Disclaimer: Same as the last chapter. All I own is the Lindells. All else belongs to J.K. Rowling and Paramount a
Chapter 3 – The Real LifeThe sun was already streaming in broken rays through the window of the small window when Harry woke and dressed for his run with Tristan. He had been running with her for a little over a week now. This would be their fifth time out together.
Harry had started off slow. Tristan had been forced to reduce her usual routine drastically. Harry, after all, wasn't in particularly good shape. Despite his many escapades and his talent at quidditch, Harry hadn't ever really needed to train for anything that needed stamina and strength. Quidditch was more about reflexes than strength. But the extra physical assets would certainly have been helpful in the many events that had taken place over the years. In retrospect, Harry had to wonder why Dumbledore hadn't encouraged him to train and increase possible advantages, especially since he was the one who knew what Harry would eventually have to face.
Harry, however, had quickly abandoned that train of thought in favour of basking in the pleasure that came from his enjoyment in those habitual runs. Even though he had started out slow, it wasn't taking him long to catch up. Tristan had dubbed him a 'natural' at running and he was gradually building up his endurance. He was certain that in another couple of weeks he would be up to scratch with Tristan. When that happened, they both hoped to start increasing their distance.
Probably the only thing that Harry didn't enjoy about the exercise was that he had to exert himself so much so early in the morning. Their daily ritual started at seven in the morning, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. They were normally back at home around eight AM.
It was currently two minutes to seven and Harry was hurrying out of number 4 to meet Tristan. The Friday morning air was crisp and fresh. Harry breathed it in deep as he strode to the gate of his house, where Tristan was waiting for him.
"Morning," she greeted him with a welcoming smile. Harry only yawned in reply. Tristan laughed, breaking the muffled silence of early morning.
"How far today?" questioned Harry as he stretched in preparation.
"The usual, I suppose. About five kilometers. Just tell me if you need a break," instructed the brunette. Harry nodded in acknowledgement.
"Ready?" asked Tristan a couple minutes later.
"Yep."
"Good. Let's go then!"
"So," conversed Harry as they set off, "How's it going with all your new furniture?"
"Good," answered Tristan. "Our bedrooms and the kitchen are pretty much finished. All that we really need to focus on is the living room."
"Did you get that new dinner table that your Mum was so excited about?"
"Yeah, they delivered it Wednesday. Mom was so happy to finally be able to get rid of that ancient thing we were using. By the way," she added, "Mom told me to invite you over for breakfast after our run. It should be good. Bacon, eggs and fresh blueberry muffins!"
Harry felt his mouth watering at the thought of the meal. His idea of a normal breakfast was usually not more than a piece of toast, and therefore this was an opportunity that he couldn't afford to pass up.
"I'm already there!" he informed Tristan with a grin. She laughed.
"I thought so. Just like my brother! Mom's going to be all over you, you know. I can already hear her. 'Look at you! You are much to skinny! Here, have a fourth helping.'"
By the end of their run, Harry was dripping sweat. He pushed himself hard so that he could keep up with Tristan, and after their runs his muscles could get incredibly sore. His one consolation, however, was knowing that the order members that had to follow him in his morning exercises had to keep up with Tristan's pace, too, and they were forced to struggle with an invisibility cloak besides.
Harry made a quick stop at number 4 to take a shower and change into clean clothes before heading to Tristan's for breakfast. Kurt was the one who opened the door for him when he knocked.
"Hi," yawned Kurt. "Come in, and settle down. Tristan's just finishing cleaning herself up, and breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes."
"Thanks," Harry answered, stepping in. He slipped quietly into the kitchen and took a seat at the loaded table. He could feel his stomach starting to ache in anticipation of the food in front of him.
"Good morning, Harry!" Ann greeted him cheerfully. "And Kurt! What a wonderful surprise! I'm not sure whether or not you actually live in this house some mornings."
"Mom!" The eighteen-year-old protested when the older woman kissed him soundly on the forehead. Harry snickered.
"Lea' me 'lone," sulked Kurt.
