too... Harry and James dislike will be going on for a bit. At least check out chapter 11 before you quit reading though... if you were gonna quit because of that. Thanks for reviewing!
Katrina: Harry and James getting along won't be happening for awhile... about Sirius comming back... -tears- not in this story. I'm sorry, but there will be no Sirius in this fanfic. It would just make the story too perfect.
SnapeLuver666: Yay! I feel very special. Good job on guessing correctly. Yeah, I am quite new to fanfiction. Thanks for reviewing!
To all readers: My most asked question! Why does Harry hate James? Thanks to the suggestion of Steph2010, I will be making a chapter 11 with that answer. Hopefully I will get it typed up soon. Sorry if I missed someone's review... please let me know if I forgot to respond to your review. There were so many to look through.
Author's Note: Well, that took me forever to type. I wasn't home much all week. Gone on a trip and stuff, but I'm back now. School starts in a month. I might do Color Guard still... For my readers, that means I won't be home much. At the moment, I don't think I'm joining, but I'm not really sure.
Chapter 10: Missing
The week passed by slowly for Harry, despite James' attempts to entertain him. Finally, Sunday came. Harry, eager to get out of bed, ran down the stairs after he woke up. James and Lily were sitting at the table staring at the front page of the Daily Prophet, grim expressions on both of their faces. Harry sat down beside them.
"'Morning. What are you reading?" he asked.
Lily moved the paper away quickly, "Nothing."
"Lily, he has a right to know." James sighed. "He'll find out soon enough anyway. Everyone will be talking about it. Let him read it."
Lily frowned disapprovingly at James and handed Harry the paper.
"There was a break-in at Azkaban." she said.
-Break-in at Azkaban-
Last night several cells of Azkaban were broken into. This makes the third escape since the infamous Sirius Black escaped three years ago. Black, said to be a spy for the Dark Lord, most likely aided once again in the break-out of these known high security prisoners. Escapees include known Death Eaters Malfoy, Nott, Macnair, Dolohov, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Mulcuiber, and Black's relatives the Lestranges. The Dementors guarding the prison are also reported as missing.
In a brief interview with headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore last night, he said, "There is no doubt the Dementors have allied with (You-Know-Who). (You-Know-Who) has risen again and the second war against the wizarding world has begun."
Aurors have abandoned their search for spy/murderer Sirius Black, and are now searching for the Death Eaters. Families are advised to use extra caution and practice basic safety during this time of fear.
Harry threw the paper down angrily.
"How dare they insult Sirius like that!? He was innocent!" Harry yelled.
Harry knocked over all the chairs at the table and threw a vase on the floor, making it shatter. He was proceeding to break the dishes too. Lily gasped. James grabbed Harry and restrained him with his hands.
"Harry, calm down!" said James. "There is nothing we can do about what the reporters stories, and I assure you nothing will change if you destroy the kitchen."
Harry took a few deep breaths and began breathing regularly again. James released Harry from his arms.
"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly as he walked out of the room and into the living room.
Lily took out her wand and said, "Scourgify!" making the glass shards vanish from the floor.
A few minutes later James decided to go check on Harry. He walked into the living room only to find it empty. James ran upstairs and checked every room. He finally got to Harry's room. Harry was missing!
"Lily!" James yelled as he ran down the stairs.
Lily poked her head out of the kitchen and turned to James, an annoyed expression on her face, "What?"
James took a deep breath, "Harry's missing!"
Lily dropped the plate she was holding and it shattered on the ground. She ran to James and he put his arms around her comfortingly. She broke away.
"We've got to find him! He can't have gone far! Are you sure he isn't in the house?"
"Yes, I checked everywhere." said James.
Lily shrieked, "What if the Death Eaters got him! I'll contact the Order, they can help find him."
James nodded in approval. He sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. 'How could Harry be so stupid? The Death Eaters just escaped and are looking for him.' James thought. Lily came back in, her face tear-stained.
"Fred, George, Tonks and Professor Mcgonagall are checking Hogwarts; Hagrid, Arthur and Alastor are checking Hogsmede; Dumbledore, Kingsley and Snape are looking in Diagon Alley; Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Molly are stationed at the burrow in case Harry stops there; we are scheduled to stay here in case Harry comes back home; Remus is staying at Headquarters in case something comes up and others are stationed are various places." Lily informed James.
