AN: Thanks again to Danielc for his outstanding beta work!
Chapter 8 – Harry is back
They were still shaken as they arrived, with two hours delay, at Grimmauld Place.
Remus opened the door to his home and had his wand out within a second.
"What..?" Ron asked and took out his.
"Somebody's here." Remus stated quietly and pointed with his wand to the burning fire in the fireplace and the light in the house.
They cautiously moved in and throughout the house until they stood before the library door and heard someone moving around inside.
Remus kicked the door open and the group sent a series of stunning curses into the library.
They were very surprised as they saw a tall black haired teenager sitting there on a desk not even moving as the curses missed him widely.
He coolly looked up and watched them with cold green eyes.
"Nice welcoming." He muttered and looked back down to his book.
The teenagers, Remus, Tonks, and Molly looked questioningly at each other only Ginny kept her eyes on the dark haired, green eyed young man in front of her.
Molly asked, "Who is that?"
Ginny's eyes widened and she whispered: "Harry!" before she ran over to him.
"HARRY?" Ron and Hermione simultaneously shouted before they ran over to the young man.
But once again they all ran into a shield.
"Shit!" Ron swore.
Remus only chuckled.
Harry looked him in the eyes and stated annoyed, "In the past the library was a quiet place without such disturbing pests. And why did you want to curse me?"
"PESTS?" Ron yelled insulted.
But he was thrown off as Harry simply ignored him.
"I am sorry, but we didn't expect you. As we saw, that there had to be someone in here… well we were cautious."
"Yeah, sure! You are idiots! What did you expect? Thieves? Death Eaters? Who can even find this house you morons?" he spat.
Remus nodded and put his wand away, "Sorry. You are right of course."
"I think I better leave." Harry muttered and placed the book back in the bookshelves."
"No! Please stay!" Hermione pleaded with her former best friend, "We're sorry for how we treated you, really!"
"Really!" Harry repeated in an unbelieving sarcastic voice.
Hermione looked as if tears would start to fall soon.
Harry groaned and rolled his eyes, "Don't you dare to start wailing!"
His friends gasped.
"Harry, what happened to you?" Ron asked shocked.
"Nothing. I only realised that I am better off on my own."
He went past them but Remus stepped in the way, "Harry, Please! Stay with us for the summer!"
Harry sighed, "Why?"
"Because, you were once like a son to me, even if you didn't know it. I want to have you back! I want to be it like the old times."
"It will never be that way again Moony. I changed."
"I know. But at least we can be friends again." he pleaded with the young man.
"Alright, but I have a few conditions. I want a room for my own. My privacy will not be invaded, be it Dumbledore, you, or the morons behind me! And I warn you all not to annoy me!"
"No problem. I…" Remus hesitated, "I would like to give you Sirius' old room. I think he would have liked that."
Harry simply nodded, "Alright with me."
Someone tapped Harry on his left shoulder, he turned around like a flash and had his wand pointed between the eyes of a shocked Hermione.
"Shit! Don't do that!" Harry cursed.
She gulped but stayed firm, "Harry, could we please talk to you?"
He looked at all the faces, "What is the matter with you? You look all as if you have seen a ghost… no wait, that's normal for you. Anyway, you get the picture!"
"We did see something like that." Ron stammered.
"To be precise, we saw an animated skeleton of a long dead tyrannosaurus which was summoned by a necromancer, who killed twenty Death Eaters that were attacking our train." Hermione said in a fast way.
"Don't forget to breathe!" Harry replied grinning, "Well, sounds good to me. No reason to freak out."
They all stared at him disbelievingly, "How can you take this so coolly?" Ginny asked.
He shrugged, "Why shouldn't I? One wizard more on our side. Nothing more matters."
"But he's a dark and evil wizard!" Hermione said sternly.
"Who cares as long as Voldemort and his minions are the ones getting killed?"
"You're frightening me." Hermione said quietly.
"Now, that's not my problem. You wanted to talk to me?"
"Would you like to sit down with us in the kitchen?" Molly asked hesitantly.
"Not preferably but I don't think I have much choice, eh?" he smirked and went down, passing a disturbed but lightly chuckling Remus.
"This isn't going to be easy." Hermione sighed.
As they sat some minutes later in the kitchen, Harry looked at them questioningly.
"Well?" he asked.
"We wanted to say, that we are sorry." Hermione began.
"You already did upstairs." Harry replied unimpressed.
