The Unbreakable Vow
by
Ash Darklighter
It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.
Part 17a
The Leaky Cauldron was almost empty, only a few wizarding folk loitered at the tables, conversing quietly with one another or partaking of a meal. Voldemort's return had made it unsafe for large groups of magical folk to congregate together. But if what Harry said was true, then…
Ginny didn't risk looking around for a familiar face. She gave a nod towards Tom, the barman, before stepping out of the wizarding world and into her new life in Muggle London. Glancing swiftly down at her map, she took in the directions once more before tucking it into the pocket of her coat. She had to move quickly but not so hurriedly that it looked suspicious. The sudden urge to take to her heels and run for cover as fast as she could, had to be ignored. She couldn't draw any attention to herself. Her current disguise of a plump middle-aged witch meant that no one spared her a second glance as she moved towards her destination but it felt that everyone was staring at her.
The property was in – she checked again - Rood Lane and it was close, which was just as well. The Metamorphmagus Munchies would only last a couple more minutes and it was getting dark. She took a deep breath and walked quickly towards a block of modern looking flats. This was it – it had to be.
"Go there," Harry had whispered to her. "Lie low. Don't go out. The place is fully stocked with everything you need. I'll join you as soon as I can. It may be at least a week but it will confuse our pursuers."
She'd given him smile and a quick nod.
"Do what I probably couldn't do," Harry said, a wry smile on his face. "Be patient and wait. I'll come to you and don't do any magic."
Then the others had joined them in the library and Harry had immediately turned to the bookshelves, searching through the titles with a concentration that spoke of his whole being involved in that task.
'Hurry Harry,' she thought.
For a moment, Ginny stared up at the building before she came to her senses. How did one get into this place? There would be no more whispering 'Alohomora', the comforting feel of her wand directing her magic. She now had to use a key like the Muggles did. Scrabbling in the pocket of her transfigured coat, the small hard object pressed into the palm of her hand as with a relieved sigh she closed her fingers over it.
"Going in?" A middle aged man asked with a smile as he held open the entry door. "Here."
"Oh, yes," Ginny answered feeling stupid. The key still clutched between her fingers. "Thank you."
The man nodded and let the door swing closed behind her as he stepped into the street and walked briskly away. The brightly lit entrance hall beckoned her forwards until she stopped in front of two shiny silver doors. She knew all about lifts because of the many times she'd visited her father's office in the Ministry of Magic. Somehow she didn't think that this lift worked in exactly the same way.
"Uh…open?" Nothing happened and then she recalled her Muggle studies notes. Muggles liked to press things – she'd seen the diagrams. And sure enough, there was a button marked with an arrow next to the shiny doors. Carefully she pressed it and almost instantly the doors slid aside. It was just in time too, as the Fred and George engineered sweets lost their effect and as the doors closed again, Ginny reverted to herself, wizard robes and all.
Harry had told her that the flat was on the top floor and quickly scanning the buttons inside the lift pressed the correct digit. Her stomach lurched as the lift travelled upwards stepping out onto another brightly lit corridor. It was spotless…soulless with cool cream tiles on the floor and white painted walls. There was only one flat on this level and this was the one that Harry owned. This was to be her prison but ultimately it would keep her free.
She inserted the key into the lock and crept into the dark apartment her hands shaking with nervousness, holding her breath until the door clicked closed behind her. Now came the hard part. She had to wait for Harry to join her without doing any magic at all. She just couldn't begin to fathom how Muggles managed to exist without magic but she was going to have to learn very quickly.
Merlin, it was dark. Automatically, she whipped out her wand ready to utter the word 'Lumos' and then her brain caught up with her mouth. The Muggles had electricity and she had to look for buttons or switches on the wall near door frames to make their lights work. Her nervous fingers tapped around the door to no avail. It had to be here somewhere. Eventually, Ginny gave up and sank to the floor, curling herself into a protective little ball.
How long she stayed like that, she had no idea but her stomach and her bladder began to protest. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she began to make out the outlines of the furniture and finally the windows where the glow from the streetlamps several floors below still influenced the darkness of Harry's flat.
Her muscles protested at the cramped foetal position she'd wound herself into as she stretched and stood up. She'd almost expected to hear running feet and pounding fists on the door as her pursuers caught up with her. There was silence and no one. She let out the breath she'd been holding. She was alone.
