Harry had been with Lupin for the last two weeks of summer, they weren't as bad as they could be. He had gotten to know Lucie a bit better but not much, she was still a small, shy mystery to him. The weather outside looped, rainy then sunny and back again, cold then hot, for the last two weeks. But right now, the night before going back to Hogwarts, it rained like the first day when he had come to, to meat that morning's rain. He hadn't said much, and to his relief Lupin had given his space and not said a word about the past month, but Professor Dumbledore had come by to say hello and see how he was doing and like Lupin he said vary little about what had happened. Harry feeling suspicious about there behaviour finally asked Dumbledore while he sat sipping tea on his visit a couple days ago.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I had runaway, or tell me why I shouldn't have?" he had asked.
"No Harry, im not. Is there something your waiting to tell me? Did you wish for me to ask?"
"No. I was just expecting you to is all." he said quietly turning and gazing into space, something he did quite a bit. Neither said anything for a couple of moments before Dumbledore had stood and bid him good day and left before Harry could say another word (not that he would've anyway).
That was two days before, but right now Harry sat on his bed with a book. It was still day light and as soon as the sun set Harry and Lupin would set off to fetch his things from the Dursley's.
Harry set down his book and listened but couldn't hear the rain this time, it must've stopped.
"Harry, Lucie, Supper!" Lupin's voice came from the other end of the hall as he called them for supper. Harry swung his leg over the side of his bed, socked feet creaking against the hard wood floor until they reached the door. Harry heard the door across from his open and tinny feet pad quickly to the kitchen. He followed seconds later, slipping into his seat at the kitchen table. Lucie sat quietly with a ratty stuffed cat held tight against her chest. Her raven hair was pulled back with a red ribbon and she had on a black dress that fell in frilly puffs around her knees.
"So are you ready to go Harry, Lucie?"
"Yes.
"Good. Eat Lucie, stop picking at it."
"Sorry, Im not vary hungry tonight." she stared shyly at the edge of the table. It had been the same every night since she got here according to Lupin. She hardly talked, hardly made eye contact, she hardly ate. Harry knew this feeling, it's the feeling you get when you first lose someone you cared for deeply. It can either get better or like in Harry's case, it never goes away. He had never been a vary out going guy, but now he was just so tired of everything, he didn't have the energy to fight off the feeling so he let it consume him.
Harry watched Lucie out of the corner of his eye, wonder about her. She wore a black dress with small bits of white frills here and there that fell down to her knees in frilly puffs, her raven hair was pulled back with a red ribbon and she held a ratty stuffed cat close to her chest.
Soon as supper had ended and been cleaned away Harry and Lucie waited in the kitchen while Lupin wrote a letter he had to send to someone before they when to Surry for Harry's things.
"Ok Im ready lets head off, we'll go into town first and I'll apperate you one at a time from there. I'll bring Harry through first and then you Harry, wait to receive me and Lucie and we'll get through this fast as we can."
They stepped out onto the front walk, they were in the old town of Hogsmead or the farming population of Hogsmead. Lupin's house was the first house you see when you enter the old part of Hogsmead and the walk to town took about twenty minutes. Though it seems like a lot longer when you walk in a silence as awkward as the one Harry walked in now. He would have to go back to the Dursley's house one last time
The only sounds were Harry's boots and various chains jangling around as he walked. He hoped that his things hadn't been cleared out yet, and wondered if anything was happening with the house of the late Dursley's. He was startled from his thoughts by a tiny hand rapping it self in Harry's. He looked down to see Lucie walking vary close to him as she clung to his hand with one of her own, and with her other she hugged her stuffed cat. She was looking down almost stubbornly as if she would refuse to let his hand go. So silently, he gave it a tiny squeeze and looked ahead of him.
When they arrived before the Three Broomsticks Harry's hand was still in firm grasp. He didn't mind but he was relieved when they walked in and took a seat for a few moments to revive from the small walk where she had to let go.
"Ok Lucie you stay right there, I will be back in a few seconds, alright?" Lupin said to her and she nodded. "Ok Harry stand up and come over here, just stay close. Now on the count of three...One. two. Three." And with a crack they were in an ally a few streets from Harry's street previous his family's death.
