Harry stayed by the fire in the common room for a while after he got back from his and Hal's exciting visit to the Weasley's house. Hal had long before went to bed .The feeling of happiness had been with Harry ever since he had the idea of the late night visit and it wasn't going to leave him any time soon if he could help it. Harry thought over the events of the day, smiling almost the whole time. Even though Hal had to suffer like he did now, Harry was happy to have someone else on his side. There really weren't many people on his side, seeing as everyone thought he was crazy since he announced Voldemort's return. Everything was all so frustrating, but it was a relief to had a little bit of good news. He loved times like this, a bit of peace.
Harry sat there for a long time, just thinking, until he realized it was 4:00 a.m. He wasn't much too worried about that, he didn't have anything much to do tomorrow anyway. He went upstairs and put on his pajamas. He glanced over at Hal's bed and laughed to himself. Hal was twitching and murmuring things in his sleep. He turned over, and over again, almost nonstop.
"I guess I do look crazy during a nightmare." Harry thought to himself, laughing, as he climbed into bed, and slipped into rare peaceful dreams.
Harry's eyes opened to no alarm clock that morning, but with the rays of sun peering through the slight opening in the scarlet curtains. He glanced over at Hal's bed and it was vacant . "he's up pretty early." Harry whisperedthen looked at his watch1:00 p.m.!!! "Definitely not early," Harry corrected himself. He got up quickly and by one thirty , he was at the Great Hall eating breakf---- I mean lunch. He had looked for Hal on the way down there and glanced over at the quidditch pitch, but he was nowhere to be seen. After he finished lunch, he set out looking again, but he didn't have to wait to long to figure it out.
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore told me to try this out. He said that some twins have the ability to talk to each other through concentrate on the other and what they want to say to them. Is it working? Can you hear me? Just concentrate on me and what you want to say." Harry heard Hal's voice say, but Hal was nowhere close to him. This was weird, but it was cool. He thought he'd give it a try.
"Umm, yeah, I can hear you. This is pretty cool, isn't it?" Harry thought.
"Yeah, it's awesome! Where are you, I'll come find you." Hal thought.
"I'm in front of the Great hall. Was that the only reason Dumbledore called you into his office?" Harry thought.
"No. He thought it best to change my last name back to what it truly is. I would be kind of weird with twins walking around with two different last names, wouldn't it" Hal thought.
Harry hadn't even thought about how the students were going to react to seeing two Potters, and he really didn't want to think about it. It would be weird two twins with different last names, and everyone else would think so too. This was going to be a nightmare. There was already a lot of staring and gossiping as it was, but now it was just going to get nasty, and you just can't tell off a bunch of students like he did the portraits. He had to tell Hal, forewarn him. This was going to get bad, really bad. He just hoped that Hal liked a lot of attention, but if he was anything like Harry, he wouldn't.
Hal came running down the Entrance Hall stairs with his and Harry's quidditch gear. Harry's frown turned quickly to a smile and they played quidditch until dark again. On the way back to the common room, all those thoughts about the reactions of other came flooding back to Harry's mind. He tried to put them off, seeing as they were having a really great time, but he couldn't put it off any longer, he had to tell Hal, get him prepared for all the gossip.
"Hal, I hope you know that a lot of people are going to be talking and staring at us for a while, don't you? I get it all the time, but it's probably going to get much worse. I hate to be so blunt, but that's really what's going to happen. Some people just don't know how, or just don't want, to keep their mouth's shut. It will die down eventually, but it will talk a little bit of time, people just have to get used to the fact that there are two of us now. It might even be in the news, but we will try not to attract that much attention. But I'm usually a target for a juicy tabloid story." Harry explained, grimacing at memories of Rita Skeeter invading his mind.
"Oh, I-I- I really don't like people staring. That really gives me the creeps. I get really nervous what people whisper and stare, but I guess I will just have to get used to it." Hal sighed. Then he said something totally off subject, possibly purposely. "You know people are going to be able to tell us apart."
Harry looked quizzically over at Hal and laughed. "How? We look just alike"
"Well, when we open our mouths, of course. You are going to have to teach me that accent." Hal laughed.
"No problem, I bet Hermione has the perfect solution for that one. It's probably in one of those books she's given me." Harry laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
They went up to the common room, and sure enough, they found an accent spell in one of Hermione's books. They had permanent effect and you could use the accent any time you wanted. They tried them out and laughed at each other the whole time. They talked about ways to get out of trouble and how much fun it was going to be. Then they started to get bored and they walked around the castle. Harry showed Hal a lot of the shortcuts that he and his friends used a lot. Then they headed back to the common room and went to bed, seeing as it was about 1:00 a.m.
Harry woke up at about 7:30 that morning. Hal was still asleep, so Harry quietly got dressed and went down for some breakfast. After that, he decided to take a walk outside for a bit. He saw the tree that he, Ron and Hermione sat under a lot and smiled. He passed the Whomping will with caution. All his run-ins with that thing had made him that way. He was going to keep on walking, but then he saw something black run behind him. Harry turned around quickly and drew out his wand, but put it back in his pocket right away. It was the familiar black dog motioning him to the bushes. Harry followed as if he always went into the bushes, he didn't know if he was being watched.
