Disclaimer: Lemon drops are an excellent muggle treat. You should have one when you read this chapter. If you don't have any lemon drops, go out to the store and buy some! Albus Dumbledore approves of this message. I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Chapter 12: There's No Place like Home for the Holidays
Albus Dumbledore sucked on a lemon drop as he rocked back in forth his big squishy chair behind his desk. Kicking his feet off the ground to place them on the edge of his desk, the headmaster leaned back to concentrate on the lemon confection candy in his mouth. Oh, how he loved his lemon drops; the hint of tart wrapped up in a sweet. Those muggles really did know how to make an interesting treat when they were motivated to do so.
Once the lemon drop was no more, Albus let his feet drop back to the ground. It was time, once again to get back to all the paperwork that was involved in being the headmaster of Hogwarts. If his predecessor, Armando Dippet, had told him exactly how much of his time would be spent doing paperwork, he may have taken longer to consider whether or not to accept the position of headmaster. Ah, what he would give to be the lowly transfiguration professor once again.
But that time was long gone. He now had the weight of the world on his shoulders, literally. Not only was he the headmaster of Hogwarts, but he was also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Not to mention, he was the sole leader of the now dissolved Order of the Phoenix. Yes, he certainly had a lot of things stacked on his plate. But if he didn't do these things, who would?
It's not like there was an abundance of people willing to step up to the plate and lead the wizarding world in the name of the light and all that is good. No, there were definitely not enough people out there in the world. It was his job to ensure the light prevailed and that the darkness in the wizarding world was stomped out. Boy, did that take a toll on his mind and body.
Turning back to his paperwork, the elderly headmaster was forced to squint his eyes. Growing old certainly had its disadvantages. The sheets in front of him consisted all of the names of the students who were staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holiday. As he looked at the Gryffindor list there was one absent name that greatly surprised him.
Harry Potter had not signed up to stay during the Christmas break.
Albus was sure once the boy returned to the wizarding world, it would be difficult to convince him to return to his relatives home in the muggle world at the end of each year. Now it was only the end of the first term and the boy was planning on heading back to the muggle world and his relatives. It was a bit surprising for the headmaster.
He hoped the boy wasn't overly fond on the muggle world. It wouldn't do to have the Boy-Who-Lived leave the magical world once he graduated from Hogwarts. He was a symbol of the wizarding world, a beacon for the light. In fact, if Albus was a betting man, he would wager the boy had the opportunity to be his successor one day if he played his cards right.
But that was far in the future. The boy had years before that was likely to happen, and Albus would have to watch him carefully. It could be simply that he was very fond of his relatives. The wards around his aunt's home of Privet Drive were the strongest blood wards Albus had ever seen. They could only grow that strong if there was a great love between members of the household. In fact they were so strong that Albus couldn't monitor anything in regards to the household.
When young Harry first went to live at his aunt's home, Albus had several charms and devices connected to the boy's magical signature to monitor his well-being. Within a month of him arriving at Privet Drive, all of his carefully placed plans were foiled. Everything stopped working.
At first Albus was afraid that Death Eaters had attacked the home before the wards had the opportunity to reach their full capacity. But fortunately, when he went to investigate the wards, he learned they were just so strong that nothing could breach them. The wards were so strong that Albus did not need his dear friend Arabella Figg to actively spy on the Dursleys for him. Granted that did not prevent the elderly woman from moving near Privet Drive, to be around just in case, but she did not need to force her way into the Dursleys life.
Since that day over ten years ago, Albus did not worry about young Harry Potter and his living situation with the Dursley family. Obviously all was well there, and that meant there was no need for concern. But perhaps things were all too well. Time would only tell on that aspect.
Popping another lemon drop in his mouth, Albus began to consider his options. He had Minerva call another meeting of her house to ask if any students were planning on staying at Hogwarts over Christmas holiday. Hopefully young Harry would change his mind and spend the holiday here at Hogwarts with his magical peers.
But if the boy insisted on returning home for the holiday Albus would have to find away to make it secure. With Sirius Black on the loose, it will be a very dangerous for Harry to make the trip home. Both Hogwarts and Privet Drive had sufficient protections around them to protect the boy from an attack by Sirius Black. Yet, the trip from Hogwarts to Privet Drive was severely lacking in protections, and he, Albus Dumbledore would need to find away to make it safe.