"Um, well. How are you?"
"Fine."
Hermione sighed, "We're fine too, if you're interested."
"Fine."
"ARGH! Harry!" she groaned and she got finally a reaction of him… he grinned.
"Well, what else?" Harry asked now more relaxed.
"Um… Ron and I… we're dating." Hermione said quietly.
"Fine." Harry replied in the same curt tone as before.
"Are you ok with that?" she asked surprised.
"Why shouldn't I? I am not interested in girls who put the idiotic ideas of a senile old man before the well-being of a so called good friend."
Hermione's eyes became moist and Ron supported her, "Harry! We already said we're sorry! We know that we made a mistake! Please, don't take it out on her! If you have to, pick me!"
"As you wish!" Harry stated coldly and instantly had his wand pointed between Ron's eyes. He didn't move an inch or show any fear.
"I should curse you. Although it would be a waste of magic." Harry stated coldly and put his wand away.
But then he looked over Ron and nodded, "Well, at least you are standing up for your friends now. I'm impressed."
Ginny gathered her courage and asked, "How have you really been over the last year, Harry? Wasn't it lonely?"
"No." he stated but then sighed, "I have learned a lot during the year. I set myself a hard schedule and was preparing myself for the war and I am still doing that."
"I missed you." She said and blushed, "I mean, we missed you." she added quickly.
Harry sent her a smile and asked, "You still have a crush on me then? I thought you were over it."
She blushed even more but nodded.
"Ginny, that what you dream of is not going to happen. Please, I don't want you to get false hopes. I like you as a friend, maybe even family, but not as girlfriend. I'm sorry, but that's the hard truth."
She looked at him horrified and her eyes got moist. Her mother moved to her and hugged her while Ron sent Harry an accusing glare.
Harry only raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"
"You hurt her!"
"Maybe, but it is better to clear that up now than later, Ron. I actually did it to lessen her pain not to hurt her intentionally. It simply is as it is, I don't think of her that way."
"You're right Harry." Hermione supported him, "It was better to get it out of the way now. She will get over it with time and won't dwell on pointless hopes forever."
She sent Ginny a look which said that she was sorry but being serious and she nodded back.
Ginny gathered her courage and said, "Thank you, Harry, for being honest with me."
He smiled his first true smile since he was back.
"So, Mr. Potter, do you have a girlfriend?" Hermione asked with a devious grin.
Harry betrayed no emotion, "That is none of your concern."
Hermione pouted, "I thought we were beyond that."
Harry grinned evilly, "We may even be, but I won't share all my secrets with you anyway."
"Ok. Where were you?" she asked.
"I would like to know that too." came a well known voice from the doorway.
Harry turned his head to the headmaster, "Well, if isn't that the manipulating old man himself."
Hermione gasped but kept her mouth shut like the last time.
"Are you finally done with using my friends against me?" Harry asked with a smirk that would have had made Snape proud.
Dumbledore gaped at the young man.
"Harry…"
"That's Mr. Potter to you." Harry interrupted him.
"What?" Dumbledore asked clearly blown off his track, "Well… Mr. Potter, where have you been?"
"Here and there. It's none of your concern."
"I have to know!"
"Why?" Harry asked.
Again Dumbledore was thrown off his track for a second.
"Because I only care for you." he said with twinkling eyes.
"Since when?" Harry asked seemingly surprised, "Was it before or after you forbid my friends to be there for me as I needed them? Or was it, as you shared your damn prophecy with me? No I don't think that was then, because it was just half an hour after I saw my godfather die. Hmm… maybe it was, as you left me with my loving relatives. No, strike that! They were abusive; beating me and locking my away in a cupboard. I'm sorry, but I don't remember a single moment where you cared about me."
His friends stared at him in shock and shot the headmaster accusing glares.
"They beat you?" Molly asked enraged.
"He had known the prophecy the whole time… and didn't tell you?" Remus asked shocked.
Dumbledore was now shaken and looked from one accusing wizard to another. Only Harry was smirking evilly.
"Why did you do that?" he asked finally the young man.
Harry only shrugged, "Because it was the truth."
"Albus, I would prefer it if you would leave for now." Remus said with barely restrained rage.
"But we have to talk about his training!"
"What if I don't want to?" Harry asked.
"But you must!" Dumbledore insisted.