"Damn, I was aiming for your backyard." he muttered then with another crack he was gone. The next crack came a little to close, Lupin almost appeared into him with Lucie.
"This way." Harry said leading them through the alley and out onto the street beyond. The rain was starting again, and a cool breeze sent blades of grass on the lawns to ripple like waves to the doors of there perfect owners. The windows of the houses glowed warmly, blinking with life.
Harry hugged his long, leather jacket tighter around himself, though the weather, cool it as it was while it played with his hair, felt welcoming. He never really appreciated the feeling and change of weather before a storm before now, it was a strangely comforting feeling. He supposed it was because for the first time he had a warm house to go home to with people who cared for him.
The house before him however, was nothing to look forward to. The Dursley house rose forbidding and black before him, with its yellow police tape tied around small wood pegs stuck into the lawn who's grass was elongated and full of weeds. The tape was ripped in places and pieces of it could be seen strewn around the front garden among the flowers where the wind had discarded it.
"Home sweet home." Harry muttered trudging up the lawn to the front door. It was locked and Harry took out the spare key that Dudley thought he lost two years ago, Harry, having been locked out several times by his cousin thought that he needed it more than him.
Harry felt a tug at his sleeve and he looked down to Lucie.
"My feet hurt and I'm scared." she whispered.
"Climb up on my back." he said kneeling down so she could clamber up on his back where she hugged his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Harry pushed open the door and stepped into the hall, he tried the light switch but the power had been cut so he let Lupin past first with his wand lit.
"The stairs are strait down the hall." Harry said quietly nodding off into the gloom. Three weeks had done a lot to the place, with all the police investigators walking in and out of the house for the first week or two. Mud plastered the floor and blood the walls. Harry stared strait ahead trying not to think of that heart stopping moment when Vernon pulled the trigger to his own head.
They mounted the stairs into the hallway at the top.
"Which is yours?" Lupin said stopping and turning slightly to Harry.
"At the end, black door with the big rose on it." Harry said nodding ahead of them. They past the shadows of open doors of the former Dursley's. He stopped as Lupin pushed open the door.
"Dear God." Lupin muttered silently looking about him.
"Here." Harry found his red light, it ran on batteries and glowed as he turned it on. The light flooded through the room in a warm sort of way, the painting on his wall of the fallen angel glowed against the black background that coloured the rest of the wall.
"Its so pretty." Lucie said in aw staring around her.
"I was in a weird mood when I painted it." Harry said blushing at Lupins pale face.
"You painted it? Wow, Ron and Hermione were right, you are good. But we have to move, I don't want to be here longer then we have to. Where's your trunk?"
"The closet." Harry pulled it out of its place and left it open on the floor. Lupin enlarged the inside of it and magiced everything into it, then he shrunk and handed it to Harry.
"There done."
-x-
The trip back was just as uneventful as the trip there, except that the rain was now driving in freezing waves. With Lucie back on his back, Harry and Lupin ran up the front walkway to the front door where they practically fell through the doorway in there haste to free themselves from the cold.
Lupin set them up with teas and a hot chocolate for Lucie. They sat sipping quietly glad to be dry and warm at last. By now it was eleven o'clock and Lupin insisted that he put Lucie to bed now.
"I want Harry to put me to bed." she said looking down at the table. Harry and Lupin looked at each other for a moment.
"If Harry doesn't mind."
"I don't." Harry had nothing better to do and he was still curious about the small girl who came to Lupin's charge.
"She likes to be read to at night." Lupin had said before Harry herded Lucie up the hall to her room. It, like Harry's, was small and shabby. A few stuffed animals lay across the unmade bed and a fire in the grate sent shadows across the statue of a horse that sat on a table next to the bed were an expensive looking gas lamp stood. Lucie saw Harry looking at it.
"My Mommy bought it in Africa where we lived while she worked." she said quietly looking through her drawers of her dresser. She pulled out a silk nightgown.
"I'll be out here while you put that on." Harry said stepping out of the room back out into the hall where he leaned against the wall. A few minutes later she poked her head out of the door.
"I need help. Can you untie the back of my dress please?" she looked almost tearful.
