Another chapter finally done, this one a bit of an interlude. I hope you like it.
Chapter 5
Harry woke up early, and spent an hour working out after which he quickly altered his clothes into a simple pair of jeans and a T-shirt and walked out in the corridor.
The fact that his clothes was actually a second layer of skin grown and altered to mimic the appearance of clothes was a source of endless amusement with him. This trick meant extra blood consumption, therefore it was used sparingly.
"Could you point me towards the Great Hall?" He turned to one of the portraits. This use of magic seemed pointless and frivolous to him, but he couldn't really comment without knowing more.
When he arrived in the Great Hall, Dumbledore and McGonagall were already there, along with a younger black haired man.
The man wore black robes, and had an unpleasant, sneering face with a large hooked nose and sallow skin.
"Good morning." Harry nodded to the trio and sat down.
"Harry, I'd like you to meet Professor Severus Snape, our resident Potions Master. Severus, this is Harry Potter." Dumbledore greeted him with a nod.
"Mr. Potter. So good of you to finally show yourself." Snape's tone showed open dislike.
"Have I done something to offend you, sir?" Harry turned to face the man. He caught the man's eyes, and suddenly, Snape winced and broke eye contact.
"Severus was a schoolmate of your parents, Harry. He and your father had a bit of a history." Dumbledore decided to elaborate.
"I see. As long as he remains professional inside the classroom, I don't care if he hates my family or me. And on that subject, do I have any living relatives left?" Harry replied calmly.
"Actually, your mother's sister still lives. She is a Muggle, a non-magical. I can arrange a meeting, if you wish it." Dumbledore replied.
"Couldn't hurt to meet her. I promised to help Hagrid this morning, but I am free this afternoon if possible, or if not, then tomorrow." Harry said.
Before Dumbledore could reply, the door opened, and a short woman resembling a toad in a tacky pink cardigan walked in, followed by a man in a red robe.
Harry's hand started to inch towards his hidden dagger, his mind screaming at him to destroy the creature.
"Madam Umbridge, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Dumbledore stood up, and it was only decades of training that allowed Harry to pick up the dislike in the man's voice.
"I am here to discuss the trouble you've been having with finding a suitable DADA teacher. The Minister has just issued a new educational decree that should help you in this regard." The woman spoke, and hearing her voice made Harry want to slit her throat even more.
His instincts screamed at him that this woman was trouble, and that he should end her life as soon as possible.
"Is that so?" Dumbledore said with a frown.
"Yes. In the event that you are unable to find a teacher for a position at Hogwarts, the Ministry shall assign a suitable candidate. And who might this be?" Umbridge shifted her gaze to Harry now, who started to recite the Litany of Shadows in his mind to shift his focus from the woman before him.
"This is Harry Potter, madam. I was most fortunate to find him a few days ago. He is staying here in order to familiarize himself with the magical world and to catch up with his peers." Dumbledore replied quickly.
"And do you really think he can manage to catch up? He'd be in fifth year now." Umbridge asked a tone of suspicion in her voice.
"I believe I can master enough to start classes. I'll cover the rest as I go along." Harry replied calmly.
"I see. It is good to see you back, Mr. Potter, but you should watch that you don't end up with the wrong sort of people." With that, Umbridge stalked out of the hall, and moments later, Snape excused himself as well.
"That was unpleasant. I better get to Hagrid's." With that, Harry walked out as well.
"That's good, but next time, bend your knee just a bit more. Right, now, the next move is…" Harry was busy teaching Hagrid a few useful moves that dealt with fighting targets that were bigger than you.
Right after lunch, Dumbledore informed him that he had sent his aunt a letter, informing her of their arrival, and a short portkey trip later, they were there.
The area was a typical suburban neighborhood, with cookie cutter houses spread in equal intervals.
"This place is eerie." Harry, used to a rather chaotic lifestyle was shocked by the monotony of his surroundings.
"I know what you mean." Dumbledore, who was wearing rather eccentric red and orange robes, was no different.
"Good afternoon, Petunia." Dumbledore spoke as the door opened to number four, Privet Drive, and allowed Harry to get the first glimpse of his only remaining relative.
