Chapter 2 - High School Dropouts
They had in fact stolen quite a bit from Snape's office before they left Hogwarts for the summer. As much as their backpacks and hands could carry. Harry had even made a point to go to the Room of Requirement to get his, well Snape's, Potions textbook. Hermione even agreed that the textbook would come in handy, but they really needed to be careful about the spells that were written in the margins. Especially since Harry almost killed Malfoy with the Sectumsempra spell during the school year. Regardless, Harry was internally cursing himself for taking the Veritaserum as he answered Hermione and Ron's questions.
"Now Harry," Hermoine asked after he took a sip of the tea she offered him. "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, everything's wrong." Harry said quite quickly.
"Why did you have your bags packed already?" Ron asked.
"Because I was going to leave without you guys. This is my burden, I have to do it on my own. I knew you guys wouldn't agree, so I was going to leave before you came to get me, regardless of the consequences it might cause."
"Ow! Hermoine, if you don't s-"
"Ron, that was an obvious answer, so don't ask stupid questions!" Hermione interjected. "Now Harry, what's wrong. You seem quite…down."
"I can't do this anymore." Harry said shakily. "Everyone…e-everyone just dies. This time I want to make sure it will just be me."
There was a long silence before Hermione spoke again. "Where did you plan on going?"
"I'm going after Mundungus, I want Sir- my stuff back. He stole it." Harry said. He didn't know how much of Sirius' things he had taken, but he was prepared to do whatever he had to to get it from him. "I'll kill him if I have to."
There was another long silence. "And after that?" Ron asked.
"I'll have to find the other house objects that were used as Horcruxes. I have to go to Grimmauld Place, because the Slytherin locket Horcrux is there and I might have to go back into Hogwarts, because…" Harry started to come to his senses as the Veritaserum was wearing off.
"Because what?" Ron said.
"I only put one drop in…" Hermione said dejectedly. "It's wearing off."
"Harry!" Ginny said frantically. Harry turned his head to face her. There was a sense of urgency in her eyes. "Do you still have feelings for me?"
The urge to say yes was still strong, but he was able to fight it off. He did not respond to her question.
She came and knelt in front of where he was sitting on the couch and took his hand. "Please answer me, Harry."
He looked away from her. Ron and Hermione had conveniently left the room and he could hear them bickering in the kitchen. He turned to look back at Ginny after she said his name again.
"I still do." Her face lit up. "But it's not the same as it once was." He added and her face fell.
She was sitting next to him on the couch now. Very close. She leaned in and kissed him softly. "Are you sure?"
He let out a shaky breath. It really wasn't the same. "Yes."
The Veritaserum completely wore off. Harry left Ginny on the couch and went to kitchen where he heard Hermione telling Ron to grow up. He turned to look at Ginny, but she was already gone. Ron and Hermione had stopped arguing when they saw him.
"It was her idea!" Ron immediately stated, pointing at Hermione.
Hermione glared at him, but then turned to Harry. "I'm really sorry, but you had us worried. We couldn't think of any other way to get you to talk to us."
Harry didn't respond to her statement. "Where is everyone?"
"You honestly don't think that Bill and Fleur would be getting married here did you mate? Everyone is already at Hogsmeade. They're getting married on a nice piece of land just south of there."
"We already took your things there." Hermione added.
They each apparated there, with Ginny holding onto Ron's arm since she couldn't legally yet. They appeared in front of The Three Broomsticks and went inside to get a butterbeer. As usual, people stared at Harry. He heard a few whisperings of 'The Chosen One' as he passed tables. He flattened his hair over his scar which never stayed down. He tried a spell on his hair a few times while at the Dursley's. They worked…for five minutes. He knew he was doing it right too, because he had tried it on a poodle that lived a few houses down from them. He cursed his inherited hair from his father internally.
They did not stay at The Three Broomsticks, they left as soon as each of them practically downed their drinks. The uncomfortable silence ensued as they all walked to the place where the Weasley and Delacour clans were staying. Luckily for the Weasley's, the Delacour family was quite wealthy in comparison and was paying for most of the wedding expenses. They were greeted by Bill when they arrived. Bill's wounds had not healed well. The scars were terrible. He resembled Professor Lupin after a particularly bad night. The skin where the scars were were a shade of purple. The doctors at St. Mungo's said they would most likely always remain that way. Unfortunately for Bill, he was no longer the handsome man he once was. Thankfully though, Fleur's love for him was more than skin deep.
