When Harry arrived at the house he wasn't surprised to see the curtains drawn and the flickering of light coming around the edges. The Dursleys were obviously watching TV again, probably one of those talk shows that made Harry's toes curl. He was in luck, for he might be able to sneak in unnoticed when their attention was on the screen.
He slipped in quietly, making sure to close the front door as softly as possible behind him. The door to the living room was slightly ajar, and the noise that came from within confirmed that a talk show was on. Then he made his way over to the stairs. He sighed with relief. He had almost made it to his room without having to endure a confrontation with his aunt and uncle. Almost...
"Boy! Get your ass over here!"
Harry grimaced. Just my luck.
He slowly made his way over to the living room, and pushed the door open with trepidation. Inside he found his aunt on the couch and his uncle on his usual large chair, looking for all the world like a king about to execute his subordinate. Dudley was nowhere to be found. He was probably sleeping up in his room. What time was it anyway?
"You have hurt my family for the last time, you hear me?" his uncle began.
For a moment Harry was confused. He had come home late, how did that hurt anybody? But he knew better than to voice this question as he saw his uncle's face become red.
"Dudley told us what happened this afternoon. Frankly, I don't even know what you're doing back here. If you had any remorse for what you did you would not have stepped in our home again," his aunt said, the anger in her voice barely contained.
At her words Harry felt his own anger return as well. Of course Dudley had told his version of the events.
"Look, I don't know what Dudley told you, but I swear I didn't do anything to him. In fact, if he hadn't chased me down to-"
"How dare you blame my son for what YOU did, you ungrateful bastard!" His uncle jumped up from his chair with admirable agility for someone his size and took two steps in Harry's direction. Harry forced himself to remain where he was, looking up defiantly and squaring his shoulders. It was bad enough that he was unable to defend himself against the muggles his own age, he would refuse to back away from this one.
"We took you into our home, gave you clothes, a room of your own, we fed you!" Uncle Vernon spat. "And this is how you repay us? You good-for-nothing brat, I should've left you to freeze to death on our doorstep!"
"Then why didn't you? Why did you take me in when you knew you would never be able to raise me as your own? You act like you took me in out of the goodness of your heart, when you have only managed to treat me like trash all my life! You only had use for me as your punching bag!"
SMACK!
He really should've seen it coming, but he was still shocked to feel his uncle's fist connect with his jaw. In the corner of his eye he saw aunt Petunia walk away from them towards the kitchen, something she usually did when things between uncle Vernon and Harry became physical. Harry figured it would make her feel better about herself if she just turned a blind eye to it all.
Harry's attention was brought back to his uncle however, when he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him hard against the wall with the most hideous wallpaper in the house. Uncle Vernon's face became a deep shade of purple and for a crazy split-second Harry thought his uncle was choking right in front of him. He knew of course that it was his barely contained anger that brought on this coloured appearance.
"You must have a death wish, boy! First you use your freaky stuff on my son, scarring him for life, and now you think you can talk back to me? You're right, I wish you had never been born, I wish that you would not have been burdened on my family. You have hurt us long enough with your existence. FREAK!"
Uncle Vernon gave him a shake against the wall for good measure, before closing his pudgy fingers around Harry's arm in a vice-like grip and pulling him towards the hall and up the stairs. He threw him into Dudley's second bedroom and Harry lost his balance and fell unceremoniously on the floor. Glancing back he saw his uncle's furious face just before the door was slammed shut. For all the fear they had that neighbours might notice things, they sure did their best to make themselves heard as loudly as possible.
Harry pushed himself up with a groan, his body protesting against the movement, and made his way to his bed. He sat down on it with an angry huff. Yes, he was in pain, but holding on to this anger made it bearable and felt like the only lifeline he had left. He was sick of this. Sick of not being wanted, sick of being a burden to everyone around him. He longed to be a normal teenager, to only have to worry about schoolwork and girlfriends. But unfortunately life had different plans for him.
Suddenly the door was opened again and this time it was aunt Petunia. Without a word she threw a bag of frozen peas on the bed next to him. Harry looked up at her with confusion.
"For your face. We don't want the neighbours to see your distasteful appearance," she snapped at him. A little late for that Harry thought, but kept his mouth firmly shut. He fleetingly wondered if she feared being accused of child abuse by the authorities more than the opinions of the neighbours on their non-normalcy. Probably not. And he was definitely not an abused child either.
"You are to leave first thing in the morning."
Harry's head shot up.
"You mean... leave the house?"
Aunt Petunia sniffed disdainfully at his tone. "Yes, leave the house. And don't count on ever coming back here. There is no place for you here and we will not allow you to disrupt our lives any longer."
With that she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her with a firm finality.
Harry didn't know how long he sat there gaping at the door. Shit... Why did he not keep his mouth shut like he had learnt to do a long time ago? Why did he have to provoke them?