Petunia Dursley was a tall, somewhat horsy looking woman. She had very little in common with her sister, but Harry could tell she was indeed a relative.
"This is my husband Vernon and my son Dudley." Petunia introduced her family to the pair. It was painfully obvious that they Dumbledore had forced them to accept this meeting. Harry could feel the badly suppressed dislike.
"Nice to meet you." Harry shook their hands, smirking inwardly as they both tried to prove their strength by crushing his hand.
"You'll forgive us if we sound rude, but we don't want anything to do with your lot." Vernon said quickly.
"I can understand that. I've only known about magic about a week myself. It was quite the shock." Harry smiled lightly. Slowly, the three Dursleys began to loosen up a bit, and an hour later, were chatting comfortably with Harry.
"It was nice to meet you all. I'll try to visit again when I can. Perhaps we can play a round of golf, Vernon." Harry grinned at the man as he and Dumbledore stood up and got ready to leave.
"That was impressive, Harry." Dumbledore was amazed he managed to get the Dursleys comfortable with his presence. He had met them before, and they were some of the most prejudiced and magic-hating muggles he had ever known.
"Basic diplomacy, old man. I saw immediately the sort of people they were, and I knew we would get a cold reception. Still despite their flaws, they are family. That means a lot to me." Harry replied as Dumbledore got another portkey ready.
"I have to ask you, why do you call me old man, when you're much older then me?" Dumbledore commented.
"Because you're an old human. Besides, I like calling you that." Harry gave him a cheeky grin.
The next few days passed quickly for Harry. He spent most of his time either training with Hagrid or reading and practicing in his room. Dumbledore told him he would meet some of his future peers as well as some of the people that opposed Voldemort, but he had to wait until their HQ was ready and everyone was gathered there.
"Well, I'll be leaving in an hour. Thanks for the lessons, Harry. I just hope I won't have to use it." Hagrid smiled lightly. Over the last week, he had again reconnected with his giant half, and he was both scared and excited in meeting his mother's people.
"Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst, Hagrid. Never forget that." Harry grinned.
The next day, Dumbledore told him he was finally going to visit the HQ of the Order of the Phoenix, the organization Dumbledore had formed to combat Voldemort's threat.
Another uncomfortable portkey trip later, they arrived in a slightly run down part of London.
"Here, read this." Dumbledore handed him a note. As the Secret Keeper, he could tell him, but he did not want to risk speaking the Secret out loud.
'The HQ of the Order of the Phoenix is at number 12, Grimmauld Place?' Harry frowned as he read it, only to gasp in shock as a house popped out from between the two before him.
"How is it done?" Harry asked.
"Simple. You place specific runes on or around the object you wish to hide, then cast the spell, hiding it and placing the secret of it's location in a Secret Keeper. The larger the object, the more power it takes." Dumbledore replied.
"I'd like to learn more about this spell." Harry grinned inwardly. He was not very impressed with what human mages had accomplished. True, some things were quite impressive, but they lacked the scientific understanding to truly advance. This spell changed some of his views, and he wondered what else he might learn.
The inside of the house was dark, and the smell of mold, rot and filth overpowered his sensitive nose, forcing him to switch off most of his sense of smell.
"This place is disgusting. Couldn't you find a better location for an HQ?" Harry snapped.
"This house hasn't been lived in for a while, but it is heavily warded. This way, Harry." Dumbledore led him into a large kitchen, already full of people. Several children were talking to a pink haired woman on one end of the table, and on another, a gaunt man with messy black hair was talking with a tall black man. A balding red-haired man was talking to two people who seemed a bit nervous, while another woman, a slightly dumpy red-haired one was fussing about at the stove.
All talking stopped when Dumbledore and Harry walked in.
"Let me introduce you, Harry. This is your godfather, Sirius Black and Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the Aurors of the Ministry." Kingsley gave him a slight nod, while Sirius gave him a tear-filled hug.
"I knew you were alive, kid." Sirius whispered.
"This is Arthur Weasley, and the Grangers, Dan and Emma. Their daughter Hermione is over there." Dumbledore introduced the next bunch.
