I'm so sorry for the long wait. First, I was in Orlando (I nearly cried at Disney, and couldn't stop geeking out at Hogwarts), had work, moved back into my university, and to be honest, I didn't have much inspiration. I knew how the chap ended, but couldn't see how it all would fit together. Even now, there are somethings that I don't think I addressed. Just go with it. This chap has come major things going on. So read. (Also, I don't own anything)
"So, what do you want to tell us, Dad?" Harry asked the next day at breakfast.
Harry and Kelly had spent the night in the living room, a constant stream of Disney movies entertaining them. They had eventually fallen asleep during 101 Dalmatians, with Harry's arms around his sister. They had both woken with slightly sore backs, but much better tempers.
"I don't think I should tell you guys now," Gibbs replied with a glint in his eyes.
"Why not?" Kelly questioned.
"I think I should make you wait a little longer," he shrugged.
"Aww, c'mon Dad," Harry groaned.
"Please?" Kelly added.
"All right, all right," he relented. He put his fork down, and looked at them. "I'm retiring."
"From the Corps?" Harry asked.
Gibbs nodded.
"Why? You love the Corps," Kelly added.
"I love you two more."
Harry and Kelly glanced at each other.
"Ever since your mot… Because of what happened, I need to be here more for you two," Gibbs started to explain. "I've been talking with Mike Franks…"
"The inspector from NIS?" Harry cut in.
"Yes," Gibbs nodded, shooting Harry a look. "He's going to help me join the organization. I will have more stable hours, will be less likely to be sent overseas, and we won't move again."
The kids sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to take in what he had told them. Gibbs went back to eating his breakfast.
"When will it happen?" Harry suddenly asked.
"After Christmas, before you go back to Hogwarts."
"Will you start at NIS then too?" Kelly questioned.
"About a month after, as long as I pass the evals."
"Okay," Harry shrugged.
"That's it? Just, okay?"
"What do you want? Tears?"
Gibbs chuckled. "I don't know."
"I don't have to go back, you know."
Kelly spun around in her chair.
"You have to go back!"
"Why?"
"It's your school."
"And you're my sister. You come first."
"That's a stupid reason to not go back."
"You are not a stupid reason."
She sighed, and brushed some hair behind her ear.
"Listen, I am better now. You can go back."
"Are you sure?" Harry slowly asked.
"Of course," Kelly replied. "I will be fine."
"I'm sure I could talk Aunt Minnie into letting me stay home for the term."
"Don't worry, Harry, I'll be fine."
He gave her a skeptical look.
"I have Dad, and as long as you write regularly…" she trailed off.
"I'll reply to every letter as soon as I get it, and send Hedwig as soon as she recovers," he promised.
Kelly,
I just got back, and decided to write you immediately. Are you sure with me being back at Hogwarts? I can come home if you want. Just say the word.
I'm already crazy busy. Wood cornered me just minutes after returning. He wanted to talk strategy for our next game. It's against Hufflepuff, and Wood is probably more worried than the rest of the team combined. I'm not worried. Their seeker, Cedric Diggory, is taking the year off so he can focus on his OWLs, and their chasers have nothing on ours.
Classes start back up on Monday, but we have the entire weekend to relax.
Respond as soon as you get this.
Love,
Harry
-oOo-
Dad,
I got back safely, and wrote Kelly a letter, so I decided to write you one too.
Well, that's all.
Harry.
Laughter filled the Great Hall as Harry walked in. He scowled at a few of them before plopping down next to Dean and Neville.
"Hello, Harry," Seamus grinned.
"I hate you all," he muttered.
"All hail the Heir of Slytherin!" one of the twins said.
"Hail him, or he will get you next!" the other added.
The duo had started to bow behind Harry. He ignored them and hunched over his plate. They laughed, and ran further down the table.
"What's wrong, Harry? Don't like your new look?" Hermione said.
"You all better sleep with one eye open," he growled.
