Posted 12/2/2015
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This is a work of fiction, based on the book series by J.K. Rowling. Neither do I claim ownership nor do I intend to.
Chapter Seventy-Seven - The Lost Sheep
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With a heavy sigh, Dudley stood up to pace the room once more – despite the tiredness he felt, weariness won out. Why had he not told one of the witches to stay behind? Why had he refused their offer?
He knew why, of course. He owed them a lot, no matter how immense his inbred dislike of all things magical, but he had leapt at the chance to have a few moments just for himself and Sarah. If he ignored her rasping breath on the table-turned bed behind him, he could tell himself that he was still far away from that other world where nothing was what it seemed at first. Grown men turned into girls his age, tables became beds, water came from nowhere and went back to it. Nothing could be trusted, and all of his senses might be lying to him whenever any of Harry's crowd was around.
He had never really understood his parents more than in those last days with the Grants who weren't the Grants. With that unsettling abilities, nothing was reliable any more. Nothing was simply what it seemed. After having seen just what girls no older than he was could do, Dudley had felt the cold hand of fear grip his heart.
Their escape had bordered on a miracle. Whatever the girls that had introduced themselves as Susan and Hannah – and Dudley was very reluctant to believe those were their real names – had done had brought the bleeding to a stop, but had left Sarah too weak to walk, much less stay awake. Seeing nobody on their way out of the hotel had been another miracle; with the noise they had to have made, someone had to have heard something.
Once they had reached the street, Susan had stopped a car. The driver had been very upset at seeing four teenagers, one of which deathly pale and drifting a few feet off the ground, but Susan had done something. The man's eyes had lost focus for a moment, and after that, he had helped them without any complaint or question, going so far as to drive them out into the wilderness where he had dropped them off close to the edge of the forest. Susan had left with him, and when she had returned, appearing out of thin air with a bang that had startled some birds and shocked Sarah awake, she had said not to worry since she had taken their driver's memory.
Girls no older than Dudley was knew how to bewitch people to do their bidding. Girls no older than he was had no issue with taking away people's memories. What were their limitations? Had they done something to him as well, forced him at some point?
Thoughts like that would have had Dudley awake under normal circumstances, but his mind hadn't allowed them at first. Only when they had found the boat house and had settled in for the night – Susan doing something outside that supposedly protected them from harm, Hannah shakily busying herself with making cots and pillows for everyone – had Dudley calmed down enough to begin doubting their travelling companions again.
As he had lain in his cot next to Sarah's bed, listening to her breathing as he had stared at the ceiling, something else had dawned on him. Greyback hadn't come for him or Sarah. They would have been fine without the witches. They would have been safe without the witches. His likely cracked ribs were their fault. The bruises and aching knee were also their fault, and the pain in his arm had only dulled, but not gone away. Dudley might have forgiven them if it had been just that, but Susan and Hannah, their witching companions, were also partly to blame for Sarah's injuries.
Resentment had bubbled in Dudley, and it had felt good to hate Susan and Hannah, to hate their worried glances at Sarah they had no right to, to hate their way of softly speaking to him, to hate that they could actually do something for Sarah while Dudley had to sit by and feel small and useless.
Maybe they had picked up on his mood. It might explain, Dudley thought not for the first time, glancing out of the misty window, why Susan and Hannah had been nervous all morning.
Shortly after eleven, Sarah had woken up for a bit, but she had been horribly weak. Dudley wasn't sure whether she had understood what had happened or where she was. After a few minutes of strained, rasping gasps, she had drifted back into an uneasy sleep.
Shortly after one, Susan had suggested getting help – someone who might know more about Sarah's condition, they had said, avoiding to call it by name. Dudley hadn't been in the mood to snap at them and just say that Sarah had been bitten by a werewolf, but now wished at least one of the witches were around to shout at.
They weren't around. Hannah had left to gather news while Susan had gone to get a message to whoever they wanted to get into contact with.
Maybe they knew some doctor with experience in these cases, Sarah's voice in Dudley's head reminded him, but he refused to listen. He knew it wasn't really something she would say, which meant it was either some kind of vile trickery one of those witches had done to him or a part of him clinging to the shred of hope.
But Dudley didn't want to hope for a miracle. He wanted to hate both Susan and Hannah for dragging Sarah and him into their mess. He wanted to hate every single of their crowd for everything they had taken from him. He wanted to hate Harry, the only family he had left beside Aunt Marge. He wanted to think of anything other than the possibility that neither of them might be alive any more. Maybe he was what was left of his family. It felt better focusing on the burning anger in his lungs than the stabbing pain of fear in his heart. It felt better hating everyone from that world than trusting even one of them. It felt safer to know his hate was real and palpable.
It was growing late already. The witches had left hours ago.