"Sirius, What are you doing here?!" Harry whispered.
"Dumbledore told me that you had something that you probably wanted to tell me, so I came. It's so good to see you, Harry." Sirius said, giving Harry a hug.
"Well, He called me to school a couple days early as you know. That was to give me and this other person time to get to know each other, seeing as he's my twin brother." Harry said, smiling.
"Oh you've met Hal. I was wondering when you were going to get to meet him. I haven't seen him since he was a baby." Sirius said.
"Well, you pretty much know what he looks like. There is absolutely no way to tell us apart. We even have the same glasses. We found a spell as well that enables us to change our accents whenever we want, seeing as he was raised in America. It's pretty cool. Let me get him for you." Harry said.
"Oh no, you don't have to do that. It's too far to walk." Sirius said.
"It's really no problem. I can tell him to come down from right here. That's another thing about twins. We can talk to each other through our thoughts." Harry said, but was interrupted
"Harry, where are you? I've literally looked everywhere." Hal thought to Harry.
"Hold on, Sirius. He's trying to find us." Harry said to Sirius.
"You know that tree I showed you yesterday, the one that moves? Just come down there. I've got someone I want you to meet." Harry replied to Hal.
"He's coming down. He'll be here in a minute." Harry said to Sirius, who was just sitting there trying to listen to a conversation that he couldn't hear. After a few minutes, he just gave up. Then they heard footsteps.
"Hello, umm… why are we behind the bushes?" Hal questioned.
"I'll tell you in a minute. Hal, this is Sirius Black, my godfather. Oh, I forgot to ask. Are you his godfather too, Sirius?" Harry said.
"Well, no I'm not. I'm his god uncle. Remus is his godfather. But, it is very nice to see you Hal. I haven't seen you since the accident and all." Sirius said, giving Hal a fatherly hug.
"It's good to meet you, but I ask again, why are we in the bushes?" Hal questioned.
"Oh, well, I'm kind of a wanted man. But, I was falsely accused of the crime I was convicted of. I escaped from Azkaban 2 years ago, so I'm in hiding." Sirius replied.
""So how did you get here without being spotted?" Hal asked.
"He's an animagus. He can turn into the form of a dog. It's pretty cool." Harry replied.
"Really? That is cool." Hal quietly exclaimed
"Yeah, I hate to talk and run, I had better get going, I think I might have been spotted in Surrey and I think I'm being followed. This was the perfect diversion to get them off my trail, but I need to keep moving. I wish I could stay longer, but Dumbledore's exact words were, "Ask Harry about what he needs to tell you, Harry explains, limited chit-chat, then goodbye." So, I've kind of overstayed my time. I'll be back at Grimmauld Place in a few days. Write me if you two need me. See you both during the holidays. You are going with Harry over Christmas, right Hal?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, I'll be wherever he is." Hal replied, smiling. No one had ever wanted him over for a holiday before. It felt good.
"Alright, see you both then." Sirius said, smiling. He shrank into dog form, winked, and ran towards the gates exiting the castle. Hal turned to walk back up to the dormitories, but Harry didn't follow. He watched Sirius shrink into the distance until he was gone. He always wished that Sirius could stay longer, but he knew the danger that it took just for Sirius to visit just for a minute or two. He sighed and caught up with Hal. They stayed in the common room for a while. Hal played some of his CD's, and he had managed to shrink his muggle television and it also didn't need batteries of a plug. They watched movies and conjured up some popcorn.
Hal did all this, probably to keep his mind off of the thoughts of school starting tomorrow. He had an idea of what was coming, but he really didn't know what was really going to happen. Harry would probably think of something that would keep some of the gossip away, but certainly not all of it. But he pushed that last thought of anxiety, and enjoyed his last gossipless night.
The boys woke up from nightmares the next morning, nightmares of horrible taunting and endless whispering ringing loudly in their ears. Harry just pushed it into the back of his mind. He wasn't much too worried about it. Hal was a different story. He was so accustomed of being shunned and unnoticed that the idea of so much attention was overwhelming. Harry said it would probably get bad, especially with this group called the Slytherins who sounded awful but he didn't seem nervous about it. Why was he freaking out about this. It was so unlike him. "Just calm down. Be cool. Harry said that some people would be cool, so it will be fine." Hal whispered trying to reassure himself into peace. He pushed the disturbing thoughts out of his mind and got in the shower.
Harry had been up for quite a while. It was 10:00 a.m., and he had already been up for 4 hours. He just didn't feel like sleeping. He was busy thinking about how today would be. He was glad that school was starting that evening. He would get to see all the friends he had missed over the summer, especially with not even Ron or Hermione being allowed to write him a letter of the first half of the summer. Then, having to spend the second half of the summer in the gloomy Grimmauld Place, but at least he had his closest friends with him then. The other students were his biggest problem. Staring and criticism were going to be at and all time high with Hal being here, but he was used to it. Just another thing to go with "Crazy Harry Potter." Oh well, could it really get any worse? With his last year report of Voldemort returning and nobody believing him, which was probably the most broadcasted news he had stirred up, this would probably not be as bad. People would have to believe him this time, how could they not? Hal was actually standing before their eyes, unlike the Voldemort thing. Nobody saw Voldemort when he got his body back, but Hal was actually here. No one could change that, or twist the situation to make him look even crazier. It would all eventually die down. He was worried about Hal though. He seemed kind of nervous last night and he looked like he was having a nightmare when he woke up at 6:00 this morning, probably about the continuous ridicule that seemed evident in the near future. But Hal seemed strong, he had been through a lot with his family life, He just needed to relax.