"We did warn you, mate," Dean said.
"Didn't think it would be this bad."
"It'll wear off tonight," Hermione said.
"Well, it should," Ron said.
Harry's head snapped up. "Should?"
"What is going on here?" a voice said.
Harry turned around to see McGonagall. To most of the students, she appeared to be slightly cross, but Harry could see the amusement in her eyes.
"I woke up like this," Harry muttered.
"You woke up… like this?" she repeated. Harry just nodded. "Come with me, we will see what can be done."
Harry nodded, and pushed himself up. McGonagall led him to her office, and started to chuckle once they entered her office.
"Is not funny," he mumbled.
She rolled her eyes, and just laughed a little more.
"Can you fix it?"
"I can try."
"Please, I don't want to look like forever."
"You won't."
Harry,
There is no reason for you to miss a term for me. I'll be fine here with Dad. He's home more now.
Don't let Wood work you all too hard. Good luck in your match, but don't assume you're going to win. Remember your soccer game against the Stingrays? You all were sure you would win it, then you lost.
I'm going to send this off once Hedwig recovers.
Love,
Kelly
-oOo-
Harry,
It's nice to know you don't have a reason to just write me. Remember to keep up with your grades.
Kelly is fine.
Dad.
Kelly,
If you are sure it's fine that I'm here, I will stay, but if you need me home anytime, I can be home in minutes.
Aunt Minnie won't let him work us too hard, but I understand why he wants to. Gryffindor hasn't won the championship in years. I'm going to forget that you ever brought that game up.
A lot has happened since my last letter. Some kids decided to prank me, because a lot of kids here think I'm the Heir of Slytherin. They made my skin look like snake scales, and wrote heir across my forehead. That happened the first day back. Nobody thinks it's me anymore. Well, a few might, but most don't.
A few days ago, my friends and I found a strange book in a bathroom. The bathroom was flooded, and nobody ever uses it because it's haunted as well. The book is a diary, but is blank. We threw it away.
Love,
Harry
-oOo-
Dad,
Do I need a reason to just write you? I'm keeping my grades up, and working hard at Quidditch.
Harry
Harry sat on his bed, his eyes numbly watching the floor. He glanced to the side, only to look back down when he saw Neville's empty bed.
They will be okay, he kept telling himself. They were down in the Hospital Wing. Sure, they were petrified, but they were still alive.
"Y'kay, mate?" Ron asked.
Harry looked up. Ron looked like he hadn't slept all night. Thinking about it, he probably didn't. It was doubtful that any of them got a decent night's sleep.
"I will be, you?"
"Same."
"We have to figure out what is doing this," Dean said from next to Ron.
"How, we don't have Hermione anymore, who else will go read ancient books?" Ron said.
"Let's go get food before we do anything else," Seamus spoke up.
The other nodded, and they started to walk out. Harry froze in the doorway and raced back to his trunk.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Dean asked.
"Never go anywhere without a knife," Harry said. He held up a small, metal pocket knife before slipping it into his pocket.
"Where did you get that?" Seamus asked as they walked down the stairs.
"My dad's retirement. He got it during his time in the Corps, and passes it on to me."
"And you carry it with you?" Ron asked.
"Everywhere I go."
"It has Ginny," Ron croaked. McGonagall had just left the common room after breaking the news. Every Gryffindor was watching the four Weasley boys with caution. Percy's face was blank, while the twins looked ready to kill someone.
"We need to find the professors, they can help us get her back," Harry told him. Dean and Seamus quickly agreed.
Ron nodded numbly, and the boys darted out the door, and started to race through the castle.
It wasn't long before they saw the professors hurrying down a hallway.
"Wait," Harry called to them.
They all paused and turned around.
"Not now, Harry," McGonagall said. "You four need to return to the common room. Now, before I start handing out detentions." The professors turned back around.
"We know how to get into the Chamber," Harry cried out as the professors started to walk away.
They all froze, and turned to back to them. A mixture of confusion and curiosity crossed each one of their faces.
