Salem's Lot

Chapter 1: Boys Of Summer

Harry laid flat on his bed in the upstairs bedroom of the Dursley's house, staring at the stucco designs on the ceiling. No one bothered him during the hot summer days, which suited him fine. He wasn't much in the mood for talking to anybody these days. He wouldn't even owl his two best friends in the whole world, Hermione and Ron. Both had sent him birthday cards and gifts, which remained untouched, still in their paper bag wrappings beneath his creaky bed.

As of late, he didn't feel anything wonderful about turning "sweet sixteen", and for once was grateful that his uncle and aunt chose to ignore his birthday every year. Harry had noticed that many terrible things happened as he got older, and wasn't at all overjoyed pondering what else would be happening to him this year. Who else would become the human sacrifice for the Boy Who Lived? Who would suffer the tragic price to keep him breathing another few moments?

Harry abandoned these thoughts as he turned over to his side, staring blankly out the lone window in his shamble room. So far, there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. By ordinary, he meant besides owls flying him his mail and such. There hadn't been any activity or news of strange goings on. No giants smashing through his front door, no house elves causing well-meant problems, any wayward Dementors…no anything. There wasn't a scrap of information that would tell him what his chances were, going back to Hogwarts, and Harry was in no mood to make contact with anyone he knew to find out.

The loss of his only loving godparent had devastated his soul beyond all repair. Harry had no desire to go back to a world that held no promise except the possible death of Voldemort or himself. Dumbledore's kind words could not heal the empty cavity he felt now. Nothing could…

"Boy! Get down here if you want any food at all for the day! I won't go out of my way for you if you insist on moping in your room!" his aunt Petunia yelled shrilly up the stairwell. After the Dementor encounter Dudley had experienced, she was beginning to take Harry a bit more seriously as a wizard, instead of simply being a freak of nature. He pondered defying her call, as he had been accustomed to doing since the return to his makeshift home. Thinking better of it, finally giving in to the dejected sounds his stomach was making, he slid off the bed and made his way downstairs.

Aunt Petunia remained silent as she served sandwiches to Harry and Dudley both. His cousin had begun to lose some of his enormous bulk, replacing it with muscle as he was admittedly getting better at the stupid boxing sport uncle Vernon was so proud of. Harry still thought it was a stupid sport that encouraged his cousin to perfect the art f picking on the weak. Part of it might have been that he was unable to brag that he himself was the best Seeker on his Quidditch team, but most of it just contributed to the fact that nothing really mattered and Harry didn't have the energy or desire to brook the subject.

"…So can I, mum?" Harry vaguely made out the familiar whine Dudley was using on his mother, no doubt to get permission to stay over at one of his thug friends' house.

"Oh, Dudders, I don't know if that show would be appropriate for you. After all it is starring a junior league dancer from America…"

Aunt Petunia scrunched her already puny face up in disgust. Harry's interest piqued at this, having locked himself up in his own room for most of the summer, he'd been kept out of the loop for most of Dudley's current fads.

"What dancer?" he asked, receiving a curt response to his question.

"Some girl from the states is coming here to do a tour with the junior London Casting for musical performances." His aunt all but spit out, obviously holding a bad opinion for this girl. Harry figured it was probably because of the pop idol reference from before. There had been a lot of those popping up around the states, as well as in England. Not many had talent, but Harry didn't mind staring at a few of the promotional posters…

"Oh pleeeeeeease, mum? It's an educational performance! All the other boys are going to see it!" Dudley continued badgering his mother. Harry suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Aunt Petunia still looked unconvinced at her son's pleas.

"I doubt that there's anything that girl could educate a proper young boy in…"

"Please mum? I'll do anything!" Dudley held out both hands in front of her, pleading unabashedly in a way that Harry might've laughed at had he been in a more humorous mood.

"…I suppose…if you take Harry with you."

Dudley's jaw dropped. Harry would have followed suit except he was too busy processing what his aunt had just suggested to respond to anything.

"No questions. I'll buy you the tickets this afternoon and have your father drop the both of you off at the auditorium for the show. This way both of you will be out of the house, and I'll know for sure whether or not this little performer is worth the coin."

Harry just sat there at the table, somewhere between a nightmare and his sandwich as his cousin proceeded to turn bright purple and glare at him.