Chapter 7: The beginning of all things
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The next morning, Harry walked into the kitchen to find it empty. The door leading to the backyard was open, allowing a cool breeze to drift into the room. Harry fixed himself a bowl of cereal before heading out to the backyard.
The backyard had a small deck looking over the large gardens filled with sunflowers and other wild flowers. White roses were growing wild up the side of the house. The grass was getting long and needed to be cut. In the middle of the yard was a stone sundial surrounded by hostas and lilies. Sirius had told Harry that the lady who had owned the house before him had loved gardening and had planted all the flowers that were around the yard and in the front of the house.
The wood deck had a circular, glass table set up with four chairs. Sirius was sitting back in one of the chairs with his bare feet up on the table. He was eating a bowl of cereal and watching a bird fly around from tree to tree, still in his dark grey pajama pants and a white tee-shirt.
Harry came onto the deck and made his presence known, "Morning."
Sirius turned his head towards Harry and replied, "Morning, you're up early."
Harry nodded and came and sat at a chair across from Sirius. Sirius removed his feet from the table and sat up straight.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep any longer." Harry said as he ate a bite of cereal.
"So," Sirius began, putting his empty bowl down on the table, "this is our last day together."
"Yeah, it is." Harry replied, having another bite. "Too bad it was such a sort stay, you know; I had a really good time here and everything. It's nice to get away sometimes."
"I'm glad you said that, actually." Sirius smiled. "I really enjoyed having you stay with me. If you want, we can do it again. Maybe for longer next time. Maybe for a whole week."
"I thought Dumbledore wanted it to be a one time thing and then I had to decided if I was going to live with you or not." Harry said
Sirius rubbed the back of his neck and replied, "He did say that, but, things are different now. I think we should give it another week before anything becomes definite. Give us a chance to get to know each other better."
"Sounds good to me." Harry said. "Its not that I don't like you or anything, it's just, I don't know, weird I guess to think about me not living with the Dursleys and I just met you and everything..."
"I understand. It's a big change for both of us. I think that another week would be a good indicator for if you want to live here or not." Sirius said
"When should I come stay with you again?" Harry asked
"Well, today is Sunday. Uh…I have a few things that I need to take care of on Monday. And on Wednesday Remus has asked me to help him out with something, so how about on Thursday?"
"This Thursday to next Thursday?" Harry clarified
Sirius nodded, "Yup. A whole week. Then you can decide what you want to do."
Harry thought about this for a minute and then replied, "Alright. That sounds fair."
Sirius smiled, "Great, there are still so many things we have to do. I haven't taken you to all the great places to eat around here yet. And there is a really nice park that I could show you too. We could also take a trip into London, if you'd like. We could look in some muggle stores-"
"-Or get some tattoos." Harry added with a smile
"Sure." Sirius said
"Really?" Harry asked hopefully
"Sure, I've always wanted a tattoo." Sirius replied with a grin, "I could get a tattoo and you could watch from a safe distance where you are not near any needles what-so-ever."
Harry just shook his head and with a smile on his face he said, "Okay, maybe not the tattoo thing, but everything else sounds good. Thursday then, I can't wait."
"Thursday." Sirius repeated with a smile.
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Sirius drove Harry back to the Dursleys around five thirty. He didn't want Harry to be late for dinner and then get him in trouble since he wasn't sure exactly what happened to Harry when he was in trouble with his relatives. Harry got off Sirius motorcycle and picked up his bag and then turned back to Sirius.
"I'll see you on Thursday, Harry." Sirius said
"Right. Are you going to pick me up around the same time?" Harry asked
"Most likely. I'll owl you if something changes." Sirius replied
"Right." Harry sighed and then looked over at the Dursleys house with a frown. "I should probably go in."
"Yeah, you probably should." Sirius said with a sad smile, glancing over at the Dursleys house.
For a second, Harry thought that Sirius was going to pull him into a hug, but for what ever reason, he decided against it. He held out his hand instead. Harry took it and shook his hand good-bye.
"I almost forgot." Sirius said as he reached into his back pocket. "These are yours."
Harry looked at Sirius, confused. Sirius held out the pack of cigarettes he had taken from Harry a few days earlier.
Harry looked at Sirius, totally confused, and Sirius just replied, "Like I said, you can do what you want when you aren't with me; it's not really my right to take these from you. It's your choice after all."
Harry looked at the cigarettes and after a second he took them, hesitantly, and placed them in his pocket, "Truthfully, I don't think I'll need them. I think I'll just give them to one of my friends or something."
"Wise choice." Sirius said with a smile. Harry had obviously been thinking about what they had talked about a few days earlier.
Sirius smiled dropped and a serious look appeared on his face. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry jumped a little from the contact and looked up at Sirius questioningly. "See you on Thursday, Harry. Take care of yourself, alright. If you need me just owl me. Even if you just want to talk or something. I can't help it, it's just a feeling I guess, but I'm worried about you. Are you positive that you're alright and that you're ready go back to your relatives?"