A small part of Harry actually felt a weight lift from his shoulders at the thought that he had fought back, that he had made his words count for once. He was not the small and fragile little kid they had reluctantly taken into their home anymore. He would be sixteen in just two days. Just one more year until he was of age by wizarding standards, and he could make decisions for himself. Including living arrangements.
He sighed and picked up the bag of peas and softly put it to his face. The ice-cold feeling helped to soothe the pain in his swollen jaw as well as his nerves at the prospect of having to leave tomorrow morning.
He would figure it out, he told himself. No need to worry himself sick over things he had no control over currently. He would find an answer to this problem in the morning.
He lay down on the bed, fully clothed and still holding the bag of peas to his face. He let his thoughts flow away, leaving his mind empty as if he was a master Occlumens. Snape would be proud of that. Ha, as if.
He would figure it all out. Tomorrow.
---
Harry woke up with a headache and heard a loud thud just outside his bedroom door. He sat up slowly to prevent any dizziness and glanced warily at the door. He remembered last night and felt a renewed sense of trepidation at the situation he had got himself into. Well, no time like the present.
He got up and took his backpack from under the desk and began to pack the few belongings he had in the room. Clothes from the wardrobe, some paper and a pen (for his parchment and quills were still in his trunk downstairs). He also took the now defrosted peas for good measure. He decided to leave Hedwig's cage behind, since he couldn't use magic to shrink it and it was far to big and heavy to carry around as it was. Hedwig didn't even like cages and it was only ever used in summers with the Dursleys. Besides, he took pleasure in the thought that the Dursleys would have to remove it themselves. He grinned as he imagined the disgusted look on aunt Petunia's face at having to touch the "vile thing".
He kind of wished Hedwig was with him now and not at Ron's house where he had send his last letter to, so he would not feel as alone. And it would give him the opportunity to inform someone of his current predicament. He sighed. Well, nothing could be done about that now.
When he was done packing he took a last look around the room. He had no sentimental feeling towards it whatsoever, but it was a strange feeling that he would not ever see it again. Even though it was sparse, it had been his only refuge during the long summers with his relatives. And the only actual room with a bed he ever had, considering that he spent his child years in the cupboard under the stairs.
He closed the door behind him and went downstairs where he was surprised to find his trunk waiting for him in the hall. He looked at the other end of the hall and saw his aunt, uncle and cousin in the door opening to the living room, glaring daggers at him.
He wondered if he should say something, some parting words to close off the time he spent under their roof. Should he apologize for the inconvenience he had caused? Should he part with a resentful comment on how bad they had treated him? Should he thank them for giving him a roof over his head?
But looking at them now he realised that he didn't want to say anything. These people would not hear it, so why waste his breath? He pitied them for their short-sightedness and their inability to look beyond their own pride and arrogance. How things could have been different if aunt Petunia had taken him in lovingly, him being the only thing left in this world that was her sister's. How he had longed for them to sit with him at the dinner table, eating a hot bowl of soup and bring up memories of his mother, to hear what her life was like before she was taken from them. How he wished, as a small child, to be held when he had woken up from a nightmare in his dark cupboard, or for a proud pat on the back when he got home with good grades, or to just have someone care for him and be concerned for him if he had scraped a knee. Those were the things a real family would do, or at least he imagined they were. And they had not been family in the real sense. They shared blood. Nothing more.
And with that final, depressing thought, he grabbed the handle of his trunk and stepped out the front door, letting it fall shut behind him, without looking back.
He realised it was still very early in the morning. Even the birds had not woken yet. He wondered what his next move should be. Well, first things first.
He walked out of the Dursley's front garden and crossed the street where he would be a little more concealed by the trees and bushes that grew there. He opened his trunk and took out his wand. It felt so good to have it in his hands again, like a part of him that was lost had been found back. He also swapped some of the clothes in his backpack for robes and his invisibility cloak, just to be certain it was within reach if needed. Last he retrieved a pouch with some sickles and galleons in it.
This brought an idea to mind. He could take the Knight Bus with this money. It only cost eleven sickles if he remembered correctly. But where would he go? The Leaky Cauldron in London, like he did last time, would probably be too dangerous. Dark wizards could possibly be on the look-out for him around Diagon Alley and muggle London.
Grimmauld place was another option, although he wasn't sure exactly where it was since he had only been apparated there before. And also, he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that house yet, now that Sirius did not walk the halls there. This brought back some sad memories and he shook his head to try and clear it. Not Grimmauld Place then.
Another idea sprung to mind, one which lifted his spirits considerably. Deciding to go with that and take it from there, he stuck his wand hand in the air and immediately felt a rush of air pass him as the Knight Bus stopped right in front of him.
In the door opening appeared Stan Shunpike and he looked just as shabby as he did last time Harry saw him.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this morning. Please state your destination, we can take you anywhere you want to go."
"I would like to go to Ottery St. Catchpole, please," Harry said looking up at him.