Dudley glanced out of the window, unconsciously biting his lip.
Maybe they had run away, he tried to tell himself. With Dudley and Sarah only slowing them down, Susan and Hannah might have decided to continue on their own. If so, they wouldn't come back, and Dudley would have to take care of Sarah on his own. It sounded like something that untrustworthy lot would do, leaving others to clean up their messes. Or they had been caught and were interrogated. If so, how long before someone would come for Dudley and Sarah. And what would happen then?
A crack outside the door made Dudley jump in shock.
The front door opened, and he heard heavy steps coming through the corridor. Just as he pulled out the knife, missing the hatchet he had forgotten in the werewolf's head, Hannah came into the room, shrinking with every step.
Magic. Just one more reminder not to trust anything around him.
"Susan's not back yet?" the blonde asked, sounding worried.
Dudley shook his head. Strangely enough, he felt a bit calmer after Hannah's arrival. Not, he reminded himself, because he could use the company and the witch's abilities if someone came for them. Still, there was a small spike of worry he couldn't place before it was gone.
"Well," Hannah said, giving a shaky smile, "she'll be fine, I'm sure. I managed to get you something to eat."
From one of her pockets, she pulled an odd assortment of fruits and convenience food. He glanced pointedly around the cabin that had no stove, much less dishes, but Hannah must not have understood.
"There's also bad news, I'm afraid," the witch continued, swallowing. She produced a copy of a newspaper and handed it to him.
It didn't take long to find what she meant. The article was accompanied by pictures that were both accurate and detailed depictions. The additional descriptions were also too close for comfort, which meant everyone on the street could recognize either Sarah or him. Knowing how these things went, someone would eventually if they left their hiding place.
"How is she?" Hannah asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Still dozing," Dudley replied, sighing. "I don't suppose you've mysteriously found anything to help her?"
Hannah sent him another smile, an apologetic one this time. "I'm sorry. Healing –"
"– isn't taught at your school, yes," Dudley interrupted.
"Well, it's true," Hannah defended herself, sounding slightly indignant. "From what little I do know, it's both complicated and risky. We're supposed to go to the experts, not try figuring it out on our own. Even grown adults shouldn't mess with things they don't understand. A teacher at –"
Another crack interrupted whatever Hannah was about to say next. Without missing a beat, she stormed out of the room and to the front door. From the muffled shouts and stomping, Dudley assumed Susan had returned to an eager welcome from her friend.
When the witches entered the main room, Susan looked tired as she listened to Hannah give a report of her excursion in a low voice.
"Nothing new here, then?" she asked Dudley as her form of greeting.
"We're both alive if that's what you were asking," he gave back, crossing his arms.
"It took a while for me to find an owl," Susan told the assembled before Hannah could continue. "I think I've done all right, but I don't know how long it'll take for the letter to arrive or if it will arrive at all. Some people don't want to receive mail."
If it was her attempt at humour, Dudley didn't find it particularly funny, but refrained from saying so. Instead, he sat down in the rickety chair next to Sarah and let the witches talk over in the corner.
He didn't know how long it had been when a gentle hand on his shoulder woke him up.
Without a word, Hannah nodded towards the bed and Sarah on it, and following the witch's gaze, Dudley could see Sarah slowly fighting her way to consciousness.
Maybe things weren't so bad after all.
"How are you feeling?" Dudley asked, carefully taking Sarah's still cold hand.
She murmured something in reply, but he couldn't make out what it was.
"You gave us quite a fright there," he told her with a gentle squeeze of her hand that she returned after a moment.
"'m thirsty," Sarah forced out, pulling a face.
Hannah must have heard – or maybe she had expected something of the sort – and appeared with a cup.
"It's juice," she said, giving Sarah a reassuring smile. "You'll probably feel weak right now. You lost a lot of blood, and we don't really have any replenishing potions on hand any more. It's a shame, really, but they just don't stay fresh that long."
"For now," Susan added, stepping up as well, "you'd best stay put and take your time."
Sarah narrowed her eyes in suspicion, which made Dudley feel a lot better for more than one reason.
"Who are you?" she asked, and her grip on Dudley's hand intensified.
"Well, I guess we haven't been introduced yet," Susan answered. "I'm Susan Bones. We travelled for a time, although I posed as Charles Grant at the time."
"Hannah Abbott," the other witch added. "I was Maggie, and I'm sorry for not telling you the truth."
"I thought it best not to talk about that in public," Susan explained with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Dudley resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"We brought you here, and have been hiding for about half a day now," Susan summarized.
"What – ?" Sarah began before twitching on the bed. "That – that thing!"
"Greyback," Susan told her. "You took care of him, it seems. Many people will want to congratulate you for it once everything will be over."
