Chapter 3: Dumbledore's Letter

The day following Uncle Vernon's unusual show of humanity, Harry received Dumbledore's reply.

Harry,

I received your letter concerning your desire to spend the remainder of your holiday at Grimmauld Place. I, myself, have no problem with this and neither does the new owner, Remus Lupin. Sirius entrusted that Lupin take care of the house until you become of age, then it will be passed to you. Tonks will arrive around noon on Sunday so please be prepared to leave at that time. I will meet you at Grimmauld Place; we have a number of things to discuss. I have the results of your exams, by the way. I will also take the time to help you select your courses. Take care, Harry.

–Professor Albus Dumbledore

Being Sunday, Harry quickly packed his things, and then went downstairs to inform the Dursleys that he would be leaving. They merely nodded, and Harry taking this as their consent, returned to his room. Why did Dumbledore have his exam results? Harry didn't dwell on the thought for long though, Tonks was to arrive in just only an hour. Harry sat patiently until he heard the familiar pop! of the arrival of Tonks and several other Order members.

"Ready to go, Harry?" she asked cheerfully. Today her hair was the brightest of green, and Harry could only help but feel uplifted.

"Yeah, how we getting there?" Harry asked.

"Knight Bus; flying is too dangerous and it's not connected by Floo…y'know, just in case somebody we don't like comes to visit," she said simply. Harry nodded, and looked at the other Order members who would be escorting him. He recognized none of them, and deciding this was not the time for introductions, he gathered his things and made his way towards the door. An Order member quickly stepped in front of him as for protection and together they walked to the front door of the house.

"I'll check outside," an Order member said from the back. He moved around the group and walked out the door. A minute passed before he returned to say that it was safe. The Knight Bus was already waiting on the street for the party; Stan Shunpike was waiting by the bus's doors with a smile planted on his face.

"'Ello there, 'Arry!" he yelled happily.

"Stan, shut up! Quickly, everyone inside the bus," Tonks ordered quickly, glancing nervously up and down the street. Everyone did as they were told and they took their seats on the bus all around Harry.

"You know where to go Stan," the same Order member who went outside said.

"Yes, indeed, sir!" Stan replied, and with that, the bus took off. It raced down the streets, throwing several passengers, including Harry, out of their seats. Harry struggled back into his seat and gripped his chair tightly, looking around at the Order members to see if they had noticed his fall. They had and they kindly laughed with Harry.

They arrived at Grimmauld Place sooner than Harry expected, but as he stumbled off the bus he knew he was grateful. Tonks was by his side and told him to focus on the house. As it had did the first time Harry did this, the house magically rose between number eleven and thirteen. Dumbledore could be seen waiting at the door.

"Come along now, Harry, we have much to discuss," he said. Harry moved into the house and was shocked at its condition. The house looked nothing short of remarkable. No longer were there cobwebs clinging to the furniture, the dreadful paintings and rugs had been removed. Someone clearly had figured out how to remove Mrs. Black's portrait, for her screams were not heard. The house seemed much brighter, and it felt much warmer as well. To put it simply: it felt like home. Dumbledore walked to Harry's side.

"Looks better, doesn't it? Remus took the liberty of cleaning it over these past few weeks. Your room will be the same as last. Now, if you'd come with me, please," Dumbledore said. He led them into the sitting room and he sat in a large armchair. "Please sit, Harry," he requested, gesturing to the armchair opposite him. Harry complied and waited for Dumbledore to start speaking. "Harry, with the exception of History of Magic, you passed all of your O.W.L.s" Harry was thrilled, that meant he passed Potions, the course he needed to become an Auror. "Let's see, you received an 'Acceptable' in Astronomy and Divination," Harry wasn't surprised he didn't get 'Exceeds Expectations' or 'Outstanding' in either of those exams. " And you received an 'Outstanding' in all of your remaining courses. You did an exceptional job, Harry, well done," Dumbledore said proudly, his eyes twinkling. Harry got an Outstanding on his Potions exam! Without Snape around, Harry must have been able to do better than even he expected. "Now we come to what you would like to take next year, any thoughts?"