She inched her way forward, letting out a curse when her shin connected with what appeared to be a low table. There was a door ahead leading into a narrow corridor. Her hands found a door – it looked to be a bedroom. She moved on, the next door was also a bedroom. The third door she tried was the bathroom and her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, could see the shape of the sink ahead.
"Finally," she breathed. "I was about to burst." And the thought made her giggle a little. She ignored the slight sound of hysteria in that laughter.
Returning to the lounge, she made it as far as the couch, and subsided into the cushions. Exhausted, she covered herself with her cloak, closed her eyes and slept.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It had been a hell of a week.
A beleaguered Harry had finally resorted to hiding in his room in what was supposed to be his own house. He'd been left No. 12 Grimmauld Place after the death of Sirius but hadn't especially wanted the gloomy old house – he'd rather have had his godfather alive. But Harry rarely got what he wanted.
Every couple of days, the members of the Order of the Phoenix met in Grimmauld Place to discuss in hushed whispers the latest news in the fight against Voldemort and more frequently than that if there was a crisis. The strange rumours about the Dark Lord's supposed disappearance had begun to circulate around the wizarding world but no one was entirely certain if this was the case. Harry and the younger witches and wizards frequenting Order headquarters hadn't been told anything concrete about anything and were, as usual, trying to garner information by eavesdropping.
The Ministry of Magic had not made any official announcements. But then, the Ministry were always the last to get the facts right.
Sirius, unable to join in the fight, had offered his property to Dumbledore as somewhere the Order could use as a safe house. It hadn't occurred to Harry, as the new owner, to refuse entry to the witches and wizards belonging to the Order of the Phoenix when the contents of the will had been announced and renegotiate his own terms. Grimmauld Place hadn't figured in his future apart from somewhere that wasn't Privet Drive. He hadn't planned on spending any more time there than he could help. It wasn't the same without Sirius. He'd never owned anything as large as a house before and now he had at least three.
In Privet Drive Harry had been left far too much on his own and would have longed for contact with the magical world. In Grimmauld Place he found he was never alone; constantly interrupted by wizards wanting him to feel better without telling him anything useful. It was as if Dumbledore was trying to make up for eighteen years of neglect in a matter of days – and failing.
Dumbledore had made several mistakes where Harry was concerned and the young wizard reckoned that the headmaster knew it because he was bending over backwards to be nice to him. But Harry noted that he was being watched more carefully than ever before and the incessant parade of people he barely knew through the doors of Grimmauld Place, made him thankful that he had kept his own counsel. He was glad in a way that he and Ginny had made plans not to contact one another but he felt anxious and wondered if she was safe or not. She had to be safe. He didn't know what he would do without her.
He was pretty sure she still hadn't been found and for that, Harry was grateful. It appeared to him to be more and more certain that she'd reached the small apartment he'd bought close to the entrance to Diagon Alley. It was a risky venture hiding so close to the wizarding world but it made perfect sense to Harry. Any mistakes they made could be passed off as belonging to a witch or wizard exiting Diagon Alley.
Ron had stopped questioning Harry over Ginny, apart from an occasional, "Do you think she's okay, Harry?"
"I hope so. Merlin, I hope so, Ron," he'd answered. And it was the truth. He did hope that she was alright.
Hermione, on the other hand, still quizzed him on what felt like an hourly basis. Harry knew that she was too clever to fool for long and she was suspicious of him. His offer to help her with researching contractual spells had come back to haunt him as she hounded him to join her in the library researching from massive leather-bound dusty tomes. Fred and George hadn't said anything but had given Harry a serious look and a slight nod. He didn't show that he'd seen or that he had even understood the gesture. It was better if nothing was ever discussed aloud.
There had been more interviews with various Aurors belonging to the Order like Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"No," he'd snapped for the umpteenth time. I did not help her escape. I do not know where she could be. Yes, I'm glad she's gone and yes, I do wish that I could have helped her. Anything else?"
Tonks had patted his shoulders and retreated from the room, her hair a dull mousy brown. Harry knew she was sympathetic to his and Ginny's plight. Tonks was a good friend.