"It – he bit me," Sarah said with a shaky voice, trying to reach for the spot on her neck. Dudley holding one hand, Hannah took it upon herself to catch Sarah's other.
"We – we know," Hannah spoke up hesitantly despite the mask of bravery she wore.
"W-what does that mean?" Sarah asked, trying to prop herself up on her elbows. While still pale, she seemed to regain her strength reasonably well.
"We don't know," Susan replied. "I've sent a letter to someone who might know more about it, but it'll probably take a while. Until then, you really should rest. Drink the juice, we'll see if we can't find something for your to eat."
Maybe it was the evening sun shining through the window, but Dudley thought he saw a bit of colour return to Sarah's cheeks.
"You helped me," she said to their witch companions, though it sounded more like a statement. "You were there."
Susan nodded curtly. Hannah sent Sarah a happy smile.
"And you," Sarah added, turning to Dudley and screwing up her face in thought.
"Dudley," he told her, leaning slightly forward.
"You knew," she whispered. "You... The moment that – You knew!" It seemed she had found her fighting spirit, and anger flashed over her face as she shock off his hand.
"You knew what he was," Sarah accused him.
"I'd heard about him," Dudley tried, shrugging helplessly. "I never thought I'd actually run into him. Or he into me."
"And he's – ?"
"Dead," Dudley finished with an uneasy smile.
"A werewolf," she stated, blinking. "You killed a werewolf." After a moment, her words seemed to have caught up to her, and she added a bit louder, "You attacked a werewolf!"
Neither Susan nor Hannah offered any help or came to his defence, but he was spared from having to answer. Susan jumped in her spot and cursed violently, pulling her wand and staring intently at the outer wall.
"Someone's here," she told the room quietly, "tampering with – circumventing my wards!" She followed it up with another stream of increasingly more colourful curses, some of which Dudley guessed made more sense for her crowd, even if he had never heard Harry say any of those.
Hannah followed Susan's example and pulled her wand from her cloak.
"Someone must have followed us," Susan reasoned, not looking away from the wall. "Dudley," she added, "you'll keep your head down as much as you can. We'll dis – We'll make you invisible, all right? And you'll leave once we're gone."
"Sarah –" he began.
"Carry her," Susan instructed. "Hannah and I will try to draw their –" She broke off, freezing wide-eyed. "They're gone. They've – my wards are still in place? They-they must've..." She drifted off.
"Maybe they're gone?" Hannah offered with a hopeful note. "Maybe they weren't looking for us?"
"Or they've gone to get reinforcements," Susan spat. "Either way, we're no longer safe here. We need to –"
Someone opened the front door.
"I'd rather avoid a fight," someone announced from the corridor. The voice was muffled, but Dudley thought it sounded very familiar. Both Susan and Hannah exchanged shocked glances, but made no move to attack.
"If you don't mind," another voice – a female one – added, "we'd like to come in."
"Stop!" Susan shouted, silently tapping Hannah on the head. The blonde shimmered and vanished from view. A moment later, Susan pointed over to a corner before tapping herself with her wand and likewise turning invisible.
"Stop," the disembodied voice of Susan repeated a bit quieter. "If you are who you're claiming to be –"
"Ask then," the familiar voice from the corridor announced, sounding slightly annoyed.
"What – No," Susan's voice sounded from somewhere left of where she had been before. "Who – Hmm." Dudley thought he could see something shimmer in the air where Susan should be.
"My memory," Hannah said in her hiding spot somewhere close to the wall, sounding terribly nervous. "I never told anyone. The first memory, the one when I got the Patronus Charm –"
"The Yule Ball," the female voice from the corridor replied. "Specifically seeing the Champions walk in arm in arm –"
"Yes," Hannah interrupted, only to repeat jubilantly, "Yes! It's – it's them!"
She seemed to have done something to herself because a moment later, she shimmered back into view and stormed out into the corridor, laughing.
With a sigh, Susan became visible once more, but kept her wand trained on the entrance to the room.
A laughing Hannah returned almost at once, pushing a black-haired boy and a pink-faced girl into the room.
Dudley stared at the boy, unable to believe his eyes. After months on the run, after sleeping in ditches or behind trash cans, after fighting for his life and struggling to get by, just when he thought he might be trapped in the cabin until the world had forgotten about the grim-faced murder suspect he was now known as, just when things had taken a turn for the better again did Harry walk back into his life, looking tired and alert, but healthy and whole.
He must have said Harry's name because everyone turned to look at him.
"You-you know him?" Hannah asked, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
Dudley felt the blood rush to his cheeks, unsure what to reply.
"Good to see you're still alive," Harry greeted with a nod, catching Dudley's eye. "I guess I owe you an apology." When Dudley blinked, but didn't reply, Harry added with a lop-sided smile, "Turns out you did have what it takes to stand up to Greyback."