Granted sometimes the things used for protection caused more harm than good. There would be no way a pack of Dementors could be used to escort the boy home. Albus had warned the Ministry and the Board of Governors that placing Dementors around a school full of children was not a good idea. Yet they didn't listen to him and poor Harry nearly had his soul sucked out by one of those fiendish beasts during of all things a school Quidditch match. The school matches were supposed to be a thing of fun, however, this one nearly ended in a fatality.
A small bell rang next to his desk. It was a warning that someone had given the password to his stone guardian and would be making their way up to his office. Looking at the clock positioned in the right corner of his desk, Albus realized it must be Minerva returning from her meeting with her lions.
After silently counting to fifteen, Albus called out, "Enter, Minerva," and the door to his office swung opened to show a startled Minerva McGonagall.
"One of these days, Albus, I will figure out how you do that." The stern witch replied with a disapproving look on her face.
Not many people knew it only took seventeen seconds to ride the staircase to the outer door of his office, nor did they know that he was notified as soon as the password was given to his gargoyle protector, and it had moved out of their way. Albus loved to surprise people by telling them to enter as soon as they were right outside his office door. He had each staff member and prefect timed perfectly for the most startling reaction. Since not everyone rode the staircase. Some, like his potions master, preferred to walk up the revolving stairs to make their trip a little faster.
Needless to say no one had discovered the mechanisms of his fun quite yet, and he doubted that anyone, student or staff would ever have the chance or motivation to ruin his entertainment.
"Lemon drop?" Albus offered holding out a jar full of his favorite candies to Minerva's look of disdain.
"Do you always have to throw those things around your office?" the stern woman in front of him complained.
"But Minerva!" Albus said with a bit of a whine to his voice. "These are the most wonderful treats in all the world and I should know. I spent a bit of time in my youth traveling across Europe in search of the most wonderful sweet in either the muggle or the wizarding world."
The look of shock and awe on Minerva's face was one Albus was going to remember for a while. Perhaps he should take a picture to use for his Christmas cards this year?
"Anyway," Minerva began once she gained control over her motor skills once more. "I asked my house for the second time if anyone was planning on staying during break, and for the second time only the Weasley brothers will be with us. I dare say many of them are probably wondering if I am trying to convince other students to do so, so I am not stuck with mainly the Weasley twins for company. Merlin knows how many detentions I'll have to assign them once term is concluded."
"Ah, but Minerva," Albus said with a twinkle in his eye, "since school is out of session once term is over, one could argue that the rules are no longer in effect after most of the students leave for the Hogwarts' Express."
Minerva's face dropped and Albus believed he saw what may have been fear in her eyes. "If those twin terrors ever try to use that excuse on me, I will know where they got that idea from. You do not want me to hold you responsible for their actions."
Albus at least had the decency to blush. While it may have been hilarious to let that bit of information slip to the Weasley twins, he did not want to cross his transfiguration professor. Being on Minerva McGonagall's bad side was never a good place to be.
"Right," Albus began, changing the subject back to the original topic. "Harry Potter is going back to Privet Drive for the winter holidays." Albus placed his hands under his chin as he pondered his next move.
"What should we do, Albus?" Minerva said with concern in her voice. "We can't force the boy to stay at Hogwarts over the break."
"I know," Albus sighed in reply. "Is there anything else you need?"
"No," Minerva said, understanding her cue to leave the headmaster to his thoughts.
Once she departed from the office, Albus grabbed another lemon drop and reclined back in his chair with his feet once more on his desk. Perhaps it was time to feel out the old crowd. See how a few of them were doing, and inquire whether or not any of them were interested in helping him out a bit. It was a pity that the Weasleys were going out of the country for the holidays. Albus had wished that the youngest Weasley boy would become friends with Harry, however, it seemed as though fate did not want that to be.
While he would still speak with Harry about possibly staying at Hogwarts for the break, Albus knew it would probably be useless. He began to contemplate what Remus Lupin was currently doing. He was the perfect member of the old crowd to keep an eye out on the boy while he was traveling to and from Privet Drive. Remus knew all too well about Sirius Black and the possible harm that could come to Harry due to the traitor. The only thing was Albus was going to have to find Remus first.
~*~
"Alright," the stern voice of Lexi Potter carried through the smallest bedroom of Privet Drive. "We only have four days until Harry returns and we need to make sure everything is ready for his return."
The small ten-year-old was looking more like a drill sergeant than a little girl. She paced back and forth in front of the dog animagus, who was sitting on her bed. Sirius had been snuck into the bedroom due to the absence of the owners of the home. She had asked Sirius to join her for a 'planning session' for the return of her brother. Had Sirius know what her little planning session would entail he may have considered skipping out. Lexi Potter was one scary witch when she wanted to do.