There had even been an irate demand in howler form from Percy Weasley that Harry be delivered to the Ministry to answer questions under Veritaserum but he had refused to go and unsurprisingly, had been supported in this by Dumbledore. The Hogwarts' Headmaster wanted Harry confined to Grimmauld Place where he was safe and hidden by the Fidelius Charm. They couldn't risk Harry spilling any of his other secrets to a Ministry interviewer. It was too dangerous.
The Minister for Magic had reluctantly agreed that that, so far, there was no evidence linking Harry to Ginny's disappearance and had denied Percy Weasley his chance to get back at Harry for slights real and imagined. From the Malfoy family there was only silence but Harry didn't doubt that all their available resources were out there searching for the Malfoy bride-to-be. Shacklebolt had submitted a pensieve record of Harry's questioning and for the moment, he was in the clear - innocent until proven guilty.
Harry was hiding in his room, mainly to avoid Hermione. When he'd declined to continue leafing through the ancient volumes from the library for a few more hours, she'd decided that she wanted him to practice some defensive spells with her that she'd not yet mastered. He'd roughly brushed her off, which had spurred Ron into an argument on his girlfriend's behalf. Harry had refused to descend to Ron's level which consisted of shouting insults and had instead, scowled and stomped upstairs banging his door loudly.
He ignored several calls for him to come down for dinner. He wasn't hungry. Dobby had already brought him something to eat. He'd actually started avoiding mealtimes as he was fed up with the way the Order members stared at him. He wasn't a specimen in some magical zoo but at mealtimes, he felt like one. Snape looked as if he'd be quite happy to force several vials of Veritaserum or worse, poison, down Harry's throat whilst chanting Crucio in a happy voice. Harry made certain never to be alone with Snape or to look him directly in the eye.
There was a tentative tap at the door.
"Go away," he snarled, thinking that it was Hermione. It usually was.
"Harry!" It was Dumbledore. "Could I perhaps have a word with you?"
"Sure," he murmured, flinging open the door and stepping out into the upper landing. It must be important if the headmaster had come to fetch Harry himself. He noted the door across from his, opening a little and Hermione's face peeping through the gap. "In private?" he asked just loud enough for Hermione to hear. He wasn't being very nice to her but at that point, he didn't care. Why couldn't she just leave him alone for five minutes? He heard her sniff and her door shut with an offended click.
"We'll go down to the library," Dumbledore agreed smoothly.
They proceeded in silence until the library door was closed behind them. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore put up several privacy charms.
"You know, Harry, you should perhaps tell Ron and Hermione what is happening. I can sense the strain between you. You will need your friends around you more than ever in the coming months. You used to share everything with them."
"If I want to tell them, I will. It's my business," he declared stiffly. "They're right outside this door trying to hear what you're saying to me using Fred and George's Extendable Ears. I can tell that without magic. Why can't they just let me be?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, we're going to have to address your current difficulties very soon. It will be nigh on impossible to hide things for much longer."
Harry snorted. "Current difficulties!" He shook his head in disgust. "That's one way of putting it I suppose. I prefer a straighter way of telling the truth. Basically, I have no magic," he said baldly. "I'm a Squib." He turned his head away from Dumbledore and let the gulf between them widen. "My difficulties are nothing compared to what Ginny has been going through." He turned his head back and glared at the headmaster. "I should have been able to help her get out of this mess. Has there been any word? Have they searched everywhere?"
"They've tried all the usual places, Harry."
"What about the unusual places – like Malfoy Manor, for instance?" he said arching an eyebrow. "Has the Ministry bothered the Malfoys with a visit? Or are they paying their way out of trouble as usual?"
"For the time being we can do nothing but she will eventually be found," the headmaster murmured softly, ignoring Harry's questions about the Malfoys. He stared at Harry for a moment longer and then gave a nod as if he'd made a momentous decision. "But there is something that we can do to help you, Harry. We've come up with a solution."
"A solution for what?" And then Harry froze. "For my magic…it can be cured?" he whispered, hope shining in his wide green gaze. Albus Dumbledore was, after all, the most powerful light wizard of the age. It wouldn't change any of Harry's current plans. He still needed to leave the wizarding world for Ginny's sake but to have his magic back would be wonderful.
