Disclaimer: All hail JKR! Bow down to her greatness and let her creation fill you with joy! I do not own HP or BSB.
Sweetest Flower That Grows
Harry was currently sitting in Grimmauld Places living room, drinking tea and chatting with the Minister of Magic, the Headmistress of Hogwarts, and Mr. Weasley. They were discussing the matter of the Dursleys.
"Well Harry, from our records in the Order I see that your relatives were sent to a small town in the state of Minnesota, in the United States. It's a small town with several wizarding families that are watching over your family. Dudley Dursley has been attending the local public school, while Vernon and Petunia are working at local businesses. The house on Privet Drive has been secured and spelled to keep intruders out. I would suggest that you take a few hours before you leave and clean it up. After being empty for a year it is sure to need a good cleaning," Professor McGonagall said.
"I will make sure that Mafalda Hopkirk is notified that there will be magic in the area of Privet Drive for that day only. If you apparate to Arabella Figg's house it will not set the triggers and notify anyone," Kingsley spoke up. Harry sipped his tea and thought to himself for a moment.
"Are the customs and laws very different in the States? Should we be aware of anything of that sort?" he asked the Minister.
"Well, as for all countries, yes, they do have different laws and customs. I do not think you need to worry too much. Minnesota, from what I've heard, is pretty lenient with foreign wizards. If I'm not mistaken, their laws are similar to ours, so you should be able to just stick to our laws and be fine. I do know that drinking age is different there, you must be twenty-one to drink." Harry looked shocked.
"Really, they have to wait so long? Not that I plan on drinking again any time soon. I thought that wizards followed their own age limits. Like we become of age at seventeen, while muggles have to wait another year. Why do the States follow Muggle laws like that?" Harry looked at them quizzically.
"Well, in the USA, there aren't as many wizards. Well, I shouldn't say that, there is probably the same amount as here in London, but since it's such a large country they're so spread out it just seems like less. But since they have so few in certain areas, the wizard community areas are for basic needs only. No pubs or frivolous stores so wizards are forced to mingle with the muggles if they want to go out for the night. So, wizards have to follow the same rules as the muggles for certain things." Mr. Weasley looked proud of himself for knowing the answer. Harry thought for a minute.
"What day are you going to tell the MLE that we'll be in Surrey?" Kingsley thought for a moment.
"You plan on leaving for Australia in three days? How about tomorrow? That way you all have a day to pack afterwards. Does that work?" Harry nodded and added, "And we can work on this place today." At that moment Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Percy, and George walked in.
"So, what's the plan?" Ron asked as he plopped down onto a sofa. Hermione frowned at him and gracefully sat next to him. Ginny sat down next to Harry while George and Percy sat on another sofa.
"Well, you guys showed up just in time. We are going to work on this place today and get it ready for Hermione's parents, then tomorrow we are going to clean Privet Drive. That will leave us a day to pack and finish any cleaning we didn't have time for. Does that sound good?" The others nodded and conversation turned to their trip to Australia.
"Now, when you leave on the eleventh, you will be traveling by portkey to a safe place near a small wizarding town several kilometers southwest of Sydney. You four know your plans from there right?" Mr. Weasley looked at his youngest children and their mates who all nodded their affirmation. "Ok, well the portkey will leave at precisely ten pm. Due to the time differences you will arrive in Australia at nine am. It will return exactly a week later. So you all, the Grangers too, must be touching it at ten pm on the seventeenth and you will arrive here at nine am on the seventeenth. So really you'll only have six days in Australia and you'll be loosing a few hours of sleep. If you aren't touching it when it returns you will be stuck in Australia for several days until we can get another portkey to get you out. It will return you here to Grimmauld Place."
For the next hour, they all spent reviewing the plans. After a final cup of tea, the Minister and Mr. Weasley went back to the ministry, and McGonagall went back to Hogwarts leaving the young people to clean for the rest of the day.
Harry and Ginny were cleaning the kitchen together while Ron and Hermione cleaned the bedroom and bathroom that her parents would be using for their time there. Percy and George were cleaning other rooms such as the Sitting room and Drawing room. Harry had called Kreacher to cook their lunch and clean other bedrooms to be used after their return from the States.
Harry had bought a muggle radio while he was on his way to the house earlier that day and had it tuned into a teen pop station and as a result he and Ginny were spending more time dancing and goofing off than cleaning. They had been mopping the floor when a song came on that Harry knew from the summer before. It had been on the radio constantly and he knew almost all the words. He was in a playful mood and so he grabbed a scrub brush they used for scrubbing the floor and pretended it was a microphone. He danced in front of Ginny with his back to the door.
"Everybod-ay-ah, rock your bod-ay-ah. Everybod-ay-ah, rock you bod-ay right. Backstreets back all right!" Ginny was laughing pretty hard by this time, and Harry had not noticed the small audience he had behind him who had come in quietly. He had never acted like this in front of anyone before and Ginny was surprised at how good of a singer Harry was. He danced along while singing loudly into the scrub brush. "Oh my god, we're back again, brothers, sisters everybody sang! Gonna bring the flavor show ya how. Gotta question for ya better answer now. Am I original? Yeah! Am I the only one? Yeah! Am I sexual?"
At the last line Harry had swung his hips and thrust them forward. Everyone behind Harry burst out laughing and he spun around slipping on the wet floor and landing on his butt in a puddle of soapy water. He instantly became redder than any Weasley blush and hid his face behind Ginny. Ron, Hermione, and George were all laying on the ground panting for breath while Percy was holding himself up by the door frame. Ginny was laughing very hard, and still trying to get Harry to come out from behind her.
"Come on Harry, finish the song!" Ron and George were cat calling between hysterics.
"Harry I didn't know you liked Backstreet Boys." Hermione had calmed down a little and was not sitting on the floor any longer.
"Oh, Harry, you're so sexual!" George shouted in a girl voice while Ron thrust his hips like Harry had done. They collapsed on top of each other laughing harder than they had in years.