She sat beside James on the couch and began to cry. James wrapped his arms her, letting her cry into his robes. He rubbed her back soothingly to calm her.
"It will be okay, Lily. We will find him. He'll be okay." James said reassuringly.
"I hope so." said Lily.
At Hogwarts
"Let's split up. This castle is huge." said McGonagall. "Tonks, check the outdoors and the ground floors. Fred, George, check the first two floors, and rumor has it you two know all the secret passages- check them. I'll check the remainder of the castle. Let's hope we find Mr. Potter soon."
Tonks proceeded to walk outside. Fred and George went up the steps to the next floor while McGonagall ran up the stairs to the third floor.
"Let's check the secret passageways first." said Fred. George followed.
At Hogsmede
"Hagrid, check the Three Broomsticks and the Hogshead. Alastor, check the Shrieking Shack and anywhere you can with your eye. I'll check the remainder of the shops." said Mr. Weasley.
Hagrid and Moody nodded in agreement and set off to go look for Harry.
"Please let him be alright." Mr. Weasley said to himself.
At Diagon Alley
"I told you that little brat was just like James. Neither seem to pay much attention to rules. Both think they are too good to follow the rules." Snape sneered. "Why are we wasting out time looking for him anyway?"
"I told you before, Severus. Now we need to start looking." said Dumbledore. "Severus check Knockturn Alley. Kingsley, look around the Leaky Cauldron. I'll take the rest of Diagon Alley."
Kingsley and finally Snape nodded. They all set off in different directions to search for Harry and his messy jet black hair.
At the Burrow
Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat in the yard miserably, all hoping for a sign of Harry. Mrs. Weasley came out to join them.
"Any sign of Harry?" she asked knowing the answer.
"No," said Hermione. Ron and Ginny just shook their heads as if they could no longer speak. They were so worried about Harry.
They all sat silently on the ground waiting eagerly for news on Harry's whereabouts.
At Headquarters: 8 hours later
Remus walked down the hallway past the door of Sirius' old room. He stopped when he realized the door was ajar. A figure was moving inside. He moved in to get a closer look. It was Harry!
"Harry?" asked Remus quietly.
Harry dropped what he was holding and looked up at Remus' amber eyes. His own eyes were filled with shock. He backed into the corner slowly as Remus walked into the room.
Remus ran a hand through his graying hair. Why was Harry moving away from him? Remus wished he could have found Harry in another room. He hated being in Sirius' old room.
"You saw this morning's Daily Prophet, didn't you?" Remus asked.
Harry nodded as he looked through a box of Sirius' old things.
"Harry… Come here." said Remus.
Harry looked up, "Why?"
"Because," Remus thought for a moment. "You can't stay here. You need to go home. Everyone is so worried about you."
"I can't, Professor Lupin. I- I don't want to go back."
"Harry, first off, I'm not your teacher anymore, so you can call me Remus. Second, I think you do want to go home. You're just afraid."
There was silence for a moment.
"I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?" Harry asked.
"I hate to admit it, but knowing James and Lily as I do, I'd say you are."
"I might as well get it over with then."
Remus nodded in approval.
"You wait here while I inform everyone you're okay."
Remus left the room and Harry sat down on Sirius' bed. He buried his head in his hands. What had he gotten himself into? He knew his parents were going to be furious.
A few minutes later, Harry heard two cracks from downstairs. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, gradually getting louder. The door busted open and Lily and an angry James walked in.
"Harry!" Lily screamed running over and wrapping her arms around him. "I was so worried!" She suddenly became stern. "What were you thinking?"
Harry didn't answer. He gulped as James slowly made his way towards him.
"How much trouble am I in?" Harry asked nervously.
James looked down at Harry, anger filling his face. Harry winced as James grabbed his wrist an yanked him up. He began dragging Harry out the door.
"We'll talk about that when we get home." said James dragging Harry farther.
Harry had never experienced James this angry before in his life. He had never really even seen James angry. It was beginning to remind Harry of his purple-faced uncle. Remus gave Harry a pitying look as James dragged him into the fireplace. Lily grabbed the Floo Powder.
"Thank you for finding him, Remus." she said. She threw down the Floo Powder and yelled, "Potter house, Godric's Hollow!"
