Well, Harry Potter doesn't get me any royalties, but those original characters you haven't met yet might.

Chapter Two: Back to Grimmauld Place

The two Aurors managed to stay on their feet as Harry landed on the floor with a thud.

"FILTH, MUDBLOODS, DEFILING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHER!"

"Shut up you stupid wench!" bellowed Harry. He could feel the power radiate through his body as he felt his power reaching out to the wall at Sirius's mother's portrait. He felt it take hold of the portrait and heard the wood creaking then snap, effectively removing the cursed picture. He picked up the portrait by the frame with the wall still clinging to it and headed to the back yard. After fifteen minutes he returned inside the house's hallway. Kingsley and Tonks were joined by Lupin.

"Well, she's buried," said Harry meekly.

Lupin gave a sad smile and said, "Wish we had thought of that a year ago."

"I have to go," said Tonks, she headed out the door, Harry could hear a faint pop, as she disapperated.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place hadn't changed very much since Harry had last seen it. It was as black as ever, though signs of Lupin trying to win the battle through cleanliness were present. The house was technically clean, but grim. The serpent doorknobs had been replaced with normal handles. Most memorabilia of the Black legacy had been done away with by Sirius, and Lupin had continued the cleansing. Harry peered around the house, a frown forming on his lips. He sighed very heavily.

"Everything…just reminds me…" he said in a strained voice.

"I know," replied Lupin in another strained voice.

Harry looked to the last true Marauder. His gray hair was coming in even more. His face had developed a few more wrinkles, and his eyes looked like they hadn't seen sleep in a few months.

Kingsley headed to the kitchen to let his friends have a moment.

"Professor…" Harry said with a forced smile.

"Please Harry, Remus," said Lupin.

"Ok, sorry Pro, um, Remus."

The two embraced each other for a proper greeting.

"So how have you been?" asked Harry.

"Better," came Lupin's honest reply. "I've kept busy trying to finish the house, kind of my way of honoring Sirius."

"It looks better."

"Thank you." Lupin continued, "Shall I show you your room?"

Harry nodded and Lupin headed towards the stairs taking Harry's trunk for him. It was definitely different being back in this house; he guessed it would just take time to get used to it. The stairs led Lupin and Harry to the third floor which ended the stairs. A short hallway led to the end of the house, a dirty window that glowed yellow was at the end. There was a door on the left hand side; the right hand side was oddly blank. Lupin opened the door to the left, letting it swing open he stepped back to allow Harry in.

Harry walked in and the room illuminated itself. His jaw dropped. The room was the opposite of the rest of the house. The floors were a rich hardwood that shined in the light of the room. The walls were a brilliant white, but you could hardly see them from the shelves lined with pictures. To his immediate left was a huge wooden armoire. A gigantic king size bed was to the right of the room, the end pointing towards the middle of the room. It had a rich red bedspread on it with a crest embroidered to its middle. The crest was the shape of a shield divided into four parts. The upper left section was black with a gold lightning bolt imposed onto it. To the right of it was the familiar red and gold Gryffindor house symbol. The bottom left section held the shapes of a stag, a great black dog, and a wolf in a field of lily. The bottom right contained a red and gold phoenix feather on top of a black background. Harry was awe struck at this crest alone, and a little saddened at the phoenix feather reminding him of his fallen wand.

"Sirius told me that he wanted this to be your crest Harry."

Not knowing what to say Harry nodded and tried to take in the rest of the room. On the other side of the bed was a quite big wooden desk and chair. On the sides of the desk were bookshelves filled. On the wall to the left was a fireplace with a mantle above it, Harry noticed a jar of Floo powder. To the right of the fireplace in the corner of the room was a sitting area with two recliners facing each other with a chessboard separating them. A loveseat joined the area together. Each was of the same red patterned material with gold thread weaving them together. To the left of the fireplace Harry noticed an open door that went to his own private bathroom.

"This…this…it's too much." Harry managed to say.

"It's your room, the way Sirius wanted it."

A tear formed in Harry's eye. He embraced Lupin again.

"Thanks Remus."

"You're welcome Harry. Well, I'd better get back downstairs. Besides, I'd think you'd want to settle in? Goodnight Harry."

"Night," replied Harry, and Lupin left the room shutting the door.

Harry had wanted to check out the room more in-depth but sleep had taken over him. He awoke in the morning with a start. Harry quickly scanned the room to be sure that he was not dreaming a wonderful dream. He was not disappointed. The room surrounding him was indeed the beautiful room showed to him by Remus the previous night. Harry sat in bed, still in a bit of shock.

He glanced at the stocked bookshelves and noticed many defense books of interest. He also noticed some dark art books littered in with the defense books; he assumed some of the Black library had leaked its way to these shelves. But there was a library already, Sirius and Remus must have thought these books would be a help to Harry, he decided to look into them later.