"I am so embarrassed," Harry mumbled turning, if possible, even redder. Ginny giggled and hugged him.
"Come on Harry," she whispered. "You got George to laugh, he hasn't laughed much in the last few days, and any laughs he has had are forced and fake. He hasn't laughed like this since before Bill's wedding."
He looked up and saw George's old smile and smiled to himself despite the fact that he and Ron were still laughing quite hard. Ron and George saw him look up and proceeded to beg him to sing some more. He shook his head and they begged more which he flat out refused.
They all sat and listened to a few more songs while they ate a lunch that Kreacher had prepared earlier. Each new song that came on Harry was teased and begged to sing for them again which he firmly refused. After lunch they all went back to cleaning up their areas with no more mishaps. Harry and Ginny were cleaning up the kitchen after lunch and Harry was softly humming to himself.
"Harry, I didn't know that you had such a nice singing voice." Harry blushed and Ginny giggled. She went over and hugged him. He hugged her back and began swaying to the slow music of My Wild Irish Rose. Harry softly sang along to the song in her ear.
"My wild Irish rose, sweetest flower that grows. You may search everywhere, but none can compare, to my wild Irish rose." Ginny sighed in his ear and smiled.
They spent the remainder of the day, after the house was clean for habitation once more, listening to music in the drawing room and talking. Percy had left earlier to visit with his girlfriend Penny. Ron, Harry, and George had retreated to a corner, and Ginny and Hermione sat and talked about what they thought the guys were up too.
"George, I had an idea after I got over my mortification of everyone seeing me singing. What do you think of a new invention that makes people sing a song against their will?" George and Ron grinned.
"Well, I like the idea, I like it a lot. What kind of songs were you thinking of?" George had the business gleam in his eyes now. He conjured up a few pieces of parchment and ink and a quill to take notes.
"Well, normal songs I guess. I hadn't really thought that far." Harry looked over at the girls. "Should we tell the girls about this?" Ron and George glanced over at them too. The girls noticed the movement and grew concerned that they were soon to be the object of a prank. The guys waved them over and they shared a glance before getting up and walking over.
"Yes?" Ginny and Hermione stayed a safe distance.
"Well, we were just discussing a new prank idea and thought we'd ask you lovely ladies to sit with us and converse ideas with." George said as he stood and offered his seat to Hermione. Hermione looked at Ginny.
"Er, well, I guess we could assist you." She slowly walked over to the couch and sat down carefully. Harry and Ron watched her confused as to why she was acting so wary. Ginny moved and stood near Hermione.
"What's wrong with you two?" Ron asked.
"Nothing, we're just a little worried that you're about to prank us." Hermione narrowed her eyes and the guys laughed.
"No, believe me, we know better than to prank you two when it's only the five of us here. We wouldn't be leaving the building intact. Nope, we were going to ask you to help us with an idea Harry had. He came up with the idea of a new invention. Candy, or something else, that makes you sing. What do you think?" George watched the girls share a glance and then smirk.
"Does this idea have anything to do with your show from earlier Harry?" Hermione chuckled when Harry rolled his eyes.
"Er, well yeah. Anyways, what do you guys think?" Harry watched Ginny and Hermione as they thought it over. When he knew George wasn't looking he poked Ginny and nodded towards George. She got the hint as her eyes widened.
"I love it! What kind of songs were you guys thinking?" Ginny nudged Hermione as they saw Georges eyes light up. For the next hour they came up with songs both magic and muggle before having to leave for dinner at the Burrow.
Later that night Harry was laying in bed tying to sleep with Ron's increasingly deafening snores. He sighed and sat up contemplating throwing his pillow at Ron but thought better of it. Last time he'd done that Ron rolled over in his sleep and Harry lost his pillow for the night. Half an hour later he sighed and stood up. He grabbed his pillow and blanket and headed for the sofa. I don't remember him ever being this loud at night, Harry thought to himself as he marched down the stairs. He arrived in the living room only to find the couch occupied by a stocky, red-head with one ear. George was sitting propped up on a pillow, his knees to his chest, and was writing furiously in a small notebook. A floorboard shifted under Harry and George looked up.
"Harry! What are you doing up?" Harry wandered into the room and sat down in a chair opposite George. In the dying firelight George looked emaciated and weary, but he decided not to say anything about it.
"Ron was snoring too loud, and I couldn't sleep anyways." Harry paused and watched as George wrote another line and looked back up. They sat together for a while in comfortable silence. Harry was watching the stars out of the window, thinking of Ginny, Teddy, and Teddy's parents. Harry was worried that he wouldn't be a good Godfather to Teddy. He was also thinking of the offer Andromeda had made to him about living with her for the summer and helping take care of Teddy. Harry knew it would be a good chance to get to know them both and he wouldn't have to live in Grimmauld Place alone or live off the Weasley's good charity all summer either. He could pay rent to Andromeda so she had extra money coming in so he wouldn't have to worry about her not being able to afford things for the child. Harry's mind drifted for a long while in this area of thought.
George would start writing again every few minutes. A few times chuckling softly with a sad look on his face while writing. After a half an hour of sitting in silence, broken only by George's quill and the distant sound of Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Ron's snoring. George cleared his throat and Harry looked over at him.
"Harry, I want to say thanks. If anyone else had come down here and saw how I look, they would have been asking me if I was alright or giving me concerned glances the whole time. You…you just sit with me. You're a good friend Harry." Harry smiled and George wrote something else down.
"I don't ask because it's a stupid question and I know the answer. Of course you're not alright. To have someone so close to you…leave so suddenly…That, and I've been asked so many times before I know how irritating it can get. Sometimes, after Sirius died, I just wanted someone to sit with. Someone who wouldn't ask questions or tell me it would be alright, because I knew eventually it would be alright again. I would wander around looking for company and once I had it I wanted to be alone. Hell, it's happened to me so many times I should be used to it now. The thing is, I just know how to hide it better." Harry sighed and looked back out the window. "I know you know what I mean, I can see it in your eyes during the day. You're trying to put on a happy face for everyone, show that you're ok, which in reality you're not. Losing someone so close to you leaves a hole, the closer they are to you the harder it is for that hole to heal. It takes a long time, but eventually the hole gets smaller, and with time, you forget the hurt." Harry was watching out the window and was startled to hear George sniff. When he looked over he saw tears rolling down George's face while he nodded.
