Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.
A/N: This is the beginning of the second book (OoTP). There is no explicit mention of child abuse but a sentence indicates as much. Please correct me if I am wrong in keeping the rating as T. The letters are taken from the original book but they are edited to different degree.
Please Review.
Chapter Nineteen: Summer of Problems
How ironic it was that it actually made him laugh. Fourteen years back, the same person had revealed the similar secret to him and today that person held his secret. Voldemort had come full circle in the last fourteen years, albeit in reverse. He was revealed the secret of Potter's whereabouts by Wormtail, he had gone there to obliterate Harry Potter and in turn got himself destroyed. The same person got him back to flesh with some assistance from none other than Harry Potter.
Voldemort had put the Riddle Manor under a Fidelius with Wormtail as its secret-keeper. It belonged to his father's family and for the past year, he had made it his home, although reluctantly and without any choice. He had planned that he would announce his return to the world of mortals with the death of Harry Potter at his hands. But Harry Potter got lucky once again and his plan got screwed up royally.
There was a silver lining still, Potter's escape had bought him precious time. He had some mistakes to rectify, some accounts to balance and some debts to be settled. He would remain hidden, his presence unverified so that he can make his moves without the ministry being any wiser.
He was waiting for one of his followers of past, he had to implement his plans, soon. Lord Voldemort was not known for his patience but the past fourteen years had taught him that trait very well. He was more mature and patient than the last time. He would wait to take the fight to the ministry until he had all the information he needed, all the forces he wanted and all the pieces of play in favourable position.
Voldemort was standing in the master bedroom of the manor, on the top floor, facing the large window. There was nothing in the room to call it as master bedroom apart from the fact that Lord Voldemort occupied it. the room was barren except for a king-sized bed and a fireplace. On the opposite side of the fireplace was the large window that opened towards the village of Little Hangleton.
There was a knock on the door and a moment later it half opened with a creak. Wormtail's head leaned in from the gap, he surveyed the surroundings before stepping inside the room. He flinched when his eyes fell on his master's slithering pet that sat in a corner in a coil. He did not like snakes and anyone would think that he would have grown used to this one after a year but the creature was more sinister than any he had come across.
"Master, he is here." Wormtail said after bowing, his voice small and shaky.
"Send him." The Dark Lord answered. Couple of seconds later, a man in completely black cloak entered the room and bowed low.
"Master, you have returned." The man said in an emotionless voice. His face was blank, he did not dare show any emotion.
"How are you my greasy friend, I couldn't get a hold of you." Voldemort replied, a menacing smile coming to his face.
"Master, I waited for your return, I kept my eyes and ears on your worst enemy, this was all a mask." The man answered, he finally met his master's burning gaze. He felt a sudden jolt in his head but he did not flinch, that would have been suicidal, he did not react in anyway and stood there unperturbed.
"Crucio!", he felt burning knifes penetrating every inch of his body. This wasn't new to him but it had been years since he had experienced this. He fell to the ground, his knees coming up to his chest, his body convulsing. When the curse was lifted, he realized that he was screaming his lungs out. He moved himself in a kneeling position but kept his head bowed.
"Forgive me, Master. I was doing as you would have asked." He said, his voice hoarse after the screaming.
"I believe you." Voldemort replied while stepping closer to his kneeling servant so that he was just inches away from him. "Now tell me what you had discovered fifteen years ago and this time I want the complete form of it."
"I had given you whatever I knew master." The reply to his statement was another cruciatus curse which lasted mere seconds but felt like hours of pain.
"In the last fourteen years, you were unable to find it in completeness and yet you say that you spied for me." Voldemort asked, bending on the waist so that his eyes were few inches away from the black eyes of his follower.
"I have something for you master. The boy, he get this visions of yours. He could sometimes see through your eyes." The Death Eater answered from his kneeling position, panting. He felt drained, his knees felt weak and body aching.
Voldemort held the gaze for a few seconds before he stepped back to the window, he turned so that he could look over the village where his mother was born. "Leave."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
It was a fine summer afternoon, evening almost, it was warmer than it had been in years. A tall boy in his mid-teens was walking down the road towards a children's park. At this hour, it was almost empty so he entered through the kissing gate and walked towards a set of swings. He did not have many opportunities to enjoy the simple joys of childhood in his early years and this summer wasn't going any smoother either. He liked to just sit there and enjoy the serenity, he had developed a liking for solitude in open space but he loathed confined ones.
He sat on a swing, his toes touching the ground gently. His oversized jeans reaching almost up to his toes, he had grown six inches since last summer. The clothes Mrs. Weasley had altered last summer, Harry had grown out of most of them. Now, most of his clothing did not fit him, they were either too big or quite small, except one shirt which he was wearing right now. He had this shirt since he was eleven, he would never say this for any other piece of hand-me-down clothing he had but this one shirt he had grown to like and finally it fit him, the only shirt that did. It was his lucky shirt in a way, he was wearing it when he was first introduced to his world, the magical one. He was wearing it when he was rescued by his friends from his room after his twelfth birthday. It was this particular shirt he was wearing the day he blew up his aunt, that day he first saw his godfather. He was wearing it when he rescued his godfather from the tallest tower in the castle. There weren't many good memories from his last year, even if there were, they were blurred by the conclusion of the year.