"How?" McGonagall asked. Harry cringed, he could almost feel the anger coming off of her.
"Through Moaning Myrtles restroom," Ron replied.
The professors all turned and stared to hurry in that direction.
"You need Parseltongue to get in," Harry called after them, effectively freezing them.
"Parseltongue?" McGonagall questioned, looking slightly faint.
"Where are we going to find a Parselmouth?" Sprout sighed.
The boys glanced at each other. Harry took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
"Right here." They all stared at him. "I didn't find out until the Dueling club. I heard the snake Malfoy conjured speaking. I swear, I didn't know until then."
"It's alright, Harry, just show us where the entrance is, and let us through," McGonagall cut him off.
The group quickly made its way to the restroom. They walked in silence, everyone too anxious to speak. The silence wasn't broken until they reached the sink.
"You four will stay here and wait for us," McGonagall told the boys.
"I have to go," Harry instantly said.
"She's my sister," Ron argued at the same time.
"We can't sit here and do nothing," Seamus said.
"We won't just do nothing," Dean added.
"None of you have a reason to come with us," she told them.
"She's my sister," Ron repeated.
"And it will do no good for you to get injured while down there."
"What if you need me to get through another entrance?" Harry asked.
"We will come back and get you."
"There isn't enough time for that!"
"Minerva," Flitwick spoke up. "Mr. Potter does have a valid argument."
"Besides, it would be better to bring him with us, where we can protect him, than have him follow us," Sprout added.
McGonagall glared at them both.
"Alright, Harry, you may come, but you must do whatever we say."
Harry quickly nodded.
"What about us?" Dean challenged them.
"You have no reason to come, Thomas," she told him. "However, if you would like to help, go to the hospital wing, and inform Madam Pomfrey that she may want to prepare some bandages and potions."
The boys glanced at Harry, who nodded slightly. Ron nodded, and led the other two out the door.
Harry turned to the sink, and closed his eyes, trying to imagine a snake in front of him.
Open, he hissed.
Harry hadn't wasted any time that year imagining what the Chamber would actually look like. If he had though, however, he probably would have imagined something close to this. It was just so… stereotypical Slytherin.
A large statue, most likely of Slytherin himself, stood at the very end of the Chamber. Everywhere else stood stone snakes.
He watched as the professors reached Ginny. She was lying beneath the Slytherin statue. They crouched around her, but he couldn't see exactly what they were doing.
He had been right; there had been another door that required Parseltongue to get through. Once they had entered the Chamber, however, he had been told to stay in the doorway, with orders to flee the second something stared to happen.
"They won't be able to save her," a voice said from next to him.
He spun around, and was shocked to see an older student standing next to him. He was a tall, dark haired Slytherin, but something seemed off about him, even more so than the fact that he was in the Chamber.
"What do you mean?" Harry slowly asked.
"The girl is beyond help. There is nothing any of them can do."
"She's dead?"
"Oh, not quite, but very nearly so."
"Why? Why her?"
"Because she is a foolish girl. Too willing to put her trust in others."
"You did this to her?"
"She did it to herself."
"Who are you?"
"That is the eternal question, is it not, Potter?"
"How do you know who I am?"
The boy grinned. The realization came to Harry slowly. The boy didn't look solid. That was what was wrong with him. His edges were faintly blurred, but solidifying as they stood there. Dread filled Harry. The state of the boy's solidness seemed to be linked to Ginny's life.
"Who are you?" Harry repeated.
"I, Harry Potter, am your greatest fear in his youth."
"No, I doubt you are my greatest fear." Despite his words, Harry had to force terror away. There was only person it could possibly be. But, there was no way. No possible way.
The boy laughed.
"What could there be in this world that instills more fear in people than myself? I, who forced hundreds into hiding. I, who brought terror to this country. I, who drove Albus Dumbledore from this castle."