The flames spun around quickly and turned green. Harry soon found himself colliding face first onto the floor of his living room. James jerked Harry up by his wrist again before letting go. Harry rubbed his sore wrist to help return normal circulation. He glanced quickly up at James' angry face and immediately looked back down.
James began pacing around the room. The moment Harry had been dreading had arrived. He looked down at the ground, hoping this wouldn't be as bad as he imagined.
"What were you thinking, Harry?" James yelled. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? The entire Order was out looking for you! How stupid can you be? Running off while the Death Eaters are loose and would give anything to kill you! You could have died today!"
James stopped and looked at Harry who was still looking down at the ground.
"Will you at least look at me while I'm talking to you!' James yelled.
Harry slowly looked up at James, fear in his eyes. Would James hit him?
"Well?" James urged. "Why did you do something so stupid? What were you thinking, Harry? The whole Order went out of their way on the Death Eater search just to look for you!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" said Harry.
"Is that all you have to say for yourself, Harry? 'I'm sorry'? It's not good enough! I want some answers from you! What were you thinking when you left?"
"I- I needed to be alone." said Harry hoping James would understand.
"And you thought it unwise to tell anyone where you were going?"
"I just… I didn't… I needed to… no." said Harry finally.
"Needed to what?"
"Nothing," said Harry hurriedly.
"Then why didn't you tell us?" James asked.
"I- I don't know." said Harry.
James took a deep breath. He didn't like yelling.
"Do you have any idea how mad your mother and I are right now?" James asked Harry more quietly.
"Er- Really angry?" Harry guessed.
"Too angry to think of a punishment for you yet, that's for sure." said James. "Just-er- go to your room for now while I talk to your mum. I'll be up soon."
Harry obediently walked up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door and sat down on the corner of his bed. He didn't even want to think about how much trouble he was in. He thought about his life. Would his life have been like this if his parents hadn't 'died' that Halloween night? No, he decided, Sirius would still be alive and not have gone to Azkaban if his parents were alive all those years. Would his dad be as bad as his uncle though? Was James going to hurt him?
He began to miss his old life a little. He could leave whenever he wanted and even if the Dursleys were going to try to punish him, he could usually get away. Now, he had more rules to follow then he wanted to think about. It was nice to have people caring and worrying about him, but was it really what he wanted? A part of him wanted to call Godric's Hollow his home, while the other part wanted to keep calling Hogwarts his home. 'Three weeks,' he thought. 'just three more weeks until I'm back at Hogwarts.'
Footsteps echoed up the stairs and Harry's door opened with a loud creak. James spotted Harry on the bed an sat down beside him. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry flinched and moved away quickly towards the headboard as if he had been burned.
'Great! Now he's afraid of me! As if hate wasn't enough…' James thought bitterly.
"Harry…" James hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier and if I hurt you. That was not my intention. I was just really angry and couldn't control my temper."
Harry finally looked up fully, he looked straight as James who was sitting 2 feet away. His eyes, previously filled with fear, softened a little.
"Don't apologize, I deserved it. I'm used to it anyway."
'Well, so much for that' James thought. Then he realized what Harry had said.
"What do you mean? I've never… Only today…" Then it struck James. "You don't mean…? They didn't! Did they?"
"I was Dudley's first punching bag and a favorite to beat up for his gang." Harry said as if it were perfectly normal to get beat up by your cousin.
James seemed lost for words. His only son had been abused during his childhood and he couldn't do anything to change that. He wondered if Vernon had hurt Harry too, but didn't dare ask. Harry would say something if he wanted James to know. He wasn't going to push it out of Harry.
"I- Harry, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have… You didn't deserve that at all! I should have let you explain before I jumped to conclusions! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No, I'm fine." said Harry. He had the feeling telling James his wrist was a bit sore would make James break down into tears.
"Oh, right… Where was I?" James asked sheepishly.
"You were about to kill me for running away to Sirius' old bedroom." said Harry trying to stay calm, but failing miserably. His voice cracked on Sirius' name.
'How many mistake can I make in one day?" James asked himself. 'Of course he was in Sirius' room for a reason! I'll never get on his good side at this rate.'
"Oh, yeah. Umm… You're grounded until I say otherwise.'
