Chapter 3:
"You knew them?" Harry asked, trying to conceal the look of excitement that had spread across his face.
"Yeah, I knew them well." Scarlett said, sitting back and folding her hands as if she were trying to remember something.
"Harry, I know that you are curious about Lily and James but listening to us tell you stories is not going to bring them back." Paige interjected. Harry knew it had to be rough for them to rehash the past but it had been equally difficult to grow up without knowing what his mother's laugh sounded like or how much of a jokester his father really was. He only ever received tidbits of information. A smile at the mention of his mother's name or a small memory from Sirius never was not enough to satisfy Harry. He always needed more.
"Paige, come on. You'd be curious if you never met them either. It's completely natural for him to want to know about them." Scarlett defended him.
"You are so much like...Sirius." Paige mumbled, so low that Harry barely caught the comment. Scarlett ignored her and looked directly at Harry who hadn't said a word so far. He figured if he was patient then he would receive what he wanted in due time and Scarlett looked like she was going to deliver.
"Paige and I were Lily's best girl friends, mind you I hung out with the boys quite often. I sort of was the glue that held both of the groups together in our seventh year and forward. What I can tell you about your mother is that she was a lot like Remus use to be. Nerdy...into her grades, pretty much the opposite of James. Your father...he was like an...older brother to me." Scarlett said carefully. Paige's eyes lit up and she thew Scarlett the dirtiest look, almost as if she had given away some ancient secret. Harry didn't want to comment on that but instead focused on asking more questions to somehow try to quench his thirst.
"Were you still friends when I was born?" Harry inquired.
"I was in the room when you were born, which is quite odd since you don't know me at all. Your parents could not have been more thrilled when they found out they were going to be parents. I was thrilled too because even though Voldemort was starting to gain strength, I never lost sight of the fact that I could spoil you rotten. You probably are wondering why I didn't take you the night your parents died instead of you being dropped off on the Dursley's door step aren't you?" Scarlett asked.
"Well, I know why Sirius couldn't." Harry said, trying not to look like he was accusing her of being a terrible friend to his parents, or a disappointment to himself.
"Dumbledore told me whoever wasn't in Azkaban yet might try and find me to kill you...Just because it would give them the utmost distinction among all other Death Eaters. I did try to come get you, a year after everything...but the safe house your mother made at Petunia's...and Dumbledore thought it wise to keep you from the wizarding world...I couldn't risk your life in that way for my selfishness. I'm sorry Harry." Scarlett finished. Harry couldn't be mad at someone he barely knew but it seemed that he was destined to grow up in that rough life away from his true identity. The car came to a sudden stop and Scarlett seemed to snap out of her pity on Harry to note that Riley had not tried to say one word of greeting the entire ride to London.
"Riley Anne. You could have broken up our love fest to make a little conversation. It was rude to keep your face planted in a magazine." Scarlett said as she opened the car door.
"Sorry for not interrupting a conversation I know nothing about." Riley muttered.
"It's fine." Paige whispered back.
Harry's door opened and he stumble out onto the street, the leaky cauldron right in front of his feet. Ron and Hermione looked around Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to find him and soon the trio were standing together, unsure of what to say to each other. They had talked about it a few nights ago when everyone else had fallen asleep. The prophet had painted a picture of what the wizarding world had been like since the battle at the ministry. Everyone was paranoid and slowly slinking into hiding. The cheerful daily attitude of people seemed to be washed away and replaced by the stinky spray of fear. Hermione didn't want to have to look on at a world facing hardship but, as Harry pointed out to her, they had been facing that very thing since they arrived at Hogwarts. At every turn they found themselves in life compromising situations, and that was indeed the greatest hardship Harry could think of.
They walked to the barrier between the muggle world and their world, bracing themselves for what ever was on the other side. It couldn't be too bad, Harry thought to himself, there had to be some sort of hustle and bustle around the streets because Voldemort hadn't truly taken over things yet. There still was a glimmer of hope. Harry stepped back slightly when the whole scene came into his view, forcing those who were behind him to pause and gaze upon the same things he was focusing on.
The whole street looked like the color had been carefully chipped away. Businesses were boarded up, everyone walked around huddled together and talked in hushed voices. Hermione gasped and grabbed Harry's hand, a surge of energy billowing between them. Harry wanted nothing more than to hug her, to hold her in some desperate way, but it was just too much for him to act on. He instead followed Mrs. Weasley's lead and wandered into the Flourish and Blotts. Harry stumbled behind, trying to keep a small distance between himself and Hermione to clear his head. He couldn't shake it, what ever was going on, and he was certain his moments of weird behavior were starting to give him away. He stuffed his hands in his pockets wishing that he was tucked safely on the Quidditch pitch instead of in London with temptations biting at his heels. It didn't take long for him to come across a new edition of the prophet and for a moment Harry tried to conceal it from himself. He couldn't take the mystery much longer and stole a moment to read it in the corner of the shop, trying to take in what he could before someone would find him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Olivia said, coming out from behind a stack of Vampire precaution and protection books.
"Why not? I have to know what I'm up against." Harry said in an inaudible tone.
"It's always the same. Muggles disappearing, wizards packing up their kids and moving as far away as possible. It's why you have those nightmares...I can hear you sometimes." Olivia whispered, almost embarrassed to be bring the topic up to Harry.
"That's not it... I really can't talk about it."
"Don't think that I am being rude about it...I've had nightmares too, trust me. Plenty and frequently...Just, I thought I should offer you an ear if you ever needed someone to listen. Harry I know you have Hermione and Ron but sometimes it is refreshing to talk to someone who won't have a response you already can readily calculate. A new perspective." Olivia offered.
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. You can come to me too, you know. I've noticed you keep to yourself a lot." Harry said. Olivia shrugged her shoulders and walked away, leaving Harry still clutching the prophet in his hands. He decided not to read it, no real need to subject himself to the constant sob stories of the missing and the heartache. He wanted some real information, something tangible that could possibly effect how he worked for the next year.
He found Lupin sitting by himself outside of the shop on an old tattered chair. He wasn't looking as brilliant as he had the first night Harry came to the burrow. He had bruises lacing his hands, a few new cuts across his forearm. Harry could tell he had another rough night but instead of backing away he decided to charge forward and join his old professor. Lupin seemed surprised at first to have Harry there but he soon went back to his original look of a worn down man. Harry waited until the street was almost empty before he spoke, hoping that he could possibly work more than the water down news out of Lupin if less spectators were around.
"So...How's things been?" Harry started, flattening his palms against the steel table.
"Awful." Lupin replied simply.
"How so? You don't have to keep me in the dark...I need to know." Harry pressed.
"Harry, even if I told you, you could help us. Right now I need you to focus on being sixteen." Lupin said, sighing.
"But I need to still know. Sirius would have told me." Harry muttered.
"Fine Harry. So far we have been trying to keep track of the death eaters..and if you do not want me to lie to you, I won't. Voldemort is coming back and I feel like it is going to be worse than before. It just...I never wanted it to go back there." Lupin confessed.
"You know about the prophecy, Dumbledore told you didn't he?" Harry asked. He felt like Dumbledore may have told the order, just to make sure they kept a careful watch over him but then again he never knew what Dumbledore deemed as public knowledge or kept between the two of them.
"I do not...All I know is it wasn't the best news in the world. Harry I will protect you to my best ability just as I will protect my goddaughter. It will be a war and this time I do not know who will win, I am hoping I can see a time where you are safe. Where my family is safe. I want us to live through this." Lupin stood up and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder as if he were trying to instill some kind of hope between them. Harry didn't know what to do but nod his head and watch his dad's best friend leave him sitting by himself.