"He's not gone," Harry said. The young Voldemort laughed. "Sure, you drove him away, physically, but do you see the professors down there? They keep him here. Most of the students in the castle above us? They keep him here. Me? I keep him here. He is still here as long as we are. Out loyalty to him keeps him here."
"Harry!" a voice cried. "Get away from him."
Harry turned to the professors to see McGonagall watching them.
"Hello, Minerva, long time, no see," the memory smiled.
"Riddle?" she said. She raised her wand, and focused it on the boy next to Harry.
"You can try, Minerva, but you won't succeed," Riddle said.
Harry slowly started to step away from the boy, but found himself blasted through the air a second later. The air was forced out of his body when he was stopped by the stone wall. His head hit the wall, then the ground as he went limp.
Everything faded. His glasses had fallen off when he was been blasted, so all he could see were grey blurs and dull streaks of color. Loud buzzing filled his ears, contorting all noise into unintelligible yells.
He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, and nearly fell back down when he felt something nudge his arm. He squinted at what was next to him. It looked like a bird. A giant, red bird. Something glinted in its beak, and he reached out to take whatever it was. His glasses.
He slipped them on, and the bird came into focus. It was a beautiful creature, the color of fire and the size of an eagle.
He turned to look at the professors and Ginny. A giant snake was weaving its head back and forth, while the professors were hiding behind the snake statues. They would occasionally slip around the edge of the stone serpents, and throw a spell at the live snake.
"Help them," Harry croaked.
The bird cooed, and took off with a great gust of wind. Harry groaned, and leaned back against the wall. His arm fell to the side. He froze when he felt something on the ground. He picked it up, and looked at it in confusion.
It was the Sorting Hat. How could the Sorting Hat help him?
He heard screaming, and turned back to the battle. The bird was diving at the snake, and seemed to be pecking its eyes out. He wasn't sure how it would help, but had to trust the bird. Anyway, the professors had stopped hiding behind the statues, so they must trust the bird.
Harry groaned as his head pulsed violently. His vision had been framed in black since he had hit the wall, but the blackness started to creep inward, cutting off his vision. He fought against the darkness. Although it didn't decrease, it stopped growing.
He had to do something. He had to help somehow. He did the first thing he could think of. He grabbed the Sorting Hat, and slammed it onto his head.
He couldn't form a coherent thought, but the hat seemed to understand what he needed, as he was nearly knocked out the next second.
He pulled the hat off of his head, and a sword fell out of the fabric. He lifted the sword, an act that required both hands.
He forced himself to his feet, and started to limp along the wall of the Chamber. He didn't have a set plan, but knew that he had to get height. He had to get to the top of the Slytherin statue.
He didn't know how long it took him just to reach the feet. He could hardly remember the climb up to the head, but he did remember the pain. A sharp pain woke him from the daze. He looked down to see a fang pushing into his forearm. He looked up to see the sword he had pulled from the hat piercing the roof of the snake's mouth.
He barely had time to take in the image before he was flying through the air again. The serpent had started to fling its head side to side in order to get rid of the source of its pain. Harry had been caught unawares, and had lost his grip of the sword after the first swing, and the fang was pulled from the snakesjaw.
He barely registered the fact that his fall slowed considerably, or that he gently landed next to Ginny. He paid more attention to the book he had landed on, but not much. All that occupied his mind was the scorching pain coursing through his body, and the screams of the snake.
He blinked his eyes open, to see Riddle standing over him. He had forgotten about the boy.
"You are finally dying, Harry Potter. I will finally be successful."
"Why?" Harry gasped out. He could vaguely hear the yells of his teachers, but blocked them out. He knew that this was important.
"Without you, I can rise back to my former power. Without you, I can finally cleanse the world of its filth."
"Don't plan on it," Harry mumbled.
He pulled the fang out of his arm, and stabbed the diary. He stopped fighting the darkness and pain as he watched the figure die.
The black that framed his vision started to close in, until he could only see a single point on the far wall. Soon, that faded as well.