"We have approximately an hour before the Dursleys will be home," Lexi continued in her no-nonsense tone of voice. "That means we only have an hour to devise a way to get the Dursleys out of the house on the day Harry comes home. Having your first meeting with Harry here in our bedroom on Privet Drive is the best way for us to inform him of your presence."
"Why is that?" Sirius asked with a confused look on his face.
"Harry may take it as a threat if you approach him on the street or if I bring him to a place where you are waiting." Lexi simply stated. "He knows what you look like, and he may cause a scene once he meets you. It would be best to do it away from prying eyes that may call the cops or the auroras."
"Aurors," Sirius automatically corrected the young witch.
"Yes, the aurors," Lexi continued. "The best way I see it, we need to come up with a way to legitimately remove Petunia and Vernon from the household for as long as possible." Upon seeing the smirk on Sirius's face, Lexi added, "While keeping them alive; killing people solves nothing."
Sirius allowed a frown to cross his face. While he was the one telling Lexi 'violence is never the answer' he did feel an exception could be made in the case of Vernon and Petunia Dursley.
"Alright," Sirius said while rubbing his hands together. "So we need to come up with a way to get Vernon and Petunia out of the house, while still alive, to give us the appropriate time to speak with Harry about all this. This should be easy." Now Sirius moved his hand so it was rubbing his chin while his elbows were perched up on his knees.
"You don't have anything, do you?" Lexi asked with a slight grin on her face.
"Nope," Sirius replied regretfully. "Do you?"
"Well, I do have this one idea," Lexi began as Sirius leaned in to hear better.
Hopefully she had something he could work with. Because the only things Sirius could think of all involved the Dursleys getting a one-way ticket to meet their maker.
~*~
Harry was once again rushing up the hallway with Hermione in tow. They were going to be late for Charms class again. Professor McGonagall had held him after class to ask Harry if he had changed his plans for the holidays. For some reason the stern professor did not want to be left with just the Weasleys and kept turning to Harry to see if he would stay.
After the first time she had singled him out, Hermione had proposed the idea that perhaps Professor McGonagall was turning to him to set an example for other members of their house. Hermione had reminded him that he was the Boy-Who-Lived and that many of their fellow housemates would be likely to look up to him. If Professor McGonagall wanted more students to stay for break, it would make sense for her to try to use the celebrity of the school to do so.
All Harry knew for sure was that he sure hated this extra attention that was placed on him. He just couldn't wait to return home to Lexi where he would just be Harry once again.
"Ah, Mr. Potter," an ancient voice came floating down the hall. "May I have a word?"
Harry skidded to a stop when he heard the voice of his new headmaster. He cautiously turned around to face the old man. In Harry's primary school nothing good ever came out of a meeting with the headmaster. So Harry was extremely hesitant to meet with the man who was standing down the hallway.
From next to him, Harry felt Hermione's hand touch his left arm. He hadn't even noticed that his friend had stopped when he did. But like usual, Hermione was not more than an arm's reach away.
When Harry stayed silent, he always welcomed his best friend to take the lead in a situation. It seldom happened anymore. The more comfortable he was at Hogwarts, the more assertive he became. However, this was just causing Harry to remember a time he met with his primary school headmaster, and was once again blamed for something Dudley had done.
"Is there something Harry can help you with, sir?" the bushy-haired witch asked for her friend.
A dark look momentarily crossed the headmaster's face at Hermione's question, which surprised Harry more than anything else. If you blinked your eyes you would have missed it, but Harry didn't. Harry could see for some reason his headmaster was annoyed by his friend.
"Well, Miss Granger, I believe?" At Hermione's nod, the headmaster continued. "I was merely hoping to have a word with young Mr. Potter before the end of term. Why don't you run along and inform Professor Flitwick that Harry here, will be a few moments late."
Hermione turned to glance at Harry, as if asking him for permission to follow the headmaster's instructions. Harry gave Hermione a small nod of his head, and she took her reluctant leave. Now Harry was all alone with Albus Dumbledore.
"Harry, it seems as though you have had an interesting term." The headmaster began once Hermione was around the corner. "Are you sure you want to go home for the holidays?"
Harry just gapped at the man in front of him. What was up with his teachers wanting him to stay at Hogwarts over break? First there was Professor McGonagall and now the headmaster. Something was definitely wrong.
