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Chapter2 -- A New Summer
#4 Privet Drive - June 25th, 2006- Summer Between Sixth and Seventh Years
His third night at the Dursley's, found Harry Potter awake. The last few days at the Dursley's had brought long days of hard yard work, chores, and little food. Harry's sleep, like that of his friends, found little peace. Each night his nightmares revisited the Department of Mysteries, the trip there or the graveyard, or sometimes, the funeral of Hermione's parents.
Being back for only few days, found Harry to be in constant correspondence with his best friends, Ron and Hermione; the first day alone he received no less than six letters. Yesterday, there had been five. Ginny, Ron's younger sister, also sent long letters to one another.
He felt warmth as he read her words. Comfort as he found her dreams as frightening as his own. Other than Hermione, she was the strongest witch he knew. Her spirit was where he found more strength this summer than any other. The determination in her was equal to his own in his desire to finish the fight started so very long ago with the death of his parents. They had gotten closer during his sixth year; long since earning his respect with the events in the Department of Mysteries just over a year prior.
Although his sixth year was not completely uneventful, he found he didn't care. He continued the student led defense group, now a school sponsored club, helped to win the Quiddich Cup, and felt he actually had finally mastered occulmency. He worked hard with Ginny, Ron and Hermione on spells and incantations for his upcoming battle with Voldemort. He knew without a doubt that he would not completely be alone. Their pledge to him was that they would watch his back when he fought Voldemort. Hermione was almost as good as he was when it came to throwing curses.
Ron was only seconds behind him as far as defensive spells, but Hermione was slightly faster. Hermione was always good, but when the Death Eaters found her parents and killed them, she became obsessed. While Hermione used her hurt and anger to work harder; Ginny used her desire to save her family and friends as the driving edge.
Hermione had gone straight to the Weasley's this summer and until she moved into her own flat after graduation, the Weasley's had promised her a home for as long as she wished to live with them. That decision was made the day after Hermione's parents had been found. So she was with Ron and Ginny waiting until Harry could join them either at the Burrow or Grimmauld Place.
Dumbledore had promised Harry that he would not have to stay long at the Dursley's. However, until that time, he had to be with his Aunt and Uncle. His consolation was that in a few weeks, he would turn seventeen, and this was his last summer with his Aunt and Uncle.
It was embarrassing for him to admit that the light beside his bed burned constantly since his return. Harry, isolated, could not stand to be in the dark. The darkness brought the worst of the nightmares as his connection with Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time, grew.The past year, as his griefhad overtook him, thenightmares that connection hadbegun to worsen.
At school, there was always a candle burning in his bed hangings.Hermione had bewitched one that would burn without actually catching his bed hangings on fire. It was good to have friends that he could depend on and trust, even when he felt like a small child.
The night before this one,his second on Privet Drive, Uncle Vernon took the bedside lamp from him, yelling that he was too old for a nightlight and how 'BLOODY expensive it was to have a light on ALL night!' Harry had not slept that night until the morning rays of sunlight filtered through the open window. Until the early morning rays of sunshine filtered through the bars on his window, Harry could be found awake reflecting on things in the dark of the night, falling deeper into the haunting memories of his life's adventures.
When Petunia opened Harry's door that morning, she saw her nephew on the floor in a corner, knees pulled up to his chest, breath ragged, and eyes scared of what the room held during the night. He clutched his wand, waiting for something to come out of the darkness to hurt him.
At that moment, something happened: her heart softened. She did not want to know all the details of what had happened to her nephew, but rather than make it worse, she simply met his eyes and quietly closed the door. Harry heard her tell Uncle Vernon about him being sick and that he would not be disturbed that day. He gratefully crawled into his small bed as the morning light filtered in the window.
Around eleven that morning, he woke from a few hours of sleep, leaving his room to shower. When he returned, his bedside light was there, and a box of bulbs set carefully beside it. When he got closer, he noticed a second lamp tucked between his bed and table, insuring that he would not have to go a whole night without light, no matter what his uncle did.
His heart too softened a bit that day. Vernon and Dudley had gone on errands into London, leaving Petunia and Harry alone in the house. Harry went downstairs, his stomach rumbling and was shocked to find Aunt Petunia putting together a sandwich and crisps on a plate and handing it to him. He sat at the table, eyeing his aunt. She had never, in the almost sixteen years of living with her, done two things in such quick succession that were nice to him. She sat at the other end of the table in the kitchen. He heard deep steadying breaths as she spoke to him.
"Harry, Vernon and Dudley will be back soon. I need to say a few things to you that… you will never hear again. Please listen close." Harry nodded and stopped eating as Petunia went on, "I cannot make up the past to you. I cannot and will not ask you to forgive me for the way you have been treated here. It will never be different. As long as you live, you will not be one of the family. This will be your last summer here and I want your help. Today, in the next few hours, we will clean out the attic; and if we need to, we can also do more tomorrow. Vernon and Dudley will be gone most of time during the week. In the evenings, when you would otherwise be underfoot,you can spend it in your room looking at what we might there that you might want to take to you, either to your school or your new home that the Professor talked about."
Harry again nodded his agreement. This was the closest thing he would ever get to an apology and as he waited to see if she would speak again, he continued to eat. As he finished the last bite of his sandwich, she began to speak again; he looked up as he heard her voice break. "I miss her sometimes. Not often, but at times. When I look into your eyes, I see her. I see her spirit. I can almost hear her laugh." Pausing to take a sip of her tea, and collecting herself, she continued. "The day after we finish the attic, you and I will take a short trip by train. You will ask me no questions until we get there. Promise?" He nodded his agreement. "Vernon and Dudley are not to know. But I think it might help us both to get through this summer."
