Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the wonderful, stupendous, magnificent, amazing world of Harry Potter.
A/N: I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get this chapter out. Everything's been pretty crazy lately. I can't promise when my next chapter will be updated, but I will try to make it as soon as possible.
"So what happened to you yesterday? You were gone for a while," Harry said.
Harry was wandering around bored in Dumbledore's office while browsing the bookshelves. The Headmaster stopped working at his desk and looked up.
"I went to Kingsley Shacklebolt's house first. I wanted him to tell the Minister when he returned to work that you were somewhere safe in hiding; however, those plans changed. While I was there, the Minister personally firecalled Kinsley in order to see if there had been any progress in finding you."
"What happened to Sirius?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Sirius was able to change into his Animagus form before Cornelius saw him. When the Minister saw me, he asked me if I knew what had happened. I told him that you were alright. He demanded to know where you were, but I told him that it was classified information. I said that he could tell The Daily Prophet that you had gone into hiding before the Dursleys were attacked. The whole wizarding world will know today that you are alive and alright, but they won't know where you are or who you are with."
"I bet that the Minister didn't like the fact that you were keeping something from him," Harry chuckled.
The Headmaster smiled at that statement. "No, he didn't. His face grew really red and he spluttered for a few seconds when he realized that I wasn't going to tell him your location. He kept persisting in asking me the same questions over and over. After he saw that he wasn't getting anywhere in his interrogation, he quickly left."
"Were you able to talk to Sirius while you were there?" Harry questioned.
"Yes. He said some things, which I will not repeat, but he did want me to tell you that he wishes he could see you face-to-face. Once he is done with his mission, you two may be able to spend some time together. Sirius's house is under the Fidelius Charm. The house will be used as Order of the Phoenix headquarters."
"Theā¦Fidelius Charm?" Harry hesitantly asked.
"Don't worry, Harry. I am the Secret Keeper. The only people who will know about the house will be people we can trust," Dumbledore said reassuringly.
"When Fudge was at Hogwarts after the Tournament, he did not believe that Voldemort had come back. Does he believe it now?"
"He does. Voldemort's return was printed in the papers yesterday. Many people did not believe he had come back until the attack on the Dursleys occurred. There were witnesses to the attack. Neighbors heard screams coming from the house, and they saw the house going up in flames. They were able to see the Death Eaters leave, and they could accurately describe Voldemort to the Ministry," Dumbledore answered.
"Did the Death Eaters harm anyone else on Privet Drive?"
"No. The Muggles stayed inside of their house until the Death Eaters had Disapparated. The Ministry appeared at the Dursleys' house within minutes. The neighbors were questioned and then obliviated."
"Where did you go after you left Sirius and Mr. Shackelbolt?" Harry asked.
"I went to the Weasley's house. They were running around panicking and making a lot of noise. When I appeared, they immediately swarmed me and began shouting over each other while trying to ask me questions. It took a few moments before everyone had calmed down enough to hear me. I assured them that you were safe, and I told them that you weren't at the Dursleys' house during the attack. I didn't mention that you were staying with me, however."
"Why didn't you?" Harry frowned.
"You never know who could be listening. They must have realized though that I was in contact with you because they told me to tell you hello. Molly also refused to let me leave without bringing back some ham sandwiches, a fruit salad, and some pies," Dumbledore answered with twinkling eyes.
"That sounds like Mrs. Weasley," Harry laughed.
"I was able to view The Daily Prophet while I was there. The story of your disappearance and the Death Eater attack took up five whole pages. It looks like you will be making headlines again today since the newspaper will be printing that you are alright."
"Great," Harry said sarcastically.
"I was at the Weasleys' house for a while. They wanted to hear everything about you that I could possibly tell them. Even after I was done talking, they asked a lot of questions and wanted to have some parts of the story repeated. They really care about you."
"Did you say anything to Mr. Weasley about us seeing him in town? Did you ask him whether Death Eaters had really harmed those Muggles?"
"No, I didn't," Dumbedore replied. "The Weasleys knew that I would see you at some point, but they don't know that you are staying with me. If I told Arthur that we saw him in town, he would know that I live around here somewhere. Anyone could hear that information and could try to search for my house. Besides, if the attack had been real Death Eaters, Arthur would have told me."