Harry slid out of bed and made his way to his bathroom. After finishing his business and showering, he wiped the fog from the enormous mirror. During his shower something didn't feel right, now looking at his face he knew what was off. A lump was forming under his left eye where his uncle hit him. He prodded it curiously and regretted the action immediately. Pain shot from his cheek, landed in his scar, and continued to the back of his head. He cursed loudly and left his bathroom.

Back in his bedroom he prepared to transfer his clothes from trunk to armoire. He opened the trunk, and then opened the armoire only to find unexpected clothes waiting for him. He decided on a green t-shirt with a white tribal design over the chest. To go with it he picked out a pair of shorts with cargo pockets sewn into the denim. At the bottom he saw shoes of various design, he picked a pair that were called 'DC'. Afterwards he looked the perfect muggle (non-magical person).

Harry happily made his way down the stairs, his stomach grumbling at the lack of food for the beginning of the summer. Through the living room and down another hallway he took a right that led to more stairs, this time down towards the kitchen. He stopped abruptly at the door; he could hear voices echoing in the room. Suddenly he felt very exposed and foolish not having his wand.

"Has Albus approved this?" a crisp voice asked.

"Of course," came a tired reply. "Molly, we all know the dangers, the risk, but it must be done."

Harry assumed it was Mrs. Weasley and Remus, he was quit shocked that the woman he regarded as his closest thing to a mum was here. "They must me talking about me being here." He thought. He entered the kitchen, pretending to have never stopped to listen.

Molly sprang from the chair she was sitting in. She reached Harry and gave him an almost painful hug, but he'd never complain at the overly affectionate gesture.

"Good morning Harry dear, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Anything really, I'm starved."

She eyed him up and down and with a look that she quit agreed she began to cook. Harry sat down and Remus looked at his face a little shocked.

"Goodbye present from Dudley?" he asked with a grin noticing the lump under Harry's eye.

"More like from Vernon," Harry replied. Lupin's grin vanished and was replaced with a look that told Harry he wanted to go there next full moon.

"At least I don't have to deal with them anymore." Harry continued.

"Well, at least let me help you a bit," Remus's look of hate died too, he then pulled out his wand pointing it at the lump, and with an "Intumes Tepes" the swollen area went down.

Harry rubbed his cheek without the pain shooting from it and said, "Thanks."

Lupin replied in a whisper, "Not a problem, besides, if Molly had seen that she would have rushed to Privet Drive and caused quit an uproar."

They both grinned at this and Mrs. Weasley came with plates to sit before the two. She then summoned the food from the stove to settle on heating pads on the table. Harry dug into the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and some toast as Molly poured some milk into their glasses.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Won't you join us?" asked Lupin.

"No, no, I've already ate," answered Molly.

Harry was half way through his breakfast when an owl fluttered through an open window and settled on the table in front of Harry. He relieved the owl of its delivery and opened a note, he also noticed a Daily Prophet newspaper, but over the years he had come to resent the whole company who published it.

Harry,

Look at this! Elections! And we can't vote, though I do hope some people will run that will replace the incompetence of Fudge. Anyway, hope this reaches you well. I'll be back to England in a few days; will you get to leave your relatives? Maybe to the Burrow until school, that would be great don't you think? Maybe we can meet up before school, just let me know when and where.

Love,

Hermione

It was a hurried note, he could tell. She must have been excited about something, probably the elections she mentioned. So Fudge might be out, Harry thought about the idea happily. She mentioned him going to the Burrow and not to Grimmauld. Maybe she thought he couldn't handle it. He felt a twinge of anger along with a pang of guilt for it. He could perfectly well manage to come back here. He wasn't so fragile that he could take nothing. In all honesty, he knew she was only thinking about his best interests though. Sighing at his inner emotions he took the Prophet and unrolled it. A picture of Minister Fudge fidgeted about the frame looking very worried about something. He decided to read the article, making sure to keep an open mind about whatever was said incase it was dead wrong.

The Coming Wizard Elections to Determine the Correct Minister for the Job

By Molestia Baiulus

In the coming months current Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge (Pictured Center) may find himself without a job. Over the term of his current reign as the leader of the magical world we all watched as Minister Fudge made countless tragic decisions at every opportunity. From Dementors guarding our most feared enemies, to refusing to believe that You-Know-Who is back, to calling The Boy Who Lived Harry Potter along with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Albus Dumbledore out right liars, Fudge has never truly redeemed himself. Now with his incompetence in full light the English community is clambering to see exactly who will oppose him in the elections this November.

"I fer one will vote fer anyone but that dunderhead!" exclaims thirty year old Mark Cowan of Hogsmeade.

Indeed a lot of witches and wizards share the view of Mr. Cowan in anyone is better than Fudge. His total lack of preparation of the New Dark Rising has most of the land in a rage to get him out of office as soon as possible.

Though like most politics, everything has more than one side. Mr. Rich, next door neighbor of Mr. Cowan, had this to say, "He did all that could be expected of him at the time. No one really knew You-Know-Who would be coming back now did they?"