He didn't want to think about it, his nightmares were enough to remind him of that. He wasn't having good and peaceful sleep this past month, he had woken up many times, usually screaming, in the dead of the night. His uncle wasn't happy about it and he had made sure Harry knew about it. Since then, Harry had started to sleep facedown.
Harry had become frustrated with his friends, he had expected better from them. He had received weekly correspondence from his friends but he was unable to respond as Hedwig was locked in his room. He wanted to tell them that he wasn't happy with their letters, they contained no information about what was happening in the wizarding world. He wasn't receiving Daily Prophet this summer and hence he was dependent on their letters for the information of their world. But all they had said to him was they were fine and they would get him out very soon. That's it. When would it be soon enough? He had expected more frequent letters from Hermione this summer, she had got her own owl this time and he was furious about her apparent silence. Errol was the delivery owl so Harry deduced that Hermione was with Ron, they were at the Burrow, enjoying the summer, without him.
Harry was angry, he was angry at too many things, people, situation. Arrgh, he was angry at everything nowadays. He could not show his anger in front of his relatives and there was no one else to be the punching bag. So, he would come here in the afternoons and burn away his anger and sorrows in the heat of the scorching sun.
He would sit there for an hour or two, watch children play or young kids interact with their mothers. He could not help but think about what the life would have been if he had his family with him. Their death was in vain as it is, the wizard they had tried to save him from, was back. So, all their deaths had given Harry were a few borrowed years of life, he was thankful for their sacrifice, no doubt, but he would have given up everything just to lay down by their side till eternity.
His train of thoughts was halted as the sound of laughter came from behind him. He turned his neck so to look over his shoulder but he had to turn completely as his fat cousin came into view, his band of five bullies, a step behind him.
"You should have looked at his face, it was white as paper." One of the five said, laughing at the statement.
"He wetted his pants, that's for sure." Another one continued, he gave a high-five to Dudley. Harry could not contain himself any longer. "Beaten up another 10-year-old, huh, Big D?"
"he deserved it, this one." The Fat boy answered.
"Very courageous of you, five vs one against a kid, huh, Duddykins." Harry said while giving a mocking clap.
"You are one to talk about courage, freak. At least I'm not afraid of my pillow." Dudley replied.
Harry did not reply, he just clenched his fist tightly. The gang howled, enjoying the trash talk, they could sense that Harry was going to lose his calm and they would get an opportunity to beat him to a pulp.
" 'Don't kill Cedric', who is Cedric, your boyfriend?" Dudley asked in a mocking childish voice. "He would kill me mum. At least I don't hide behind my mother's skirt." Dudley continued to mock him.
"Shut up, you swollen piece of fat." Harry shouted.
"Make me!"
"I will. Five vs one, afraid to fight me alone, Dud?" Harry baited, he was furious and now he wanted blood.
"Leave guys, I will see you tomorrow." Dudley told his gang which followed the command. There were some departing comments from his gangmates of various extents and severity.
"I will show you freak!" Dudley growled dangerously, he stepped towards Harry and before Harry could respond, a heavy fist collided with the side of his head, throwing him a few feet back. Harry straightened himself and lunged forward, he hit Dudley in the nose, drawing blood before he experienced another blow to his guts. He doubled over, his breathing dangerously irregular. He stood up again to face his childhood bully who was now standing a few feet away, holding his bleeding nose.
When Dudley noticed that Harry had regained his footings, he turned to face him again, his hands coming up as fists in front of his face in an offensive stance. He missed the next punch that he aimed at Harry's nose.
Harry's seeker reflexes now took over, he dodged one blow that came straight for his nose and his reply collided with the side of Dudley's neck. He fell down holding his neck, blood from his nose was everywhere on his body, giving him a gruesome look. Harry moved his hands away from his throat and tried to pump his chest to make the breathing even but before he could continue he felt something.
He felt the surroundings go colder and darker, the sunlight was now blocked by dark clouds, there was cold, chilling even, winds around them. He felt a feeling of dread inside his heart and mind. He realized what it was but he was shocked. Here, in Little Whinging, but how was that possible. He could not think any further as he felt an icy sensation on the back of his neck. He was afraid to turn but he had to check, he turned to face the most loathsome creatures of the wizarding world.
He was staring at the black cloak covered face of a dementor, the only part that wasn't covered was the hole where mouth should be. Before he could run or draw his wand, one of dementor's hand got hold of his right arm and the other lifted him of the ground from his neck. He tried to keep his mouth closed, he wanted to tell the same to Dudley but he was already on the ground, chocking, his mouth was already open and there was another dementor, doing its job.