"Sir, why does everyone want me to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays?" Harry asked cutting to the chase. He didn't want to mince words. If there was a genuine reason Harry should stay during break he wanted to know right away.
The headmaster let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry my dear boy. Has Professor McGonagall spoken to you about this as well?"
Harry nodded his head, not willing to supply an opening for the older man to take the conversation off target.
"Yes, well," the headmaster stalled to carefully chose his words. "You have done quite remarkable throughout term and your professors who will be staying at the castle over break would love to give you some additional instruction."
Harry looked the headmaster directly in the eyes, as if he was attempting to determine the truth in the man's words by his eyes. Immediately when they made eye contact Harry felt a slight pushing sensation in his head. Harry dropped his eyes to the floor as he considered his options. The pushing was nothing like the headaches he had experienced earlier in term, yet he had an idea of what it was.
Did the headmaster just attempt to perform Legilimency on him? It felt like a slight probe like the book described and it happened when he was making eye contact with someone. If Harry hadn't read that book about Legilimency he would have completely ignored it. Perhaps he needed to learn Occlumency, the art of defending the mind from external attacks. It would go a long way if Harry was correct in his current assumption about the headmaster. But more importantly if the headmaster just performed Legilimency, then what was the cause of his headaches before?
Taking a deep breath and returning his thoughts to the present situation, Harry thought about what the elderly man before him just said. There was something wrong with what he was saying.
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry began, not meeting the headmaster's eyes. "Hermione Granger is the top student in my year. If there was anyone the staff should be working with during the break it should be her."
"But my dear boy," the headmaster began with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "It is you they want, not her."
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry began once again. "I will not be accepting their proposal. I cannot in good faith accept any special treatment. I'm just Harry, not this Boy-Who-Lived that everyone expects me to be. I'm not the best at course work, that would be Hermione Granger, and any special staff projects rightfully belong to her."
There was a definite frown on the headmaster's face. "I understand Harry. Is there anything I can say that would cause you to stay here during the winter holidays? Perhaps I could teach you an advance spell or two to impress your classmates with?"
Harry liked the direction this conversation was turning less and less. There had to be something more that was causing the staff to react like this. Then it hit him, of course, how could he have been so blind?
"It's Black, isn't it?" Harry asked already knowing the answer by the look on the headmaster's face when he uttered those words. "He's the reason you all want me to stay at the castle. Would it be too dangerous for me to be at Privet Drive?" Harry asked his thoughts immediately turning to Lexi.
"No, not at all, Harry," the headmaster quickly replied. "It's the trip home that I'm a bit concerned about. Black is very crafty, and he must know by now the most powerful blood wards created by magic are protecting your house. Therefore, if he has any shot at getting to you it would have to be while you were in route to Privet Drive.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Lexi was safe, these 'blood wards' that Dumbledore was talking about must be protecting her.
"Sir," Harry began after taking a few moments to think over his words. "I will be returning home for Christmas. Nothing will stop me from doing so. I will be careful and diligent in looking for anything that may be Black. But like I said, I will be home with my family for the holidays."
The headmaster dropped his head in defeat. "If that is what you wish, then there is nothing I can do to stop you from going home Harry," the headmaster replied. "Thank you for listening to an old man's concerns."
Harry took those words as a dismissal as he made his way to his Charms class. The headmaster had a lot of nerve to try to trick Harry into staying using bribes and guilt there at the end. Harry sure had a lot to share with Hermione once they could speak freely. Also, they had to get to the library as soon as possible. He had to know what blood wards were before he returned home for the holidays.
~*~
It was only an hour before the last carriage was leaving the castle for Hogsmead, but Neville didn't care. He was on a self-imposed mission. Not that it would have mattered if he missed the express. His Gran would just assume he did something foolish that prevented him from making the carriages. Perhaps he forgot what time they were leaving at, or maybe he wasn't ready. It really didn't matter. His Gran could never see the truth when it as related to him. She merely assumed the worst and wrote him off as a failure.
Ahead of him in the corridor, Neville saw a flash of red, and knew his hunt was on. He had found at least one of the un-findable Weasley twins. Continuing along the way he saw the twin run, Neville reminded himself he needed to stop eating sweets. If he dropped a few pounds it would make running through the corridors a lot easier and it seemed to be something he frequently ended up doing.
As Neville turned around the corner, someone grabbed him from behind and threw him into a dark, cramped broom closet.
"Why are you following us," one of the twins began.
"I need to talk to you," Neville tried to choke out, but he was having difficulty since the wind had been knocked out of him when he entered the small room.