"Sometimes I…I hate him for leaving me. Then, I hate myself, because I realize that he didn't want to leave and I shouldn't hate him for it but I do, I still do." George sobbed for a full minute before he could speak again. "Am I going crazy? Is what I'm feeling normal Harry? Am I a horrible person? Did you hate Cedric and Sirius and Dumbledore? Do you hate Remus and Tonks?" George was pleading with Harry. Harry was finding it hard to breathe and had to keep blinking back the tears.
"Yes," he whispered. "I hated them all for leaving. But I think the one that hurt the most was Sirius. He was supposed to be there for me when I graduated, we were going to be a family, live together. He was going to tell me about my parents and the marauders. Sometimes when I think back to it all, I still feel angry, but thankfully I no longer hate him for it. That part goes away eventually. As for Remus and Tonks, yeah, I'm a little angry with them. Their son now has to live a life without his parents there for him. I know how it is growing up an orphan, to think that Teddy has to live that life now, is…difficult for me to accept. In one night I went from teenager to adult with parental responsibilities to my godson, and in the same night a little boy lost his parents. It's a big leap. So yeah, I feel anger towards them." Harry sighed, and George mimicked him. "Are you writing about Fred?" Harry asked quietly. George nodded.
"Yeah. You were right, it does help. I haven't been able to sleep very well lately, so I spend the night writing until I fall asleep. I've been spending the night down here lately because my quill woke Charlie up the other night. It also…it feels weird sleeping in a room without him. I mean, in our flat above the store we had our own rooms, but here we always shared and being here and not sharing with him just doesn't feel right." He sighed and rested his head against the back of the sofa. Soon, George was writing again and Harry was watching out the window once more. Soon they were both sleeping and curled up on each side of the sofa.
Early the next morning Harry was shaken awake by small hands. He leaned over and remembered the night before just as he fell off the sofa and onto the feet of the person shaking him. Ginny burst out laughing as Harry flailed about trying to untangle himself. When he was untangled and sitting upright he looked around and noticed George sitting up and smiling at him, chuckling at Harry's misfortune.
"Good morning, Harry!" Ginny giggled as Harry moved to get off the floor and groaned at the bruise forming on his backside.
"Yeah, good morning to you too. Ugh, so that's why I don't like sleeping on the sofa," Harry groaned louder as he stretched his arms up over his head. Ginny grinned and leaned over and began to tickle Harry mercilessly. He laughed and tried to stop her. In the attempt to stop her he backed away and fell backwards over the end table. Ginny gasped and rushed around it to see if he was hurt. George watched with a wary eye. Suddenly, Ginny yelped and began giggling loudly. Harry had begun tickling her back.
"Ok, ok, I give, you win! Harry stop, that tickles! Stop, please!" Harry was grinning like the Cheshire cat as he stood up and pulled Ginny to her feet.
"Ok, but I want a rematch where there isn't any furniture to fall over later. Got it?" Ginny grinned and nodded. "So why did you wake me up so early, not that my neck doesn't thank you." They sat down and Ginny cuddled up in Harry's blanket with him.
"Well, I heard someone come down here late last night. I was wondering if they were still down here. Also, Hermione decided that we needed an early start today. She's upstairs waking up Ron, when we saw that you weren't there I came down looking for you." George had picked up his muggle notebook and quill and was writing another memory down. "George, are you going to come with us today to clean Privet Drive?" George finished his sentence and looked up.
"Well, I'm not sure. I was actually thinking of checking everything at the shop today. When we went there before the memorial, everything was torn apart and thrown around the place. I need to get out from mum's grasp for a while anyways. I thought I'd work on cleaning up the shop and the flat a little. Fred wouldn't have wanted me to let our dream go to waste just because he died. In fact, I think I'm going to head up and shower before breakfast. Good morning, and thanks for waking me up again Gin-gin." George left the room, leaving Harry and Ginny curled up together.
"Did he talk to you last night Harry? We're all so worried about him. He won't talk to anyone, and if we try to get him to talk he leaves the room or walks away. I see the sadness in his eyes and it makes me want to hug him, but he won't let anyone touch him." Ginny had tears in her eyes and was hugging Harry very tightly.
"Gin, I need air," she loosened her grip but didn't let go. "Yes, I talked to him, well, more like let him talk to me. He just needs time Ginny. We all do. Do you remember when Cedric died and I spent the next year in a bad mood?" She nodded. "Well, that was the first time, that I could remember at least, that I had ever had someone I knew die, and the fact that it happened right in front of me didn't help much either. But, my bad mood was my way of grieving. I'm not saying that it was the best way, but it was the only way I was able to cope. It didn't help that everyone was asking me if I was ok, or constantly watching me and leaving me out of everything for my own good. All I needed was someone to be there for me and act normal around me, to not treat me like I was fragile. All I wanted was for life to go back to normal around me. That's what George needs right now. I know it's hard, and you want to tell him it will be alright, but for now…just don't. It's not what he needs to hear." Harry stopped and looked into her eyes which were watering.
"What did you guys talk about last night?" she asked quietly.
"I can't tell you that, Gin. George trusts me to just be there for him, when all he needs is for someone to listen if he feels the need to talk."
"But what if—"
"I'll tell someone if it sounds like he's getting too depressed. For now, he's just…let's just say, after Sirius died, I read a book about death and grief. George is in the early stages of grief and it's going to take a long time for him to recover, for all of us to recover, but what he's feeling is normal. Just be reassured that at least he's talking to someone, alright?" Ginny nodded and hugged him.
Then she giggled and said, "I'm telling Hermione that you read a book." He mock gasped and claimed betrayal. They chuckled and she snuggled her head into his neck and kissed his Adams apple. He kissed the top of her head and they say that way until Mrs. Weasley came downstairs to make breakfast.