Every bad memory of his life, every painful and sad experience of his life flashed in front of him. The feeling of hopelessness was creeping inside his conscience and he was about to give up, he was about to surrender. Any life would have been better than this, he thought. What would he be leaving behind, nobody cared, nobody would miss him.
Then the scene played in front of his eyes, the moment on the platform nine and three quarters, just before Hermione left him. "I will miss you", she said. "I will miss you too", he had told her. He would miss her and she would miss him too.
That feeling was enough to give him enough will power to punch the foul creature with his left hand. He was suddenly dropped on the cold hard ground and the dementor was coming back towards him even before he could stand up. He swiftly drew his wand from his back pocket and without any more thought, he shouted, 'Expecto Patronum'.
A shining silver stag erupted out of the tip of his wand and galloped towards the creature. The dark creature was thrown away by the horns of misty guardian. Harry than redirected the Patronus towards Dudley, he was now worried that he might have already been kissed but he could not loose concentration now or Dudley would surely get kissed. A second later, the second dementor was pushed back by the ethereal defender. The surroundings started to return to its normal condition but stopped halfway between, it started to rain instead.
All his energy was drained, the side of his face and head was bruised and aching. His knees could not keep him standing any longer and he fell on the ground a moment later, unconscious.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
When he next opened his eyes, he was looking at a face he did not expect to come across. He tried to get up and stuff his wand back in his pocket, but the person stopped him from doing so by gripping his forearm.
"Keep your wand trained, it's still dangerous, dementors might still be lurking." She said in a shaky voice, her eyes darting in every direction. "Move quickly, we should hurry."
Harry was stunned to silence and did not try to ask any further questions, he had more pressing concerns at the moment. He looked around and found Dudley lying a few feet away, unconscious. Harry kneeled by his cousin and tried to wake him up but to no avail. Harry checked Dudley's watch, it wasn't very late. He blacked out for less than ten minutes, it seemed, Dudley's face was still wet with blood but the flow had stopped. His clothes weren't completely wet, that was another indication that his unconsciousness did not last very long and neither did the rain.
"Put him in the cart." The woman told him, pointing towards the shopping cart she was holding. It took Harry all his strength to get Dudley in the cart and even more to push it. once they were back on the road, Harry asked, "Mrs. Figg, how do you…."
"Dumbledore." She replied as if that answered everything. When nothing else came from her, Harry asked her again.
"Dumbledore told me that you could be thick sometimes but thinking that you would be left without any eyes on you, that is quite daft of you Harry." Harry would have felt embarrassed if it was not for the anger he was feeling at the moment for Dumbledore. He did not voice his feelings and within five minutes, they were back at Privet Drive.
"Stay inside, Harry. Somebody will contact you soon." She left Harry with the shopping cart with Dudley in it and walked towards her house. Harry pushed the cart and entered the Dursley Household. As he pushed the cart inside the living room, a loud shriek went up, the source being her aunt Petunia.
"Oh Dudley, what happened?" She ran towards her, question directed towards her nephew. Vernon came out of kitchen a moment later, holding a big jar of ice-cream.
"What did you do to my son?" Vernon shouted, taking a dangerous and potentially harmful step towards Harry.
"I did nothing. It was dementors, they attacked us." Harry answered. There was a gasp behind him, he turned to notice that it came from his aunt.
"Deme… Dementors? Those…. Those things are real?" She asked, in shock.
Harry just nodded, then a question came to his mind. "How do you know about them?" He found himself asking this question to his aunt.
"Your mother's friend, that freak boy with black mop of hair told about them." She answered, it looked like the words left a bad taste in her mouth. Harry did not make anything of that statement, he assumed she was talking about his father or Sirius may be. Harry would have rejoiced the fact that her aunt had told him something about his mother or rather the fact that she remembered about it.
"You turned my son into a freak? I would kill you." Vernon was about to get a hold of Harry's neck when an owl came flying from a window, towards Harry. Vernon jumped back in fear and landed on the couch.
Harry detached the envelope from the bird and the owl left immediately, leaving the occupants of the room in momentary silence which was broken by the letter itself. It transformed, similar to the howler and levitated in front of Harry, it looked like the face of a woman and started to speak in a female voice that sounded very official and no-nonsense type.
Dear Mr Potter,
It has come to our notice that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty minutes past seven this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle. Due to the severity of your actions, under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with immediate effect.
Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of August.
Hoping you are well,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
Harry was stunned to silence, he just dropped on the chair behind him. His knees went weak in disbelief and shock, he missed the glee on the face of his uncle. He did not care about it right now anyways. He was just been kicked out of the one place he felt welcome and accepted, he felt like at home.
"You freak, by the time we return, I want you gone for good. Do you understand?" His uncle shouted, Harry could do nothing but nod. Vernon then turned towards his wife. "Come Petunia, we need to take Dudley to the hospital."
The Dursley couple walked out of the living room, Vernon pushing the cart in which his son was stuffed. A minute later, Harry could hear the ignition of the car engine. He remained seated in the chair, the letter of doom lying in his lap. His mind was too numb to form any useful thought. The house had gone silent as the Dursleys left. Harry was now afraid that may be Dudley got kissed and once again he was the reason. The silence was short lived as another owl flew in and dropped a similar looking envelope in Harry's lap. The same process repeated but the contents of this letter were different, quite different.