"Did McGonagall put you up to following us?" the other twin quickly questioned. "We know the old bat seems to think we are up to something."
"That's because you are," Neville was finally able to say. Reaching around Neville finally gained his bearings and was able to rise to his feet.
"What did you already tell her?" one of the twins questioned again.
"Nothing," Neville truthfully answered. "She didn't send me; I came here on my own."
"Really," one of the twins snorted. "Why?"
"To tell you to stop or I will go to her." Neville replied in all seriousness.
"Stop what?" one of the twins replied, trying to play dumb.
"Pranking Harry," Neville simply replied. "Once the pranks began, your brother Ron went around telling anyone who would listen it had to be done by the two of you. For what reason, I don't know nor do I care. What I do care about are the pictures I took the last time you two set up a prank on Harry. I wonder what Professor McGonagall would about them?"
One of the twins began to swear before saying, "I told you I thought someone was awake."
However, the other twin was the one that took Neville by surprise, "Lookie here, a firstie who blackmails."
"Listen," Neville continued. "I don't want to go to McGonagall and you don't want me to go to McGonagall, so just leave Harry alone and those pictures will disappear."
"Give us the pictures and we'll stop." one of the twins countered.
Neville just had to laugh. Did they really think he was born yesterday? He was a pure-blood after all. "Nice try. I'll be holding on to these pictures until you all stop."
"Then what happens to them?" one of the twins asked.
"They will disappear," Neville truthfully replied.
"Fine," both twins replied in unison as they opened to the door to the broom closet and Neville had to squint at the bright light.
"Why are you doing this?" one of the twins asked.
"Because," Neville began, "for some reason you two aren't treating Harry fairly. I don't know why, but I know he doesn't deserve it. If its because Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived, you shouldn't because Harry doesn't like the fame and crap. And if it was for something else, enough's enough. Harry shouldn't be continuously treated this way. And Gryffindors are better than the way the two of you are behaving."
With that Neville Longbottom walked away with his head held high, without sparing the Weasley twins a second look. If he had, he would have found shocked faces staring at him in awe.
~*~
For Harry Potter the last two days of term had flown by in a series of last-minute assignments and time researching in the library studying the use of blood wards. From everything Harry read there had to be extremely strong wards around the Dursleys home due to the connection that Harry and Lexi shared through their mother's sacrifice. It was sad to think of his mother's death as a good thing, at least she would always protect her children through the blood they shared.
While sitting with Hermione in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry began to mentally organizing the things he needed to share with Lexi as soon as he was able to get into their cupboard. Harry had only brought home a small backpack with only a few changes of clothing and his homework assignments. There was no way that his trunk would be able to fit in their living space which was another thing he would eventually have to think about. What would he do with his trunk when he had to take it home during the summer holidays?
There were just a lot of thoughts randomly flowing through his mind that afternoon. Harry was so distracted he never noticed his concerned friend spending more time looking at him, then concentrating on the book in front of her. Eventually, the bushy-haired witch had enough and broke the silence in the compartment.
"You're not going to forget me are you?" the witch asked with tears in her eyes.
Harry's head snapped up to concentrate on his friend. "What do you mean?" Harry bewilderedly asked.
"Once you go home you'll be with Lexi again," Hermione said while not meeting his eyes. "Are you going to forget about me since you'll have your sister back?"
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why in the world was Hermione thinking this? She was his best friend; of course he wasn't going to forget her!
"I'd be mental to forget about you, Hermione," Harry replied trying to chase away his bushy-haired friend's insecurities.
"Do you think we can get together during the break?" Hermione eagerly asked. "I'd love to meet Lexi and I know that my parents would want to meet you as well."
Harry considered what Hermione was asking. On the one hand, the Dursleys would never permit him to have friends, let alone visit them. That would only make Harry happy. On the other hand, they didn't know Harry wasn't allowed to do magic out of school. That instantly made up Harry's mind.
"Of course, Hermione," Harry replied. "Why don't you give me your number and we'll set something up to meet after Boxing Day."
A large grin spread across Hermione's face as she ripped off a piece of parchment from a roll seated next to her to write her number on. Perhaps this holiday was going to be a lot more fun than Harry initially thought it would be.
~*~
"I'm going to miss you so much," Hermione said into Harry's chest as she gave him one last hug on the platform. Harry knew she had tears in her eyes, and hated to be the cause of her crying.
"I'll call you soon," Harry said while giving her one last squeeze before pulling away.