"Nice to meet you all." Harry said politely.
"Molly Weasley is over there, and these are her children Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. And last, but not least, this lovely young lady is Nymphadora Tonks." Dumbledore finished the introductions.
"Call me Tonks." Tonks said immediately.
"You have four children?" Harry turned to the Weasley couple in surprise.
"Seven, actually. Bill, Charlie and Percy aren't here." One of the twins added.
As the day went on, Harry managed to avoid talking about his past other then a few vague tales he came up with at that moment that were hard enough to keep others from prying too deeply.
On the other hand, he had heard a great deal of stories from his future classmates about their adventures at Hogwarts.
In their first year, Hermione was almost killed by a troll, and had gotten away by shooting sparks at its eyes. Even now, the girl paled at the traumatizing memory.
In their second year, there was only the discovery that Ginny had somehow came in possession of a dangerous enchanted diary. Thanks to her quick friendship with Hermione, the book was quickly discovered and handed to Dumbledore, who had it examined and destroyed before any harm could come from it.
In their third year, Sirius had escaped from Azkaban and came to Hogwarts to find and kill the person that betrayed Harry's parents. The man's name was Peter Pettigrew, who was discovered by the twins thanks to a magical map they had with them. Pettigrew was caught and interrogated, but on route to Azkaban, managed to escape.
Harry was inwardly pleased this man managed to escape, since he wished to kill the man himself.
Fortunately, his interrogation was enough to get Sirius freed. Then, last year was the year when the Triwizard tournament was held at Hogwarts.
One of Voldemort's men infiltrated the school and kidnapped the winner, Cedric Diggory for a ritual to resurrect the Dark Lord.
By the time the stories were finished, it was dinnertime, and after a quick meal, all the children were ushered out and to the bedrooms since they weren't allowed to attend Order meetings.
The look Harry gave Dumbledore made his annoyance at this plain, but outwardly, he didn't protest.
Once upstairs, Harry noticed a large library and decided to peruse it.
"I don't think you should touch those books, they still haven't gone through them to get rid of the ones about Dark magic." Hermione followed him in.
"Get rid of knowledge?" Harry was aghast at the mere idea. To Lantrisi every shred of new knowledge they could get was precious.
"Not all knowledge is meant to be learnt." Hermione said smartly.
"Perhaps. I prefer to judge for my self." With that, Harry took a book and turned towards a large dusty recliner. With a flick of his wand, it was pristine.
"You can't do magic here. The Ministry will use the Trace to find us." She shrieked.
"In case you've forgotten, I was missing and presumed dead for thirteen years. I don't have the Trace." He grinned. Of course, he was also far too old for it, since the Trace spell could only be cast on mages under seventeen.
"Oh." That was all she could say.
"So, what's the book about?" She quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, curses, mostly. This spell here causes the target's eyes to melt." He shrugged, ignoring her shocked look.
"You're actually going to read such a vile thing?" She protested.
"Know thy enemy and all that. Even if you never use them, it's a good idea to learn them so you can recognize them, wouldn't you say?" He grinned.
"I suppose so." She said weakly.
"Here. Grab a book and read. We'll compare notes later." Harry cleaned another recliner for her.
She spent several minutes browsing the faded titles, until she picked a book on beginner's curses and started reading.
Their reading time was rudely interrupted when a three feet tall creature walked in. Harry wrinkled his nose at the thing's foul odor. It had long, floppy ears, big round eyes and a dirty loincloth around his waist. It was muttering silently.
"Muggle filth, half-breeds and blood traitors, besmirching the house of my Mistress…" It stopped when it saw the two people in the room.
"Hello, Kreacher." Hermione said nervously, but it ignored her.
"Leave." Harry snapped, and Kreacher froze. That single word filled him with dread and his senses screamed at him to run away.
"At once sir. A thousand pardons for the interruption." He bowed to the floor and rushed out as fast as he could run.
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked in surprise. Harry just shrugged in response. He couldn't really tell her this Kreacher recognized him as a dangerous predator.
They returned to their books, for the moment, ignoring the world around them.