"Okay,"
"You are to write apology letters to everyone in the Order."
"Fair enough."
"You are to spend the weekend with Professor Snape cleaning caldrons."
"WHAT?" Harry yelled.
"Kidding," James laughed. "I'm not that mean. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit."
"That wasn't funny." Harry grumbled.
"I want you to write me an essay on the severity of what you did today."
Harry groaned, "How long?"
"I'll let you chose a reasonable length." said James. "Just write as much as you think is necessary."
Harry wanted to protest doing the essay, but didn't think now would be a good time to argue with his father. He was in enough trouble as it is. He finally agreed to do the essay knowing he wouldn't make it very long anyway.
"Anything else?" Harry asked coldly.
"Maybe you could work on your attitude a little." James joked.
"I don't have an attitude!" Harry said without thinking.
"Oh, no. Of course not. I must have imagined it." James said sarcastically.
"Yeah, you did." said Harry.
"Well, I guess that's everything." said James ignoring Harry's last comment.
"That's all?" Harry asked.
"All?" James asked surprised. "You've got more than enough to keep you busy for the rest of summer break… but if you want me to add some more…"
"No, I just thought…" Harry trailed off. 'I guess he isn't anything like Uncle Vernon then.' Harry thought.
"Thought what?" James asked.
"Thought… thought you weren't done." Harry said lamely. He didn't want James to know the truth.
"Oh, well, I have to save time for when you break more rules you know." said James, though he knew Harry was lying. "You really go through them quickly." he joked.
"It's pretty hard not to when you are Voldemort's number one enemy. The Order alone has all the 'Safety precautions' for me to follow. It's as if everyone thinks I'm going to die." Harry said bitterly.
"You're not the only one who has to follow rules you know. Voldemort's risen again and we have to take a lot of precautions for everyone's safety."
"I have the most rules though."
"Yeah, I won't deny that, but it's for your own safety."
"No, it's because I'm the bloody 'Boy-Who-Lived' I'm just so important to the wizarding world. No, little Harry Potter can't watch out for himself, he needs to follow millions of rules set by the adults, even though he has probably done more than half of them ever will."
James bit his lip. What was he suppose to say to Harry? He knew it all was true. Harry only had all those rules because he was Harry Potter. No other kids had them.
"That's not true, Harry. We know you can watch out for yourself. We just don't want you to have to." said James.
"That what Dumbledore said."
"Well, he was right."
End Note: Chapter 11... someday you'll get it. Hopefully before Harry Potter's birthday on the 31st. This chapter pretty much shows an overprotective James and an angry Harry because of it. Next chapter: James finds out about why Harry hates him so much.
Review Responces:
volleypickle16: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it.
Jen: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Shadowrayne: I think the movies just make Ron/Hermione seem like the only possibility. I don't agree with Ron/Hermione, because I'm a Ron/Luna fan. Harry/Luna is kinda cool too though. Thanks for reviewing!
yaminy-grint4eva: Nooooo! I'm gonna be a freshman taking 4 advanced classes. My readers arn't going to like that... I reviewed the story with melinda in it. I really like that one. Thank you for reviewing!
Dreamer: It's good that it's making more sense now. Thanks for reviewing!
MuGgLeNeT27: Yay, an honest opinion! I understand where you're coming from. I don't read Ron/Hermione usually, because it's just not a ship I like. I don't know if I'll even have to do the Harry/Hemione anymore though. I came up with some alternate scenes for it in my head. Not sure what I'm going to do yet though. A lot of people seem a bit angry with the tension I think. I'm sorry to say, it's going to stay though. If you don't want to read because of that, I'll understand. Chapter 11 will tell you why Harry is acting that way though. You may want to at least take a look at it when I get it up... whenever that will be. Thanks for reviewing!
Eric2: Actually, James was suppose to be angry with himself about Wormtail. Guess I didn't do that very well. I always break stuff when I'm mad, so all the characters will be doing the same. James is a bit depressed also though. Thank you for reviewing!
Krissy: Well, the Harry/Hermione thing is not for sure yet. I just keep changing my mind... It won't be all smooching in the hallways and stuff though if I put it. Ah, another reader with a comment on the Harry/James tension. I'll explain it all in chapter 11. Thanks for reviewing!