And just like that, Dudley remembered that talk months ago when Harry had talked sense into his foolish cousin.
"Oh, yeah. I guess so." A moment of silence later, Dudley added, "So you know them? Err –"
"Susan and Hannah? Yes," Harry confirmed with a nod. "We went to school together. Chances are you even saw each other when you picked me up from the train. I would never have expected to find you in the same place, and I guess there's an interesting story –"
"It'll have to wait," the girl that had arrived with Harry interrupted. Looking at her, Dudley noticed she had a mane of untamed, brown hair. She didn't look like a witch, but neither did Susan and Hannah.
"Yes, it'll have to wait," Harry agreed.
"Did Professor Lupin send you?" Susan asked with a hopeful note in her voice.
"Lupin?" Harry wondered, raising an eyebrow as he looked around the room.
"I sent him a letter," the red-haired witch explained. "I thought he might –"
"No, he didn't contact us," Harry spoke up. "We managed to sneak in, past your wards and the Ministry personnel currently preparing to storm –"
"They're here?" Hannah interrupted, her voice a lot higher than usual as she glanced to the window.
"We want," the bushy-haired girl announced, drowning out the panicked murmurs of Hannah, "to be gone before they come."
"Sarah," Susan began, pointing to the bed, "is injured –"
"We know," Harry told her with a glare. "If you would just let us do our thing, you'll have nothing to worry about. Now then, we knew pretty well what to expect. The Ministry has put up wards to block Apparition and Portkeys, and while we could counter them if given the time, the moment we'll touch those, they'll know they'll have to come in. With us here, we could fight our way out –"
"Or we'll follow my plan," his brown-haired friend added in a tone that left little room to argue. "Which we will," she added, daring anyone to disagree.
"Yes, I already – Look, I already said we'd follow the plan," Harry replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. To Susan and Hannah, he continued, "Now, we didn't have that much time to prepare, but it'll do. Before we leave, though, we'll have to – Well, we'll have to follow protocol, you see? I'm sorry about that, but..." He shrugged helplessly.
"What is the protocol?" Susan asked, straightening up.
"We'll just need to make sure we know everything there is to know," Harry told her. "We'd like to cross-check our information so that we won't overlook anything. Just sit down, relax and let us do our thing. Before you know it, you'll be out of this mess."
"Susan?" the brown-haired girl asked, stepping close. When Susan turned to look at her, something seemed to have happened.
Harry's wand slipped into his hand and pointed straight at Susan while his eyes jumped from Hannah to Dudley.
"What – ?" Hannah began, but fell silent at a brief glare from Harry.
Maybe ten seconds later, Susan shuddered, staggering. "What the hell, Granger? Digging around –?"
"Necessary precaution," Harry spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
"And what about privacy?" Susan stormed.
"I prefer safety," Harry replied coolly. "You're free to complain to the Ministry. Hannah, you're next."
"I –" the blonde murmured, not anxiously glancing around.
"Don't worry," the brown-haired girl said, smiling sadly, "it's little more than a brush, really. I'm not looking for your secrets and wouldn't reveal them even if I did see them."
Dudley blinked, not liking the sound of that.
"That's your protocol?" Susan hissed. "Having Hermione dig around in our heads?"
"I'm the quicker on the the draw," Harry replied with a shrug.
"And I volunteered," the girl who was apparently named Hermione added with a pointed look.
"We can discuss this at length once we've got the time," Harry finished, "but right now, we do want to be done with it before the Ministry comes. We're on a tight schedule as it is without you arguing with us."
"Susan?" Hannah asked, taking a step back from Harry and Hermione.
"Fine," the red-haired witch hissed between clenched teeth. "This better be worth it, though," she added to Harry.
The witch Hermione caught Hannah's eye who stiffened. A good ten seconds later, both relaxed.
"So far, so good," Harry told them with a smile.
"You don't trust us," Susan accused.
"We're not taking the risk," Harry's companion corrected. "There are enough ways to make someone do something against their will or without their knowledge. It'd be really bad if we brought some sleeper agent back."
"So now it's our turn?" Dudley spoke up.
"I guess so," Harry agreed. His friend made a move, but Dudley raised his hand, trying to sort through his thoughts.
"It needs to be done," Harry urged.
"I know," Dudley told him. Their eyes met, and in a moment, Dudley came to a decision – if the price for their rescue was having someone dig around in his secrets, he preferred Harry over a girl he had never met. If Harry hadn't abused his powers all through their childhood, Dudley had no reason to assume he'd start now.
"You do it," he told his cousin.
Smiling crookedly, Harry glanced at his companion who rolled with her eyes. "Then I'll look into her," she added, nodding at Sarah. "Unless she also wants to be fussy about it?"