"For five years you had your chance to help me and didn't. Now you're only a waste of my time. Bye, bye!" Harry said and turned to Remus, "You know, as owner of this place, you can order the magic of the very house to kick him out."
"Really?" Remus asked with a marauder-like grin, "How do you know about that?"
Harry grinned like a marauder himself and held his left hand up where two signet rings glittered in the light.
"Well, that's what I thought. Who else would Sirius have named as the new head?" Remus said with an evil grin to Dumbledore who blanched once again "I asked you peacefully but you didn't go. Now OUT WITH YOU!"
Dumbledore disappeared with a blue crack, visibly forced, because his last look was one of shock.
"Where is he now?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Don't know for sure, probably where he came from in the first place." Harry said shrugging.
He couldn't know it but dear old Dumbledore had landed in Antarctica and had to charm a piece of ice with shaking hands into a long range portkey.
"Now, where have you been?" Molly asked concerned.
"Home." he said with a smile.
"Home?" Remus asked.
"Gryffindor Manor."
"Bloody Hell!" Ron gasped, "I thought it was only a legend."
"No it isn't. It is real, ancient, and nice, if too large for one man alone." Harry said shrugging.
"So that was how you disappeared last time." Hermione mused, "Surely it's un-plottable. To find it, you would have had to have a portkey and as you disappeared without a sound, you used it?"
"Clever like ever." Harry stated with a grin.
"When are you going to invite us to see it?" Ron asked eagerly.
"I didn't say I would." Harry said as a matter of fact, "No one will get to go there… at least until the war is over."
"But we're your friends." Ron whined with a hint of jealously.
"Yeah, I thought that too for a time and I was wrong." Harry said, "Think of it as payback, for keeping the information from me that I could do magic."
Ron blanched, "Ok, you win."
"How did you find out anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Well… my other aunt was there and after three days of constant insulting of me and my parents I snapped. She called my mother a whore.."
His friends gasped and Remus growled in rage, "… and I cursed her." Harry finished, "After that I obliviated them all and sent them on a trip."
"Well done!" Ron shouted.
"What curse did you use?" Remus asked.
"Oh, you don't want to know that." Harry said in a voice that wouldn't tolerate any resistance.
Remus looked questioningly but then shrugged.
"Alright. What do we do now?" Remus asked.
"I will go up to Sirius room to get comfortable. After that, I will leave the house for a while. Don't expect me back before late in the evening."
"What? You can't! It's too dangerous!" Molly yelled.
Harry sent her a piercing glare and growled "Don't make the same mistake as Dumbledore! I can and will do what I want and when I want. Is that clear?"
She was taken aback by his cold and cutting voice.
"Otherwise, I will simply stay away again." Harry finished with a smirk.
"But… Harry. I'm only worried." He just glared at her. "Alright, but please tell us when you are back!"
"I can do that, but don't treat me like a child! I've had enough of that from the old coot. I know perfectly well what I am doing." He snapped.
With that he disapparated and minutes later, they heard a second crack from upstairs, indicating that he left.
"Where the hell is he going?" Ron asked disappointed.
"I would say that Hermione may have been right." Remus said with a smile.
"How?" she asked Remus.
"He's exactly like James was… I would bet he, indeed, has a girlfriend."
"But why didn't he bring her with him?" Ginny asked.
Remus shrugged, "Who knows? There could be many reasons. Maybe he wants to protect her and as long nobody knows her, she'll be safe… Maybe he has other reasons."
"Yeah, maybe she is ugly." Ron snickered.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I doubt that that would be the reason, Ron, honestly! Which girl was he after in Hogwarts?"
"Cho."
"And? Was she ugly?"
"No, she was beautiful."
Hermione scowled at him and he blanched "Not as beautiful as you of course." But Hermione didn't buy it for a second.
Remus and Ginny laughed.
"Anyway. Harry has a good taste at least for the outer attributes. I only hope he has a better taste of character now." Hermione stated.
"He has matured quite a bit Hermione. I am sure, he does. And no offence to you, Ginny, but he needs a woman who is very mature too, not a girl like you. You should realise something… before he comes back."
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Harry has changed a lot. He intends to stay on his own now. Even if he did talk with you again; he won't share everything with you anymore and he will get nasty if you try to force him. Keep that in mind and give him room! Give him a lot of room!" Remus said seriously.
Molly nodded, "As much as it hurts me to admit it, Remus is right. Talk with him, be there for him, but stay out of his way!"