Silvercrystal77: Thank you for reviewing!
Faith-Tse: Well, that emphasis on soon didn't really work, sorry. Thnaks for the review! (and the hugs and cookies) How does Wormtail play a part? Hmm... Well, umm... Wormtail gave Voldemort information... and umm... put the knife on the floor and stuff. He knows where Godric's Hollow is of course. Harry was asleep when Peter snuck in... The wards and stuff set up don't work while he's a rat. Umm... this made more sense to me when I was telling it to myself... Just work with me there. Thanks for reviewing! Maybe I can give you a better explanation another time for the posessing.
Longing: Yes! A fellow Ron/Luna shipper at last. I'm sure you could write a really nice story if you spent enough time on it. Thanks for the review!
MarijeLupin: Thanks for reviewing!
lily-potter2010: Yay! First year is hardest... dang. Hope I have free time for all my wonderful readers still. Thanks for reviewing!
PrincessSkywalkerOrgana: Long pen name... think I'm gonna copy and paste that from now on... More is comming!
hye em yes: Yay, not as upsetting! How long that will last, I have no clue... Thanks for reviewing!
sumrandumperson: Er... I will miss you if you stop reading... Harry doesn't like James much for a few reasons. You'll know them in chapter 11 if you do continue to read.
yache: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you are enjoying it.
born2driveat16 and Steph2010: (You're both the same person, right?) I love the PoV idea! I think I'm going to do something very similar to that as chapter 11. I'll be sure to deticate it to you of course. :) Wow, another person asking about the hate thing... Thanks for reviewing!
Tanya J Potter: Wow... you too... Harry and James dislike will be going on for a bit. At least check out chapter 11 before you quit reading though... if you were gonna quit because of that. Thanks for reviewing!
Katrina: Harry and James getting along won't be happening for awhile... about Sirius comming back... -tears- not in this story. I'm sorry, but there will be no Sirius in this fanfic. It would just make the story too perfect.
SnapeLuver666: Yay! I feel very special. Good job on guessing correctly. Yeah, I am quite new to fanfiction. Thanks for reviewing!
To all readers: My most asked question! Why does Harry hate James? Thanks to the suggestion of Steph2010, I will be making a chapter 11 with that answer. Hopefully I will get it typed up soon. Sorry if I missed someone's review... please let me know if I forgot to respond to your review. There were so many to look through.
Author's Note: Well, that took me forever to type. I wasn't home much all week. Gone on a trip and stuff, but I'm back now. School starts in a month. I might do Color Guard still... For my readers, that means I won't be home much. At the moment, I don't think I'm joining, but I'm not really sure.
Chapter 10: Missing
The week passed by slowly for Harry, despite James' attempts to entertain him. Finally, Sunday came. Harry, eager to get out of bed, ran down the stairs after he woke up. James and Lily were sitting at the table staring at the front page of the Daily Prophet, grim expressions on both of their faces. Harry sat down beside them.
"'Morning. What are you reading?" he asked.
Lily moved the paper away quickly, "Nothing."
"Lily, he has a right to know." James sighed. "He'll find out soon enough anyway. Everyone will be talking about it. Let him read it."
Lily frowned disapprovingly at James and handed Harry the paper.
"There was a break-in at Azkaban." she said.
-Break-in at Azkaban-
Last night several cells of Azkaban were broken into. This makes the third escape since the infamous Sirius Black escaped three years ago. Black, said to be a spy for the Dark Lord, most likely aided once again in the break-out of these known high security prisoners. Escapees include known Death Eaters Malfoy, Nott, Macnair, Dolohov, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Mulcuiber, and Black's relatives the Lestranges. The Dementors guarding the prison are also reported as missing.
In a brief interview with headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore last night, he said, "There is no doubt the Dementors have allied with (You-Know-Who). (You-Know-Who) has risen again and the second war against the wizarding world has begun."
Aurors have abandoned their search for spy/murderer Sirius Black, and are now searching for the Death Eaters. Families are advised to use extra caution and practice basic safety during this time of fear.
Harry threw the paper down angrily.
"How dare they insult Sirius like that!? He was innocent!" Harry yelled.
Harry knocked over all the chairs at the table and threw a vase on the floor, making it shatter. He was proceeding to break the dishes too. Lily gasped. James grabbed Harry and restrained him with his hands.