"What else happened while you were at the Weasleys?" asked Harry.
"Not much. After I left their house, I went to see Ms. Granger. She had not known that anything had happened. I had to fill her in on all of the details, which took quite a while. She too was able to figure out that I was in contact with you."
Dumbledore rummaged through his desk and pulled out two letters. He handed them over to Harry.
"These letters are from Hermione and Ron. They made me wait while they each wrote to you."
"Thank you. Will you be visiting either of them again this summer?" Harry questioned hopefully.
"I don't know. We'll just have to see what happens."
Harry sat down in the chair across from Dumbledore's desk in order to read his letters.
Dear Harry,
I am so glad that you are okay. When Professor Dumbledore came to my house, I was worried that something had happened. My parents and I had been out for the day, so I didn't get a chance to read The Daily Prophet. Before we left school, I knew that there was something that you were keeping from us. I just didn't want to bother you about it. I thought that it might have had something to do with Cedric.
How are you feeling, by the way? I hope that you don't feel guilty about Cedric and the Dursleys dying. It wasn't your fault. I know that you don't usually like to talk about things like this, but I really hope that you have been talking to Professor Dumbledore. I don't know where you are hiding, but wherever you are, I know that the Headmaster will help you through your hard times.
I wish that we could write to each other. Not much has been going on here. I've talked to Ron once. He tells me that he hasn't started on his summer homework yet. I hope that you are being more sensible than he is. I have already gotten a lot of it completed.
If I don't get the chance to talk to you before school starts, I hope that you have a wonderful summer.
Hermione
Harry gave a small smile when he finished reading Hermione's letter. He neatly folded it up and started to open the note from Ron
Harry,
I can't believe that the Death Eaters killed the Dursleys. My whole family was in a panic when we read The Daily Prophet. Mum and Ginny started crying, and Dad immediately went to the Ministry in order to see if it was true. Even Fred and George were subdued. Everything was pretty crazy until Dumbledore showed up. After he explained everything, Mum jumped up and started hugging everyone. We were all relieved when we heard you were okay.
Everyone wants me to tell you hi. Mum is sending over some food for you to eat. I'm sure that wherever you are, Professor Dumbledore won't let you starve; however, Mum wants to feel useful.
There isn't a whole lot going on around here. Fred and George have been holed up in their room a lot. They say that they are busy working, which of course means that they are inventing new pranks. I don't see where they got all of this money from. I saw them smuggling in some raw materials for their pranks the other day, but I don't know how they were able to pay for it all.
I'm sorry that we won't get to talk for a while. I hope you're having fun.
Ron
When Harry glanced up from his letters, he saw that Dumbledore was looking at him.
"Did your friends have anything interesting to say?" the Headmaster asked.
"They were just telling me about what's been going on the last few days. Ron told me that Fred and George have been inventing a lot of new pranks lately. They are using the money that I gave them from the Triwizard winnings."
Dumbledore gazed sadly at Harry. "You gave them all of the money that you won? I am proud that you wanted to help them out, but you should know that you won the money fairly. Don't feel guilty that the money was given to you and not to Cedric or his family."
"At the time, I didn't want the money because I did feel guilty. You have been helping me work through my feelings, however, by talking to me about all of this. It will just take some time. I don't regret giving them the money though. I don't need it, but they could sure put it to good use. They want to open up a joke shop, and this money will help them achieve their goal," Harry said.
"As long as you are okay with it, then that is all that matters. They are lucky to have a good friend like you."
"Did you go anywhere else yesterday?" Harry questioned.
"I had to take care of a few odds and ends, but the majority of the afternoon was spent ensuring everyone of your well being. I was a little surprised when I came back to the house yesterday and you and Severus were getting along," the Headmaster responded.
"I don't know what's gotten into him lately, but we've been acting fairly decent towards each other. I think that I shocked him when I correctly described one of the potions that he had," Harry answered with a grin.
Dumbledore gave a small smile. "I'm glad that things are working out between you two. Maybe the situation will continue to improve."
"Well, I'm going to go to my room for a little while before lunch. Thank you for bringing me letters from my friends," Harry said as he stood up.
"You're welcome, Harry. I'll see you in a little while."