The three teenagers nodded and went in the girl's room to chat a little bit more about the new cold Harry Potter who was once their best friend.
The aforementioned friend had arrived a few minutes before in his home where he was awaited by his love.
She took one look at his face and snickered, "It didn't go well then?"
"Bloody childish idiots! How am I supposed to live with them for a year?" He growled, "At least I hope I got through Ginny's thick skull that I never was, and never will be, interested in her."
"I would hope so too!" she scowled at him.
He strode over to her with a fierce glare and a shudder went down her spine. She had recognized on a few occasions now that he could be more frightening than the dark lord is. But she didn't back away because she knew he would never hurt her… at least not intentionally.
He grabbed her by her collar and pulled her roughly to him.
She found herself in a rough but intense kiss. After a few hot minutes he separated from her and grinned wickedly, "Question answered?"
"Hmm… I'm still not sure. Let's try it again." she replied in her own wicked way and pulled him into another hard passionate kiss.
"Okay, I believe you this time."
She pulled him onto the couch and pushed him down. She sat down behind him and laid her arms around him in a rare show of comfort and affection.
He snuggled against her and sighed.
"You don't really need them anymore, Drake. You're far beyond them and not only in maturity. I know you still care about them and that is ok with me. But don't let them bug you! Anyways, you have me now." She added with an unusually soft and caring voice, for her at least.
He turned slightly around and kissed her gently.
"Thank you."
"Now, how did it go?" she asked.
"It was ok. I tried to show them, that I need space and I think that at least Moony got it. They'll behave. But the old coot showed up."
"He did? I bet he wanted to get you under his thumb again."
"Yeah he did. I told him to sod off. I even got Moony to kick him out with the Black magic." He added with a snicker.
"You are a bad, bad, boy, Harry!"
"I am?" he said with puppy dog eyes.
"Yes and I think I need to show you what I do with bad boys like you." She said and rolled him over so that he was above her on the couch.
"Strike that, I would only do this to you!" she added with a wicked grin and tore his shirt apart.
He groaned, "If you don't stop that, we're going to have to go shopping again."
She shrugged and kissed him, "Ah come on! I know you like it! Besides, you are wizard, you can fix it!"
He grinned, "You know me too well. Now, where were we?"
They made love until early morning before they both finally fell asleep.
Harry showed up in Grimmauld Place at nine in the morning. The others were in the kitchen and eating breakfast. They were all startled as he appeared in the middle of the kitchen with a loud crack.
"Harry!" Ron said as he got out of his shock, "You nearly gave us a heart attack!"
"Sorry." He said, sat down, and conjured up a coffee, "By the way, I'm here."
"What?" Ginny asked.
"Molly said I should tell you, when I am back… well I am." He said with a mischievous spark in his emerald eyes.
"I told you he has a girlfriend!" Remus teased him.
"Harry! You haven't been sleeping with her, have you?" Molly asked outraged.
"I'll tell you this now for the last time!" Harry growled, "What I do or who I do is NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!"
She visibly gulped, "Please be careful, Harry! I only mean well!"
"What do you think I am? An irresponsible child?" Harry snapped, "I know very well what I am doing! If I ever slept +with a girl, I would be responsible enough to take measures for prevention or otherwise bear the consequences."
You could clearly see how she kept her legendary temper in reign. She had to swallow her pride as she was spoken to in this way.
"You're right. You aren't my child and I have no say in this matter." She said in a disappointed voice.
"With all due respect and without the intention to hurt you… you're right about that." Harry replied firmly, "You don't even know me enough to judge me or my deeds. Even if it is about a girlfriend."
She sighed, "I understand and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, Harry."
"Apology accepted."
"Harry, where are your glasses?" Hermione asked. "For that matter, where the hell is your scar?"
"What?" Molly bellowed again and looked more closely at the young man.
He only laughed, "I thought that you all would have asked about that yesterday."
"Well, I knew something was off when I first saw you. I just couldn't place what had changed." Hermione admitted, "I mean you have changed quite a bit.
"You've grown and developed muscles…we were too busy processing those details to take notice of the smaller ones. What happened?"
"I had both issues fixed by an acquaintance."
"By who?" Remus asked interested.
"Let me put it this way; sometimes it pays off to treat other creatures with respect." Harry said with a grin.
"A creature, which has powerful and nearly unknown magic?" Remus asked.
"Like a house elf." Hermione stated smiling.
"In this case a goblin."