"W-what are we... talking about?"
"Looking through your thoughts, trying to find signs of someone having tampered with them," the witch Hermione replied at once.
"And yes, that is quite possible if one does not care about privacy," Susan added with pursed lips.
"Don't be angry with me, I didn't make the rules," Hermione growled.
"But –"
"Enough!" Sarah shouted, surprising everyone. "Will we make it without their help? Because if not, then I'd rather accept their rules than have this Ministry in here." To Hermione, she added, "Do it, then."
Dudley couldn't suppress a slightly proud smile. He caught Harry's eye – the one who might understand him the most – and suddenly felt himself falling and landing painfully on the ground. The smell of sea water rose in his nose, and seagulls screamed above, but before Dudley knew what was happening, he was torn sideways and stumbled into a darkened tunnel. The air was freezing, and all sound seemed muted somehow. A nudge had him fall back out of that memory and onto an uncomfortable bed, his parents looking down on him with masks of bravery and hidden shame. The bed reminded him of another, and the white ceiling was replaced by a dark one, the steady noise of a hospital making way for the unbearable silence of night. A gaping emptiness filled his chest that swallowed all of his strength and pride.
With a gasp, Dudley blinked, suddenly seeing Harry in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Dudley noticed the witch Hermione standing up straight with a curt nod to Harry.
"Very well," Harry announced, "now that the uncomfortable part has been taken care of, we'll focus on our get-away plan. We could try simply walking past with disillusionments, but," he looked at his friend Hermione, "only four of us actually know how that works, two cannot travel by magic even if we're past the Ministry protections, and we'd have to hold onto each other so we wouldn't lose anyone. Furthermore," he pointed at Sarah, "she –"
"Sarah," Dudley supplied, still feeling a bit queasy about what he assumed Harry had seen in his mind.
"Sarah then. She can't really walk on her own, which means one way or another, someone'll have to carry her."
"I'll do it," Dudley offered.
"Actually," the witch Hermione spoke up, "I'll do it." Before anyone could speak up, she pulled a bag out of a pocket that was significantly too small for it. Magic, then, and yet another reminder that nothing was what it seemed.
"So here's the plan," Harry continued. "You'll all get in that bag. There are pillows to last you a life-time, and it's got enough space for all of you."
"Like a tent," Hannah said, beginning to smile rather prettily – a first, Dudley noticed, since he had first seen what might be her real face.
"We've also added some silencing spells," Harry replied. "This way, only two will have to sneak past the Ministry. If you want, we can give you something to make the journey a bit more tolerable –"
"Pass," Susan interrupted with a dismissive wave.
"Fine. Hermione will carry the bags while I'll keep an eye out, cause a distraction and run interference if necessary."
"And where will you take us?" Susan spoke up, crossing her arms.
"Someplace," Harry replied evasively. "Someplace, I'd like to add, that is very safe as long as you don't try to leave. Sorry, but –"
"Protocol?" Susan guessed.
"Something like that, yes," Harry said with a chuckle. "It's not a prison, of course, but you're safe inside and at risk outside. The Ministry wants you arrested," he told Susan and Hannah, "and knows who you are," he finished to Dudley. "It's been in the evening papers – Piers recognized you in the picture, which in turn means they know you're still around and who you are."
"If I ever see him again," Dudley grumbled, "I'll knock some loyalty into him. Selling me out – what a fine friend."
"Well, no time to waste, I guess," Harry concluded as his friend Hermione opened the bag and allowed Hannah to step into it and sink down as if through the ground.
Not wanting to watch more of Harry's freakish tricks than necessary, Dudley turned to Sarah, but didn't have to offer.
"Carry me, please," she told him with a smile, her eyes occasionally jumping to the happenings behind his back.
As it turned out, Harry hadn't been lying when he had said the bag had pillows and enough space for all of them. It would have been easy to confuse it for a sea of pink, purple, green, and blue clouds. Once he had made sure Sarah was sufficiently cushioned and had settled in next to her, Harry closed the bag about two metres above them as behind him, his friend Hermione unfolded some silvery fabric. Only the sparse light from Susan and Hannah's wands illuminated their surroundings, and in the swaying back and forth of the brown-haired witch that carried them through the enemy's lines, Dudley's thoughts circled around the strange circumstances that had led to him meeting his cousin again.
He didn't know how long it had taken, and as best as he could tell, they had been travelling quite roughly at some point judging by the amount of jumbling they had gone through, but when the bag was opened again, he saw Harry smile down on them.
"Time to get out," he announced, swishing his wand. Sarah was lifted into the air and out of the opening above. Instead, two brooms fell down into the bag.
"Cheh," Susan snorted, "should have known."