"Well, sir, I'd like to know what I need to take to become an Auror," Harry said.

"Ah, that was to be expected. Well, you need Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Charms is highly recommended, as is Transfiguration. I would also suggest you take Legilimency as a full-time class with Professor Snape. I have already asked him if he is willing to, and he humbly accepted to take you under his tutelage," Harry clenched his teeth, but knew that Snape was the only Professor that would have the time to teach Harry.

"Alright, Professor, I'll take all of them," Harry said.

"Very well, Harry, now I must be going" Dumbledore replied. Dumbledore rose from his chair and with a quick wave he left.

Harry found his way to his room where all of his things were already placed. He sat down on the bed wondering what he was to do with the rest of his time. He decided on writing to Hermione and Ron. He wrote Hermione first.

Hermione,

Hey 'Mione, I passed all my exams except History of Magic, which I guess was to be expected. I also picked out all of my courses for next year, nothing special, really. I moved to Sirius's old place, you know where, it belongs to Lupin until I'm old enough. I guess Sirius left me his belongings.

Harry paused, what was he doing, talking about Sirius's things so offhandedly? Sirius was dead and now all Harry could talk about was how he had divided his assets. Filled with sudden grief, it took Harry a moment before he could write again.

Hermione, this is kind of hard to say, but thank you. Not only for your condolences for Sirius but for everything. You didn't have to come to the Department of Mysteries with me and I know that you must have been nervous sending a letter to me, no one else has. I don't want to seem unapproachable because of losing Sirius, we all lost him, and we can get through it together. I haven't heard from Ron yet, he must not want to hurt my feelings or something by either mentioning or not mentioning Sirius, y'know what I mean? Well, that's all I can think of to say. Hope to see you soon. –Harry

The letter to Ron was similar but noticeably shorter.

Ron,

Moved to Sirius's place with Lupin. Got my O.W.L. results; passed everything except History of Magic. Pick out my new classes, too. Hope to hear from you. –Harry

Harry sent off the letters with Hedwig and decided to explore the house. Much had changed since his last visit. It appeared that the whole house had been cleaned top to bottom and Kreacher was nowhere in sight. Harry walked into the kitchen to find Lupin sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet.

"Ah, hello Harry!" he said, looking up from the paper. "I was told you'd be arriving today; took the Knight Bus I suppose?" Harry nodded and sat down. "Want anything, Harry, a drink maybe? We have butterbeer!"

"Sure," Harry said, looking at the front page of the Prophet Lupin was holding.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Strikes Again

Below the headline there was a picture of a house completely demolished and also of what appeared to be a family portrait of the victims.

Another muggle family was tortured and murdered by the hands the You-Know-Who and his followers. The Aurors arrived too late to apprehend any suspects. The Ministry is continuing trying to think of ways to better protect the muggle community. For the full story go to page four.

Remus noticed Harry reading the article over his butterbeer and handed the paper to him so he could get a better look. Harry looked at the pictures, first at the house. There was almost nothing left of it, Aurors could be seen moving about looking through the rubble trying to find clues. Faintly in the back, the Dark Mark could be seen floating above the wreckage. Harry then moved to looking at the picture of the family. It was a husband, a wife, and their two small children: two little girls. Harry quickly looked away.

"Horrible, isn't it?" Remus said glumly. Harry could only nod. "They aren't the first family and they wont certainly be the last," Remus added.

"I think I'll just look around the house a bit more," Harry said and quickly rose from the table. Harry wandered around the house thinking only of the family. How could anybody do that? He thought. He continued to think about it until he found himself in Buckbeak's room. Buckbeak was sitting calmly in the corner staring at Harry. Harry bowed and Buckbeak did the same.

"Hello, Buckbeak. Long time no see," Harry said, walking over and stroking Buckbeak's smooth feathers. Harry remained with Buckbeak for the rest of the day, and then finally decided to get to bed.

As Harry tried to sleep he could only think of the picture of the family. He remembered what Lupin had said 'They aren't the first family and they wont certainly be the last'. For the first time that summer, Harry did not dream of Sirius. He dreamt of the husband, wife, and two little girls.