"Need some coffee, Kurt?" Tristan teased. She entered the kitchen still drying her long hair.
"Yes." Kurt answered shortly. Tristan poured a cup of coffee and inquired, "Harry, you want some?"
"Er…sure," came his uncertain reply.
"Sugar or milk?" She turned to face him. "Harry…you have tried coffee before, right?"
"Well, not exactly," Harry hedged. Tristan rolled her eyes.
"So that means lots of sugar and some milk," the girl sighed in exasperation. She carried the cups over to the table and set the unsweetened one in front of Kurt and slid the other one to Harry. He took a sip and promptly choked on it. Brother and sister both chuckled at his expense.
"Tastes awful at first, doesn't it? It's the kind of drink that you need to get used to. Like beer," confided Kurt.
"Kurt!" scolded his mother.
"Kurt's a bear in the mornings. And heaven help you if you don't let him have his coffee." Tristan was only too happy to elaborate.
"No wonder," Harry retorted dryly, making a face at the coffee in his own hands. After considering the liquid for a few moments, he ventured another sip.
David and the twins came soon after. Ann served out the bacon and eggs, instructing them to help themselves to muffins and toast.
"No wonder you're all so cheerful all the time," commented Harry midway through the breakfast. "If I had a breakfast like this every day, I'd be in a permanent good mood too."
"Nah, this is a weekly thing. Every Friday morning in the summer we have a big family breakfast. Like pancakes, or waffles, or eggs, you know? But most of the rest of the time we have to fend for ourselves," explained Devon, before stealing a piece of toast from his twin sister.
"And as far as being in a cheerful mood goes – well, take a look at Kurt right now. That's definitely enough to prove that theory wrong," smirked Tristan. Kurt threw her a look that could smash a mirror and returned to nursing his coffee. "See?"
"Well," drawled Kurt in retaliation, "if you really want to see temper you should see Tristan when she's having a hissy fit. What a brat!"
"At least I'm not in a rotten mood every single morning!" exclaimed his indignant sister. "And I haven't had a hissy fit since…"
"Mom and Dad said we were moving?" returned Kurt cockily.
"That's enough you two," interrupted Ann.
"Listen to your mother," agreed David. "And since you're obviously completely awake, Kurt, you can help me unpack the stuff in the basement."
"What?" spluttered Kurt. "What about Tris?"
"Tris is having friends over," Ann replied. Tristan shot him a superior look. "And besides, Tristan's going to help me with the office and living room later tonight."
Harry choked on his coffee for the second time that day. But this time it had nothing to do with the taste of the coffee.
Breakfast finished well before nine o'clock. Kurt went trudging after his father towards the basement, slightly better natured after two cups of coffee. The twins mysteriously disappeared before their mother could peg them with cleaning up the dishes. Harry offered to help, but Ann shooed him off with an amused laugh.
Tristan and Harry retreated to her bedroom. Tristan hurriedly picked up a few items of clothing from the floor and tossed them in her closet. She quickly made the bed and then looked hopelessly at the few random boxes that littered her room. Shrugging, she turned to Harry.
"You'll just have to ignore the boxes. I'm not totally unpacked yet," she explained.
"Better than my room," Harry replied absently, looking around.
"Um, Harry, I wanted to ask you…I'm going to have some people over for a bit today, and then we're going to go to bowling. It's going to be my "meeting people" thing. Can you come?" Tristan asked abruptly.
"Er…" delayed Harry.
"It's okay if you don't want to," Tristan hastily assured him. "It's just…you're the first person I got to know here, and it would be nice to have you along."
"No, I'd love to come, it's just…well, I have a lot of chores I have to get done, and I usually need to let the Dursleys know ahead of time if I'm going anywhere," Harry clarified, thinking of the Order. He couldn't imagine how angry they would get if he just upped and went bowling with a bunch of unknown people.
Not to mention that doing that would be undeniably stupid. It would be incredibly easy for Voldemort or a Death Eater to reach him in such an open and unguarded place. But, still. It was nice to know that Tristan wanted him along at all. Gave him one of those warm fuzzy feelings. And he'd take that any day to the cold spiky feeling he kept getting from his "family."