"We're about to have dinner in the Great Room." Bill said. "I'm still surprised they have a room big enough to fit all of us in."
"I already ate." Harry said while turning to go look for his room. There were protests, but he turned a corner before anyone had the chance to stop him.
Harry found his room and locked the two locks on the door. He did not want to be disturbed for the remainder of the night. His voice felt strained. It was the most he had spoken all summer and he did not look forward to having to speak tomorrow. He shuddered at the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They always asked so many questions when they first saw him and he really wasn't up to answering them. There were various knocks on his door later, but he did not answer nor did they attempt to enter his room. Though, he was sure he heard a female voice, surely to be Mrs. Weasley, scolding Fred and George for getting ready to use magic to unlock the door. Harry was left alone to drift in and out of sleep for the remainder of the night, waking up each time when he saw the green light come out of the wand.
The wedding itself was an extravagant event. White chairs lined the green land, while the isle was lined with white roses and blue stephanotis. At the front, an extravagant trellis, with the same flowers intertwined, stood where Bill and Fleur said their 'I do's'. Fleur wore and elegant white, thin strapped dress that was laced with intricate beading, while Bill wore a black tux with a vest that was the same shade as the blue stephanotis flowers. Harry sat in the second row on the right side, making Bill's scars very visible to him. The fact of the matter is that he could probably still see them if he was sitting in the last row.
Luckily for Harry, everyone was so flustered before the wedding that no one had really spoken to him, though that might have also had something to do with the fact that he didn't come out of his room until the last possible minute. He didn't even pay attention during the wedding. He sat there in a daze while staring at the back of the chair in front of him. He snapped out of his daze when he heard the applause and looked up to see Bill and Fleur kissing. They were now husband and wife. This would be the end of the blissful silence his voice was in.
The reception broke that silence as the dreaded interrogations began. In his attempt to hide from the Weasleys, he ran into Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, who was most anxious to introduce him to her mother and father.
"Zis iz ze boy zat zaved me during ze tournament yearz ago." Gabrielle said.
Mrs. Delacour kissed Harry on both cheeks and he felt his face grow warm. "Gabrielle 'az zpoke very 'ighly of you, 'Arry Potter. It iz zo good to finally meet you."
Harry faintly smiled as he shook her hand, then Mr. Delacour's.
"Ever zince I found out zat Fleur and Gabrielle 'ad met ze 'Arry Potter, I've been zo envious." He said. "But now I've been given ze zame diztinct pleazure. It really iz an 'onor to meet you, 'Arry."
Harry merely nodded his head.
"Zuch modezty coming from zuch a 'ero. Only makez you more admirable." Exactly what Harry didn't want. "May I introduce you to zome family of mine?"
Harry endured seventeen Delacour family introductions before Mr. Weasley bumped into them.
"Well, it waz good to meet you 'Arry." Mr. Delacour said as Mr. Weasley and Harry started in another direction.
The rest of the reception was a blur. Harry was in such a daze that he could only remember a few moments. Ron and Hermione arguing, Ron and Hermione dancing, arguing, dancing, etc. Ginny was the subject of two Delacour boys affections and she seemed to be enjoying the attention, though she kept glancing over at Harry every chance she got, and Mrs. Weasley was frequently yelling at Fred and George for promoting and testing their latest products on guests.
His mind seemed to have blocked out all of the times he was forced to speak. For the most part, he tried to keep to himself as much as he could, but that was hard considering who he was. The firewhiskey helped with that. As did the wine. And the champagne. It's probably why most of the day and night was such a blur. At least that's what he figured the next morning when he woke up with a hangover. His mind wasn't functioning properly and couldn't think of a spell to make himself feel better. He wandered down to The Great Room where everyone, minus Bill and Fleur who were on their honeymoon, would be having breakfast. Sure enough, the majority of the wedding guests were in there. Quite a few people stared at Harry as he took a seat next to Ron, who smirked at him when he sat down.
"You had a fun time last night didn't you?" Ron said. "You look like hell though."
Ron took out his wand and said something that Harry's mind couldn't comprehend. He instantly felt better.
"Thanks." Harry said gratefully.
"So, you have to tell me, who was that girl?"
"What girl?"
"Oh wow, you really did have a lot to drink, didn't ya mate?" Ron said sounding amused. "You were talking to this girl. She was one of the servers. I haven't heard you laugh like that in awhile."
"I…I don't remember."
The last thing Harry remembered was getting a drink from the bartender and then seeing someone with a food tray. That must have been her...