The headmaster closed his eyes as if something pained him greatly. "The solution is for your magical drain, yes, Harry. But perhaps not in the way you were hoping – the cure is not a simple one. I cannot just wave my wand and reverse the effects of the hex. I only wish that I could."
"A potion?" Harry asked almost desperately. "There must be something?"
Dumbledore shook his head. He wished he had better news for the boy but he was going to have to disappoint him - something that had happened all too often in his short life. "No, not a potion, Harry. But the most valuable thing there is – time. All I can give you is time. I consulted with one of St Mungos' top experts in magical drainage."
"You did what!" Harry exclaimed incredulous and angry that the headmaster would expressly go against his wishes in this matter. He hadn't wanted anyone else to know of his…'current difficulties'. Yet a small part of him wondered at the mention of his peculiar complaint which made it sound as if he was suffering from a plumbing accident.
"Dumbledore held up his hands placatingly. "I mentioned no names, Harry. He does not know the identity of the witch or wizard in question. I will keep your secret for as long as I have to. I didn't talk to Madam Pomfrey for that very reason."
Harry's eyes narrowed but he walked to one of the comfortable reading chairs and seated himself, slouching back into the cushions. He didn't like the sound of that. There was a hidden threat in that sentence. "Go on."
"Listen to what I have to say, Harry, before you make any snap decisions."
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Harry voiced his thoughts.
"As you have discovered, you are finding it difficult to access your magic. Recovery will take time…probably years. There's no easy way to put this, Harry. I'm sorry. You must return to the Muggle world…" Dumbledore paused and assessed the young man carefully. Harry had gone very pale but didn't seem surprised.
"Must I."
"Harry, you need to return to the house of your family. You need to return to Privet Drive."
"Like hell I will," Harry snarled, abruptly sitting straight up. "They're not my family."
"Now listen, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly. "The wards and blood protections are still in place for the Dursley's benefit. I, myself, went yesterday and re-strengthened the wards adapting them for an adult wizard..."
"No," Harry interrupted.
"All you need to do is return there for a few years and…"
Harry stiffened. "No. I'm never going back there again. I wasn't treated right. What they did to me was psychological and physical abuse – I can see that clearly now and so should you. Petunia and Vernon Dursley hated the sight of me from the moment they discovered me left on their doorstep. For Merlin's sake!" he exclaimed. "They kept me in a cupboard until I was eleven years old. I can't go back there without my magic - without any means of protecting myself."
"You are not a child any longer," Dumbledore said sternly, but inwardly he was shaken. The Dursley's had kept Harry in a cupboard? He knew that hadn't been as kind to the boy as they could have been but… Dumbledore mentally shook his head.
"I was never a child. You took away my childhood," Harry returned bitterly.
"The wards, Harry…"
"I don't care about the wards. I'm not going back. I can be just as miserable here as I was there."
"I've already contacted Petunia. The blood protection your mother gave you can be reactivated once again and…"
"As you said earlier, I'm an adult, Professor and I make my own decisions. You don't make them for me. The Dursleys don't want me back any more than I want to be there. I am not going back to Privet Drive and I will tell Ron and Hermione when I'm ready. Find me somewhere else to go. Put me under the Fidelius charm…anything."
"We don't want to force you…" Dumbledore said regretfully.
Harry felt the first spark of real fear. This wasn't good. It sounded as if a decision had already been made and probably one that he wouldn't like. "But you will if I don't agree."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to. Excuse me, Professor," he said stiffly rising from his chair. "I find that I do not want to continue with this conversation any longer."
"Harry," Dumbledore said carefully. "Remember what happened to the Longbottoms."
Harry had taken several steps towards the door. He stopped moving but didn't turn around. "Oh, I remember what happened to Neville's parents. After the first disappearance of Voldemort, some of his Death Eaters including one Bellatrix Lestrange tortured the Longbottom's into insanity by using the Cruciatus Curse. But I didn't ever imagine that you would use them as a threat against me. This conversation is definitely over," he stated and flung open the door almost knocking over Ron and Hermione as he barrelled past them and charged up the stairs to his bedroom.
"Harry!"
But the boy ignored him. Hermione and Ron pulled themselves away from the wall they'd been knocked against and turned enquiring faces towards the headmaster. But Dumbledore raised his hand and shook his head, his face old and tired. "Leave him alone for now. He has a lot on his mind."
"What happened?"