Harry walked back up to the common room around 10:30 to get his Firebolt. He thought he'd go to the pitch and practice dives. Wasn't really much else he wanted to do. Hal was in the shower when Harry got to the dormitories. "I'm going down to the pitch; I'll be down there for a while, so come down if you want." Harry yelled so that Hal could hear him. "OK." Harry heard from the bathroom.
Harry walked slowly to the pitch. It was a really nice day outside. Perfect quidditch weather. He started to walk a little faster, he was anxious to get to the pitch now. He finally got there and mounted his Firebolt. He went as high as he felt comfortable and he started circling the pitch. Then he ventured off from the pitch and flew low over the lake. He looked out over the water and in the corner of his eye he saw something move. He turned his head and saw a blond girl sitting under one of the trees, flipping through the pages of a fairly thick book. "She looks awfully familiar. Whoever she is, she's beautiful." Harry thought to himself. As if she heard his thoughts, the girl looked up from her book and spotted him. Apparently startled, the girl jumped up and ran towards the castle. Harry thought it strange, his eyes still following the fleeing girl. Harry turned back to find himself a mere 3 feet from a large tree. But when he jerked his broom to miss that tree, he spun around too much and his head struck another one nearby. Harry lost his grip and slipped off the broom. He tried his best to grab his broom again, but it caught on a tree, totally out of reach. He plummeted to the ground with a hard thud. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was seeing a last glance at the beautiful angel running away.
When Hal finished getting ready, it was already 3:00 p.m. He took his time, seeing as this day was important to him. He wanted to look his best. One advantage of people staring at you was that some of those people are girls, which was definitely a plus in Hal's book. He put his new wand in his robe pocket, the one that had appeared on his bed the first day he was here. It had a note attached, yellowed with age. It was written in beautiful handwriting, obviously a woman's. the note read:
Dear Hal,
Your mother left this for you when she died. Use it in the best and worst of times.
That's all it said, but it warmed his heart. This was his mother's wand. Something that she had wanted him to have. He would treasure it forever.
He did feel strange though. Around 11:30, he felt a sharp pain in his head and then, a few seconds later, to the rest of his body. Then it just stopped. He had a slight head ache now. He thought about going to Madame Pomfry's office, but he just let it go. It was odd though.
Professor McGonagall had come to the dormitory and asked him to retrieve Harry because the other students were going to arrive soon. Harry was still probably at the quidditch pitch. He had seen him earlier from his window practicing an impressive dive. He knew Harry had told him that it was called something like a sloth dive or something like that. Then he saw him fly out toward the lake Harry had shown him the first day here. Hal really didn't feel like walking all the way out there. He thought he would try to think something to him.
"Harry? Where are you? Professor McGonagall said that the other students are going to be here soon." Hal thought to Harry. No answer. Maybe he just didn't hear me, Hal thought, so he tried again.
"Harry? Harry? Where are you." Hal tried again. This time he heard a little of something. He heard a small moan. It sounded like someone was in pain. Then he heard a strained voice.
"Hal?" said a weak Harry, lying under a tree with blood on the side of his head, unable to move because the pain that struck his body when he tried to move. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. He didn't remember hurting this bad when he fell earlier, but now it was almost the worst pain he had felt, other than last year in the graveyard. How was he going to get back to the castle before he bled to death? The blood was just pouring from his head. He tried to think of a spell that would stop the bleeding but that wouldn't do any good because his wand had fallen out of his pocket and was 15 feet away. He tried summoning it but that didn't work either. He looked up and saw his Firebolt. It was stuck in the tree he had hit. That was about 30 feet above him
"Harry?!? Are you ok? Where are you? What's wrong?" Hal thought frantically.
"Hit…tree...lake…can't…move." Harry said in a strained whisper. He nearly passed out again but he kept his eyes open. He wasn't going to give up just like that.
"Ok, don't try to do anything, that will just make it worse. I'll be there in a second. Hold on." Hal said quickly. He jumped up immediately and began running, running as fast as he could. This was just the perfect way for things to start on his first day at a new school. Awful pain and super injured brother. Harry was right; things were a little strange around here. He just hoped he could get to Harry in time to help him. He finally reached Dumbledore's office. Hal did not even knock before he entered.
"PROFESSOR!!! COME QUICK!! HARRY'S HURT. HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THE LAKE!!! HURRY!!!" Hal exclaimed as soon as he had entered the room. He looked about for just a second. Dumbledore had been talking to Professor McGonagall, but they were just looking at him with a shocked expression on their faces. Hal turned quickly and ran out the door. Dumbledore and McGonagall quickly followed.
