AN: SORRY! It's taken forever. Plus when I finally updated, I had forgotten to write a little apology about the lateness. Which is needed. Thank you reviewers! And Katie who told me in no uncertain terms I had to finish my stories. Don't worry, I'm currently working very hard on the next chapters.
About the story: This story will be following along the lines of the canons. With some changes.
Chapter Two
Before the Meeting
As Harry dragged El through the house only one word came to mind. Creepy. It was dark. It was cold. It had shriveled up heads on plaques on the walls. Yep, creepy summed this house up. It had that thick darkness and El doubted that light would ever reach the corners of the rooms they passed even if all the windows were open and sun was coming in.
El took a deep breathe. Her mind couldn't seem to catch up with everything going on. What was she doing here? Why was she holding the hand of her childhood friend? Why was she in a house full of wizards? If only I could be insane, she thought, only then would this would make more sense. Perhaps she was… she couldn't think about it. She hadn't been lying to Dumbledore. She was more tired then usual.
By the time Harry had led her up the narrow rickety staircase and into one of the rooms, El could barely keep her eyes open. Harry noticed this and tilted her head up to look at her. "You look awful," Harry muttered.
"Wow Harry, you haven't changed. So full of tact you can sweep women off their feet by your silver tongue." El said as she pulled her head out of his grip and sat down on one of the two beds. "Where are we?"
"Err … well, that's a bit complicated. Do you mean whose room or the house or …?" Harry trialed off knowing that El would understand what he meant and catch the hint that he really didn't feel like trying to explain anything.
Though she couldn't understand it, she grabbed his hand and forced him to sit down, making sure she kept in contact with him. He was the only person she knew here. Harry was the only shred of the life that she had led, a life which seemed to be slipping away from her. She needed the contact, the comfort. With Harry it was timeless. He would walk into a room and it wouldn't matter if they had been parted for a week or a century they would always belong together.
She sighed, happy that he didn't really want to talk about what was happening here. Neither did El. She wanted to run. Run away from everything or run back to her old life she wasn't sure. "The room," she said simply.
"It's the room Ron and I are sharing." Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, before putting the round glasses back on. Another habit from when they were little. This particular habit was often a signal saying that he was confused or tired … or both.
El laughed, lifting an eyebrow. This caused Harry to laugh, while turning an adorable red. "Not like that," he protested. "I just didn't know what room you would sleep in tonight. I guess with Herm-."
El put a finger against his lips quieting him. "Don't worry Harry. I don't believe you are trying to take advantage of me and I don't want to sleep anywhere else in this house. I don't like it here. I'm not used to anything here …" El broke off. Tears formed in her eyes. "You're my only link to normalcy Harry. Please stay with me tonight."
Harry hesitated before putting his arm around her to comfort her. "Don't worry. Hush, it will be okay." He tilted her head up and El was ashamed of the tears that leaked from her eyes. Harry gently brushed them away. Smiling his emerald eyes sparkled into hers. "You have beautiful eyes." He said it with a smile, knowing she would automatically deny it. She always did. And he wasn't disappointed. "No they aren't" slipped past her lips unthinkingly.
Though this was old ground, it now seemed tenser. His face was only inches away from hers. His eyes seemed to penetrate her soul. His mouth looked …She jumped up. "I need something to wear for bed."
Harry blinked at her and then blushed furiously. So she wasn't the only one who had felt it. "Right, want to burrow some of mine?"
"It wouldn't be the first time. Just pass me one of Dudley's t-shirts." She turned to put her hair in a loose ponytail. When she turned around Harry was holding out a large white t-shirt.
"Oh, by the way he goes by 'Big D' now," Harry said with a smirk.
El snorted. "You've got to be kidding me."
"No, I'm serious." El could see that he was and burst out laughing, Harry soon joining her.
Looking at Harry pointedly she said, "Um, could you turn around." Harry went beat red. After making sure he was turned she quickly stepped out of the sundress and put the t-shirt on over top. She was completely lost in its many folds. It went down to her mid-thighs and the neck was larger then her shoulders, meaning she had to keep it held up manually.
"You can turn around now," El told Harry. "So which one is your bed?" He gestured to the closest one. Walking up to him, she grabbed his hand and led him over to the bed. Climbing in, they quickly got settled down. Sleep was taking over fast.
"I couldn't find you," she muttered. She felt Harry shift, but ignored him. "I … when I was eleven I started to have these … I tried to find you … I tried writing … I tried everything … I couldn't find you anywhere …"
"What did you start having?" Harry asked, but El didn't answer. She was already asleep. Harry let sleep take over, it had been a long day after all. It had started at the Dursley's, then the whole order of the Phoenix mess, flying to London, Sirius's house and now this.
By the time Ron walked into the room, it was to find both of them asleep on Harry's bed, tangled in a heap of arms, legs and sheets.