"Good bye, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said as he started to walk away from the family, with just his backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Where's his family?" Harry could barely hear Mrs. Granger ask Hermione. He never heard her reply due to the distance between them.
After Harry walked out of the train station, he continued to walk a short distance away from all the madness. Once he was sufficiently down the road, and away from as many muggles as possible, Harry held out his wand arm and summoned the Knight Bus.
With a flash of violent purple, a Triple-Decker bus appeared out of nowhere. A door shot open and a boy in his late teens stepped out.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard-" the boy began only to be cut off by Harry.
"Yes, I need to go to Surrey, specifically Magnolia Crescent." Harry said quickly, hoping no muggles would spot the bus in front of him.
"That will be fifteen sickles," the man said and Harry handed him a galleon, telling the man to keep the change.
"I need to go to Surrey as well," a man Harry didn't notice behind him said, as Harry got on the bus.
Harry turned to quickly glance at the man. He seemed to be in his late thirties, early forties and he had sandy blonde hair that was freckled with grey patches. Harry didn't hear where the other man wanted to go, but the way he was looking at Harry gave him the creeps.
Luckily for Harry, the conductor of the bus, Stan had seated the two of them a distance away from one another on the first floor of the bus. The man was seated on a bench two rows ahead of Harry, while Harry got a plush chair near the back. However, throughout the trip, the strange man kept turning around to shoot glances at Harry. Who was he?
~*~
Everything was perfect as far as Lexi was concerned. The Dursleys were tricked into going out to dinner with the neighbors from number six. Lexi didn't know how Sirius 'convinced' the neighbors to do so, but she was certain it involved magic. They would be gone till late, not knowing that Harry would be arriving at any moment. This gave them a good three to four hours with Sirius in the house before they came home. The only thing still missing was Harry.
As if her thoughts had summoned him, the door bell rang, and there was only one person Lexi was expecting.
"Harry!" Lexi cried as she flung herself at her bother after she opened the door. The two never showed affection in public, but Lexi didn't care. The Dursleys were gone and she finally had her brother with her once again.
"Hey, Lexi," Harry said into her hair, and Lexi widened her grin into his chest. She really had missed him. Before she knew it, tears were beginning to spill from her eyes. She never tried to cry but she was really glad he was home.
"Please, don't cry," Harry whispered to her, as she pulled away to wipe away her tears.
"I'll try not to," Lexi replied with a grin on her face. Her brother was home!
"Where are?" Harry gestured around to indicate the Dursleys.
"Gone for the evening," Lexi said with a wicked grin on her face. "I wanted your home coming to be special."
"Oh really?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows.
"Un-huh," Lexi said as she led him into the house and up the stairs.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked a bit bewildered.
"To your first surprise," Lexi said with a coy smile, finally stopping in front of what Harry knew as Dudley's second bedroom.
"What's in there?" Harry asked.
"Our room," Lexi said as she opened the door.
The room was drastically different from how Harry would have remembered it, Lexi contemplated as her brother looked around the room. Gone were all the broken toys and junk Dudley tended to collect. Instead there was just the small bed, the wardrobe, a bookshelf with Dudley's unused books, and a simple desk.
"How?" was all Harry could choke out.
"It was quite easy with the help of your second surprise." Lexi said, her evil grin shinning through on her face.
"What second surprise?" Harry asked looking around the room.
"Come on out, Padfoot," Lexi said as a black dog came out from under the bed and transformed into Sirius Black.
"Him!" Harry yelled out in shock.
Before Lexi could do anything, Harry shouted something and his wand was in his hand, pointed at her godfather. A red-colored light shot out of wand and headed straight towards Padfoot.
~*~
A/N: So Sirius and Harry have had their first official contact. Seriously, this was the best place to cut it off. You don't want me to cut it off anywhere else in the next chapter. I nearly called the next one "All Hell Breaks Loose". Please review and let me know what you all think of this story.
I need to thank zephy for being an awesome beta and swanpride for joining the team. An FYI for all readers, the posting schedule for the next chapter is located in my profile.
Check out my new story The Den of Snakes. I just posted the first two chapters yesterday. It's one of my little side projects that I've been working on. Strength of Family is my primary project but Den of Snakes is a nice little side project that I like to work on occasionally to mix things up. It's drastically AU, much more than this story. I came up with the idea for it after reading Deathly Hallows and the way the ministry began persecuting muggle-borns. So enough spoilers and go read that story. You'll find it under my profile.
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Next Chapter: Surprise! Look Whose Here!