"So, next time, let you know earlier, eh?" said Tristan ruefully. "O.K. But you can meet a couple of my new friends anyway. Del and Matt should be over soon. They were going to come over early."
"Matt…what's his last name?"
"Shetterly. Him and Del were at the movie rental place down the street few days ago, and we hung out a bit. He was the one who organized the bowling thing so I could meet more people." Harry wasn't prepared for the jealousy that bit at him when he listened to Tris talk about Matt. This is ridiculous. He thought. I have no claim on her at all. She can go out with whoever she wants. I've barely known her for two weeks!
"Yeah," He answered outwardly. "I think he was in my class in elementary school. I don't remember much about him though. And I've never meet anyone around here named Del."
"Tris, your friends are here!" Ann called up the stairs.
"Well, here's your chance to meet her! Com'on!" Tris bounced out of the room with her usual energy. Harry followed at a slower pace.
He took in his first look at Tris' new friends quickly. Matt hadn't changed a lot since Harry last remembered seeing him. He was still long and skinny, with his light brown hair cropped close to his head.
The girl was pretty much average everything. Her height, weight and appearance weren't particularly noticeable. The one thing that did stick out about her was her hair. It was a long, cascading, brilliantly blond waterfall. Harry recognized her instantly.
"Delilah Polkiss, right?" he stated somewhat coldly. He had been on the receiving end of her brother's fists many times.
Delilah bit her lip. "Bloody hell," she grimaced. "You're another one of those blokes that Piers is always picking on. Look, I'm really sorry for anything that my brother has done to you. And in my favour, I am not my brother, so please don't judge me by him."
Harry opened his mouth to make a scathing retort, but quickly realized his hypocrisy in the situation. Why should he expect Snape to treat him fairly if he judged Delilah by her brother the way Snape judged him by his father?
So instead he offered Delilah a hand, and allowed a smile of acceptance to cross his lips. She smiled back and took his hand in a firm shake.
"Wow, that was tense," commented Tristan. "So I guess that you do know Del, Harry?"
"Not exactly. We never really got to know each other. Delilah was in the class under me in elementary school."
"Hey, I remember you now! You're Harry Potter, aren't you? Dudley Dursley's cousin?" comprehension bloomed on Del's face.
"Unfortunately," scowled Harry. Delilah grinned in appreciation.
"Yeah, he's a right bastard, isn't he?"
"Don't you go to that school for criminals?" Matt cut into the conversation, studying Harry's face. A slight wariness was painted across his sharp, thin features.
"Nah," Harry shook his head. "That's what my aunt and uncle like to say, but I actually go to a boarding school. They just don't like to admit that I'm getting a better education than their darling 'Duddykins.'"
Matt nodded, clearly satisfied but not entirely convinced of Harry's towering righteousness. He offered a bony hand to Harry who took it without hesitation.
"I'm Matt Shetterly," he introduced himself.
"I remember you. You got a detention for sending Kayla Green love notes," Matt snorted good-naturedly. He retorted, "I wasn't the one who climbed onto the roof of the school kitchens, was I? I bet that the entire school heard the Headmistress shouting at you."
Harry chuckled, and explained to Tristan, "Long story."
"I'll bet," she answered, raising her eyebrows.
"So, are you coming with us today, Harry?" questioned Del. He shook his head.
"No."
"To bad. It's going to be fun," Matt looked at Tristan. "We've invited a few of our friends along, so there'll be lots of people for you to meet. I'm sure you'll like them, as long as you don't mind some craziness."
"Don't worry. I am crazy and crazy is me. I can take anything that you throw at me," Tristan stuck a brave (and completely ridiculous) pose.
"We'll see," was Matt's only response.
Harry left less than an hour later, on the excuse of chores. Listening to the three talk about their plans for the afternoon had left an unpleasant feeling of simmering jealousy in the pit of his stomach. He had never so desperately wanted to be a normal muggle. Even just a normal wizard would work for him.