He heard soft noises next to him, but they softly faded until he was not conscious to anything.
"Harry!" McGonagall cried. She had managed to slow his fall, but the Basilisk had fallen between him and her. She had been trying to climb over the serpent when a bright light had blasted from the other side.
She suddenly remembered the wand in her hand, and vanished the snake. On the other side, Fawkes was leaning over Harry. She raced to the boy, and knelt next to him. She pressed a trembling hand against his neck, and let out a sigh of relief when she felt the faint pulse.
"He's alive," she whispered. Fawkes cooed at her, and she smiled at the phoenix. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Fawkes."
Fawkes nodded slightly, and McGonagall turned to where Ginny saw slowly waking up. The girl sat up, and looked around frantically.
Sprout and Flitwick huddled around the girl. McGonagall turned back to Harry, and picked him up.
"We need to get them to Poppy," she told them. The other two nodded, and helped Ginny to her feet. The girl was sheet white, with wide eyes. She seemed unable to form complete sentences. Sprout and Flitwick helped her walk out of the chamber, and kept a grip on her as Fawkes flew them back up to the restroom.
McGonagall led them all to the hospital wing, and everything started to blur together. She sat next to Harry's bed, and didn't even more when the Weasley parents arrived.
She just needed Harry to wake up.
Everything was dark. There was nothing else to it, just darkness.
Until the pain came, at least. Then there was just darkness and pain.
Then sound came. Nothing he could make out. Just garbled voices.
Then he realized that someone was holding his hand.
Finally, light came. It was soft, but it was there.
He groaned as he opened his eye slightly, and light flooded in.
"Harry," someone said, and the hand in his was removed. He felt fingers brush some hair off of his forehead. "Poppy, he's waking up."
Soft mumbling disturbed the silence a few moments later. He felt a blanket of warmth cover him, and drifted back to sleep.
"Will he wake soon?"
"He should, Minerva, but there is no way of telling. Both Basilisks and Phoenixes are exceedingly rare, and I have never heard of a case like this."
"That seems to be a trend with him."
"I'm trying to sleep," a voice moaned.
The women turned to see Harry glaring at them.
"What happened?" he asked.
"We will explain everything once I am sure you are better," Pomfrey said as she bustled to his bed.
Harry groaned, and just let her do her tests.
He was asleep again when she was finished.
Harry was half asleep when the train stopped. His face was pressed against the warm glass of the window, and he was glad that the window was not facing the platform.
"C'mon, Harry," Hermione said, shaking his shoulder.
Harry groaned, and forced himself to his feet. He still hadn't fully recovered what happened in the Chamber, and was constantly sleepy. He also had a new scar, a rough patch where the fang has penetrated his skin, then been pulled down his arm by the Basilisk.
Dumbledore had explained a few things once Harry had been able to stay awake for a decent amount of time. The book Harry had stabbed, a diary apparently, had held the memories of Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort. Somehow, it had used Ginny to open the Chamber. Harry had been partially out of it when Dumbledore had visited, so he hardly understood any of it.
Harry only half paid attention to the ritual 'make sure you owl me' conversation the other Knights were having. His focus was entirely on the bed waiting for him.
"Hey, Harry," a new voice said, making him jump slightly. He looked up.
"Hey, Susan."
"I hope you have a good holiday."
"Thanks, you too."
"Thanks. You'll write me, right?"
"Of course."
She grinned. "Brilliant. Well, I'll see you later."
She vanished in the crowd, leaving Harry slightly confused. He shook it off, and searched the crowd for his dad. He finally spotted him by the barrier, said a final good-bye to the Knights, and made his way over.
Gibbs smiled when he saw his son. Harry looked exhausted, but happy.
"We're spending the night in the city, then flying back," he told Harry.
"Why?"
"To give you the time to sleep."
Harry nodded, and let himself be led through the barrier.
"Hey, Kelly, have you seen my soccer ball?"