He knelt down and she turned around holding her hair, that she removed the ribbon from, up for him. He carefully untied the ribbon and loosening it where it was laced all the way up her back.
"Thank-you." and she disappeared back into her room for a few more minutes. When she next emerged she was dressed in her white nightgown and her dark hair fell around her face. She still held the stuffed cat, Harry doubted he'd ever seenher without it. She climbed into bed and Harry pulled the thick blankets over her.
"Can you read?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes." Harry said amused.
"Can you read this to me?" she pulled a small leather bound book from under her pillow.
"What is it?" Harry took it from her and flipped open the cover. For the title it was printed the words; To Mock the Cause of Irony.
"It's a book. My mommy said I was too young for this book a few months ago, but Im older now and I want to read it." she said proudly.
"Sure, I'll read it, though if it gets to complicated we'll stop, alright?" she nodded and Harry opened the cover and began to read. He did so until he saw Lucie's eyes flutter about while she attempting to stay awake.
He closed the book and put on the table beside her where she will find it in the morning and said, "Night." though she didn't seem to notice as she her eyes fell and didn't open again. Harry crept across the hall to his room and made sure everything he was bringing to school the next day was packed in his trunk, the only things he wasn't bringing were his CD player, CDs and the cheap walkman he bought secondhand. All his books, except the one he was readingand all his clothing were packed, as well as all his new things that they had gotten a couple days before at Diagon Alleywere there.
He set his wand on top of his trunk, and slipped over to his window, he opened it and climbed onto the windowsill where he sat for hours.
He looked down at his watch, it read five o'clock and the sky beyond the mountain had a pink tinge against the ink black of the fading night.
How many more sunrises will I see? He began to wonder. How many more can I stand?"
A/N: DONE! Sorry this took so long, unlike when I first started this story, when I was updating by the hour, it seems to have slowed down. But I shall pick it back up to its original pace. Im going to answer reviews, but if I don't mention you don't take it personally, Im only going to answer questions for now;
ophiron: glad you liked the song, and thank you so much!
ChesterStanley: Yeah, I like this one better too, but that doesn't mean Im not going to quite the others so you can expect another update for my other one soon! See ya!
lunar-blood-rose: I know...:flashes pointed teeth with a grin
Siriuslyfun19212: I totally agree! Thanx!
Lindz: Hey! You want to know what I wrote on the wall? Well it was part of a paragraph from the book Sweetblood by Pete Hautman, pg:82 mid page; I wrote, "I wonder if anything stays. When we sit in a place for a while, does some little tiny fragment of soul remain behind?" Well if that's true I would lock this room up forever, there would be so much invisible pain left from eight years imprisoning myself in this room. No matter how much scrubbing you do, my disease remains on these walls with you. Like a ghost, you will feel me there.
Lame, I know, but you didn't see the people who were moving in, a young, handsome, happy couple, you know, people who can't take anything but the norm. And that's not the only place Iv written on the wall. My parents never got mad at me for writing on the wall, so I write reminders, notes to my self were I'll be able to see them when I need them.
Anyway, I'll try to take your advise on longer chapters and for a big blow up scene, there will be one but not with Lupin, I wont tell with how because that would ruin the story! ) and about Harry joining a band...Ahh! Evil purple sponges! Gotta go!
Tessa Kitsune: Read what I wrote for the review right above you, that will tell you what a left on my wall, hehe. Thanks for the review!
Talons: yep, Lupin in leather! See ya!
Angry Butterfly: Can do!
Kyle: your gay. :grin(kidding!)
applebottoms: Yes its kinda cold, here. But only late in the fall, winter and early spring. It can get down to -12 on a normal winter day or it can get to -17 if its really cold.(I hate the cold!) Though during summer(or from May to Sept.) its from +25 to +30 till mid or early September or something. Though I live in southern Ontario so it doesn't count. Though once you get to Quebec or out west then it gets kinda cold(I use to live in Ottawa, sweaters are good even during sommer)
japanese-jew: I know what you mean.
Amones of Magic: true about what you said about Minerva! Hyperness and parties rock! And the last sentence of this and the last Chapter might be foreshadowing, but I wont tell you yes or no yet, you'll just have to wait and see! ; )
C ya yall!
Nikki