Harry had almost fallen back to sleep when Ginny jumped up and scooted away, jarring him from his partial sleepiness. He mumbled his confusion and looked up to see Mrs. Weasley walk around the corner. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Harry and Ginny sitting together on a sofa covered in blankets and pillows. Ginny saw her mother puff up and ready herself for a good yelling.
"Good morning mum! Hermione and I decided that we needed an early start today, so we went to wake the boys and I discovered that Harry couldn't sleep with Ron's ungodly snoring and slept down here last night. We really need to put Harry either in his own room, or put up a silencing spell around Ron's bed." Mrs. Weasley un-puffed and blinked.
"Oh, well, I think a silencing spell would be best for now with so many back in the house. You two should get ready, breakfast should be ready in a half an hour. Good morning to you too, Ginny dear. And you too Harry, good morning." Mrs. Weasley turned and went to the kitchen after giving them a knowing look. Harry and Ginny both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Quick thinking Ginny. Well, I'm going to take a shower. I hope Hermione's done waking Ron." They both smirked as they headed up the stairs. As Harry neared Ron's room, he walked loudly across the floor. When he got to the door, it opened on it's own and Hermione walked out slightly ruffled and red-faced.
"Good morning Harry! Is Ginny in her room? I'll just go down and see. Good morning!" Hermione blushed even redder and scurried away. Harry was chuckling as he entered the room, glancing warily towards Ron's side. Ron was sitting up, also slightly ruffled and red, with his shirt unbuttoned and open. Harry smirked.
"Well, good morning you git. I hope you slept well. Or should I say, woke up well?" Ron blushed, if possible, even more.
"Oh shut up Harry. Where were you? Not that I minded much," Ron mumbled as he stood up and began dressing. Harry re-made his bed and gathered clothes together to wear for the day.
"Well, seeing as how I couldn't sleep because your snoring was rattling the windowpanes over at the Lovegoods', I went to the living room to sleep on the sofa. Tonight, you're putting up a silencing charm around your bed. I can't spend another night on the couch, my neck will break."
Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen to smells of fresh muffins and bacon and eggs frying. The four of them decided to leave right after breakfast to Privet Drive and spend the day cleaning the house. Harry was feeling a little grumpy and had to bite back a few sarcastic remarks he wanted to say when Ron started complaining about how much cleaning they were doing. Ginny noticed Harry's increasing bad mood and steered the conversation away from cleaning. Later, when they were alone she confronted him about his mood.
"What was that all about Harry? You were getting pretty angry in there." They were walking outside waiting for Ron to finish eating.
"I just…never mind, its stupid." He scuffed his toe in the dirt and watched the ants run away from their feet.
"I'm sure it's not stupid, Harry. Let me decide that." Ginny cupped his chin and made him look into her eyes. He sighed.
"I just never thought I'd be back at that house. I thought I was done for good with them and their damn nosy neighbors. Now I have to go back there and clean it up. I spent so many years being their slave and cleaning every nook and cranny of it, and it never was good enough for them. When I left last year, I left and thought to myself, 'I'm never going to have to see that damn clone house again. I'm done with it!' And now, I'm willingly going back there and to do what? Clean! I'm just frustrated because I know that in two weeks I have to spend more time with them insulting me and treating my friends like they're freaks." Harry breathed heavily and then sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to vent on you like that." They walked over and began feeding the chickens together.
"Harry, I'm your girlfriend, if you can't vent to me, who can you vent to? That's what makes a relationship work is communication, and part of communication is venting. So, next time you feel like you want to bite off someone's head, come to me and tell me about it. Okay?" Harry smiled and chucked his handful of feed into the fence. At the same moment Ron and Hermione came out and saw them walking back towards the house.
"Oi! Mum says we need to feed the chickens before we go." Ron called to them. They chuckled and she called back that they had already done it and they meet them there.
Harry held onto Ginny and they disappeared with a pop. They arrived in Mrs. Figg's living room startling the many cats. Mrs. Figg, hearing the three pops, came into the room.
"Harry! What are you doing here? I thought I'd never be seeing you in these parts again. You know your relatives aren't here right? Mr. Tibbles stop that hissing, they're visitors to this house and you will be nice!" Harry smiled as his eyes focused in the dim lighting. Mrs. Figg was as dependable as ever to never change. She was standing in front of them holding one cat and scolding another, while wearing her trusty carpet slippers and housecoat over her sweats.
"Actually, Mrs. Figg, I know they're not here. My friends and I are here to clean up number four and get it ready for them to return. It's good to see you again." The girls each had picked up a cat and was petting them and cooing into its ear. Ron had a look on his face like he wanted to open a window and let some fresh air into the stale environment. Mrs. Figg insisted they stay for a quick spot of tea and biscuits. They found no way to refuse so they all went to the kitchen and moved a few cats off the chairs and sat down for tea. Soon enough, or not so soon in Ron's case, they were saying their goodbyes and walking down the road.
"Oh, fresh air! I thought I was going to suffocate in there!" Ron was breathing deeply and wafting more air towards him.
"Ron, be quiet! What if she heard you?" Hermione whispered loudly.
"What, through an open window? 'Mione, I don't think she's opened a window in years. Did you not smell it in there? If any house needs a good cleaning it was that one." Ginny giggled at her brother and started walking backwards.
"I don't know Ron, it was kind of cozy. A stiff breeze would have blown the smell away. The rest of the house was ok. I really liked the little black kitten, the one with the tiny tuft of white on its chin. It was so adorable! Did you see it Harry?" Harry smiled and nodded. Ginny was cute when she got like this. She rambled for the rest of the short walk about the kitten and how it had licked tea off her finger.
When they were in sight of number four Harry stopped. There was a scorch mark near the back yard and the whole yard was dead and scraggly. The garbage cans were knocked over and one turned into a burn barrel despite being plastic, so the bottom had melted and hardened into the ground. The garage door was tagged, probably by Dudley's own gang. The back yard, of what they could see was just as bad, if not worse, than the front. Harry moaned and Ron mimicked him. The girls just stared in shock. They all stood still for a moment until someone startled them out of their shock.