Harry leaned against his doorway as he waited for an answer from down the hall. It was only a few moments before the ball was tossed into the hall. Harry rolled his eyes and walked towards it. He had been home for over a month, and Kelly had stayed in her room most of the time.
"Why did you have it?" he asked.
"Trish and I wanted to play, and mine's flat," she told him from inside her room.
"You could of asked," he said as he flicked the ball up to his hands.
Kelly didn't respond, so he glanced into her room.
She was sitting at her desk, hunched over some papers.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she replied.
He walked into her room, and sat on the edge of her bed. She ignored him.
"You want to come play a match with some of the guys tomorrow?" he asked.
"No thanks," she said.
"Why not? You played with Trish."
"I just don't want to, Harry."
"Okay, then how about we convince Dad to take us to the pool over the weekend?"
"I'd rather just stay home."
"Really? You love to swim."
She swung around in her sat.
"I just want to be alone, Harry."
Harry stood up, and shrugged.
"Fine, be that way."
He started to turn around when something made him freeze.
Kelly was wearing a sweat shirt. He had originally passed it off as just because the room was cold, but it had moved up her arm slightly when she had turned around. He could just see red scratches on her wrists.
"What's that?" he asked.
"I got scratched by the cat," she said.
"We've never had a cat."
"It was Trish's cat, duh."
"Trish's cat died two years ago."
Kelly froze, and started at him with wide eyes. He strode across the room, and pulled the sleeve up even more. He took in the angry welt on her arm, then looked back at her face. She was close to tears.
"You've been cutting yourself!"
"It isn't that bad, Harry."
"Not that bad? You could die. Is that what you want?"
"Of course not. I just…"
"Just what? I thought you were getting better."
"Harry…"
"I'm not going to Hogwarts this year."
"You can't do that, Harry."
"Why not? I just need to talk to Aunt Minnie, and tell her that you need me."
"You can't tell them about this. They can't know!"
"Why not? You're hurting yourself, Kelly! On purpose!"
"Please, don't tell them. I'll stop, just don't tell anyone."
Harry watched her closely. A few tears had started to roll down her face, and she was watching him with scared eyes. She had fixed her sleeve, and had the cuff wrapped around her hand.
He knew he should tell someone and get her some real help, but he couldn't. She was his sister. He could help her, no matter how much it hurt him.
"Okay, I won't tell anyone, but I am going to stay home for the year. I can't leave you again. Not now."
She nodded. He pulled her into a hug. "Promise me you'll stop."
"I promise. I promise, Harry."
"You two are too quiet, what happened?" Gibbs asked at dinner that night.
Harry and Kelly glanced at each other. Harry nodded softly, and turned back to their dad.
"I want to stay home this semester," he said.
"Why? I thought you loved Hogwarts."
"I do, but I just think I need to stay home this year."
Gibbs looked between the two of them, then nodded.
"If you can convince Minerva and Albus, I'm all for it."
"He wants to stay in American this year, Albus," McGonagall said. "He won't tell us why, but his is adamant."
"It would not be the first time a student has stayed home for a term or two, especially if the student is having family issues."
"Is it safe, though? We already know that someone is after them."
"We will have to think about it for a bit, but he is within his rights. Hogwarts attendance is not compulsory."
"For him it is. We made it so when we gave him to Gibbs."
"This is Harry's decision, not Gibbs."
The conversation was interrupted by a green light. They both turned to the fireplace to see the Minister for Magic stepping out.
"Dumbledore, it's Black. Sirius Black. He's escaped!" the man wheezed.
McGonagall's eyes went wide, and Dumbledore's face set.
"Minerva, go contact him. Let him know that he can spend the term with his family," Dumbledore said.
McGonagall nodded and left quickly.
"Did you not hear me, Dumbledore?" Fudge asked. "Sirius Black as escaped from Azkaban, and we believe he will be headed in this direction in search for Harry Potter."