He ached just thinking about how much he wanted to be able to worry only about mundane things like his homework, making friends, or whether the girl he liked fancied him back. His next thought was how pathetic it was that he considered things like that mundane. He could think of any number of people that believed that those things were some of the most important issues in their life.
He sighed, ignored the urge to snap at whoever was following, rather loudly, behind him, and strode down the walkway to number 4. He tried not to pay attention to the dead weight that had settled in his chest as he entered the house and ascended the stairs to his room.
Hedwig hooted softly to him when he walked in, holding out her leg.
"Hey, girl," murmured Harry. He quickly untied the scroll from her leg and gave her a little petting and a couple of owl treats before sitting down with the letter.
The heartfelt letter from Remus wasn't particularly long, and Harry decided to give a go at reading it. Remus was, after all, the closest link that Harry had to his parents and Sirius.
Dear Harry,
It's pretty lonely here. Most of the Old Crowd are out on business all the time, so things can get pretty quiet. I'm between projects right now, and my "moon time" just finished, so I pretty weak and not of any particular help to anyone. I'm sure that Molly's good cooking will get me back on my feet in no time, though.
I'm told that I'll be seeing you in a couple of days. I've heard through the grape vine that you've been getting in quite a bit of exercise lately. Should I be preparing for anything?
Write me back and let me know how things are going with you.
Yours,
Remus
PS. And I'll have none of that "Professor Lupin" nonsense from you. I haven't been your Professor for years. Please call me "Moomy" or "Remus."
Harry felt oddly touched by the letter. It was kind, to the point and sympathetic. However, it was obvious that Remus wasn't trying to coddle or pity him. The way it was phrased, so carefully and yet so carelessly, made him feel like he wasn't expected to break or throw a temper tantrum.
The letter had also made him register the fact that he wasn't the only one who had suffered from the events of the fiasco at the end of the school year. Sadness coated the letter, though Harry knew that Remus never intended it to show through.
And it was through these things that Harry felt a niggling urge to write Remus back. So he sat at the wobbly desk that balanced in the corner of his room and began to write.
The words came with shocking ease. And, when Harry reread it, he was surprised at how much he had spilled onto the thin piece of parchment. He tied it to Hedwig's leg hesitantly, uncertainly, not entirely sure that he wanted bare his emotions to anyone. He was also inexplicably unwilling to take back the letter.
So, late that evening, Hedwig took off from number 4 with Harry's letter tied securely to her leg.
Dear Remus,
OK, I give. No more "Professor Lupin" stuff. So you've heard about my exercise? It's harsh sometimes, but it's good for me to get into shape. You never know when something like that could come in handy. And the girl that I exercise with is turning out to be a good friend. It's nice to have a bit of time to feel normal. No one here treats me like the boy-who-lived and all that.
The only thing that sets me on edge is these guards. It really bugs me having a bunch of invisible people hanging over my shoulder. I know that it's kind of important, but I'd be grateful if you let people over there know that I'm a teenage boy and I would really appreciate it if they would back off and give me some privacy.
Sorry for taking this out on you. I know that it's not your fault, but there's not anyone here that I can explain this to. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode from holding it all in.
I wish that I could just stand up and face it. After what happened in the Department of Mysteries, I think I kind of woke up the real life. There's a war going on, and soon Voldemort will be everywhere. What's the point of running from Voldemort when there's nowhere left to hide?
I need to get ready for this war, Remus. I need someone (not Snape) to teach me how to face what's going to happen. I was actually wondering if you could talk to Dumbledore for me about some kind of training program for when I get back to Hogwarts.
Make sure that you stress the fact that my teacher can't be Snape. I don't think that we'd get anything productive done. I would really appreciate it if you would do this for me, Remus.
Take care,
Harry
Hello everyone!
Here a note to let you know that the next chapter may take longer in coming. Exam time and all that. I'm swamped. I've got 6 project on the go (crazyness) but I'll try to have the next chapter up within the next 2 weeks. It's already outlined and started, so with any luck…
In any case, many thanks to those who reviewed. It's much appreciated. I love to hear your comments, suggestions and criticisms.
Ta!
- Jasperite