"He didn't agree with a suggestion I made," Dumbledore said attempting to smile. "He'll see that I'm right in time."
"About what?" asked Hermione.
"If he wants to tell you…he will," said the headmaster sagely. "I need to get back to the school but I'll return tomorrow. Keep an eye on Harry for me, Miss Granger. It's a very dangerous time for him."
Ron scratched his head as the headmaster swept past him and descended the stairs. "What was that all about," he asked Hermione. "Why is it any more dangerous now than it's been in the past?"
"I don't know," she said. "But whatever it is – it looks as if we have to stop Harry from doing something foolish again."
Ron shrugged. "That's Harry. Life is always dangerous for him whether he wants it to be or not. We just follow him to keep him company and help him when he gets into trouble. That's what we do."
"But Dumbledore really doesn't want him doing anything reckless this time. I think he's really worried about Harry for some reason. More than he usually is."
"When has that ever stopped Harry before?" Ron said.
Hermione groaned. "Never."
Ron glanced at his watch. "The broomstick has just passed the Quaffle which must mean that Dobby will have some food ready for eating."
"Ron, can't you think past your stomach for once?"
"Course I can." He grinned. "But I think better on a full stomach."
Hermione shook her head with exasperation. "Ron, you are the absolute limit. We need to find out what's up with Harry. I don't like the way he's shutting us out. Ever since Ginny's betrothal he's pushed us further and further away."
Ron's brow darkened. "You're right Hermione. It wasn't our fault that Ginny became engaged to Malfoy. That was my bloody brother's fault. Percy always did have ideas above his station. You would think he was angling to become Minister for Magic or something."
Hermione's mouth opened into a perfect 'o' of realisation. "Why didn't I suspect that before," she murmured. "I think it's quite possible that he is angling for such a position and with Malfoy money backing his rise to power…" She paused, her eyes narrowing. "Or at least, he thinks the Malfoys will back him if he does something for them."
Ron snorted. "Not bloody likely."
"Ronald…language," Hermione chastised primly.
"It's true," he said. "We're Blood Traitors, remember? We can't help Percy gain what the power that he wants. We don't have the money to move in the same wizarding circles that the Malfoys do.
"Do you want to?" asked Hermione. "Move in the same circles?"
"No." Ron scowled. "I don't like the company. Percy doesn't want to be Weasley poor. He's always been ambitious and looked down on Dad because he wasn't."
"Yes," Hermione said slowly. "I do remember… Percy used to read that book, 'Prefects who gained power', from cover to cover."
The tips of Ron's ears turned red with anger at the memory. "He was already making plans to leave his family behind…even then."
"Maybe. Percy made his choices and that's up to him. He's lost a lot. Still, it was wrong of him to use Ginny to further his career."
"Yeah!" Ron's face looked sombre. "He's also as mad as a Blast-Ended-Skrewt that the Twins have made a success of fake wands and fireworks. He wanted them to fail and they didn't. They now they have plenty of galleons." He glanced up the stairs. "Is Harry okay?"
Hermione sighed. "I don't know. He's gone through so much lately. I mean we all have but it always hits Harry much harder than anyone else. So much is expected of him and sometimes I don't think he knows which way to turn. We will have to do what Dumbledore says and help him as much as we can. It's for Harry's own good. I think he's trying to shut us out again. He does it every time something really serious happens."
"Harry really liked Ginny, didn't he," Ron said as if it had just occurred to him for the first time.
Hermione gave him a pitying look. "You do have the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ron. Yes, Harry liked Ginny. He more than liked Ginny."
"Then why did he break up with her? I thought that once he did that, everything was all over and he didn't like her that way anymore – like I did with Lavender Brown back in school. I was glad to have all that nonsense out of the way. We could then get back to important things like playing Quidditch."
Hermione shook her head. Sometimes Ron just didn't think about the words that were coming out of his mouth. She had no desire to be reminded of Ron's nauseating displays of affection with Lavender. "Harry ended the relationship because he thought it might keep Ginny safer – which was silly, really." She held onto her patience. "He thought that if Ginny was still his girl friend, the Death Eaters would really target her."
"Didn't work, did it?" Ron muttered.
"No."