Both she and Hannah mounted them and flew out, leaving Dudley behind. He didn't have to wait long as Harry appeared once more, swishing his wand. Light as air for the first time in his life, Dudley drifted up and into the room above.
It turned out to be a kitchen, although one Dudley had never seen before. The table was old, the counter-tops looked uneven, and the flickery light came from either candles or gas lamps, but certainly not electric lights.
It was, Dudley realized, a magical home and about as old and twisted as Harry's crowd often were. The realization did nothing to ease his worries – outnumbered and stuck in a house of witches and wizards wasn't something he was keen on.
Susan and Hannah looked around in apprehension, but without surprise. Sarah was on a chair nearby, while the witch that had been introduced as Hermione busied herself with searching for something in the cupboards.
"Well," Harry announced, "that went better than expected. Now would be the time to get the ground rules done, ask questions, and make arrangements."
"Rules then," Susan began. "It seems those are important right now. And I'd like to know how you found us in the first place. We've been playing along so far, but –"
"Yes, yes," he interrupted. "The rules are quite simple. As I've already explained –"
"I've sent the message," Hermione spoke up, pocketing something small and golden.
"Yes, fine," Harry acknowledged. To his guests, he added, "Now, leaving this house would not be wise at the moment. As a precaution, I've put some protections around the house that are meant to keep people out, but they also keep people inside unless I specifically make an exception."
"This is your house?" Susan said, looking straight at him.
"Yes," Harry replied neutrally. "Which segues nicely into the next point – some areas are off-limits. We'll be going around and locking those places we – that is, I – don't want you going."
"This is the Black home, isn't it?" Susan asked shrewdly.
Harry nodded with a shrewd smile. "Yes, which is why you'd do well to remember those boundaries."
"Trust me on that," Hermione chuckled, "he's got a point there."
"You're my guests," Harry continued, "and I want you to act accordingly. You are also welcome to help out around the house. A pair of hands or wands is almost always welcome. If you've got something to discuss or bring up, just ask and we'll see what we can do. That being said, we're not here to serve you or read you bedtime stories. We're busy with the war, and if we tell you to leave us be or stay someplace until we fetch you, you will stay there until we fetch you."
"So we're meant to follow your orders?" Susan spoke up, crossing her arms.
"Think of it as the next phase of Dumbledore's Army," Hermione advised. "And orders is a bit of a strong word. It's just that we've had months getting used to this situation and do have experience with similar arrangements. You'd help us by not challenging us on this."
"I think that'll cover the most important parts," Harry closed. "Stay out of our way, speak to us if you need anything, and if we ask you to do something for us, then please do it. Any questions?"
"Yes," Susan said. "How did you find us? Not that I enjoyed life on the run, but –"
"Well," Harry interrupted, smiling thinly, "we followed the Ministry, of course, who in turn knew when you had left the hotel. Since they had found evidence of some serious injury," he nodded in Sarah's direction, "they assumed you had to rely on Muggle transports for your get-away. So they just asked anyone who was in that area at the time and had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary to step forward. They also spread the tale that you had some kind of drug to wipe people's short-term memories. From what I heard through gossip and the like, someone thought he was missing a good hour of his day."
"The driver," Susan murmured, nodding. "I made him think he had gone directly to his home."
"Well," Harry explained, "Muggles do know how long it takes them to get from one point to another. Messing with the memory doesn't affect time. He probably wondered why it took so long to get home."
"Fair enough," Susan admitted. "I'm surprised the charms held at all. It's not something we're taught to do, is it?"
"Not normally, no," Hermione agreed.
"So what have you been doing all this time? You had months getting used to this," Susan repeated Harry's earlier statement, "and experience with housing refugees, then?"
"This and that," Harry told her airily. "Mostly trying to keep people safe or causing distractions to keep the Ministry and the Death Eaters busy. Collecting information, that kind of thing. I didn't have that many opportunities to speak to the masses, unfortunately. We did get the Weasley twins out, though – that has to count for something."
"Out of where?" Hannah asked, paling.
"Out of their shop?" Harry told her, raising an eyebrow. "When it was attacked shortly after..." He broke off, blinking. "Well, I guess you were on the run at the time."
"They were –" Hannah began, her voice higher than normal.
"We can discuss this once you're rested, fed, and washed up," Hermione interjected, "but they're both alive and well."
"Which brings us to the arrangements for your stay," Harry said just as somewhere above, a door fell shut. With pursed lips, he mumbled, "About time, I think."
"You and me both," Hermione replied with a sigh.
"We're back!" a man's voice announced from above.
"We're in the kitchen," Harry shouted back. Moments later, a red-haired young man stumbled down the stairs in the corner and into the kitchen. Dudley thought he looked familiar, but couldn't immediately place him.
"The Ministry's readying their attack as we speak, but they didn't notice anything," the redhead announced, wiping muddy hands on his clothes. He looked around until he saw Sarah. "A new face, eh?"