"I'm fine." Harry said. "You have nothing to worry about."
Sirius looked into Harry's eyes for a few minutes before removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and just nodded, "See you Thursday, Harry."
And with that, Sirius drove off, glancing back quickly to watch Harry walk into the Dursleys house. Little did Sirius know, that letting Harry go was one of the worst decisions he could have ever made.
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"This wasn't part of our arrangement."
"I know it wasn't."
"Then why did you promise him more time? We had a deal, Sirius. You clearly said that you'd only need a few days and then if nothing happened, you'd leave the situation alone."
"I know I said that, but things are different now. The situation is more complicated than I had thought it would be. I need more time with him."
"The situation is no different from the way it was last week, Sirius." Albus Dumbledore said as he paced his office. Albus Dumbledore was one of the oldest and wisest wizards of his time. Normally, people trusted his decisions; Sirius however, was beginning to question Albus' decision of Harry's living arrangement.
Sirius was leaning against Dumbledore's desk with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Remus was standing over by the window, watching everything take place. Sirius had asked Remus to come with him for moral support for when he went to tell Dumbledore about the new deal he had made with his godson.
"Things are very different, Albus. The situation is bad. I can tell. There is something wrong with Harry. He isn't telling us something. I need more time with him to find out what's wrong."
"What proof do you have that anything is actually wrong at all?"
"I just know." Sirius insisted. "He's acting strange."
"Strange, you've only just met him, how can you be sure that he doesn't always act like this?"
"Listen, I'm trusting my instincts on this one. There is something going on at the Dursleys. I think- I think his relatives are abusing him. They way he talks about certain things and the way he tries to avoid talking about others, it's just, it isn't normal. It's not normal for a kid to be so dismissive and secretive. The answer is right in front of our faces. We just need Harry to tell us and for him to tell us anything would require me to spend more time with him."
"He is safe with his relatives." Dumbledore stated
"Not if they are the ones making the situation unsafe. I'm his godfather and I will be damned if I let him stay there if they are going to treat him like shit. You even said yourself; they made him sleep in a cupboard until he was eleven. It's all right in front of you. Don't you see it, Dumbledore?"
Albus stopped pacing and turned to Remus, "Remus, what do you think?"
Remus thought a moment before he replied. Harry had seemed a little strange when the topic of his friends was brought up. The he thought about Sirius telling him how Harry smoked too. Maybe the Dursleys weren't the best guardians but they were all Harry really had. At the same time, Harry didn't seem to care about them whatsoever.
"I think we should give Sirius more time. If Sirius is right then it's best to get Harry out of that situation, if he's wrong, then there is no harm done. Give him another week with Harry. Nothing bad can come of it."
Dumbledore looked back at Sirius, "Sirius, Harry is safest with his aunt and uncle. I know that the thought of James' son living with them rather than you-"
Sirius cut him off, "-This has nothing to do with the fact that Harry is James' son. I'm Harry's godfather. He should be with me, not these muggles. If I wanted to, I could just take Harry away from there. I don't need your permission, Albus. I have the papers. I'm his legal guardian."
"Then why are you here, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Sirius curiously with his sparkling blue eyes. "You're right; you don't need my permission to take Harry away. So, why are you here seeking it? If you are trying to change my mind it isn't going to happen. Taking Harry away from the Dursleys is a mistake-"
"The only mistake was leaving him there in the first place-" Sirius fought
"Taking him out of there will not help him, Sirius-"
"Leaving him there isn't helping either-"
"Hold it." Remus broke in, "This shouldn't be about what Sirius wants for Harry or what you want for Harry, Albus, this is a matter of Harry's best interest. If Harry is being abused then getting him out of there is the best thing for Harry."
"I couldn't agree further." Sirius said
"But," Remus continued, "If nothing is going on, what are you going to do, Sirius?"
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked
Remus sighed, "Albus is right, Harry is truly safest at the Dursleys, so if nothing is going on, are you willing to jeopardize his safety just to satisfy your own wants? This has to be about Harry."
"It is about Harry." Sirius said, a hint of anger in his voice, "Its always been about Harry."
"Is it?" Dumbledore asked, "Or is this about James?"
"What?" Sirius asked with a completely puzzled look on his face
Dumbledore continued, "Sirius, if this is about you feeling as though you owe something to James, that you feel obligated to take Harry because he is James' son, then don't take Harry. If this is all about James, then leave Harry alone. James would have wanted-"
Sirius cut him off, "James would have wanted Harry to stay with me. That's why I'm his godfather in the first place. Because James and Lily wanted Harry to be with me, not Petunia. Because James and Lily decided that if anything ever happened to them they wanted me to raise their son!"
"James and Lily would have wanted Harry to be safe, Sirius. How safe is Harry really going to be in your care?" Albus asked.