Dear Mr Potter,
Further to our letter of approximately ten minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August, at which time an official decision will be taken.
Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school, pending further enquiries.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
Harry jumped up from his seat and walked up to his room to retrieve his owl and his trunk so that he could leave this house. He stormed out of the house less than a minute later, his trunk pulled by one hand while he held his owl cage in the other. He had stuffed his invisibility cloak in his jacket and his wand in the side pocket of his trouser. Who knew when he would need them again. In his haste to leave, he missed the owl sitting on the dining table.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Harry was walking down the Privet Drive, towards Magnolia Street where he was planning to take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron. But he heard something behind him, footsteps which were not his. He kept walking, a plan forming in his mind. He placed the owl cage on the trunk, without breaking his stride and put his free hand on the pocket that held his invisibility cloak. He saw that there was a turn a few feet away and he decided to take advantage of it. He increased his speed and took the turn. He abruptly stopped and covered himself with the cloak and stood in the middle of the footpath. The moment he felt someone come in his contact, he lunged forward, pinning the person down. His wand was in his hand, boring in to the heart of the person pinned down beneath him.
"I yield!" came a voice from under him. Harry removed his cloak before removing the cloak from his tail. The person was a woman with a beautiful heart shaped face, a small nose and hazel eyes. The most noticeable feature was her hair that were bubble-gum pink. There was a mischievous smile on that face but there was some fear in those eyes too.
Harry took a hold of her right arm and dug the wand in her throat, the person beneath him squeaked as the tip of his wand emitted a red spark. "Who are you?"
"A friend!" She answered, too quickly for Harry's liking. "I know Padfoot was innocent and it was Wormtail who betrayed your parents."
Harry did not release her yet, he wasn't going to take any chances. "Even Death Eaters know that. Now answer me, who are you?"
"I'm Tonks. You call Padfoot 'Snuffles'." She answered truthfully, she was trying to keep her voice levelled.
This was something that very few people knew and none of them was going to leak this to any Death Eater. He released her and took a few steps away from her. He did not still lower his wand but he collected both the invisibility cloaks.
"What kind of name is 'Tonks'?" Harry asked.
"What kind of name is 'Snuffles'. If you are done interrogating me, I would ask you to return to your aunt's house." She responded.
"I'm not going there again." Harry answered angrily, his voice rising a few decibels.
"You have to, you can't wander during night, it's dangerous." She countered.
"I am going to Leaky Cauldron and if you want me to return then make me." With that Harry raised his wand and in a moment, a blue triple-decker bus appeared out of nowhere.
"It was nice meeting you." Harry said while taking a hold of the bird cage and handing it to the bus conductor. Tonks gripped his trunk and pulled it away from him in an attempt to keep him on the ground.
"you can't leave without your luggage." She said, smirking.
"You can keep that, there is nothing important in it." Harry answered, he knew there were a few important things in that trunk, the marauder's map, his family tree that Hermione gifted him, his father's pocket watch. But he needed to show that he did not care.
"Are you coming or not?" the bus conductor asked.
"Coming." Harry answered and stepped on the bus.
"Wait!" Tonks shouted and stepped on the bus too. "It's better if I go with you, that would be less dangerous."
Harry agreed to that, he couldn't have just left his trunk with this stranger. He turned towards the conductor who was looking at them curiously. Harry had expected that he would come across Stan Shunpike but this one was not him unless Stan had put on twenty kilos and shortened a few inches. The bus took off, throwing both of them backwards on a metal bed. Harry gripped the side of the bed firmly.
"Where to?" the conductor asked, unperturbed by the movement of the vehicle.
"Leaky Cauldron for me, I don't know where she is headed." He said pointing towards her. "Where is Stan?"
"Now he does morning shifts. Drunken evening conductors are not good for business." The conductor answered flatly and handed Harry his ticket. "That would be 5 sickles."
Before Harry could pay, Tonks extended her hand ahead. "Here are ten sickles and make that two."
They were standing in front of the entrance to the old inn in less than 3 minutes. No words were shared between the two of them. Harry did not want to talk and Tonks did not want to talk in front of the conductor. As Harry was about to enter, Tonks stepped between him and the door.
"Harry, I would take you to Padfoot but you need to trust me." Tonks said, Harry could see the sincerity of that statement in her eyes.
"Okay." Harry answered after a few seconds of thinking. Tonks released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. She handed him the owl cage and asked him to release Hedwig. Harry did as he was told and handed her the empty cage, Hedwig was now perched on his right shoulder, she now looked quite happy to get a chance to flex her muscles and fly a bit. She took off a moment later. Tonks quickly reduced the trunk and cage and kept it in the pocket of her robes.
"Now that the luggage is taken care of, we could move freely."
"Wait, give me your wand. Don't want to be walking into a trap, do we?" Harry said with a smirk adorning his face.