"No one knows what happened to them. They just disappeared one night, drove off and never returned." The older man talking to them seemed to be in his early fifties. He was walking his Airedale Terrier around the block. Harry recognized him as one of the neighbors who sneered at Harry and snubbed him whenever they saw him walk by. The type of person who, if they had kids, would have hurried them inside when Harry walked by their house. "Everyone around here thought you might have had something to do with them disappearing, since you seemed to have left the same night." The man looked at Harry warily as if Harry would have attacked him for even thinking bad things about him. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Well, I did leave, and I had intended to never come back. But I was asked to come and clean up the house for them, since they'll be returning in two weeks. My aunt had a sick relative in America and they went to stay with her until she died. Since she died, they'll be coming back now." The man glared at Harry, still wondering if he was telling the truth. Obviously he found nothing more to say to Harry about his relatives so he decided on a different tactic.
"Oh? Well, I don't see why they couldn't have you coming here to clean up and keep the yard at least looking a little alive. If they weren't going to be staying here, they should have rented it out. Now the whole neighborhood has gone down the drain, since the hoodlums stated hanging out and wreaking havoc there. Everyone else's property values have gone so far down, now anyone can just move in, and it's all your families fault." The man took a breath and was about to start in on another complaint but Harry cut him off.
"I'm really sorry, but I don't want to sit here and listen to you complain. If you don't like where the neighborhood is headed, you should have moved a long time ago. It's not my problem, and frankly, I don't care." Harry turned around and began walking to the house leaving the disgruntled man huffing and hewing about offensive minors. Ron and the others quickly followed.
"That was brilliant, mate! I was just about to say something to him myself, but you beat me to it. Brilliant!" Ron was smiling and not seeing the look on Harry's face.
"I hate this place. I hate it so much. Everyone thinks they're better than everyone else. They're all snobs," he seethed through his teeth. Harry stormed over to the front door. He noticed that as he got closer to the door, more and more neighbors were exiting their houses and watching him, not even bothering to hide their stares.
"What did you do with 'em? Huh, Potter? Where are they?" one woman shouted, others were nodding and beginning to shout also.
"You worthless hoodlum, go back to where you came from!" Harry had been expecting some response seeing as how he was hated by all the neighbors, but the other three were shocked that these supposedly upstanding citizens were cat calling and jeering at a young man who had never given them reason to hate him. Harry continued to the door but stopped when he heard Ginny yelling back.
"What did he do to you? Huh? He didn't do anything to any of you, so just shut your snobbish mouths! None of you have any right to call Harry names! Everything you think he is, he's the opposite! He is a great man, and if any of you have any decency in your bodies you'll all shut the bloody hell up and go back into your houses and mind your bloody business!" Harry was shocked that Ginny, his little Ginny, had stood up for him in front of all those strangers. They apparently were shocked as well. One man yelled back.
"What did you do with the Dursley's, boy? Where are they?" Ron was getting fed up and yelled back.
"They're in America you arse-hole! They had to go take care of a sick relative, and they'll be back in two weeks! Go to bloody hell! Come on Harry, lets go inside." The neighbors were surprised to hear another stranger yell back at them, and even more surprised to hear of the Dursley's immanent return. The four teens finally were able to open the door and get inside. Harry stormed inside and left them to close the door. He marched into the living room and promptly picked up the television and threw it at the brick fireplace. Ron and Hermione gasped at the look of rage on their friends face while Ginny ran to Harry's side and hugged his arms to his side and refused to let go until he calmed down. For several minutes, Ginny held Harry until he finally sighed and relaxed. She felt the change and slowly released his arms.
"Harry, you shouldn't let them get to you. If they knew the truth about you, they wouldn't say those things. They're just stupid, ignorant muggles. Are you feeling better?" he nodded and walked over to the mangled box of glass and wires. He waved his wand over the mess and it repaired itself. He picked it up and moved it back to its spot.
"Well, let's get cleaning. I want to get out of here as soon as possible." The others took Harry's lead and Hermione sent everyone in their own direction. There would be no fun and games during this day of cleaning. They agreed that Harry and Ron would take the upstairs and Ginny and Hermione the downstairs. After everyone was done they'd move outside and work on the yard. For three hours, they cleaned with little to no noise or interruptions. At quarter to noon, Harry called a local pizza pub and ordered take out to be delivered. When the pizzas arrived forty minutes later, Harry paid with a twenty pound note he found in his aunt's vanity.
"What did you call this Harry?" Ron asked skeptically picking up a large slice of Garbage Pizza.
"It's called pizza Ron. This kind is pepperoni, that's sausage, and that's garbage, which means a little bit of everything," Harry explained once more. Ron sniffed the slice and looked at Harry. It smelled great, but he was still dubious about the name.
"Oh, for heaven's sake Ron, it's not actually garbage, it's peppers and mushrooms, and olives, different meats, and onions. Trust me, you'll like it. Just try it," Hermione huffed. Ron made a face and shoved a tiny bite in his mouth. He chewed for what seemed like forever before grinning stupidly and shoving half the slice in his mouth and biting.
"Ooo, ere ight, 'Arry. Iss is ood!" Ron sprayed chunks of cheese and dough on Harry.
"Oh, jeez Ron, I asked for the news not the weather!" Harry grumbled loudly, though his grin betrayed his true feelings. Hermione looked green and Ginny was laughing with a large bite in her mouth.
"Huh? Wea-her? Wha?" Harry laughed at Ron's confusion.
"It's a muggle joke Ron, just never mind. Oh hey Ron, by the way, do you like seafood?" Harry shoved a large bite in his mouth and Hermione groaned. Ron swallowed and answered with a yes as he began to take a drink of soda. Hermione hid her face.