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The muggle term 'high school dropout' came to Harry's mind. That's exactly what they all were now. He had no parents to care. Hermione's parents had been told a lie. Ron's parents, on the other hand, didn't exactly approve of him leaving school to go on some misadventure. Well, more Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of it. However, since Ron was considered an 'adult' in the wizarding world, his mother hardly had any control over it. Harry kept hearing her say, "My three sons, the Hogwarts dropouts." Then she would turn to Ginny and beg her not to drop out of school too.
After saying their goodbyes, the trio converged in Harry's room to discuss their plans of action. Hermione and Ron both thought that they should go to Grimmauld Place first to find the locket. Harry wanted to get his things back from Mundungus.
"But Harry," Hermione said. "You don't even know if the locket is still there. Shouldn't we at least check first?" Ron nodded in agreement.
Harry was becoming annoyed. "Fine. Kreacher!"
Crack
"Yes master?" Kreacker said in a condescending tone, then mumbled, "It's the blood traitor and the mudblood again. Such retched company."
"Is the locket still in the house? You know, the heavy one that no one can open."
"No sir. It was taken along with the goblet, music box, the Black ring…" Kreacher started sobbing uncontrollably. The ring had been one of Kreacher's most prized memories of the 'real' Black family after all.
"Was that all?" Kreacher nodded. "You may go." Kreacher mumbled something about Harry being a terrible master compared to the Mistress before disappearing. "There, are you happy now! It's not there!"
They both stared at Harry from his sudden outburst. Kreacher tended to bring that part of him out and he made no apology about it. The only problem now was that they didn't know where Mundungus lived, just that it was somewhere in London. Someone in the Order would help and they each agreed that they should ask Tonks.
Tonks appeared to be in a much better state from the time they had last seen her. She was not able to attend Bill and Fleur's wedding, because she was doing some order related business that could not be avoided that day. She must have stopped blaming herself for what happened to Sirius that night at the Ministry. Moreover, it seemed that Remus had finally come around, after much cajoling, and allowed himself to get involved in a relationship with her. Her signature pink hair was a testament to this. She looked genuinely happy.
All Harry wanted to do was get the information from Tonks and leave. He did not like to waste time when it came to things such as this. Naturally then, time must be wasted. Tonks insisted that they stay for awhile before terrorizing Mundungus. Not that she minded the idea.
"Where's Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked.
"Out on Order business. I don't even know what he's doing. I suspect it has to do with other werewolves though." Tonks said. "I hate when they send him to be around that lot."
"That's just mad. I can't believe they're still making him do that." Ron said. "Completely mental."
"Especially now that we think a few of them know who he is and who he works for. It's only a matter of time now." Tonks said. "He should have been back by now."
Hermione rubbed her back reassuringly. "Since when has anyone come back from a task set out by the Order exactly on time?"
Tonks nodded. "A very good point you make there."
Harry became more anxious to leave with each passing minute, until finally his wish was granted. They were finally off to Mundungus'. They arrived in front of a very unimpressive house that gave the appearance of a shanty. Maybe he really did need the money if this was all he could afford. They didn't bother to knock, they, more Harry, opened the door with force. They found themselves standing in the middle of a very drab room. The only place of focal interest was the lit fireplace in the far right corner. Next to the fireplace was a horrified looking Mundungus.
Harry pointed his wand and approached him. "I've come for my things."
"P-please…" Mundungus stuttered.
"Please what!" Harry roared.
"He t-took her."
"Took who?"
"M-my daughter. H-he took h-her." Since when did Mundungus have a daughter?
"Who took her?" Ron asked.
"P-pettigrew!" There was utter silence as the trio stared blankly at one another. "He wanted something I've never heard of before. He says I have it. Then…he took her. I swore I didn't know what he was talking about, but he took her." Mundungus spoke quickly.
"Where'd he take her?" Harry demanded. Mundungus handed him a piece of parchment. "I will get her back for you, but I want all of my things now."
Mundungus wasted no time in heading for the stack of boxes that took up half of the space in the room. Sure enough, he handed Harry a box with all of Sirius' stolen belongings. He picked up the locket. The Horcrux was in his hands now. He pulled out the fake that he carried in his pocket while putting the real locket around his neck and under his robes, out of sight. For the first time in awhile, his scar started to prickle. He ignored it. He gave Hermione the key to Grimmauld Place and the box to take there, while he and Ron would go to Wormtail. They were about to make a trade with the main devil's advocate.