"I could have told him at the time that it wouldn't work…"
"Ron, you didn't want Ginny dating anyone. Okay, if it had to be someone, then Harry was the only one you approved of."
Ron scowled. "She's my little sister."
"Who is more than capable of defending herself," Hermione returned smartly.
"I'm not saying that she isn't. I've been at the mercy of her Bat Bogey Hex more times than I care to experience. You know that the Weasleys are considered to be Blood Traitors by You-know-who and his Death-Eating mates and you're a Muggle. Add to that, we're best friends with The-boy-who-lived. We have no chance."
"Don't talk like that Ron," Hermione snapped sharply.
"I think all of us are already targets. Mum's clock has had us all at mortal peril for months, if not years."
Hermione sighed again. She felt that she was doing it a lot recently.
"I wish we had some clue where Ginny was. Do you think there's anything we could do to find her? Mum must be worried sick."
Hermione wanted to say 'keep an eye on Harry' but decided not to. She was very confused about Harry's behaviour with regards to Ginny. At first she'd been convinced that Harry knew something about Ginny's disappearance but now she was rethinking that opinion. Harry appeared to be as distressed about the situation as the rest of them were. He was still searching through the Black library for anything that might help and he was always trawling the columns in the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler for possible sightings with an obsessive zeal. The bushy-haired witch put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Dumbledore and the Order aren't saying much; although I'm pretty sure they're searching for her, too. And Bill and Fleur should be home in a couple of days."
"Yeah!" Ron was glad that his eldest brother would be returning home. Bill was intelligent and level headed. The family needed him with them. He would know what to do. "I wouldn't like to be in Percy's shoes when Bill gets hold of him."
"What can he do?" sighed Hermione. "I doubt Percy knows any more about Ginny's whereabouts than we do."
"Bill could speak to the goblins at Gringotts," Ron offered thoughtfully. "They might know if anyone's removed more gold than normal."
"That's a good idea, Ron," approved Hermione. "Although it's unlikely to do any good. The goblins never discuss account holders finances with others."
"True." Ron's face brightened. "They may know something about how to go about breaking magical contracts."
"They just might." Hermione clapped her hands. "We can tell Harry about that when he's stopped sulking about whatever Dumbledore said to him."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry retreated to the sanctuary of his room once more after his latest argument with the headmaster. He felt so alone again. "I should have left when Ginny did," he told himself. But he'd been waiting for Remus to return from the mission on which Dumbledore had sent him – hoping that the last Marauder would return in time. But he suspected that his time in Grimmauld Place had almost run out and rather than wait until it was too late – the best opportunity to leave would the first one he could engineer.
He swore and in a burst of misplaced energy kicked the wall hard. "Ow!" That had hurt. It had been a pointless endeavour. Kicking walls never did any good.
"We don't want to force you," Dumbledore had said.
"Sure you don't." Harry said and shuddered. There were many ways in the wizarding world of getting someone to do something they didn't want to. He didn't think that Dumbledore would Imperio him but there were charms that could be used to aid compliance. It didn't matter that it was against the rules; Harry suspected that Dumbledore was as prone to following rules as he was. This didn't reassure him at all.
The Confundus Charm or a well placed Obliviate could have Harry forgetting all about the wizarding world. A potion slipped into a drink or into one of his meals could render him unconscious and then Dumbledore could transfer him to Privet Drive. Constant vigilance was all very well but when you were as alone and confused as Harry was feeling, the future didn't look promising. He resolved to have Dobby check all his meals from now on. The image of him turning into a younger, just as paranoid, version of Mad-Eyed-Moody practising his own version of Constant Vigilance didn't make him happy.
His trunk lay at the end of his bed and he began to pull a basic selection of clothes from it. He didn't want to arouse the suspicion that he was planning to bolt and therefore wouldn't be able to carry very much. The trunk and the majority of his belongings would have to stay behind.
His gaze landed on a large marble basin with runic carvings around the edges. The pensieve that had once belonged to Sirius had been found by Dobby in the midst of one of his cleaning frenzies. Harry wanted it with him but it was going to be almost impossible to transport out of the house. If he could get it to Gringotts, the goblins might move it to his safe house for him. He moved around the bedroom opening drawers searching for the basic necessities he would need. Pulling at one of the drawers with unnecessary force saw it tumbling to the floor with a crash. Silver, gold and jewel encrusted trinkets spilled everywhere.