"See Food!" Harry laughed and opened his mouth wide to show the half eaten bite to Ron. Ron snorted and started choking as his Dr. Pepper went up his nose and across the table. Seeing Ron, jumping around shrieking about the burning in his sinus's, Ginny fell off her chair and was laughing very hard. Even Hermione began to laugh at her boyfriends misfortune. Harry was laughing very hard and trying not to choke on the food in his mouth when, SPLAT! A big, gooey slice of pepperoni landed square in his chest. Everyone shut up quickly and watched the slice of pizza slide down Harry's shirt and plop onto the newly washed floor. Harry looked up at Ron to see him smirking. Harry grinned an evil grin and they both yelled, "FOOD FIGHT!" Ginny and Hermione both screamed and dove under the table, yelling at the boys about how long it took to clean the kitchen. The boys started picking up the closest piece of food and chucking it at the other. Soon the white kitchen was covered in red pizza sauce and cheese was dripping from the walls. Mushrooms and olives were squished underfoot, and meat and triangles of doughy crust were stuck to the ceiling. Harry and Ron stood in the center laughing and slipping on the slippery floors.
"Uh, mate, I think we just wasted a lot of food." Ron said and then suddenly slipped and fell to the floor. Harry was laughing very hard.
"I know, mate, but you don't know how long I've wanted to do that in here! Oh, the only thing that would make this better is seeing my aunts face if she saw this." Picturing Petunia's face made Harry laugh even harder which caused him to loose balance and fall next to Ron. From the vantage point of being on the ground they could see Hermione and Ginny sitting under the table with a full box of pepperoni pizza, eating and glaring at the boys.
"Uh, Harry, I think we're in trouble," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry nodded and scooted forward towards the girls. He got close enough and tried to grab a slice of pizza from the box but had his hand slapped away. Ron snickered.
"Don't you dare, Harry James Potter!" Harry and Ron both winced at hearing the dreaded full name. "We spent over an hour cleaning this kitchen and now we'll be lucky it's not stained red forever! Not only that, but you just wasted two large pizza's and Hermione and I had to sit under the table while we ate! You and my idiot brother are going to clean this room spotless if you ever expect anything from us! Now get to it!" Harry and Ron started to stand and promptly fell to their bums. Harry sheepishly looked over at Ginny who was still glaring at him. He pulled out his wand and mumbled Evanesco and stood up on the clean, but red, floor. Ron stood also and began picking up nearly full pieces of the pies and putting them in the boxes on the table. Occasionally taking a bite off the ones that were the cleanest. Harry started mumbling cleaning spells and aiming them at the floor until they only slightly had a hint of pink in the right light, and then began on the walls. Hermione and Ginny crawled out from under the table and sat down. They munched on their safe box of pizza and watched the boys sulk as they cleaned. By the time they had picked the last piece of sausage off the ceiling fan, their stomachs were growling and they had definitely learned their lesson. They all sat at the table and ate in silence the girls still angry at the boys. The silence was deafening until, Splat! A large piece of pizza landed smack in the center of the table. They all stared at it and then looked up at the ceiling. They saw a red triangle in the center of the ceiling fan above the table where the piece of pie had been. No one said anything for a moment until Hermione snickered which caused the other three to burst out laughing.
After the rest of the pizza was eaten, they split up again and went to finish cleaning. Hermione yelled up the stairs to ask Harry where the vacuum was and he yelled under the stairs. She and Ginny walked into the hallway to retrieve the vacuum and opened the cupboard. Ginny and Hermione both gasped realizing what this tiny room was. Ginny immediately had tears in her eyes as she thought of little Harry sleeping and being locked in this tiny cupboard for 10 long years. She ducked down and crawled in, her small frame barely fitting inside. Hermione was staring at the room with shock.
"It's…so small," she whispered. Ginny looked over at Hermione and gasped. Hermione crouched down and followed Ginny's gaze and she too gasped and tears flooded her eyes as well. There on the wall above the door, where Vernon or Petunia wouldn't see if he happened to glance in were the words written in a child's scrawl, Harry James Potter was here. Next to it was a crude drawing of a birthday cake with eight red and two green candles on top and the initials HJP on the side.
The girls held each other as they cried. Eventually, Harry noticed that he had not heard the vacuum come on and went looking to see if they had found it or not. He and Ron walked down the stairs and saw the cupboard door open and legs sticking out of it, they heard sniffling and rushed don the stairs to find Hermione and Ginny both staring at the small area and crying. Ron rushed forward to find out why they were crying but Harry stopped in his tracks a horrified look on his face. The girls pointed to an area above the door, so he bent over and looked in. When he gasped Harry remembered the day he wrote the words there.
He had been punished for taking too long cooking the bacon and letting it burn. He was eight years old, and it was his birthday. For his punishment he was locked in his cupboard with no breakfast and left there for thirty-six hours. He had felt a little defiant after about twelve hours and decided that the area above the door was a safe place that his mean uncle wouldn't see ever so that's where he chose to graffiti the wall. He had stolen a broken red crayon from his cousin's room when he was forced to clean it the day before. He scrawled his name and the words 'was here!' next to it and then decided that since he wasn't going to get a real birthday cake he would draw one. He counted eight red lines for candles on top and over the next two birthdays added a candle for each birthday.
It had been so many years since he had been in that cupboard that he had completely forgotten his masterpiece. He hadn't thought about sending Hermione to get the vacuum from the cupboard when he told her where it was, now he regretted his lapse in memory. He looked at his feet and turned away from his friends and walked away. They called after him and scrambled to escape the horror of a closet to follow him. He headed to the living room and sat down on the sofa and waited for them to arrive.
The all rushed into the room and saw him sitting, the sat down with him and waited. After a few minutes he recalled the story to them. The girls sat on either side of him and held his hand. Ron sat in a chair opposite him with watery eyes. When he finished they sat in silence for several long minutes. Ron was steadily getting angrier and redder so he stood and began to pace. Then he did the only thing he could think of, he picked up the television and threw it at the fireplace. The crash broke the girls out of their reverie.