But maybe someone, or two, did know The Dark Lord would be back sooner than we had all expected or would have ever wanted. Both Dumbledore and Potter have been trying to alert us all to He Who Must Not Be Named second rising last year. We are all guilty as Fudge to not have listened.

Next month we expect to update you with a list of candidates who will run for the office. Many still want Headmaster Dumbledore to run, and it is sure he could most certainly win. If he doesn't choose to go for office, perhaps his endorsement could help some unknown candidate get his or her name out. Some people want Potter himself to run, though they should know that he can not seeing as he is not of proper age. Perhaps he too will pick someone to endorse over Fudge. But Minister Fudge still has a few months to try and gain some favoritism to be reelected this year. Maybe he can clear his name of the unwanted attention of having a business relationship with Lucius Malfoy, a recently apprehended Death Eater suspected of being in the Dark Lord's inner circle. Maybe he can get the Aurors out on task before any unnecessary deaths occur. Maybe he can clean his mess, but the question everyone has for Fudge is it too little, too late?

Harry gaped at the article, his food going unnoticed. Questions and comments began to quickly fill Harry's mind.

"Fudge might be out, someone better might get in, will someone I know run? Will Dumbledore endorse someone, will I be expected to? We're finally believed, but can Fudge get everyone prepared in time? Will a change of office only delay people from being able to defend themselves? How can we prepare to defend ourselves? Before any unnecessary deaths, I guess Cedric and Sirius were necessary were they? Who the bloody hell would want me to run? Where will this all lead?"

His thoughts were broken by Mrs. Weasley loudly clearing her throat. He startled a little, she gave a small frown, waved her wand with a small reheating charm and his food was ready for consumption again. He didn't realize he had sat in his thoughts for a good ten minutes. Quickly he finished his food, thanked Mrs. Weasley again for breakfast, and rushed out to his room to reply to Hermione.

Hermione,

I'm at Number 12 right now, I'll ask when some of you might be able to visit, and I had a thought earlier about how to continue the DA. Elections, I actually can't wait to hear who will run, I'm hoping someone we know, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Let me know when you can come, and I'll let you know something about being able to come. Sometimes this security is nerve racking, but worth it.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Harry

Harry rolled the parchment and went to seal it magically before realizing his wand was gone. Feeling some bitterness he rushed back downstairs to get Lupin or Mrs. Weasley to do it. Hedwig, noticing the dilemma followed Harry out of the room.

"Remus?" Harry asked the open kitchen.

"Hmm?" Lupin answered looking up from the abandoned Prophet.

"Can you seal this letter for me?" Remus could hear the bitterness on his voice, but he pulled out his wand and with a wave sealed it.

"We'll have to get you to Ollivander's soon."

"Hmm," was all Harry could manage. He turned and tied the letter to Hedwig's extended leg, and with that his owl flew out of the open window.

Over the next week Lupin and Harry had many conversations. About Harry's parents, and Sirius were discussed a lot. They were quickly becoming the only family links each other had. Mrs. Weasley was over almost everyday, cooking and tending for Harry. She let him know Ron and Ginny would be coming sooner than he thought. She also informed him Arthur was really busy, but would be by as soon as he could. Harry only had a hope with what he was busy with. Other order members stopped by too, most with encouraging words for him, Snape stopped once only to sneer at him, but there was no sign of Dumbledore. Thursday of the week, Harry received another owl. This one with official Hogwarts letterhead, it was his O.W.L.s.

Dear Mr. Harry James Potter,

Enclosed are your Ordinary Wizarding Level results. Also enclosed is a class list you need to choose for the year, as well as the required school supply list for each class. Term will begin on September first, and the train from platform nine and three quarters will leave at eleven a.m. sharp on August thirty first. We will need your class list by August thirtieth to have you enrolled.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Assistant Headmistress

Harry's breath caught in his chest. What would he get? Would he be able to be an Auror after school? It all started here. He pulled out his results hesitantly.

Subject Practical Written O.W.L.

Care of Magical Creatures 92 90 O

Charms 89 93 E

Defense Against the Dark Arts 130 112 O

Divination 72 70 P

Herbology 84 94 E

History of Magic N/A 47 D

Potions 91 93 O

Transfiguration 93 95 O

Harry sighed heavily; he would indeed be able to take every class he needed. He looked at his list of classes he could choose from. He checked off Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dart Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. At the bottom of the class list he noticed some new entries. Out of them he also checked Healing and to his great surprise Occlumency.

Harry sent his class list back that day. The next day he was sitting in his room reading one of the advanced defense books from his personal library when a knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?"

Remus entered the room.

"Harry, we need to talk."

"Sure, what about?" Harry asked.

"It's, it's about," Remus looked so tired, "about Sirius's will.

Harry was speechless.

Thanks for reading!

Endermon - Thanks for the review. They broke his wand, and now we're seeing some of how much he depended on it. But he will get a, err, "replacement".

Thanks cuz for reading. Hope you enjoy the newness. I bet you hate the cliff too. lol.