"Damn!" he muttered. This stuff was everywhere in the house and it had to be worth a fortune. He'd already had to stop Mundungus Fletcher from attempting to liberate some of the Black Family possessions onto the open market. If Harry wasn't going to be in the house for some time and the Order was still using the premises, Harry couldn't trust 'Dung' not to try to steal anything valuable he found. He had no use for them and they would be safer in a Gringotts vault. Harry's mind slowed down and then sped up again.
He now had a good excuse to visit the goblins. If he was to be banished from Grimmauld place it was his duty to see that these valuables were returned to the Black family vault. Perhaps he could take Hermione and Ron with him or better still Fred and George. No, probably it would ease Dumbledore's mind if he took Ron and Hermione. He could even play on the headmaster's sympathies, giving poor Harry a last trip to Diagon Alley before exiling him in the muggle world.
Harry gave a wry grin at the thought. Yes, he would insist that he couldn't trust valuable Black heirlooms to be safe in a place where a known thief had already been caught trying to get rid of his belongings. He found a plastic carrier bag emblazoned with the name of a well known muggle supermarket lying on the floor and scooped the trinkets inside with an impatient hand.
Harry then turned back to his trunk and dug around in the bottom for the unauthorised, untraceable portkeys the twins had given him. After a restless night, he awoke early and made his way down to the kitchen to find Dobby was setting the table for breakfast.
"Harry Potter, Sir," the elf said with a huge smile. "Your breakfast is ready."
"Thanks." Harry slid into his chair. "Dobby…" he said hesitantly.
"I's knowing what you need to do, Harry Potter," Dobby whispered sadly.
"You do?" Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise. If Dobby guessed, did that mean that others would, too? "How?"
"House elf magic is strong and sees things, we can. Dobby was knowing that Harry Potter's magic was sick. But it's not in my magic to sort," he admitted wistfully. "Dobby would do that for Harry Potter. He would help his magic get better if he could."
Harry was extremely moved. Dobby was a free elf but his loyalty to Harry's welfare exceeded anything he had seen before from any other house elf. Not even Barty Crouch's elf, Winky, had the same fierce spirit. "Thanks," he said softly. "Dobby, you know I can't take you with me."
The little house elf's shoulders drooped. "I's know."
"I need you to look after the house and make sure that Professor Lupin is looked after. I need you to do that because he doesn't always do it for himself. He's a good man and he's lost a lot over the years. What he becomes every month is not who he really is."
The elf eagerly bobbed his head up and down. "Dobby promises to do that for the wolf man. Kind to Dobby he is."
"Remus Lupin is amongst the best of wizards," said Harry. "Thank you, Dobby. Could you also watch over my owl, Hedwig? She's too distinctive to come with me. I hate to leave her but it's too dangerous. Hagrid bought her for my eleventh birthday. She's more than just my owl. Hedwig's my friend."
"Your owl also knows what you have to do. Clever, she is."
"I know." Harry pressed his lips together tightly trying to stem the emotion flooding him. This was it. He was really going to leave. He had to do it but he wasn't letting Dumbledore force him into it. He was doing it on his own terms.
Dobby clicked his fingers and a plate summoned itself from the dresser and within seconds was piled with Harry's favourite foodstuffs. "Eat, Harry Potter," the little elf instructed firmly. "You needs your strength."
"I'm coming back, Dobby," Harry insisted. "I won't be exiled forever."
The house elf's large bulbous eyes glistened with tears. "Of course you is coming back. But first you needs to go. You can't better here, Harry Potter. You need your Wheezy. Joined together you have. Your magic not gets better without your Wheezy."
Harry's brain froze. "What?"
Dobby looked worried. "I's sorry."
"Sorry about what? You have nothing to be sorry about, Dobby." Harry's brow wrinkled.
"Dobby wanted to help Harry Potter join with his Wheezy. If not, bad wizards take her away from Harry Potter forever. But Dobby failed." He picked up a wooden rolling pin and was about to hit himself with it when Harry grabbed it from him and shook his head warningly. "Dobby, you must never punish yourself again. You are a free elf." He put down the rolling pin and picked up his knife and fork. "Did you help us?"