"Harry, calm down!" said James. "There is nothing we can do about what the reporters stories, and I assure you nothing will change if you destroy the kitchen."
Harry took a few deep breaths and began breathing regularly again. James released Harry from his arms.
"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly as he walked out of the room and into the living room.
Lily took out her wand and said, "Scourgify!" making the glass shards vanish from the floor.
A few minutes later James decided to go check on Harry. He walked into the living room only to find it empty. James ran upstairs and checked every room. He finally got to Harry's room. Harry was missing!
"Lily!" James yelled as he ran down the stairs.
Lily poked her head out of the kitchen and turned to James, an annoyed expression on her face, "What?"
James took a deep breath, "Harry's missing!"
Lily dropped the plate she was holding and it shattered on the ground. She ran to James and he put his arms around her comfortingly. She broke away.
"We've got to find him! He can't have gone far! Are you sure he isn't in the house?"
"Yes, I checked everywhere." said James.
Lily shrieked, "What if the Death Eaters got him! I'll contact the Order, they can help find him."
James nodded in approval. He sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. 'How could Harry be so stupid? The Death Eaters just escaped and are looking for him.' James thought. Lily came back in, her face tear-stained.
"Fred, George, Tonks and Professor Mcgonagall are checking Hogwarts; Hagrid, Arthur and Alastor are checking Hogsmede; Dumbledore, Kingsley and Snape are looking in Diagon Alley; Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Molly are stationed at the burrow in case Harry stops there; we are scheduled to stay here in case Harry comes back home; Remus is staying at Headquarters in case something comes up and others are stationed are various places." Lily informed James.
She sat beside James on the couch and began to cry. James wrapped his arms her, letting her cry into his robes. He rubbed her back soothingly to calm her.
"It will be okay, Lily. We will find him. He'll be okay." James said reassuringly.
"I hope so." said Lily.
At Hogwarts
"Let's split up. This castle is huge." said McGonagall. "Tonks, check the outdoors and the ground floors. Fred, George, check the first two floors, and rumor has it you two know all the secret passages- check them. I'll check the remainder of the castle. Let's hope we find Mr. Potter soon."
Tonks proceeded to walk outside. Fred and George went up the steps to the next floor while McGonagall ran up the stairs to the third floor.
"Let's check the secret passageways first." said Fred. George followed.
At Hogsmede
"Hagrid, check the Three Broomsticks and the Hogshead. Alastor, check the Shrieking Shack and anywhere you can with your eye. I'll check the remainder of the shops." said Mr. Weasley.
Hagrid and Moody nodded in agreement and set off to go look for Harry.
"Please let him be alright." Mr. Weasley said to himself.
At Diagon Alley
"I told you that little brat was just like James. Neither seem to pay much attention to rules. Both think they are too good to follow the rules." Snape sneered. "Why are we wasting out time looking for him anyway?"
"I told you before, Severus. Now we need to start looking." said Dumbledore. "Severus check Knockturn Alley. Kingsley, look around the Leaky Cauldron. I'll take the rest of Diagon Alley."
Kingsley and finally Snape nodded. They all set off in different directions to search for Harry and his messy jet black hair.
At the Burrow
Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat in the yard miserably, all hoping for a sign of Harry. Mrs. Weasley came out to join them.
"Any sign of Harry?" she asked knowing the answer.
"No," said Hermione. Ron and Ginny just shook their heads as if they could no longer speak. They were so worried about Harry.
They all sat silently on the ground waiting eagerly for news on Harry's whereabouts.
At Headquarters: 8 hours later
Remus walked down the hallway past the door of Sirius' old room. He stopped when he realized the door was ajar. A figure was moving inside. He moved in to get a closer look. It was Harry!
"Harry?" asked Remus quietly.
Harry dropped what he was holding and looked up at Remus' amber eyes. His own eyes were filled with shock. He backed into the corner slowly as Remus walked into the room.
Remus ran a hand through his graying hair. Why was Harry moving away from him? Remus wished he could have found Harry in another room. He hated being in Sirius' old room.
"You saw this morning's Daily Prophet, didn't you?" Remus asked.
Harry nodded as he looked through a box of Sirius' old things.
