A/N: Again I'm sorry the chapters are all over the place, hopefully now they are starting to come together a bit more smoothly. Hopefully this chapter isn't too boring… I enjoyed writing it anyway.
A big thanks to my good buddy TheSnapist to chercherlecirque for your kind words and advice. I need all the help I can get and every little bit will hopefully help me improve. So please, please everyone review!
Harry walked through the barrier from platform nine and three quarters back to the Muggle world. He defiantly wasn't looking forward to summer. He was still feeling quite depressed about the Third Task and Cedric's death. He knew it was going to take some time before he would feel better, and staying with the Dursley's certainly wasn't going to help his mood.
He could see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing together waiting for them with big smiles on their faces, and just behind them the Dursley's looking awkward as always. This was going to one terrible summer with them again. He sighed and began walking towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley with Hermione and the Weasley's, not wanting to say goodbye and face the Dursley's at that moment.
"Harry!" he heard voice yell over the crowd.
He turned to face where the voice had come from. He couldn't believe his eyes. Elle came running through the crowd straight towards him. She looked a lot better than when he had last seen her. Her bones, although still visible, were no longer sharp looking showing signs of her putting weight back on, not very much as it was only a little over a week since the Third Task but it was a start at least. Her body still lacked the curves and shape she had had the day he had first seen her. Her skin was no longer ghostly pale making her look much more healthier. The injuries to her arms that he could see were not nearly as noticeable, slowly fading to pale scars, he guessed she was taking some potion to help make them fade. Her hair was cut short again and he wondered if it had something to do with the big knot mass that looked impossible to brush through. Her face was bright and happy with her cheeks pink again and her beautiful eyes were shining with excitement – a sight Harry thought he would never see again. He had forgotten how beautiful she had been; quite plain but there was something about her that made her stand out. He noticed that one of the twins was watching her intently.
When she finally reached him she threw her arms around his neck. Harry couldn't ignore how much happier he felt at seeing her well again and he hugged her tightly back, trying to ignore the sick feeling of bone and skin with little meat between. He could see the Dursley's staring at him with wide eyes.
"Thank you so much, Harry," she whispered in his ear.
"You already thanked me," he answered.
She pulled away from him and smiled. "Yes I know I did but I wanted to thank you again, properly. Last time we saw each other we were both rather… err… how should I put it, out of it? Still trying to make sense over what had happened I guess. And everything seams to have straightened out for me which is another reason why I wanted to thank you."
Harry looked at her confused.
"Dumbledore found my aunt, uncle and my cousin. I'm finally living with my real family. A family that actually wants me to live with them," she said with a small giggle.
Harry noticed a young woman, in her early twenties, Harry estimated, with bright bubble-gum pink hair also cut short, though hers more spikier than Elle's which looked rather flat in comparison. She was wearing a Weird Sister's t-shirt, tattered jeans and big black boots. She had a warm genuine smile spread across her face making her look friendly, even with her grungy style. Elle's cousin he guessed.
"That's great, Elle. I'm glad to see you happy again," he said.
"Thanks. And Dumbledore's accepted me into Hogwarts next year," she exclaimed. "I don't have to go back to that horrible institute. I can stay here."
"Oh, Elle! That's fantastic!" he said excitedly. He surprised himself at how his mood had turned around, almost opposite at how he felt when he had gotten off the train. He hugged her again.
"Yeah. So that's why I'm here. I wanted to say thank you; again. If it wasn't for you I would still be... there. Or worse." Harry shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to her if he had left her. "You saved my life and I will always be grateful. I know that sounds beyond corny but it's true. I can't thank you enough," she said.
Harry smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm just happy to see you full of life again. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you like this again. Last time I saw you, you were so... empty," he said looking at her. He could see the amount of weight she needed to gain as she was wearing a shirt that was too big for her, obviously one she had owned back in Australia as it had a Muggle rock band on it, one that Harry had actually heard of though he wasn't actually a fan of their music.
"Yes, I'm feeling a lot better." He knew she meant emotionally as well as physically. "Though I don't look it quite yet. I've had many elderly witches give me harsh stares thinking I'm a stupid teenager with a ridiculous eating disorder or something," she laughed. "If only they knew, eh? I kind of wish some of the girls from Australia who used to tease me about being fat could see me now." She paused. "But you don't look any better. I don't want to see you like this, especially when I'm so happy at the moment. Is there anything I can do?"
"Don't worry about me, I can look after myself. I'm just dreading summer with the Dursley's," he gestured to where the Dursley's stood still waiting. Uncle Vernon looked agitated at having to wait, Aunt Petunia looking very embarrassed at the people standing around them, and Dudley was looking at Harry in disbelief, probably thinking that Elle was Harry's girlfriend. He had to hold back a laugh.