El didn't know what woke her up but knew exactly where she was and what had happened. She snuggled deeper in Harry's arms for a second trying to figure what had woken her so suddenly. Then it hit. She was hungry, no not hungry, STARVING.
She hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. Sitting up in the bed she looked around, there was no way she was leaving this room to get something to eat without Harry. This house was terrifying.
She turned over in bed and looked at Harry fondly before waking him up. He still wore his glasses and his hair was even more ruffled then usual. An amazing feat considering that his hair was always on end. His mouth was curved in a smile. His hand still entwined with hers on the musty covers. El smiled at Harry. He looked so peaceful; she hated to wake him up. But then again she was hungry and therefore needed to wake him up.
She leaned over and gently shook her. "Hey, wake up." He mumbled something and opened his eyes slowly.
"I thought I had dreamt you," He muttered groggily.
"No such luck," She whispered. "I'm hungry, come with me to get something to eat." He sat up and stretched.
"Sure, but we need to be quiet, we don't want that portrait to start screaming again." He whispered as well, glancing over at … Ron. El paused for a moment. She thought the name was Ron. Silently, hands held together they slipped out into the hallway. It was halfway down the stairs when an insane urge to laugh took over.
It was one of those crazy moments when you need to be quiet yet it doesn't seem possible to stop laughing. And of course it's contagious so the other person starts to then laugh. Then both end up red faced with their spare hands over their mouths as they try to contain their laughter, looking as though they are having a fit of some sort. So, needless to say, by the time they made it to the kitchen, they burst out laughing, not noticing they were not alone.
"Hello," said a gruff voice from the table. There stood Sirius Black. In deep red pajamas, his dark hollow eyes seemed to twinkle oddly in the candle light.
"Sirius," Harry ginned as he walked up to the man, bringing El along with him. "What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep," Sirius relied taking a sip out of the glass in front of him. El would bet twelve bucks it was alcoholic. "I should be asking you the same thing."
"El got hungry." Harry said sitting down next to Sirius, El promptly sat on Harry's other side, happy she didn't have to sit beside the man. The man who had left Harry at the Dursleys. The barrier didn't last long however as Harry soon jumped up, asking Sirius where the food was, and though she stood up to go with him, he gently lowered her into her chair. "I'll be right back."
With that he left and silence fell. An uncomfortable silence. Something had to be said. "Why did you not save Harry from the Dursleys?" She asked abruptly. She would have banged her head against the table if it wouldn't have made the whole situation more awkward. Why had she asked that? It was such a stupid question! And talk about being awkward! Why did she have to talk when she was nervous?
"I couldn't, but you must know about that. I was in prison." Sirius looked at El as if she had two heads. She shifted awkwardly in her seat. He was in prison?
"For what?" Damn, another stupid question.
"I was charged with being a Deatheater … and with aiding Voldemorte in the killing of James and Lily." He said it tonelessly.
"Aren't those the names of …" El broke off, staring at the man in front of her. He had killed Harry's parents? Then why did Harry seem to like him so much? El paused. Hadn't the Potter's died in a car crash? Had he planned it?
"Yes, but I didn't do it. Wasn't given a bloody trial or anything. Sent straight to Azkaban … the wizard prison. Escaped a few years back and have been on the run since." He had turned his head, so El couldn't see his face. But it was obvious from his tone that he had wanted to be with Harry.
She felt ashamed suddenly. She knew better than to judge people before getting to know them. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I shouldn't have judged you like I did. Harry loves you, that's obvious. And I trust his judgment."
Sirius turned around sharply and looked at her. She could see the faint hope. Hope that someone else would believe him. She gave him a small smile. "I wonder what's taking Freak so long."
"Freak?" Sirius asked, lifting up a brow.
"Yeah, it's his nickname. He calls me Psycho and I call him Freak. See it all started the summer we met …"
The summer heat beat hard against El's face. She turned and looked for a tree to wait under because the swings had turned into a furnace. Seeing an old oak nearby, she quickly made for it and sat in the shade. Harry was supposed to have met up with her fifteen minutes ago. Perhaps she should go look for him.
She picked one of the weeds from near the tree and swirled it between her fingers. The ground was hard everywhere except next to the tree where dew, which had been everywhere only hours earlier in the morning, still lay. She lay on her back and waited for Harry, ten more minutes passed and finally he came.
As he sat down next to her, she could tell he had been crying. "What's the matter Harry?" She asked quietly, quickly grabbing hold of his hand.
"Uncle got mad again, I got my hair cut yesterday." Harry replied.
"Why would he be mad? Was it because they did such a bad job of cutting it looks like they did nothing?" El asked, for his hair did look normal. In fact, El was surprised to hear the hair had been cut at all. It looked the same as yesterday. It looked the same everyday, messy. El found it adorable.
"Kind of … See, they cut it almost all off, but when I woke up this morning it had all come back. I dunno how, it just did! Uncle Vernon got really mad and locked me in the cupboard, so I had to sneak out to come here today." Harry stood up pacing.