"Harry… Come here." said Remus.
Harry looked up, "Why?"
"Because," Remus thought for a moment. "You can't stay here. You need to go home. Everyone is so worried about you."
"I can't, Professor Lupin. I- I don't want to go back."
"Harry, first off, I'm not your teacher anymore, so you can call me Remus. Second, I think you do want to go home. You're just afraid."
There was silence for a moment.
"I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?" Harry asked.
"I hate to admit it, but knowing James and Lily as I do, I'd say you are."
"I might as well get it over with then."
Remus nodded in approval.
"You wait here while I inform everyone you're okay."
Remus left the room and Harry sat down on Sirius' bed. He buried his head in his hands. What had he gotten himself into? He knew his parents were going to be furious.
A few minutes later, Harry heard two cracks from downstairs. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, gradually getting louder. The door busted open and Lily and an angry James walked in.
"Harry!" Lily screamed running over and wrapping her arms around him. "I was so worried!" She suddenly became stern. "What were you thinking?"
Harry didn't answer. He gulped as James slowly made his way towards him.
"How much trouble am I in?" Harry asked nervously.
James looked down at Harry, anger filling his face. Harry winced as James grabbed his wrist an yanked him up. He began dragging Harry out the door.
"We'll talk about that when we get home." said James dragging Harry farther.
Harry had never experienced James this angry before in his life. He had never really even seen James angry. It was beginning to remind Harry of his purple-faced uncle. Remus gave Harry a pitying look as James dragged him into the fireplace. Lily grabbed the Floo Powder.
"Thank you for finding him, Remus." she said. She threw down the Floo Powder and yelled, "Potter house, Godric's Hollow!"
The flames spun around quickly and turned green. Harry soon found himself colliding face first onto the floor of his living room. James jerked Harry up by his wrist again before letting go. Harry rubbed his sore wrist to help return normal circulation. He glanced quickly up at James' angry face and immediately looked back down.
James began pacing around the room. The moment Harry had been dreading had arrived. He looked down at the ground, hoping this wouldn't be as bad as he imagined.
"What were you thinking, Harry?" James yelled. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? The entire Order was out looking for you! How stupid can you be? Running off while the Death Eaters are loose and would give anything to kill you! You could have died today!"
James stopped and looked at Harry who was still looking down at the ground.
"Will you at least look at me while I'm talking to you!' James yelled.
Harry slowly looked up at James, fear in his eyes. Would James hit him?
"Well?" James urged. "Why did you do something so stupid? What were you thinking, Harry? The whole Order went out of their way on the Death Eater search just to look for you!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" said Harry.
"Is that all you have to say for yourself, Harry? 'I'm sorry'? It's not good enough! I want some answers from you! What were you thinking when you left?"
"I- I needed to be alone." said Harry hoping James would understand.
"And you thought it unwise to tell anyone where you were going?"
"I just… I didn't… I needed to… no." said Harry finally.
"Needed to what?"
"Nothing," said Harry hurriedly.
"Then why didn't you tell us?" James asked.
"I- I don't know." said Harry.
James took a deep breath. He didn't like yelling.
"Do you have any idea how mad your mother and I are right now?" James asked Harry more quietly.
"Er- Really angry?" Harry guessed.
"Too angry to think of a punishment for you yet, that's for sure." said James. "Just-er- go to your room for now while I talk to your mum. I'll be up soon."
Harry obediently walked up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door and sat down on the corner of his bed. He didn't even want to think about how much trouble he was in. He thought about his life. Would his life have been like this if his parents hadn't 'died' that Halloween night? No, he decided, Sirius would still be alive and not have gone to Azkaban if his parents were alive all those years. Would his dad be as bad as his uncle though? Was James going to hurt him?
He began to miss his old life a little. He could leave whenever he wanted and even if the Dursleys were going to try to punish him, he could usually get away. Now, he had more rules to follow then he wanted to think about. It was nice to have people caring and worrying about him, but was it really what he wanted? A part of him wanted to call Godric's Hollow his home, while the other part wanted to keep calling Hogwarts his home. 'Three weeks,' he thought. 'just three more weeks until I'm back at Hogwarts.'
Footsteps echoed up the stairs and Harry's door opened with a loud creak. James spotted Harry on the bed an sat down beside him. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry flinched and moved away quickly towards the headboard as if he had been burned.