"You want me at your mercy, huh, Potter! What's your plan? Want to poke me with your wand?" She replied with a wink, her eyebrows wiggling. Harry turned red with embarrassment as the implication of her statement settled in. He was stuttering in an attempt to give her a fitting reply.
"Just teasing you. Don't flatter yourself Harry, if I wanted to subdue you, you would have been on your knees in front of me." She answered laughingly and started to walk towards left.
They walked towards the nearest tube station and fifteen minutes later they were standing on a street that was lined with old rowhouses on one side and an unkempt park on the other side. But before going any further, Tonks turned towards Harry.
"Put on your cloak and stay where I tell you to." On Harry's affirmative nod, she started to walk along the street. They halted halfway down the street and Tonks asked Harry to stand on the other side of the road, near the gate to the park. Harry complied with that command and walked to the gate of the park, across the road. As he turned around, Tonks was nowhere to be seen. For a few seconds, nothing happened but then there was loud bang of door slamming and the next moment he saw Hermione standing across the road, her eyes searching for something or rather someone near the park entrance.
Harry did the only thing that came to him, he removed his cloak and draped it over his arm. A second later, his vision was blurred as Hermione came darted towards him like a torpedo and flung her arms around his neck. Before he could say anything, her lips were on his and his mind went in hibernation.
The kiss was urgent as if they wanted to reassure each other and themselves about the presence of the other. There was nothing sweet or chaste about that kiss, Hermione poured all her emotions in it, relief, elation, affection. Sometimes words weren't enough.
Harry could feel the tension leave her body as she melted in his arms, Merlin, he could not describe what he was feeling at the moment. But one thing was clear to him, he wanted this, he wanted to be with her. He felt safe with her, even though they were standing in the middle of the street, completely exposed to any harm and yet Harry felt safe. He tightened his grip on her waist and brought her closer, if that was even possible. Similar thoughts were going through her mind too, she felt safe in his warm embrace, he had returned to her and that was enough to make all her worries seem insignificant.
They would have loved it to continue till eternity but their need for oxygen concluded their activity quite quickly. They just stood there, their foreheads touching, their eyes closed, cherishing the closeness, cementing the moment in their memories.
"I missed you." Harry said, his voice felt weak, too weak for his liking.
"I missed you too." She replied, finally opening her eyes and looking in his emerald ones. She felt her knees goes weak under the affectionate intensity of his gaze but their bubble was burst by the clearing of throat coming from Harry's left.
"Aw, we missed you too Harry." The twins were standing there, their eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Shut up, you two." Ron said from Harry's other side.
"Aww, did Ickle Ronnikins missed him more?" One of the twins teased Ron, he could only scowl in response.
"Hey, Ron." Harry said while giving a bearhug to Ron, Ron patted his back in a brotherly manner. It seemed Ron had grown five-six inches in just a month.
"It's ok, if you missed me, I missed you too." Harry said, continuing the banter.
"You got some serious competition there, Hermione." The other twin commented.
"You can continue this inside, it's not safe to stay outside." Tonks said from behind the twins. "Read this and memorize it."
She handed him a small piece of parchment. It had one sentence written over it in a beautiful cursive writing that Harry recognized as Dumbledore's.
'The Headquarters of Order of The Phoenix could be found at 12, Grimmauld Place, London.'
"Now concentrate on what you just read Harry and look there while you do so." Tonks snatched back the piece once Harry had read it and she stuffed it in one of the pockets. She was pointing in the gap between #11 and #13. As Harry went through the words in the note, he saw a door appear where there was a small gap. Tonks recognized the look on Harry's face, the look of astonishment.
"Hurry up, get in, all of you, now!" Tonks commanded and they started to walk towards the old house in a single file without wasting anymore time. The corridor was narrow and dark, the only light was coming from the candles in the tall brackets on the wall. The walls looked old, the wallpaper was in various stages of decay. The house smelt like it has been a part of a swamp for years. As they walked ahead, Ron gestured Harry to stay silent. There was a door on the other end of corridor and parallel to the corridor was the staircase, near the door stood a large umbrella stand that looked like as if it was made of a troll's leg. Harry looked up towards the staircase, he counted that the house was three-storied. He was standing in front of the door when he heard a crashing sound.
"That piece of …." Tonks was on the floor, holding her leg, shouting obscenities but the majority of her words were drowned by the shouts that came from the wall behind Harry.
"YOU FILTHY MUDBLOODS, TRAITORS, YOU ARE RUINING THE PURITY OF THE MOST ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACKS. LEAVE, YOU VERMINS." The voice was coming from a portrait of some woman in her late forties. She had curly black hair, high cheekbones and an aristocratic look. At the moment, she looked furious, her nostrils were flared, her eyes were red with anger and by any chance if she was alive, she would have blown someone's head off.
"SHUT UP, WOMAN!" The next moment the painting was covered. Sirius stood there, in the doorway, his hand still on the portrait cover, a few people were standing behind him, he looked apologetic. A smile came to Harry's face but before Harry could move, he was engulfed in a Molly Weasley hug.