"That can't be all of it," El ventured. "What's really bothering you?"
Harry looked at her for a minute. "They called me a freak again and they said … they said my parents were freaks too. Good for nothing freaks. Do you think they were right?"
El paused. "Well, you ARE a freak, but so is everyone. I mean everyone is a freak to someone. And if they say you are a freak and that your parents are freaks than they must be like you! That would mean they are nice, considerate, rule breaking, good hearted, mannered, hopeful, inspiring people."
"I always thought being a freak was a bad thing," Harry muttered, looking at the dried earth beneath his feet.
"Well, I'm a psycho. Am I bad?"
Harry smiled, his emerald eyes sparkling with happiness. "Of course you're not bad Psycho."
"Why thank you Freak."
"Ever since then we have been calling each other Freak and Psycho." El finished.
"And we won't even start to talk about our other nicknames," Harry said, causing both Sirius and herself to jump. They had been so wrapped up in the story they hadn't heard Harry return from the pantry with an armload of food.
"I can't eat that much." El said looking at the heaps of it.
"I'll help you," Sirius suggested. El looked over at him. His eyes still looked haunted, but she could see the love they had for Harry. Anyone who cared for Harry that much was always a person El would like.
And so, until the early morning they sat and talked. They would trade prank stories. Sirius would tell about the time they put dancing potion in the Slytherin's dinner and El and Harry would tell about the time they 'accidentally' let a squirrel into number 4 Privet Drive. They kept it light, never delving too deeply in matters such as Voldemorte or the Dursley's treatment of Harry.
El, Harry and Sirius were laughing hysterically by the time another person joined them. El was the first to notice him. His premature grey hair and tired face seemed to light up at the sound of his best friend's and other best friends' son's laughter. El couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him for not being with Harry. After all, Sirius had had a reason; perhaps this 'Moony' person did too.
"Mr. Lupin, would you care to join," El suggested. He looked at her briefly before nodding and sitting down next to Sirius.
"Drinks!" Sirius called out happily. "How does Butterbeer sound? Accio Butterbeer!" To El's surprise four bottles of Butterbeer flew out of the pantry and landed promptly in front of them.
"I'm never going to get used to that," El stated as she grabbed the bottle nearest her.
"Of course you will," Harry said with a slight grin. "I did."
And so they continued to talk, continued to trade stories until finally the rest of the order came. El was slightly dazed by the fashions they wore. Nothing up-to-date, nothing stylish, it all looked ancient. As if they had been frozen in time with cloaks and such things. It was then that El realized she was hardly presentable in her tent. So she quickly leaned forward and whispered in Harry's ear, "I need to get changed. I forget where your room is."
Harry quickly stood up and they had made it to the doorway before a voice stopped them. As they turned around they were confronted by a plump red-haired lady. Mrs. Weasley was the name … El thought so at least. "Once you come back down there's going to be an Order's meeting. El's to come to it. Okay sweetie?" She then rushed off to make breakfast.
El and Harry quickly got upstairs, and El changed into her sundress, since it was the only clothes she had with her. Harry then woke up … Ron? "Hey, Ron wake up!" Harry said shaking the guy awake. Okay so the name was Ron, redhead Ron, redhead Ron. She chanted it in her mind until she knew for certain that she would remember it. Of course it was at that time she realized how many redheads there were. Damn!
Ron stumbled and grumbled when he finally woke up. This was about the same time a bushy browned haired girl and a redhead girl came rushing in. Oh shoot, what were there names? Herm …. Herm something and … Jenny? "Hermione! Ginny! Good morning." Harry greeted.
Not meaning to sound rude or anything, El felt it was her responsibility to remind Harry that the Order was waiting for them. "Harry, we need to head down. The Order is waiting for us."
"The Order is waiting for you?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open. "How come we aren't allowed into their meetings?"
Hermione hadn't paid attention. "Are you going to wear that?" She asked. El immediately pegged her as a bossy one.
"I don't have any other clothes here," she explained.
"Ginny, can you run and grab something from your trunks; you guys look to be the same size." Hermione ordered, meanwhile she had sat El down on Harry's bed and grabbed an elastic. "Now I've never been one to really care about my looks, but you can't be invited to the Order's meetings and show up looking like you just got out of bed."
And so her hair was put into a straight ponytail and she was put into some old worn jeans and a pink t-shirt. She hated pink, but was too nice to tell them that. Harry had snickered though, which had caused El to glare at him. Why did he have to look hot in almost anything … wow did she just think Harry was hot? No, she couldn't have. El shook her head.
Harry and her quickly made there way downstairs and stood out in front of the door. Breathing deeply to prepare herself, as she had that summer years ago, she finally knocked.
Well, there it is. Please R&R. I'm always open to suggestions, crittics, and the likes.
- Ella M. Nite