Harry silently agreed. Petunia stood up, took Harry's empty plate and her tea cup and deposited them into the sink, and then went upstairs to change into work clothes without another word to Harry.
Slowly, remembering all she said, Harry made his way to the attic and turned on the light. He had never been allowed up here before. This would have been an excellent area to escape the Dursley's when he was younger, but his first trip, around the age of six, was met with a beating and a week in his cupboard. He never tried to enter it again.
Waiting at the doorway, he looked in, trying to see inside the closed boxes, waiting for his aunt. He heard her footsteps behind him and moved to let her go in first. She looked at him and did something so un-Dursley-ish, he shuddered. She reached out to him and took him in a great hug. Harry was so shocked at first; he tried to take a step backwards. He did not know what to do, and as a result made no effort to return the grasp. She released him and went into the attic.
Harry was directed to move a couple of trunks, some lamps, a woman's wardrobe and a couple of cages. She pointed to several boxes on the far side of the attic that he could see clearly now that the items had been moved, as they were hidden. Marked on the side of the now revealed boxes was the word "THEM" in bold letters.
"Those are yours. Take them to your room; put them in your wardrobe and under your bed. They will be leaving with you when you go this summer."
As Harry turned to look at her in the dim light, he saw a tear rolling down her cheek. He simply responded with a nod and spent the next hour moving box after box to his room.
The last box moved to his room, he returned to the attic to once again see his aunt. She pointed to another hidden area and told him that he needed to take the two trunks as well. Turning, he saw two school trunks. Upon closer inspection, he saw the initials "JTP" and "LJE" upon them with a Hogwarts crest. They were dusty, but otherwise perfect in the scarlet of the Gryffindor house colors. His heart beat quickened as he took them down to his room, sliding them easily under his bed.
Oh, how he wanted to stay down with his new treasures. But he dutifully returned to help his aunt with her things in the attic. He found her sitting in an old rocker, silently rocking back and forth, lost in thought. He watched her for a few moments. She was holding something tightly. "Aunt Petunia? Are you okay?" Harry asked quietly.
"Oh yes Harry, fine. Really, I'm fine, just… lost in the memories." she answered. He noticed her voice was a bit off from the normal sharp edge it usually carried when talking to him. Even her apology had the edge to it.
"What else can I do to help you up here this afternoon?" Harry cautiously asked.
"Just, well, just put the things back like they were so no one notices that things have been moved from up here….. Please." Her eyes met Harry's and he realized she had never used that word with him before today, and she had used it several times now. "Please" was just not in her vocabulary with him. When they finished it was almost six o'clock. He was a bit sore from the activity, but was quite pleased when he found it complete.
Harry asked his aunt if she would like dinner. Uncle Vernon and Dudley would be backsoon and he did not want his Uncle to think anything odd had happened. Petunia nodded her agreement and he left the attic to make his way down to the kitchen. While washing his hands, he concentrated all his thoughts to one name "DOBBY" his mind screamed over and over. With a resounding "CRACK" he turned to see his favorite house-elf beaming at him.
"You is calling Harry Potter?"
Harry could not help himself, kneeling, he laughed out loud and took the house-elf in his arms, giving him a hug and holding on for dear life. Dobby, for his part, cried slightly and earnestly returned the hug. Calming Harry with gentle words until Harry was once again able to talk.
"Harry Potter, is you needing me? Did those people hurt you again? Dobby is not letting Harry Potter be hurt by them. Is you needing me to take care of you? " Dobby asked as Harry set him on the floor. Dobby was looking him over, turning Harry's head this way and that, reaching for his shirt to see if he had bruises on his arms.
"Dobby, Dobby… I'm fine, no one has hurt me. Really. I just… I need… Dobby, stop." Finally, Harry took Dobby's hands in his to stop him from looking for signs of abuse. "Please, really… can…can you help me make a very nice dinner? I think grilled chicken, salad, pasta, potatoes, and rolls? It's been the most amazing day and I would need your special talents in the kitchen." Harry looked into the great bulbous eyes of the elf who gladly agreed to help.
As dinner was being set on the table, the front door opened. The smell of dinner was floating through the house. Harry suddenly remembered dessert. "Dobby? What about dessert?" As he was asking, there was a small snap of Dobby's fingers and a large four layer chocolate cake appeared out of nowhere. Smiling, Harry said, "Thanks," and with a quieter CRACK and Dobby was gone.
"Dinner's ready!" He called to the Dursley's. When they entered the dining room, he was pleased that Uncle Vernon seemed amazed at the food on the table. Aunt Petunia came down the stairs, dressed impeccably as usual, as Dudley was making his way steadily to the table.
Uncle Vernon looked suspiciously at his wife's nephew, but watched mutely as Aunt Petunia simply said "Thank you dear for such a wonderful dinner." Dudley stared open mouthed at his mother, matching the stare his father gave her. They all sat quietly at the dinner table and for the first time he could remember actually enjoyed a meal with his aunt.
Harry was sent to his bedroom after dinner. Petunia informed Dudley that since Harry had made such a delightful dinner, that he would be expected to clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. As he left the room, he could hear Dudley's irritated response. Smiling, he went up the stairs to his room and closed the door.