"Oh Harry, how are you? You have grown thin." Mrs. Weasley went on about Harry's physical conditioning, surveying him like a small pup.
"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley." Harry answered, taking a step back.
"Hello Harry, it's good to see you." Arthur Weasley said while offering his hand. Harry exchanged the pleasantries and shook his hand. The next in line was Ginny and then Bill who also shook his hand. As Bill released his hand, Harry looked toward his godfather who hadn't moved an inch, he was looking at him with a look of relief and joy. Harry could not Hold himself back any longer, he moved ahead and threw his arms around Padfoot in a bearhug.
"Welcome home, pup." Sirius whispered in his year so that only he could hear it. Harry noticed that Remus was standing behind Sirius, leaning against the doorframe, a knowing smile on his face. "Sorry for the loud welcome you received from my mother."
"Oh, he already got a sweet one from Hermione!" One of the twins commented and in return received a sharp poke in the ribs from their mother with a warning, "George!"
"Harry would have received that jab if you had seen him outside, mother." The other twin said, winking at Hermione who tried to hide her blush.
When Sirius released Harry, Harry took another step ahead and hugged his ex-DADA professor. "Hello, Moony."
"Hey, Prongslet." Remus greeted him, one of his hand patting Harry on the head. "You had grown taller."
"If the welcoming is over, let's eat." Sirius said before entering through the door, Molly entered behind him.
"Thank Merlin, I'm starving." Ron complained. Hermione gave him a look of disbelief, "Oh really, Ronald? You just had the leftover pie from lunch."
"I need to eat, I am a growing boy." Ron replied before entering through the door, the twins followed with Bill and Arthur, Tonks went next, leaving Remus, Harry and Hermione in the corridor.
"You should freshen up before dinner. Hermione please show him the washroom." With that Remus left the quasi-official couple in the corridor to join the remaining party to dine.
Hermione led him to the washroom, she entered before Harry did and she locked the door behind him. She was leaning against the bathroom door while he stood in front of her. She did not waste any time in drawing him in another of her warm and possessive hug, her right hand slowly moving in his hair, her nails gently massaging his scalp. "Don't ever do that again!"
"What?" Harry asked innocently, he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Breaking up with me." She answered, her gaze cold and unyielding.
"Hermione…." Harry started but he was cut off mid-sentence. "No Harry, you listen to me and listen carefully. We are not breaking up again for your perceived sense of responsibility and guilt regarding my safety."
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Why don't you understand Harry, we are in this together. You think I'm in danger because I am with you, I wouldn't leave your side even if we weren't together Harry. Besides, I'm a muggleborn and the purebloods already spite me for that, me dragging their noses in dirt for besting them in studies hadn't helped the situation either. So, you get this in your thick head that I am not going anywhere."
"I am angry with you." Harry replied, not meeting her gaze now. He placed both hands on the door behind her, on either side of her head; he punched the door with his right one.
"I'm angry with you too. So, what can we do." Hermione replied and turned his head by his chin so that she could look in his eyes.
"I don't want you to get hurt, Hermione. Least of all, because of me." A few tears were flowing down his cheeks now. "Dudley almost got kissed by a dementor today, just because he was there. Cedric died because he was there with me. I can't let that happen to you."
"You are wrong, Harry. When we arrived here, Dumbledore told all of us about Barty Crouch's confession. You-Know-Who needed a magically strong body for his resurrection. So, Barty Crouch picked Krum and imperiused him, he was to accompany you to the graveyard but when Cedric bested him, Crouch imperiused Cedric to accompany you. He would have accompanied you with or without your agreement or suggestion."
Harry was shocked, this was news to him. He wasn't conscious when this confession took place and hence he knew nothing about it. "There are many things Harry that you don't know. I would have told you about them after dinner."
"Can we please go and have a peaceful dinner where you are not trying to breakup with me for feeling guilty for something that Barty Crouch did, hmm?" Hermione asked with a smile.
Harry just nodded meekly and rested his forehead against her. Things wouldn't have been this bad, he wouldn't have felt this guilty if he had known about the confession but right now was not the time to think about those things.
"Freshen up, I will be waiting outside." With those words, Hermione left him in the bathroom and closed the door. She waited for him outside the door and she did not need to wait for long as Harry came out within five minutes. They walked back to the corridor, the door led to the living room. It was spacious, square-shaped and windowless. There was a big fireplace on the opposite wall. Above the fireplace hung a big emerald coloured velvet covered plaque, in the centre of the plaque was a coiled snake in the shape of 'B', below which was a phrase carved with bronze 'Toujours Pur'.
"That's Black Family crest, Sirius told us." Hermione answered the unasked question. "Come, the dining hall is this way."
She led him down a flight of stairs on the left that opened in a long, rectangular room, half of which was occupied by a long wooden dinner table, the other half was furnished as kitchen. There was a door on the other end, that must have been the pantry.
On the head's position was Sirius, on his right sat Remus while the seats on his left were occupied by the twins who were in a hushed discussion with Sirius and Remus. Ginny sat next to the twins and beside her was Tonks. On the other side of the table, Bill was occupying the seat next to Remus, Arthur was next while Ron sat adjacent to him. Hermione went and sat on that side, leaving a seat for Harry between herself and Ron.
"Good evening lad, you look fine for someone attacked by a dementor." A gruff voice said from the seat opposite to Sirius. It took a moment for Harry to realize that it was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody.
"Good evening, professor." Harry responded, masking his surprise really well.
"Not your professor, never was. Mad-Eye would do." He answered, still not looking up from his bowl of soup. Harry did not comment on it and took his seat between Hermione and Ron. The rest of them had started with their meals so when he finally settled on the table, he was served a plate filled with mashed potatoes, chicken, beans and bread by Mrs. Weasley. It seemed that she had taken over the kitchen here too, whatever here was.
"Why did you cut your hair short?" Harry asked to Hermione, she had cut her hair so that they now barely reached her shoulder.
"It's O.W.L. year, Harry, don't want to waste my time battling my hair." She answered but her eyes told him that there was some regret about this decision. "You don't like it?"
"You always look beautiful Hermione." Harry answered truthfully.
"Aw, the puppy love. You two are cute." Tonks commented, there was a giggle from Ginny but Harry ignored that because Tonks's hair had turned light purple and it amazed Harry. He first thought that it might be the trick of light but the only light in the room was due to the candles and the fireplace in the kitchen part.
"How did you do that?" Harry asked her.
"What?"
"Your hair, they were pink but now..." Harry could not complete his sentence, Tonks changed her hair back to bubble-gum pink.
"She is a metamorphmagus, Harry." Hermione answered as if that explained everything.
"A what?" Harry asked.
"A metamorphmagus, they can change their physical appearance at will. It's an inherent trait." Hermione explained.
"Inherent?" Harry asked.
"You can't learn it, I was born with it." Tonks answered and transformed her face to look like Harry, Hermione gasped at that, her fork falling on the ground.
"Stop showing off, Nymphadora." Moody growled from his place.
"Don't call me that." Tonks replied angrily.
"What's Nymphadora?" Harry asked.
Tonks took a deep breath to compose herself. "It's my name, as if my mother wanted to take revenge for troubling her for nine months."
"You must have been a cry baby and ruined their sleep." One of the twins commented and received a light slap on the back of his head from his mother. "That could have been a real possibility, mother."
"It's a beautiful name." Remus said, his face showed the genuineness of his words.
"Thanks, Wolfie." Tonks replied before turning back to face Harry. "You better call me Tonks."
"What's wrong with Dora?" Harry asked.
"That's reserved for the dog of an uncle of mine." She replied.
"Padfoot is your uncle?" Harry asked Tonks and turned towards Sirius when she nodded. "You never told me you had a niece. What else you haven't told me Sirius?"
Harry did not realize but his voice had grown too loud, halting all other conversation and eating. Sirius looked concerned, his brows were creased, his eyes fixed at Harry. He took a deep breath before leaning in, his elbows were now on the table.
"Calm down, Harry." Sirius replied calmly, the calmness did not suit him one bit. "We will talk about it after dinner."
"No Sirius, I have waited long enough, a month to be precise. Were you too busy to write to me? No word, no news, nothing, nothing at all." Harry could not stop himself, there was too much anger inside him. He continued when Sirius did not reply.
"I came to know that you were spying on me with Mrs. Figg and then you sent Tonks to follow me. Tell me, how long you have been doing that?" Harry did not realize it at first but he had stood up between his tirade, his hands clenched in tight fists, his eyes boring into Sirius.
"Sit down, lad. You don't know a thing." Mad-Eye growled.
"Dumbledore explained that you need to stay away from all this, it was for your own safety." Molly answered but Harry did not even spare her a look when Sirius scoffed at that answer.
"Why would he want to keep me away, I was the only one who had seen him return, I was the one who fought him, I was the one who saw Cedric die." He was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he slammed his fist on the table and rested his hands there.
Hermione slowly stood up, she slid her hand over his fisted one and unclenched it gently before entwining her fingers with his. Everyone missed the look that came over Mrs. Weasley's face, the look of disapproval. Hermione moved her face so it was merely a couple of inches away from Harry's ear, "calm down, Harry."
Sirius also stood up, more slowly than Harry did. It seemed that his energy was drained, as if he had just fought a battle, an internal one, with his conscience. "Keep your luggage in Regulus's room and come to mine. I would explain everything then."
"No, you won't." Mrs. Weasley shouted.
"What?" Sirius asked, a look of disbelief and anger coming over him.
"He would stay with Ron and you won't tell him anything about it. Not without Dumbledore's permission. He is not your son, Mr. Black."
Sirius punched the table with full force, disturbing the cutlery. Mrs. Weasley flinched at his reaction and took a step back unconsciously. "Neither he is yours or Dumbledore's. I am his godfather and I don't need anyone's permission to talk to him. You don't get to decide what he does or doesn't, he is my responsibility and I would take care of it."
"Like you did last time." Mrs. Weasley realized that that was the wrong thing to say as Sirius suddenly turned in his place, sending the chair to the ground. His eyes were now bloodshot with anger, Mrs. Weasley paled as she looked at him. Years of Azkaban stay does not make you soft at core.
"How dare you?" Sirius growled like a predator.
Before things could go any worse, Arthur and Remus stepped in. Remus put his hand on Sirius's shoulder in an attempt to stop him from doing something stupid. Arthur went and stood next to his wife, he was half turned towards his wife. "We need to behave like civilized people. Calm down, Sirius, I apologize to you."
"Arthur!" Molly gasped but he told her to remain silent with a shake of his head. By this time everyone was on their feet, except Mad-Eye, unsure how to act. Bill and Tonks were ready to intervene if need be; the twins, Ginny and Ron looked shaken.
The pleasant gathering had turned sour in matter of a few minutes, leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth, nullifying their appetites.
The tension was somewhat released when they heard a loud laugh coming from Moody. Moody rose from his chair and walked out of the kitchen/dining room, shaking his all the way.
"I think we should go up." Remus said, he turned towards Harry and Hermione when Sirius gave him a curt nod. "Tonks, please take Harry's luggage to Regulus's room. Bill, would you please take Ginny to her room. Fred-George, to your room. Harry, Hermione, Ron, to Sirius's study, now."
The twins disapparated from the kitchen, Tonks walked out of the kitchen with Bill and Ginny. Harry, Hermione and Ron followed the trail, leaving only Remus and Sirius with the Weasley couple.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
The trio walked up to the second floor, couple of steps behind Tonks, in silence. Tonks stopped in front of the first door on the right side. The door was pitch black, there was a polished bronze plaque on it with an artistically written name over it in silver, 'Regulus Arcturus Black'. Another plaque hung just above this one, this one wasn't bronze nor it was polished. It was made by someone who must have failed at carpentry. 'Do not enter without the express permission of' written over it. The complete message was:
Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission Of
Regulus Arcturus Black
"This would be your room." Tonks said before opening the door, Harry entered behind her, Hermione and Ron following him. The room wasn't very large but it looked spacious. There was a king-sized four-poster of black polished wood in it with silver hangings and emerald bedspread and covers. The bed was bracketed by side tables, one was barren while the other had a framed photograph and an alarm clock. The room had a desk and chair, both made of polished black wood, on one side of the room, a tall bookshelf next to it. The shelf was half-filled with books, the other half had a few items that belonged to a teenage boy. There were a couple of quidditch player figurine, a model of flying broomstick, a snitch, a few framed photographs.
On the opposite side of the desk was a wardrobe, made of the same material, it was big enough that Ron could stand in and there would still be a few inches above his head. The room had a window on the opposite wall of the bed, that opened in the backyard. Near the window stood two comfortable-looking armchairs with high back, their rich leather was as dark as the wallpaper of the room.
The room was covered in wallpaper of Slytherin colours, there were a couple of Slytherin flags pinned on the wall in cross pattern, a quidditch poster was pasted to another wall of a team that Harry knew nothing about. The room surely belonged to a Slytherin teenaged wizard who loved quidditch.
The room was in pristine condition, no trace of dirt, it seemed that it was regularly cleaned. Tonks pulled out his luggage and enlarged it, she placed the trunk at the foot of the bed and the cage on top of it. She left the trio in the room without any more words. The trio exited the room and walked up to the one at the end of the corridor. There was no plaque over it but the door had a scratch mark over it, the scratch was in the shape of SB. Opposite to this, was the room they were supposed to go to, Sirius's study.
It was Ron who opened the door and entered first. The study was as big as Regulus's room, there was a desk on the right side of the room, a tall window behind it that nearly touched the ceiling. The left wall of the room was completely covered, half of it by bookshelf, the other half by cabinets and showcases. On the wall, opposite to the entrance was a fireplace, in front of it was a two-seater couch with a coffee table, bracketed by two armchairs. Above the fireplace was a painting of some wizard, quite old, with a face full of wrinkles. He exited the painting when they entered.
The room had the aura of authority, it spelled that it meant business to be here. Harry walked up to the showcase, surveying the contents while Hermione went over to the bookshelf, Ron went to one of the side chairs and made himself comfortable. The trio did not need to wait very long, Sirius, followed by Remus, entered the room not more than five minutes later.
"Sorry you had to witness that." Remus spoke first, he leaned against the bookshelf. Sirius went to the chair behind the desk and flopped down, not meeting anyone's gaze.
"What happened down there?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing that you need to concern yourselves about." Remus answered before turning to look at Sirius, "am I right, Sirius?"
"Yeah." He answered unconvincingly. He then turned to look at his godson, "now we can talk".
A/N: This chapter and the next two would clear things up to quite some extent as to what I am planning on doing. I hope you like it.