Elle looked over to the Dursley's. "Gee, they look like a barrel of laughs."
"You have no idea," Harry sighed.
"I'll try and spring ya," Elle giggled.
Harry laughed. "I think Hermione and the Weasley's have been trying that for years."
"Damn. Well you never know, maybe I'll have a better crack at it."
Harry smiled. He didn't want to get his hopes up, he knew his chances were very slim, but with Elle he couldn't help but feel happy. Her personality was so bright and bubbly it seemed to wear off onto everyone near her. He wondered if her family was like her at all. Her cousin had now moved towards the Weasley's and was talking to Mr. Weasley with a lot of energy, not only was she gesturing with her hands but her whole body. Harry couldn't help smiling. Yes, her cousin at least seemed very alike, just by her enthusiasm.
"C'mon, you'd better say your goodbyes before Mrs. Weasley comes and crash tackles you. I think she's very anxious to see if you're okay," Elle said picking up Hedwig's cage.
Harry glanced over to the Weasley's again. Mrs. Weasley stood with Ginny held close to her side looking at over at him with an uneasy look upon face. She was clearly very worried. Harry sighed and grabbed his truck dragging it over to meet the others.
"Oh, Harry dear!" Mrs. Weasley wailed as she threw her arms around Harry with a certain amount of energy he had never seen from her. It was almost fierce. He guessed it was from all the worry and stress she was certain to be suffering.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," he said trying to reassure her.
She pulled away but still held him by his arms. "I was so worried about you. I don't ever want to see you so miserable again." She yanked him into another bone crushing hug.
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Harry," Mr. Weasley clapped him on the back when Mrs. Weasley finally let go of him. Harry just smiled. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want them to know how much it had affected him, how upset he still was.
Harry said his goodbye's receiving more hugs from the girls, got a surprise when Hermione kissed him gently on the cheek, Ron and Mr. Weasley shook his hand and slapped him on his shoulder while the twins made kissing noises at him. Harry chuckled. At least they could still make him laugh.
Elle also said her goodbyes. Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley hugged her warmly surprising Harry. He would never understand women; none of them knew her at all well and here they were hugging as if they had known each other for years. He was sure this was the first time Ginny had even met Elle, yet neither of them even hesitated before reaching for one another.
"You're looking so much better, dear. But I want to see you a lot less skinny next time I see you. You're still looking very underweight," Mrs. Weasley fussed.
Elle laughed and promised she would as she politely shook Mr. Weasley's hand. She gave Ron an awkward hug – he held his arms very stiffly and simply patting her lightly on the back, still unsure about her – before she moved to the twins. She reached for George first who hesitated.
"I'm not going to bite you," she giggled as she pulled him to her.
"I'm sure he's had worse things try and bite him," Fred joked as she let go of George and moved to him.
Elle looked at them puzzled, but Harry was quite sure he was referring to some of the ingredients they use for their sweets, and how they acquired them.
Harry was pleased that the Weasley's were being so welcoming and supportive towards her. They seemed to understand what she had suffered and he was sure they were never going to forget what she had looked like when they saw her arrive back at the maze with him. She needed people to believe her and he was sure the Weasley's were going to stand behind her fully.
He was feeling so much better and didn't want this moment to end, he wanted to hold onto it, even for just a bit longer. He knew as soon as he got back to the Dursley's all his happiness would disappear. But he had to go back and he slowly made his way over. He was shocked when Elle followed him still carrying Hedwig in her cage.
Uncle Vernon was already glaring at him when he got to them. Not a good start to summer. Elle placed Hedwig down on Harry's trunk staring at the Dursley's with shock at how quickly they showed their hatred to their only nephew.
"Umm, well I guess I'll see you soon, I hope," she turned and smiled at Harry.
"Yeah, I look forward to it," he replied.
She pulled him into another hug. Harry surprised himself at how tightly he held her, not wanting to let her go. He didn't have any feelings for her romantically, but she knew exactly what he was going through, and her kind, bubbly nature made Harry feel a lot better about himself.
"This is so funny. A few weeks ago I wanted nothing more than a hug from someone and today I've got nothing but hugs," she giggled into his ear. She softly kissed his cheek and said; "I guess I'll see you when I'm looking at ya."
"Yeah, I'll see you later," Harry replied glumly.
"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Dursley," she said waving to the Dursley's that looked like they'd just been slapped in the face at the idea of one of Harry's people speaking to them in public. Harry smiled to himself and he knew it would be the last one for a while.