"How could they? YOU WERE A CHILD! HOW COULD THEY? Those monsters are going to get a piece of my mind when I see them. Oh, boy, are they going to regret how they treated you! And you! Harry, why didn't you tell us it was that bad? You could have told an official and they would have been take to prison! They need to rot in hell for all eternity!" Ron screamed and continued to destroy the knick-knacks on the wall. Hermione was crying and Ginny was watching Harry's face.
"Harry? What else happened? What else aren't you telling us? Did he beat you? Please, tell me Harry," Ginny whimpered. Harry finally looked at her. He ignored Hermione and Ron's ranting and spoke only to Ginny.
"Uncle Vernon never really beat me, he'd push me around and pull me by my ear or hair to my cupboard and shove me in, but he never really hit me. He left that to Dudley and his gang. Since I was able to walk, Dudley chased me around the house and yard. When he'd have friends over they'd join him. They called it Harry Hunting. Most of what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did was emotional abuse. Calling me worthless and stupid. A bastard, telling me that my parents were worthless drunks. It was probably worse what they did. The lasting damage they caused is much deeper than simple bruises and cuts. I remember when I brought home my first grade report card, I had all A's and B's. I showed it to my aunt thinking that maybe I'd get a treat for doing so well, like Dudley got. She took one look at it and tore it in half, and called me a bragger. That if I was going to try and make her Dinky-diddidums feels stupid, I'd be locked in my cupboard all summer with no food. I was scared and humiliated and never showed her my report cards again. She still found them and yelled at me for outshining her darling, sweet, smart child, or worse accused me of cheating. She never let me forget that she thought Dudley was better than me. That kind of treatment for so long…well, if you're told something for long enough you begin to believe it." Hermione and Ron had sat back down and were watching Harry with pity. He saw this and got angry. "This is why I didn't tell you, because I knew you would look at me like that, with pity. I don't need your pity, ok, I turned out just fine. It doesn't matter that the only thing I have ever wanted was their love. It doesn't matter that every time they hurt me and locked me away, I thought 'Maybe next time I'll do good enough that they'll love me.' I don't care, ok, it's all behind me now. After I get them back here I never have to see them again. Okay? So stop looking at me like that and get back to cleaning. We need to finish that yard still before we can go." With that Harry stormed outside and started weeding the garden with fury, as if every weed had personally offended him. With in minutes he was crying and frantically pulling whatever he touched out of the ground and throwing it away from him. The girls and Ron watched him from the kitchen, they were all crying and holding each other. After a few minutes of this Ron and Hermione decided that they'd vacuum so the inside would be finished and Ginny would go and comfort Harry. Ginny walked outside and over to Harry's hunched form.
"Harry?" she inched forward. "Harry? Please look at me." She knelt down beside him and placed her arm over his shoulder. He leaned into her and sobbed.
"Why Ginny? Why did they hate me? What did I ever do to them? I was a baby, how could I do anything to them? Why did they treat me like a slave for so long? Why?" He sobbed into her shoulder and she rocked him like a child. "All I ever wanted was a real family. Someone who would love me for who I was and not what I was. Someone who wouldn't judge me for my parents actions. Ten years! Ten bloody years I lived here and not once did I hear, 'I love you Harry,' or 'You're a good boy Harry.' You want to know why I didn't tell anyone? I did tell someone! I told my Principal at my school, and you know what he said? He told me to stop lying and trying to get my good, upstanding family in trouble! 'They took you in when they didn't need too and fed and clothed you, why would you feel the need to get them in trouble?' he asked me. Then he told me that I was an ungrateful little attention seeker who needed to be punished! That's why I didn't tell anyone else, I didn't feel the need to be told that I was seeking attention like that. I didn't need to be called a delinquent." Harry was shaking and sobbing in her arms and she held him and let him cry. After he was done and was sitting up and staring at the mess he caused of the garden, he chuckled.
"Well, I made a complete fool of myself. Oh, what must the neighbors think," he asked sarcastically and began laughing. Ginny stared at him worrying for his sanity. He calmed down fairly quickly and sighed. "Well, we better finish this. Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"Inside, they're finishing up in there and then they'll come out and help with the yard." Harry nodded and heaved himself to his feet and helped Ginny to hers. He walked to the shed and went in to look for grass seed and the hedge clippers. He rubbed his eyes and muttered a cooling charm on them to rid them of their redness before exiting. He and Ginny worked hard pulling weeds and spreading grass seed. Soon they were both working up a sweat and chatting about their upcoming trip to Australia. Soon, Ron and Hermione joined them casting careful glances at Harry when he wasn't looking. They worked for an hour before Harry called Kreacher to bring them some lemonade. They sat and admired their handiwork while sitting in the shade and enjoying their ice cold drinks.
"Well, look who's returned. It's Potty! Hey Potty, where's your family? Huh?" the four wizards looked up to see a small rat faced boy sneering at Harry. There were three larger guys behind him cracking their knuckles and trying their best to look ominously huge, and were succeeding.
"Well, look who it is, Piers and company. Just who I wanted to see today." Harry replied sarcastically. The other three looked to where the voice came from. Piers stepped forward.
"Where's Big D, Potty? What did you do to him and his parents?" Piers was sneering and Harry was curious as to what he meant.
"Well, see if I knew what you meant, I might be able to answer you." Ron looked at the four boys and then at Harry. Piers stepped closer and Harry stood up and Ron stood up next to him.
"Well, if you were smart, you'd understand, but you're not so I'll spell it out for you. Where did you bury their bodies?" Harry looked at the small rat-faced boy and began to laugh. Piers was surprised that he no longer instilled fear in Harry and stopped sneering to gawk at him.
"Where did I what? Bury them? What gave you idiots the idea that I buried them? Why would I need to bury them?" Harry was chuckling. He knew the answer but he needed the laugh so he played dumb.
"Uh, well, maybe because you killed them! So where are they, huh?" A large, beefy toe-headed boy stepped forward and confronted Harry. Ron puffed himself up and stood next to Harry.