'Great! Now he's afraid of me! As if hate wasn't enough…' James thought bitterly.
"Harry…" James hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier and if I hurt you. That was not my intention. I was just really angry and couldn't control my temper."
Harry finally looked up fully, he looked straight as James who was sitting 2 feet away. His eyes, previously filled with fear, softened a little.
"Don't apologize, I deserved it. I'm used to it anyway."
'Well, so much for that' James thought. Then he realized what Harry had said.
"What do you mean? I've never… Only today…" Then it struck James. "You don't mean…? They didn't! Did they?"
"I was Dudley's first punching bag and a favorite to beat up for his gang." Harry said as if it were perfectly normal to get beat up by your cousin.
James seemed lost for words. His only son had been abused during his childhood and he couldn't do anything to change that. He wondered if Vernon had hurt Harry too, but didn't dare ask. Harry would say something if he wanted James to know. He wasn't going to push it out of Harry.
"I- Harry, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have… You didn't deserve that at all! I should have let you explain before I jumped to conclusions! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No, I'm fine." said Harry. He had the feeling telling James his wrist was a bit sore would make James break down into tears.
"Oh, right… Where was I?" James asked sheepishly.
"You were about to kill me for running away to Sirius' old bedroom." said Harry trying to stay calm, but failing miserably. His voice cracked on Sirius' name.
'How many mistake can I make in one day?" James asked himself. 'Of course he was in Sirius' room for a reason! I'll never get on his good side at this rate.'
"Oh, yeah. Umm… You're grounded until I say otherwise.'
"Okay,"
"You are to write apology letters to everyone in the Order."
"Fair enough."
"You are to spend the weekend with Professor Snape cleaning caldrons."
"WHAT?" Harry yelled.
"Kidding," James laughed. "I'm not that mean. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit."
"That wasn't funny." Harry grumbled.
"I want you to write me an essay on the severity of what you did today."
Harry groaned, "How long?"
"I'll let you chose a reasonable length." said James. "Just write as much as you think is necessary."
Harry wanted to protest doing the essay, but didn't think now would be a good time to argue with his father. He was in enough trouble as it is. He finally agreed to do the essay knowing he wouldn't make it very long anyway.
"Anything else?" Harry asked coldly.
"Maybe you could work on your attitude a little." James joked.
"I don't have an attitude!" Harry said without thinking.
"Oh, no. Of course not. I must have imagined it." James said sarcastically.
"Yeah, you did." said Harry.
"Well, I guess that's everything." said James ignoring Harry's last comment.
"That's all?" Harry asked.
"All?" James asked surprised. "You've got more than enough to keep you busy for the rest of summer break… but if you want me to add some more…"
"No, I just thought…" Harry trailed off. 'I guess he isn't anything like Uncle Vernon then.' Harry thought.
"Thought what?" James asked.
"Thought… thought you weren't done." Harry said lamely. He didn't want James to know the truth.
"Oh, well, I have to save time for when you break more rules you know." said James, though he knew Harry was lying. "You really go through them quickly." he joked.
"It's pretty hard not to when you are Voldemort's number one enemy. The Order alone has all the 'Safety precautions' for me to follow. It's as if everyone thinks I'm going to die." Harry said bitterly.
"You're not the only one who has to follow rules you know. Voldemort's risen again and we have to take a lot of precautions for everyone's safety."
"I have the most rules though."
"Yeah, I won't deny that, but it's for your own safety."
"No, it's because I'm the bloody 'Boy-Who-Lived' I'm just so important to the wizarding world. No, little Harry Potter can't watch out for himself, he needs to follow millions of rules set by the adults, even though he has probably done more than half of them ever will."
James bit his lip. What was he suppose to say to Harry? He knew it all was true. Harry only had all those rules because he was Harry Potter. No other kids had them.
"That's not true, Harry. We know you can watch out for yourself. We just don't want you to have to." said James.
"That what Dumbledore said."
"Well, he was right."
End Note: Chapter 11... someday you'll get it. Hopefully before Harry Potter's birthday on the 31st. This chapter pretty much shows an overprotective James and an angry Harry because of it. Next chapter: James finds out about why Harry hates him so much.