"You let a goblin hex you?" Ron asked outraged.
"That's exactly what I meant!" Harry snapped again, "Wizards are so narrow minded and arrogant that I truly wonder why they still even exist. They couldn't heal my eyes or my scar. He did it with a snap of his fingers. End of discussion!"
Ron raised his hands, "Calm down!"
"I am calm! You haven't seen me when I'm not!" Harry said with a truly evil look.
Ron shuddered, "I don't think I want to."
Harry smirked, "But you will and it will be an…. interesting… experience."
Then he relaxed a bit, "Well, enough of that nonsense. I've changed, alright. Get over it! What do you have planned for the day?"
Ron and Hermione shared a glance and Ron nodded, "Well, we wanted to do some more work on our animagus studies."
His eyes lit up, "Have you already found your forms?"
"No, we're still working on that."
"Which way did you choose to find it?" Harry asked clearly interested. He had gained the attention of everyone in the room now.
"You know about the two ways?" Hermione asked.
"Two? There're three, maybe even more." Harry smirked again, "The potion, the personality test, and the best way."
"I didn't know there was a third way! What is it?" Hermione was hooked.
"Meditation." Harry answered shortly.
"Nobody has found their form that way for the last two centuries." Remus stated.
Harry coolly raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
Remus groaned, "Don't tell me you did!"
"As you wish."
"What?" Remus asked irritated.
"You said I shouldn't tell you so I won't."
"Argh! HARRY! Did you do it that way or not? And forget my earlier statement."
"Well… I don't know if I can trust you." Harry said indifferently.
Hermione sighed, "Harry, I swear that I won't betray you again."
"You do? Have you mastered Occlumency?"
Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
"So, I can NOT trust you." Harry stated as a matter of fact.
"Well…" Hermione sighed again, "At least I wouldn't tell anyone."
"I wouldn't either." Ron and Ginny said at the same time.
"Me neither." Remus said.
"I won't either." Molly promised.
"Alright. I did it the short way." Harry said grinning.
"What form do you have?" Ron asked.
"I won't share that information with anyone who can't protect it. Sorry."
"I can live with that." Hermione said deeply in thought.
"Tell us if it is a cool form at least!" Ron pleaded.
"It can be useful." Harry said with a mischievous smirk.
"Why didn't anyone chose this way, Remus?" Hermione asked.
"Well, it happens to be the shortest way but also the hardest. It doesn't take as long as the personality test or the potion takes to brew. But it can only achieved by extremely powerful wizards."
"Oh." She was clearly disappointed but then smiled at Harry, "I knew from the beginning that you would become a great wizard."
He rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Fine, you go studying your forms; I have to find out how to kill Voldemort."
"WHAT?" came the triple scream from Molly, Hermione, and Ron.
"Didn't the old coot tell you the prophecy? At least he allowed me that privacy. Well it says, I have to kill him or he will kill me."
"Oh dear!" Molly nearly sobbed as did Hermione and Ginny.
"Can… can I help you?" Hermione asked despaired.
"No, I don't think so. But thank you."
"But…"
"Trust me! The kind of research I'm doing is nothing that you can do, Hermione." Harry said with an honest smile.
She nodded and Ron hugged her with a thankful look to Harry.
"Then you are truly on your own at this point." Ron stated as a matter of fact, "But up to the point where you're going to face him, we'll be with you! We'll stand beside you."
"I am not so sure about that." Harry said with a far away look, then he eyes refocused on Ron, "But thanks anyway."
Thanks for all your reviews!
Just Me: I don't see it happen, that I translate some of my German stories to English. Sorry. I simply haven't enough time for that. To be honest, I don't even have enough time to finish all my current projects. More and more is staying unfinished and I have to choose carefully which of my stories I am going to finish. So no time and energy for translation, Sorry. Maybe one of the readers who are fluent in English and German would like to try it. In this case I would help him as beta. Let's see, if we find someone.
Ivan the terrible: Harry mean to Ginny? Don't think so. He will only be mean to certain persons, whom include 'marked' people and interferring old coots :P
athenakitty: Well, Bella won't flaunt her unmared skin to Snape, but Harry will have his fun out of that. Snape will play a major role in the story later. I don't tell you more now. About Dumbledore... let's wait and see, shall we?
CXjenious: Yeah, I am always looking for (completed) stories with unusual pairings (but no slash) and I think, there aren't enough stories with Bella/Harry.