After only a side-long glance at Dudley, she straightened up in her seat, but was prevented from speaking up by yet another person entering the room.
A young woman had come down after the redhead. She wasn't necessarily ugly, but her most notable features were her eyes, one blue and the other brown with yellow blotches. She looked wind-swept, but healthy, making Dudley wonder where the two newest arrivals had been.
Into the awkward silence, Harry cleared his throat, clasping his hands. "Well, I guess it's time for introductions. You've already met Hermione Granger –"
The brown-haired witch waved and nodded curtly at Sarah.
"– who was kind enough to help with your escape and provide the tools we needed on a short notice. She is also quite experienced and skilled in healing magic, so if you need anything, she might be a good person to talk to."
Dudley didn't like the sound of healing magic, but couldn't deny that it would probably the closest he would get to an actual doctor. He tried to remember if he had ever heard about her before; since Susan and Hannah seemed to know her, it was fairly likely Harry had been friends with her for a while already. He didn't have time to find his answer, though – with a loud crack, a disgusting creature appeared out of nowhere, grovelling in front of Harry.
Sarah screamed, nearly falling out of her chair, and both Susan and Hannah blinked in surprise at the unexpected arrival.
"Kreacher has delivered the message and returned as he was told," it grumbled.
"Yes, thank you," Harry acknowledged as if it were a common occurrence for him to have something like that thing pop into existence. Then again, Dudley doubted he would ever forget the day Harry had left before his sixth year at school when that exact same thing had appeared in the living room of his old home on Privet Drive.
To the room, Harry added, "This is Kreacher who has served the family dutifully for many years and will take care of the daily business like cleaning and cooking. He's returned from delivering a message to Professor Lupin, letting him know you're here, so that's taken care of."
That seemed to fill the thing with pride – it puffed out its chest and stood straighter, even if that didn't add much in height.
Susan and Hannah merely nodded, Sarah had recovered enough to stare wide-eyed and disbelievingly at that creature. Leaning over slightly, she whispered to Dudley, "Is that – he normal?"
Not knowing the answer, he merely shrugged uncertainly. To the room, he said, "We've met," the memory of the previous time still fresh.
"Right," Harry agreed with a small nod in Dudley's direction. "And over there, we have Ron Weasley."
"Him too," Dudley added as the thought of the ever-growing tongue surfaced.
"Ah, right again," Harry admitted, looking like he quite enjoyed the awkward moment.
Sarah, who seemed to have picked up on the mood, managed a shaky smile in the redhead's direction. "We haven't, though. I'm Sarah Moors."
With a slightly stilted nod and a thin smile, Weasley returned her greeting. "Nice to meet you," he murmured, glancing to Dudley for a second.
"Everyone already knows Susan and Hannah," Harry continued, a small smile tugging at his lips, "and you have at least heard about my cousin Dudley."
This time, three voices replied with a clipped, "Yes," and a fourth adding, "Yes, Master Harry."
Glancing around, Dudley found Hermione, Weasley and the yet-unnamed girl giving him reserved looks that had him wondering with a feeling of dread just what they had heard about him. Susan and Hannah seemed too surprised by that twist of fate to say anything. The strange creature with the oversized head that could barely look over the table if it stood on its toes, however, kept an unblinking stare fixed on Dudley.
"Over by the stairs is my girlfriend Daphne Greengrass," Harry continued a with a modest nod in her direction that allowed him to hide the ghost of a smile in the shadow – in fact, hadn't Dudley suspected Harry enjoyed the moment, he might have missed it. A second after the other guests, Dudley realized what Harry had said.
Harry had a girlfriend. Huh, it seemed as if Piers owed Dudley ten Pounds. Thinking about Piers, however, reminded Dudley of his friend's betrayal.
Exchanging glances, both Susan and Hannah grinned into their hands, as did Hermione and Weasley. No one seemed particularly surprised, though.
"And he's Harry Potter," the girl named Daphne said, stepping forward as she fought both a blush and a tremendous grin.
"So it's girlfriend now?" Hannah asked, beaming. "Not wife?"
"Both, strictly speaking," Harry admitted with a grin that revealed just how much –
"Wait," Dudley interrupted, his mouth feeling strangely dry as his thoughts came to a screeching halt.
In her chair, Sarah blinked, wide-eyed, breathing, "Wife?"
"Well, yes. Strictly speaking, she's –" Harry replied.
"You're married?" Dudley asked, feeling completely lost and greatly disliking the grins around the room. "Since when?"
"August," Harry answered.
"It was mostly for legal reasons anyway," the girl – Daphne, Dudley reminded himself – added with a shrug.
Susan nodded, pursing her lips as if she had understood something.