"I'll do anything possible to keep Harry safe. I already have the special protection spell on my house. We could make then even stronger. Look, this isn't about James, this has never been about James and it never will be about James. Harry is my godson and I care about him more than those muggles ever could. He needs me right now. He might not have grown up with his parents but I'm the closets thing he has to them. James was like a brother to me and I know that James and Lily would have rather seen Harry happy with me than miserable with his aunt. I know that I'm not perfect and I know that I can't offer the same level of protection that Petunia can, but I care about Harry more than you could ever know. I couldn't live with the fact that something is going on-and there is something going on-and I didn't do anything to stop it. We need to get Harry out of there and fast. Who knows what damage his relatives have already done? "
Dumbledore turned around and walked towards one of the windows in the room. He placed his hands on the window and stared out it. "So then, what do we do now? You'll have another week with him. What will that do, Sirius? What if a week is not enough? What if you don't find the answers you are looking for after the week is over?"
Remus looked at Sirius who was looked towards the floor. Sirius sighed and in a quiet voice said, "Then I'll leave him alone. I don't want to, and you know that. But, I'll leave him alone. He can write to me all he wants and maybe I can take him out now and then. But I'll leave him alone, he won't live with me."
Remus could see the hurt in Sirius' eyes. He could tell that this wasn't about James or Lily. This was about Harry, Sirius' godson. If only Dumbldore could see it that way too.
"I think that is the only option right now, but you'll only have a week, Sirius. That's the best we can do for Harry at this point."
"Something is going on." Sirius said, his grey eyes piecing Dumbledore's, "I'm sure of it. I'm not wrong. When I look in his eyes, it just-" Sirius stopped speaking and walked towards on of the book cases in the room.
"It's just what?" Albus asked
Sirius sighed and shook his head. In a quiet voice he replied, "Its just, when I look at him, I get this sort of twisted feeling in the pit of my stomach. His eyes, you look at them and you think Lily, but at the same time, they are really different than Lily's eyes."
Remus was intrigued by this, "What do you mean, Sirius?"
Sirius turned back towards his friend, "When you look into his eyes, they sort of, show what he's feeling. Like, all the things he's feeling, you just see them in his eyes. All the pain and all the emotion. They sort of, look out at you, it's like he's reaching for help, like he wants you to do something, but you feel like you can't. It's a terrible feeling. When you talk to him, he tries to act like everything's okay, but at the same time he gives you this feeling like something's wrong, but you can't see it."
Albus and Remus watched Sirius with great interest. After a moment, Sirius spoke again, "Harry needs help and he's not going to come out and ask for it unless we can show him that we are there for him. I need to help him. I need to know what's going on."
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When the Dursleys household had finally gone to sleep that night, Harry exited the house and headed towards the park. Everything was quiet that night. A little too quiet for Harry's liking. Even when he got was walking to the hang out spot in the park, he heard nothing. No owls, not birds, no cars driving, no wind, nothing. The town was silent.
When Harry had arrived at the sight the usual gang was there, minus Ben and Taylor. Candy was sitting on a rock, smoking a joint; John and Max were playing poker by flashlight. Brock walked over to Harry with a smile.
"I was afraid you wouldn't show up, Potter." Brock said and then looked at his watch. "Five more minutes and I was going to have to send someone else as a replacement."
"Well, I'm here." Harry said and then asked, "Where are Ben and Taylor?"
Brock's smile dropped and, "We had a difference of opinion."
Candy laughed, "Difference of opinion. Ben will certainly be feeling that difference of opinion tomorrow."
John snickered at the remark and Max just looked around a little worried.
"What does that mean?" Harry asked Brock.
"Nothing, nothing." Brock replied as he put his arm around Harry's shoulder. The contacted made Harry jump. "The important thing is that you're here and we are right on schedule."
"What are we doing tonight exactly?" Harry asked, "I mean, you never actually told me what I need to do for you."
"I just need you to meet a friend of mine, that's all."
"A friend?" Harry asked
"Yeah, a friend. Is that alright with you?" Brock asked, smiling viciously at Harry, watching his caustically with his fiery eyes.
"I guess." Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders
"Good, good." Brock looked back at his watch and smiled, "Come on, its time to go."
"Where are we going?"
"To meet my friend, Potter."
"We aren't meeting you're friend here?"
"Nah, we're going to him."
"Brock," Max called out, "Maybe this isn't a –"
Brock lashed out, "HEY! If you have a problem then we can sort it out like I did with Ben, alright. Is that what you want? I can easily arrange it."
Max quieted down and turned his eyes away from Brock. Harry felt worried. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"Come on Potter, let's go."
Harry let Brock lead him into another part of the woods, not realizing that what Brock had in store for him was going to change his life forever.
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AN: Okay, that was chapter seven. I had such a problem writing this one, I don't know why. It took me ages to work everything out. Crazy chapter seven!
I know, I'm horrible, I promised that we would find out what Brock wanted Harry to do for him, but I thought of a better way of showing it. I guess this could be considered a small turning point in the story. Things are going to change quite a bit after this. I promise, in time, you will find out what Brock got Harry to do.
Please read and review.