"Oh, ok. You all think I killed my relatives, and then buried their bodies somewhere. Is that right?" Hermione and Ginny was appalled that anyone could think that of Harry but weren't saying anything because Harry seemed to find amusement from the whole situation. The four bullies all nodded. "Well, you're all idiots. Why would I kill my stupid relatives right when I was getting ready to leave them forever?" Piers was looking skeptically at Harry.
"So if you didn't kill them, where'd they go? They've been gone for almost a year. They didn't tell anyone where they were going or when they'd be back. So we all assumed you'd killed 'em since you were gone at the same time."
"Oh, and no one thought that maybe I was with them? That they took me along? I was gone at the same time, no one has seen me for the same amount of time. Why wouldn't I be with them? Or, maybe I did kill them." Hermione, Ginny and Ron all looked at Harry grinning. "Maybe I killed them and buried them right here in this backyard." Piers and the other three blanched and backed away.
"You did, you admitted it! I'm calling the police!" Piers began to turn around when suddenly the bullies all froze. Harry looked over and saw Hermione tuck her wand behind her leg. She looked at him.
"What? They were going to call the police on you for murder, Harry. What was I supposed to do? Besides, Kingsley took care of the MLE around this area, but he has no jurisdiction to do anything about the muggle police. We need to take care of them," Hermione nodded her head towards the muggle boys, and winked. Harry grinned and mouthed memory charms to her and she nodded. Ron and Ginny watched all this with mounting excitement. Harry smiled and moved towards the muggles.
"Lets get their sorry arses inside." Harry waved his wand above Piers and saw the boys eyes widen. "Well, Piers, you picked the wrong person to mess with today," he whispered in the blonde's ear. He floated Piers inside and the other three wizards floated a different muggle inside. They brought the four muggles to the living room and sat them on the sofa. Harry paced in front of them for a few moments and the stopped. He turned and faced them.
"The four of you sitting here were the bullies that followed my cousin around and tormented me for ten long years. When I turned eleven, I got a gift. I was told that I had people out there like me and I was given a special gift. This." Harry pointed to his friends who were sitting on the other sofa. "I was given a life away from my relatives abuse. For ten months of the year I got to go to a school where I had friends who quickly became my real family. Last July, I was told I could leave this damn house and my relatives behind for ever. So I did. I won't bore you with the details of what my life was like while I wasn't here. Let's just say, I've lived through several attempts on my life, and being chased by a murdering bastard who killed my parents and many other people, and wanted to kill me too. My life has been hell, first I had to suffer through being chased by you bullying goons, then to be chased by murdering goons after I got rid of you. Now, I come back here for one day and I'm being accused of murder! Ha! That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. My relatives didn't die. I didn't murder them. They're in America right now. They will be back in two weeks. I came back today, to clean this place up and make it livable again. It's the least I could do for my stupid family for taking me in as a baby. So, what I could do to you four is this: one, I could let you leave calmly and with the promise of you not going to tell lies to the police. Or two, I could leave you tied up on the sofa until my family comes back in two weeks. What'll it be? Leave safely, or probably die of starvation for two weeks. Which would you guys prefer?" Harry stopped talking and watched the four. He had unfroze them while he was talking and they discovered that they could move again.
"We want to leave!"
"We won't tell!"
"We promise!" Harry smiled and stood up.
"Ok, if you guys want to leave, I'll let you. But first we have to erase your memories." They four bullies found themselves bound by invisible ropes and silenced. Hermione and Harry stood in front of the them and talked quickly.
"Harry, should we erase their memories? What if it backfires like Lockhart and they end up insane?" Harry watched their reactions and was pleased with their looks of shock and horror.
"Yeah, Hermione we need to. We don't know how much they saw or heard before they showed their ugly faces. Plus, you know we've been doing you-know-what in front of them. It's the law." Hermione sighed and nodded.
"Ok, you're right. I'll take the two on the left and you do the other two?" Harry nodded and looked to the bullies.
"Ok, we're going to erase your memories of today. Don't worry the mishap that happened last time shouldn't happen again. We know how to do it now. Besides, Lockhart is better off insane than how he was before. You won't remember me being here today or you being here today. Ready Hermione, I'm going to release them right after you do it. We need to send them back to…Piers is your house ok?" Piers looked at him with confusion and horror. "Ok, let me ask you again. Can we send you guys back to your house?" Piers nodded slowly with wide frightened eyes. "Ok, Hermione, we send them to Piers' house. Ready? Obliviate. Obliviate. You guys will forget everything about me and my friends being at this house today. You will forget the strange things that happened also. You were never here and you will go back to Piers' house now." Harry released the four and they got up and walked to the front door. They were soon gone and Harry and his friends breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, it's nearly time for us to be going back to the Burrow for dinner. Let's finish up the yard and go." Harry wandered back to the yard and they followed. Hermione and Ginny took the task of spreading seed and watering the ground and pulling weeds while they guys re-painted the garage door. After another hour of work where they kept getting interrupted by curious neighbors who came by to see why he was cleaning up the house, they were finished and ready to leave. Earlier that had agreed to walk to Mrs. Figg's house and apparate home, so that's where they headed.
A/N: wow, first draft of this had Harry torturing the poor muggles and making them cry. But it was pretty OOC of him so I scrapped it. Maybe my mind is a little too morbid. Lol, sorry it's so long again! I just start typing and can't seem to stop! Lol. Sorry for the long wait, I had a mishap with time zones and time differences between England and Australia and had to re-write a large chunk of the next three chapters. That and I got really into a story on SIYE called Harry Potter and the Fifth House. Really good story! So much angst and pain! Lol. Please review, no one reviewed the last chapter and it made me sad! :'( Tell me what you think, please! I'll never know how to improve if no one tells me what's wrong or what they like! Don't make me hold chapters hostage! J/k, I don't think we're allowed to do that… I am starting school again on Monday so chapters may be a little helter skelter-ly posted. But have no fear, I will begin posting more regularly I hope. I had a bit of writers block and I hope it goes away now. REVIEW PLEASE!!