Dudley turned on her. "You knew about this?"
"Well, yes. Of course I knew," Susan told him with a raised eyebrow. "These things are decent gossip, after all, and it did make the news. I didn't know you were his cousin, though. Or that you didn't know about the wedding."
"But," Sarah whispered, "they're our age."
"Harry's marriage was news-worthy?" Dudley asked, clinging to the part of Susan's answer that was furthest from his relationship with his cousin.
"He's Harry," Weasley replied as if it explained everything.
"They're married?" Sarah wondered quietly, looking from one to the other. "Is that normal?"
"Why would –?" Dudley broke off, glancing around the room, from Hermione nodding slowly, to Harry and his wife exchanging a glance too short to discern its meaning, to Weasley's awkward look at his friend's girlfriend, to Sarah's hesitant , confused smile, to Hannah and Susan smirking at each other, and lastly to the short creature still staring at Dudley with a unreadable expression.
"Fine," Dudley sighed. "Fine. You married your girlfriend. Congratulations," he said, only to find that he had smiled and meant it. In fact, he couldn't muster any indignation over not being told before, but instead found himself turning to Greengrass. "Congratulations," he told her with a nod and a smile.
She seemed to fight down a smile of her own and, after a short thanks, glanced at a surprised Harry. Whatever they were thinking, they seemed to understand each other's thoughts – certainly not impossible, Dudley was reminded – or read something in the other's expression, as they smiled at each other.
"The arrangements," Hermione said, stepping up without missing a beat and drawing everyone's eye, "need to be discussed. As Harry has already mentioned, we will lock those rooms we deem unsafe later today, and we'd like you to stay out of them for your own safety. I wish we were joking, but we simply didn't have the time to clean up properly and put a lot of questionable heirlooms into unused rooms. As a result, we're a bit tight on bedrooms right now –"
"Susan and I can share," Hannah offered immediately.
"Well, that's probably good," Harry put in, having recovered enough to find back into the discussion.
"Given the –" Hermione glanced at Sarah, "circumstances, Sarah is probably best served if we put her in our infirmary –"
This had Susan blink in surprise, but nod in acknowledgement.
"We might need that room sooner or later," Harry added, "so –"
"She can have my room," Weasley offered, "and I'll –"
"– stay where you are," both Hermione and Greengrass hissed, the latter staring at the back of Weasley's head, the former sending him a look that allowed no argument. For the briefest of moments, the short creature glanced at the redhead before focusing back on Dudley.
"We can always sort it out some other time," Hermione sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "just keep it in mind. We'll see what we can do – maybe I'll move one floor up? Anyway, I'm sure you are all looking forward to a nice bath and maybe something warm to eat."
"Right," Harry agreed. "For the duration of your stay under this roof, you are my guests. Kreacher, prepare dinner, please."
It was only then that the strange creature stopped its silent stare at Dudley and bowed to Harry before popping away.
"Susan, Hannah," Hermione continued, "are you injured?"
Both girls blinked in surprise, but shook their heads.
"A few bruises, but nothing serious," Susan summarized. "We've had worse, believe me."
"Well," Hermione said, glancing to Harry, who gave a small nod, "in that case – Ron?"
"Yeah?" the redhead replied.
"Could you show them the training room? And the mirror?"
Weasley nodded curtly.
"You see," Hermione told Susan and Hannah, "we thought you might want to talk to Neville, Luna, and Ginny."
"They're fine?" Hannah gasped.
"As fine as you could hope, I guess," Harry said with a shrug. "They'll probably tell you all that has happened since you left."
Without another word, the blonde witch turned to Weasley with a shocking seriousness. "Lead the way."
"I'll go with them," Daphne offered. "And change into something less muddy." Together, the four left the kitchen.
"Well then," Hermione continued, "what about you two? Any injury we can take care of?"
With a sigh, Dudley sat down. "Might have broken some ribs. My knee, maybe? My arm?" When he saw Harry's raised eyebrow, he added, "I fought with a werewolf. What did you expect?"
With little more than a shrug, Harry pulled out his wand and did something. A shimmering ghost of silvery bones appeared over Dudley's arm, illuminating the table with a pale, unnatural light. The casual display of magic reminded Dudley of his parents' hatred and fear of it and that he would never see them again.
Ignoring that magic is kind of a game breaker in that it's possible to fit twenty bedrooms on a single floor and still have enough space for a ballroom behind the bathroom mirror, I'm working off of the assumption that Grimmauld Place might have around ten bedrooms; Sirius and Regulus's old room probably aren't in use, one is an infirmary at the moment. With eight people in the house, giving everyone a room of their own is not always possible. Ginny and Hermione had to share. Fred and George probably as well. Ron and Harry too. Maybe even Arthur and Molly Weasley.