"Dobby saw that Harry Potter's Wheezy was in trouble. Bad wizards not want her for good. Only to hurt Harry Potter and his Wheezy. House elfs not supposed to mix themselves in things like this."
Harry hid a sudden smile. Dobby had been interfering in the lives of wizards since the day he'd first met him. If Dobby had had his way, Harry would not have returned to Hogwarts after his first year. He was glad that he had – Ginny was alive as a result. He could never regret that.
The elf glanced towards the ceiling as footsteps were heard moving about upstairs. "I did not have to help. You did it by yourself. But I would have tried, Harry Potter. I could not let you lose your Wheezy to Dobby's former family."
"I did it myself?"
"Joined you are," Dobby insisted, as he summoned several more plates from the dresser with a flick of a long spindly finger. "Most powerful joining it is. Now eat."
"But…"
The door swung open and Hermione entered. Dobby immediately moved away from Harry and began supervising the bacon cooking on the stove.
"Good morning, Harry. Have you been up long?" she asked brightly.
"No," he answered, resisting the urge to examine the little white scar on the palm of his hand and instead, stabbed a piece of sausage with his fork. "Not long." He and Ginny were joined! What exactly did that mean?
"Miss Hermione." Dobby placed a heaped breakfast plate in front of the witch.
"Thank you," Hermione said. "I could easily have…"
"Just eat your breakfast," Harry murmured. "Spare us the S.P.E.W lecture at this time of the morning. None of it will work on Dobby and you know it. I'm paying him and he's happy. Is Ron awake?"
"I think so." Hermione blushed.
Harry rolled his eyes. He knew they were sleeping together but Hermione and Ron had to go through this whole charade of arriving for breakfast at different times. "Good," he said. "I need to go to Diagon Alley today."
"But Dumbledore said…" Hermione began.
"What did the headmaster say?"
Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it.
"I need to go to Gringotts," Harry explained. "I have to be there in person. Stuff to sign," he muttered taking another bite of his sausage. "Some of it's to do with Grimmauld Place and only I can do that. I even have to take a test to prove that it's really me and not someone under the disguise of the Polyjuice Potion. Apparently, some of the magical enchantments on the building can change when a new heir succeeds to the property. I need to make sure everything's okay so that the Order can continue to use it for meetings. Sirius made sure that I inherited and not Narcissa Black but being on the run probably prevented him from making certain that everything was water tight."
"Oh…" Hermione chewed her food but Harry could see that she was thinking hard. She wasn't known as the smartest witch of her generation for nothing. "Good idea."
"The goblins suggested it," he said with a shrug. "Plus I came across some valuables last night. I don't want to risk Dung picking them up and trying to make money out of them. They're pretty hideous as they are but they could be broken up and sold that way. That is if you can get past the curses the Black Family probably placed upon them."
"Ron and I could take them to Gringotts for you, Harry," Hermione suggested.
"You could but you wouldn't be allowed in the Black Family vault and I do need to sign those papers."
"Oh. I suppose that's right." She arranged her fork and knife tidily on her empty plate. "I'll inform Dumbledore where we're going."
Harry smiled thinly. "You do that Hermione."
"Yes, I will," she said. "He'll probably arrange for Order Protection."
"I'm not going on a shopping spree, Hermione. Just Gringotts and then back here. As long as the Order member following me isn't Snape," he muttered.
Hermione shot him a disapproving look. "Professor Snape, Harry."
Harry stifled a groan at her attitude and finished his breakfast. Sometimes Hermione was so clever that she missed the point of the exercise. At least he hoped that she did. He couldn't risk her suspecting that he might disappear on her watch. Unknowingly his thought's echoed Ginny's only six days previously. His time had run out and he couldn't stay in the wizarding world any longer. Dumbledore was going to return him to his Muggle relatives whether he liked it or not and he could risk that happening. He wanted to leave on his own terms not on Dumbledore's. He would never willingly set foot in Privet Drive again.
The kitchen door swung open and a heavy eyed Ron slouched in. "Morning," he mumbled, seating himself next to Hermione and gave grunting a thanks to Dobby as the elf floated a hugely piled plate in front of him.
Hermione shook her head in disbelief as Ron attempted to inhale his breakfast. "I need to go and contact Dumbledore," she declared.
"Okay," Ron mouthed between bites.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx