Chapter 1: A Weary Summer Over
Harry's summer of weary waiting was almost at a close; after encountering very little resistance from the Dursleys this summer, due to the threat of the Order, Harry was incredibly bored with life at Privet Drive, and was more than ready to go back to the Burrow.
Sunlight crept through his window, playing duck and drake behind the clouds; it was morning. Harry leapt out of bed with excitement and quickly pulled on his humongous jeans, followed by a baggy shirt. 'Today is the day,' he thought happily, 'today is the day I go to the Burrow!'
Suddenly he froze.
And remembered.
He was reliving Sirius's death all over again.
'How could I...?' he thought guiltily. 'How could I possibly have been so happy when Sirius is...is...gone.' He covered his face in shame; he had been so gleeful about going back to the Burrow that he had forgotten all about his godfather, his only relative, the only one to share in his mischiefs, the only one to understand the pains he had underwent. And now he was gone. Had been gone all summer. Was now gone forever. The return to the Burrow had been the only thing sustaining him through all these long months of dreaming and remembering, of things past and things to come. But it still wasn't enough to bring Sirius back. 'If I can find a way, I will,' he thought with growing anger, 'I'll find Voldemort. I'll kill him. I'll do it with my bare hands. But not before I find Lestrange. She goes first.' His hands were almost shaking now at the thought of Bellatrix Lestrange, who had brought so much havoc into his life. 'Murderers...' he thought acidly...
A quick rap on the window sounded and broke Harry from his stupor.
"Harry! Harry it's us!"
Harry turned to see Ron and Ginny Weasley outside the window. "Ron! Ginny!" he said, running to the window and throwing it open. "Quietly, the Dursleys are still asleep!" he said. Luckily, however, they were more than likely to remain that way as they had already made an agreement with Harry that he could take his things in the wee hours of the morning and be gone, so as not to alert the neighbors. They would say and do nothing as long as he was quick, quiet, and unseen. "Got your trunk all ready?" asked Ginny, sweeping in with her mane of fiery red hair. "Right here," said Harry, pointing to the foot of his bed. "And of course Hedwig," said Ron, holding out a hand to take hold of her cage. Harry passed it to him, then noticed something particularly odd.
"Erm...Ron?"
"Yes?"
"What exactly...I mean...er...how are you floating outside my window?"
"Ohh, that," said Ron. He looked down and commanded "Up!" and suddenly he went up. "A magic carpet?!" said Harry. "Yup!" Ron said heartily, "Dad's just..." he lowered his voice, "...well, you know how he likes to tinker around with those Muggle things. You know, like those eckletricity plugs. Well, he was looking at this carpet that Mundungus Fletcher had, and he agreed to let Dad have it so as to get it off his hands. Personally I suspect he got it off Ali Bashir. Real easy to transport people once you've got the old Invisibility Charm on it, though." Harry grinned, thinking about Mr. Weasley and Dung, "I guess so." "Come on now Harry, we've got to get out of here," said Ginny, levitating the trunk onto the carpet.
"And how exactly are we going to keep the trunk and the cage from falling off this thing?" asked Harry as he stepped onto the carpet, which wriggled slightly. "Easy," said Ginny, "Sticking Charm." And with that, the three of them took off sailing through the sky, and Harry found himself gripping the edges of the carpet with fear at first, scared that he would fall off and land on his head, but after a few moments of freedom from the Dursleys, he realized it was all worth it.
They arrived at the Burrow an hour later, scattering fat brown chickens through the yard as they landed, most of them running for cover. Harry stood up and walked off the carpet in a wobbly fashion; he hadn't retained his legs all that well after sitting on that carpet for so long, what with it shaking and shuddering all about. Picking up his trunk and his cage, he followed Ron and Ginny into the house; he was expecting to see Fred and George, but then suddenly remembered. They now owned a flat in Diagon Alley, right above their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. And suddenly the Burrow felt a little different; it would just be Ron and Ginny from now on. "Mum should be making breakfast," said Ron, "she's been expecting us."
Harry looked up at the magical clock as he passed by, and noticed that Ron and Ginny both read as "Home." Luckily, nobody was in "Mortal Danger." "Harry!" cried Mrs. Weasley, nearly dropping her pan of bacon, "So glad you're here now dear! Sit down and have something to eat!" Almost immediately a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and marmalade appeared in front of him as he sat down, "Thank you!" he said, meaning every bit of it. The Dursleys had certainly done their part in trying to deprive Harry of anything possible, and that included food.
Wolfing it down quickly, Ron and Ginny grinned, "What?" asked Harry through a mouthful of toast. "Dursleys been depriving you again eh?" said Ron. Harry sat back, "I don't even like thinking about it. They don't even give me Dudley's old clothes anymore; which is fine, really; it's not like I'll ever grow completely into them, the fat lump." Ginny giggled and set about eating, and Ron followed suit. A few minutes later, Arthur Weasley entered the door, at which point Mrs. Weasley suddenly straightened up and said "Arthur...do you think now...?" "Ah, no, Molly dear, how about a little later when they've all had a chance to nick some sleep?" he said. She nodded, "It's probably best."
"Uh, excuse me, but what's probably best?" said Ron. "Don't you worry about it Ronald," said Mrs. Weasley, "your father has something he needs to talk over with Harry." "Hey wait a minute, why is it nobody ever talks things over with me? Or all of us?" said Ron, setting down his fork. "Yeah, all of us!" said Ginny. Harry shrugged, "They are family after all." Mr. Weasley smirked, "That's true enough. But really Harry, this isn't...what we should call...a family matter. At least...not ours. It's something I need to discuss with you alone, Harry." His face grew grave, "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." And with that, he went upstairs to change.
Ron and Ginny looked at Harry, "Well, if that's what sort of matter..." said Ron slowly. They had both been uneasy ever since Sirius had gone, and none of them cared to broach the subject; dark times reminded them easily of that which had already occurred. Harry stopped chewing for a minute, and wondered to what Mr. Weasley was referring.
He just hoped it was good news.
After a few hours of rest and a great lunch, Mr. Weasley asked if he and Harry couldn't go for a bit of a spell out in the pastures near by. "Just for a walk, that is," he said quickly, "then maybe we can discuss matters in private." Harry nodded and followed him out the back of the house, glad to be in the fresh breeze with the sun shining. It made everything else seem not as...dark.
Once they were well out of earshot, and almost half a mile away, Mr. Weasley turned and they walked for a few minutes until they came upon a small hill. Sitting on the top of it they could look down on a small part of the town, including the Burrow. Harry looked at Mr. Weasley, waiting for him to speak. "Harry..." he looked at the bottle green eyes, "...we found Sirius." Harry straightened, "You mean, you found his...or is he...I mean is he still...?" "No Harry," said Mr. Weasley with great effort, "he's not alive. We found his body." Harry's heart sank back into the pit of his stomach; somewhere he had been hoping against everything logical that Sirius was still alive. "I know you had hoped Harry, I know," said Mr. Weasley, "we all did. But sometimes...these things...they just...happen." "Yeah, well, tell me about it," Harry snapped, surprising himself. "I wasn't saying it for you, Harry, I was saying it for me too," said Mr. Weasley, and suddenly Harry felt sorry he had said such a thing. It had somehow escaped him that Mr. Weasley might be hurting just as much from Sirius's death as well.
"I'm sorry sir," said Harry, meaning it. "I know Harry, it's all right, it's hurting us all," said Mr. Weasley, "and the thing is, there's more to tell." He took a deep breath as he began, "You...you might have heard in the Daily Prophet about some Muggles being attacked lately. Death Eaters and such, you know, the Unforgivable Curses..." "Yes I'd heard about that over the summer," said Harry blandly, still thinking about Sirius. "Well...unfortunately...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named found two Muggles in particular. The Grangers, that is. Hermione's parents." Harry gasped, "Oh no..." "It's okay for now Harry, they're safe, but...their flat was blasted to pieces, apparently. Only just escaped. If it hadn't been for Snape they'd probably have-" "Snape!" cried Harry, "What does he have to do with all this?"
Mr. Weasley's mouth tightened, "I know you think he's one of the worst teachers ever, I know because you and Ron think alike, but Harry, he's got some good in him. If it hadn't been for him the Grangers would be dead. He found out that Voldemort had discovered where they lived and got them out before it was too late. He's not so bad, Harry. Even for a Slytherin." His mouth twitched with slight humor at the last remark. Harry continued to stare out across the town, and dared ask the one question that he was almost certain he knew the answer to, "Mr. Weasley...why did Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who go after Mr. and Mrs. Granger? They're just Muggle dentists. They'd never hurt anybody."
Mr. Weasley looked at Harry, "I think you already know the answer." Harry's shoulders sank; of course. "To get to me," he said softly, hating himself every second. Mr. Weasley nodded, "But we've got them taken care of now. They're somewhere safe, and Hermione's coming tomorrow to stay here. Alastor Moody's with her parents though, so they should be more than safe as it is, not to mention the extra charms we put on their new flat. It's in Diagon Alley, by the way. Might be able to visit when we're there for school supplies, with any luck." Harry nodded; Hermione would surely hate him now. Whenever she came tomorrow he would just slink off, hoping to remain unseen.
Harry and Mr. Weasley walked back down to the Burrow after a few more minutes of gazing idly at the town, the sun slowly began to set, and Harry wished he could just stay there forever. Never worrying about what was going on in the world, and never having to worry about Voldemort. His mind jolted at the thought of what Dumbledore had said at the end of last year, about how it would be either him or Voldemort. One must live. One must die. His scar prickled a bit, then settled down; what he wouldn't give to be normal... After a few hours of discussing their summers, Ron, Ginny, and Harry all went to bed, although Harry was looking for an excuse to sneak off early. He just wanted to be alone and think, although the bright orange of the Chudley Cannons in Ron's room didn't help him concentrate one bit. He sighed and turned over in bed, and he felt his scar prickle again.
Harry's summer of weary waiting was almost at a close; after encountering very little resistance from the Dursleys this summer, due to the threat of the Order, Harry was incredibly bored with life at Privet Drive, and was more than ready to go back to the Burrow.
Sunlight crept through his window, playing duck and drake behind the clouds; it was morning. Harry leapt out of bed with excitement and quickly pulled on his humongous jeans, followed by a baggy shirt. 'Today is the day,' he thought happily, 'today is the day I go to the Burrow!'
Suddenly he froze.
And remembered.
He was reliving Sirius's death all over again.
'How could I...?' he thought guiltily. 'How could I possibly have been so happy when Sirius is...is...gone.' He covered his face in shame; he had been so gleeful about going back to the Burrow that he had forgotten all about his godfather, his only relative, the only one to share in his mischiefs, the only one to understand the pains he had underwent. And now he was gone. Had been gone all summer. Was now gone forever. The return to the Burrow had been the only thing sustaining him through all these long months of dreaming and remembering, of things past and things to come. But it still wasn't enough to bring Sirius back. 'If I can find a way, I will,' he thought with growing anger, 'I'll find Voldemort. I'll kill him. I'll do it with my bare hands. But not before I find Lestrange. She goes first.' His hands were almost shaking now at the thought of Bellatrix Lestrange, who had brought so much havoc into his life. 'Murderers...' he thought acidly...
A quick rap on the window sounded and broke Harry from his stupor.
"Harry! Harry it's us!"
Harry turned to see Ron and Ginny Weasley outside the window. "Ron! Ginny!" he said, running to the window and throwing it open. "Quietly, the Dursleys are still asleep!" he said. Luckily, however, they were more than likely to remain that way as they had already made an agreement with Harry that he could take his things in the wee hours of the morning and be gone, so as not to alert the neighbors. They would say and do nothing as long as he was quick, quiet, and unseen. "Got your trunk all ready?" asked Ginny, sweeping in with her mane of fiery red hair. "Right here," said Harry, pointing to the foot of his bed. "And of course Hedwig," said Ron, holding out a hand to take hold of her cage. Harry passed it to him, then noticed something particularly odd.
"Erm...Ron?"
"Yes?"
"What exactly...I mean...er...how are you floating outside my window?"
"Ohh, that," said Ron. He looked down and commanded "Up!" and suddenly he went up. "A magic carpet?!" said Harry. "Yup!" Ron said heartily, "Dad's just..." he lowered his voice, "...well, you know how he likes to tinker around with those Muggle things. You know, like those eckletricity plugs. Well, he was looking at this carpet that Mundungus Fletcher had, and he agreed to let Dad have it so as to get it off his hands. Personally I suspect he got it off Ali Bashir. Real easy to transport people once you've got the old Invisibility Charm on it, though." Harry grinned, thinking about Mr. Weasley and Dung, "I guess so." "Come on now Harry, we've got to get out of here," said Ginny, levitating the trunk onto the carpet.
"And how exactly are we going to keep the trunk and the cage from falling off this thing?" asked Harry as he stepped onto the carpet, which wriggled slightly. "Easy," said Ginny, "Sticking Charm." And with that, the three of them took off sailing through the sky, and Harry found himself gripping the edges of the carpet with fear at first, scared that he would fall off and land on his head, but after a few moments of freedom from the Dursleys, he realized it was all worth it.
They arrived at the Burrow an hour later, scattering fat brown chickens through the yard as they landed, most of them running for cover. Harry stood up and walked off the carpet in a wobbly fashion; he hadn't retained his legs all that well after sitting on that carpet for so long, what with it shaking and shuddering all about. Picking up his trunk and his cage, he followed Ron and Ginny into the house; he was expecting to see Fred and George, but then suddenly remembered. They now owned a flat in Diagon Alley, right above their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. And suddenly the Burrow felt a little different; it would just be Ron and Ginny from now on. "Mum should be making breakfast," said Ron, "she's been expecting us."
Harry looked up at the magical clock as he passed by, and noticed that Ron and Ginny both read as "Home." Luckily, nobody was in "Mortal Danger." "Harry!" cried Mrs. Weasley, nearly dropping her pan of bacon, "So glad you're here now dear! Sit down and have something to eat!" Almost immediately a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and marmalade appeared in front of him as he sat down, "Thank you!" he said, meaning every bit of it. The Dursleys had certainly done their part in trying to deprive Harry of anything possible, and that included food.
Wolfing it down quickly, Ron and Ginny grinned, "What?" asked Harry through a mouthful of toast. "Dursleys been depriving you again eh?" said Ron. Harry sat back, "I don't even like thinking about it. They don't even give me Dudley's old clothes anymore; which is fine, really; it's not like I'll ever grow completely into them, the fat lump." Ginny giggled and set about eating, and Ron followed suit. A few minutes later, Arthur Weasley entered the door, at which point Mrs. Weasley suddenly straightened up and said "Arthur...do you think now...?" "Ah, no, Molly dear, how about a little later when they've all had a chance to nick some sleep?" he said. She nodded, "It's probably best."
"Uh, excuse me, but what's probably best?" said Ron. "Don't you worry about it Ronald," said Mrs. Weasley, "your father has something he needs to talk over with Harry." "Hey wait a minute, why is it nobody ever talks things over with me? Or all of us?" said Ron, setting down his fork. "Yeah, all of us!" said Ginny. Harry shrugged, "They are family after all." Mr. Weasley smirked, "That's true enough. But really Harry, this isn't...what we should call...a family matter. At least...not ours. It's something I need to discuss with you alone, Harry." His face grew grave, "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." And with that, he went upstairs to change.
Ron and Ginny looked at Harry, "Well, if that's what sort of matter..." said Ron slowly. They had both been uneasy ever since Sirius had gone, and none of them cared to broach the subject; dark times reminded them easily of that which had already occurred. Harry stopped chewing for a minute, and wondered to what Mr. Weasley was referring.
He just hoped it was good news.
After a few hours of rest and a great lunch, Mr. Weasley asked if he and Harry couldn't go for a bit of a spell out in the pastures near by. "Just for a walk, that is," he said quickly, "then maybe we can discuss matters in private." Harry nodded and followed him out the back of the house, glad to be in the fresh breeze with the sun shining. It made everything else seem not as...dark.
Once they were well out of earshot, and almost half a mile away, Mr. Weasley turned and they walked for a few minutes until they came upon a small hill. Sitting on the top of it they could look down on a small part of the town, including the Burrow. Harry looked at Mr. Weasley, waiting for him to speak. "Harry..." he looked at the bottle green eyes, "...we found Sirius." Harry straightened, "You mean, you found his...or is he...I mean is he still...?" "No Harry," said Mr. Weasley with great effort, "he's not alive. We found his body." Harry's heart sank back into the pit of his stomach; somewhere he had been hoping against everything logical that Sirius was still alive. "I know you had hoped Harry, I know," said Mr. Weasley, "we all did. But sometimes...these things...they just...happen." "Yeah, well, tell me about it," Harry snapped, surprising himself. "I wasn't saying it for you, Harry, I was saying it for me too," said Mr. Weasley, and suddenly Harry felt sorry he had said such a thing. It had somehow escaped him that Mr. Weasley might be hurting just as much from Sirius's death as well.
"I'm sorry sir," said Harry, meaning it. "I know Harry, it's all right, it's hurting us all," said Mr. Weasley, "and the thing is, there's more to tell." He took a deep breath as he began, "You...you might have heard in the Daily Prophet about some Muggles being attacked lately. Death Eaters and such, you know, the Unforgivable Curses..." "Yes I'd heard about that over the summer," said Harry blandly, still thinking about Sirius. "Well...unfortunately...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named found two Muggles in particular. The Grangers, that is. Hermione's parents." Harry gasped, "Oh no..." "It's okay for now Harry, they're safe, but...their flat was blasted to pieces, apparently. Only just escaped. If it hadn't been for Snape they'd probably have-" "Snape!" cried Harry, "What does he have to do with all this?"
Mr. Weasley's mouth tightened, "I know you think he's one of the worst teachers ever, I know because you and Ron think alike, but Harry, he's got some good in him. If it hadn't been for him the Grangers would be dead. He found out that Voldemort had discovered where they lived and got them out before it was too late. He's not so bad, Harry. Even for a Slytherin." His mouth twitched with slight humor at the last remark. Harry continued to stare out across the town, and dared ask the one question that he was almost certain he knew the answer to, "Mr. Weasley...why did Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who go after Mr. and Mrs. Granger? They're just Muggle dentists. They'd never hurt anybody."
Mr. Weasley looked at Harry, "I think you already know the answer." Harry's shoulders sank; of course. "To get to me," he said softly, hating himself every second. Mr. Weasley nodded, "But we've got them taken care of now. They're somewhere safe, and Hermione's coming tomorrow to stay here. Alastor Moody's with her parents though, so they should be more than safe as it is, not to mention the extra charms we put on their new flat. It's in Diagon Alley, by the way. Might be able to visit when we're there for school supplies, with any luck." Harry nodded; Hermione would surely hate him now. Whenever she came tomorrow he would just slink off, hoping to remain unseen.
Harry and Mr. Weasley walked back down to the Burrow after a few more minutes of gazing idly at the town, the sun slowly began to set, and Harry wished he could just stay there forever. Never worrying about what was going on in the world, and never having to worry about Voldemort. His mind jolted at the thought of what Dumbledore had said at the end of last year, about how it would be either him or Voldemort. One must live. One must die. His scar prickled a bit, then settled down; what he wouldn't give to be normal... After a few hours of discussing their summers, Ron, Ginny, and Harry all went to bed, although Harry was looking for an excuse to sneak off early. He just wanted to be alone and think, although the bright orange of the Chudley Cannons in Ron's room didn't help him concentrate one bit. He sighed and turned over in bed, and he felt his scar prickle again.