"Oh, I heard you just fine, Cornelius. We have a student requesting to spend the year with his family. We were not sure if we would grant the request, but with Black lose…"
Fudge nodded, and started to talk about the security of the castle.
A single dog meandered down a vacant street. The heat had driven all of the residents indoors, allowing him to go wherever he wanted.
He moved from house to house, sniffing everything he passed. As the day started to draw to a close, he looked back on the street he had finished and whined. He slipped into a nearby alley, and curled up at the end.
He could have sworn that Dumbledore would have taken his pup here. There was simply nowhere else to take him. He couldn't get a single sniff of the boy, however.
The school year must have ended a month ago, but he had neither seen nor smelt Harry. The same could be said of Lily's sister's family. They were nowhere to be found.
Sure, he could simply be in the wrong neighborhood, but he could have sworn that Lily had said the words 'Privet Drive' multiple times. True, it normally involved alcohol, and if Lily was drunk, he was typically plastered. Still, he couldn't think of any other places they could be.
He jumped up with a yelp when something hit his flank. He twisted around to find himself trapped in the alley. A group of boys had blocked the entrance.
"Look at the little doggy, just curled up in a ball, he is," one of the laughed.
Sirius snarled at them.
"How fast you think it'll take ta get him to bleed out?" another asked.
"Let's find out, yeah," the last one said.
The boys started to push further into the alley. Sirius snapped at them, but they ignored his warnings. They kept walking forward. One of them bent down, and pelted another rock at Sirius. It hit his paw, and he jumped back.
"Oi! Let him alone," a new voice said.
The boys turned around.
"Says who?" the second one demanded.
"Says me. Poor thing did nothing to ya, did it? Just leave it be."
"Wait, Dudley? That you?" the first boy asked.
"And if it is?"
"It's me, Dudley, Piers."
"I remember who you are, nutter. Now let the dog alone."
"You've changed, you have," the third boy spat at him.
"For the better, I reckon."
"What? By becoming that?" Piers sneered.
Sirius moved slightly in order to see Dudley. A tall, muscled boy stood at the end of the alley. He had short cut blond hair, and some chub still clung to his face.
"Dudley!" a woman's voice said from.
"Yeah, just a minute," Dudley replied. He turned back to the boys. "I need to ask you all something."
"What?" Piers asked.
"What happened to Harry? Is he alright?"
"Wouldn't know, would we? I suppose he's fine over in the colonies."
"He's in America?"
"Has been for years, hasn't he? That Yank family took him after they got you sent away."
"Oh."
"Why? Why would you ever want to see that wanker again?"
"Gotta apologize, don't I? Thank him too, I reckon. I'm on the right path now. Boxing champion in my school and everything."
"You've turned into a regular ponce, Dudley."
Dudley laughed. "If you say so."
"Dudley!" the woman's voice called again.
"Coming!" he replied. Well, I guess if Harry isn't here, I better get going."
"Yeah, you better, and don't think of ever coming back," Piers said.
Dudley just shrugged, and left. The three boys watched him go.
"Ponce!" Piers yelled after him, then led the other two out of the alley, and down the street away from their old friend.
Sirius slowly curled back up and started to lick his hurt paw. He knew that once he changed back it would be a nasty cut on the back of his hand. When he was done cleaning the wound, he laid his head down and started to think.
Harry was in American. He was safe. For now, at least. He had to be going to Hogwarts; Dumbledore wouldn't allow anything else. It let him focus on getting the rat.
So, the introduction of Sirius, and Dudley is back, only better. I do have a small plan for Dudley, but he won't be mentioned again for ages, like, in the sequel ages. I don't like how rushed this chap it, but I need to get it up, and I need to get to bed cause I have PT in the morning. So, good night, and everyone should go watch Doctor Who.
Quick edit: The idea for Harry to stay home wasn't mine. It cam from noshadowone through a review. I did change the idea slightly, but I figured I should give them credit. I was planning on doing this when I first published it, but I was dead last night.