"Ottery St. Catchpole it is then, that will be eleven sickles, please take a seat and grab hold of something sturdy".
Harry paid for the ticket and took a seat in the back of the deserted bus, for which he was grateful. The ride to Ottery St. Catchpole thankfully wasn't as bumpy as his trip to London was last time, because there were no narrow streets and sharp turns to go through. Even though the Knight Bus was magically fast, it still took quite some time to get to their destination. Harry spent this time looking out the window, but soon grew dizzy from the fast passing landscape and choose to close his eyes and relax a little. His body still ached from the previous day and he figured it would be quite some time until he was back to normal.
Just as he had drifted off into a light doze, the brakes of the bus screeched and they came to an abrupt halt. Harry had fallen off his seat and looked up in panic as he rubbed his sore butt.
"This stop is Ottery St. Catchpole, thank you for travelling with the Knight Bus, it was our pleasure, we hope to see you again. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I wish you a good day," Stan called from the front of the bus lazily.
Harry lifted an eyebrow at this, then shrugged, grabbed his things and stepped out of the bus. Just as he turned around to say his thanks, Stan's eyes grew large as he looked him up and down.
"Hey, I know you!" he turned his head towards the driver and continued, "Hey Ernie, look, its Nev-"
But the bus had sped away before Stan could finish his sentence, probably off to help another wizard in need. He grinned, feeling much lighter than he had all summer.
He took off in the direction of the Burrow, looking forward to seeing his friends again. After a thirty minute walk, slowed down by the heavy trunk he carried with him, he arrived at the Burrow. He smiled, suddenly feeling like was home. A nagging thought at the back of his mind told him that this was not his home, and that the people in it were not his family, but he managed to shake it off before it could dampen his mood.
He knocked on the door and waited for a response. He heard a lot of stumbling sounds from inside the house, as if multiple people were trying to get to the door first. Then it flew open and he came face to face with Mrs. Weasley, whose mouth opened in shock.
"Harry?"
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said sheepishly.
"Harry!" Two redheaded people shot past Mrs. Weasley and flew into his arms. Ginny giving him a fierce hug and Ron encompassed both of them in his long arms.
Then Mrs. Weasley seemed to come out of her stupor and waved her children away from Harry to give him a hug of her own.
"What are you doing here Harry? Not that I'm not glad to see you, dear," She ended the hug and held him at arm's length, taking a good look at him. Harry saw the alarm in her eyes, and it looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself.
"Well, let's just get you settled inside first. You must be hungry so I will cook something up for you," she smiled at him but it did not reach her eyes. She turned and lead the way into the kitchen.
Ron helped him carry his trunk inside, while Ginny looked at Harry's face with the same look her mother gave him.
"What happened to your face Harry?" she asked.
"Oh, err... I took the Knight Bus to get here," Harry replied.
Ron made a face. "That thing should not be allowed to transport anyone anywhere. You could seriously break bones just taking it two blocks around the neighbourhood."
Harry could tell that Ron was easy enough to convince but Ginny wasn't. She narrowed her eyes but refrained from commenting any further on the subject. They followed Mrs. Weasley inside.
After they put all Harry's stuff in Ron's room, they went down to the kitchen, where the smell of baked eggs and sausage made Harry's mouth water. They settled down at the table and Mrs. Weasley came over to hand him a plate and some bread rolls.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley", Harry said gratefully and took the plate from her.
He dove in, relishing the flavours of the home-cooked food and enjoying the company of those he loved. Harry listened to Ron and Ginny, who talked about all the things they had done so far this summer, which included helping Mrs. Weasley out with the vegetable garden, playing Quidditch in the yard whenever Fred and George where at the Burrow and sneaking out at night to nick some chocolate pudding from the kitchen. At that last confession, Mrs. Weasley swat at their heads but her lips were curled up in a playful smile. How different it was from when Harry tried to sneak food at the Dursleys. They would have a fit and lock him up in his room for a week if they found out. Of course, Harry had learned to be stealthy when nicking food over the years, so he managed to avoid getting caught anymore. Harry smiled at the knowledge that he wasn't going back there, ever. Even though he still had to figure out what to do about the first month of next year's summer. He shoved that thought away to mull over later. At this moment he felt full and content so he wanted to savour this happy feeling. Ginny's voice brought his attention back to his friends.
"It's really weird though, for Ron and I to be the only ones left in the house. It's so quiet around here without Fred, George and the others."
"Oh stop it Gin, you were always complaining about us getting into your hair and you not having enough space for yourself as the only girl," Ron replied teasingly.
Ginny wacked him on the head playfully. "I just can't wait for you to be gone too, I'll have you know. I'll have the whole house to myself."
"Who says I'm ever going to move? I have no need for my own place, I'm fine with staying here. Besides, Harry will be spending his time here as well so you'll be outnumbered again," Ron turned to him, "right Harry?"
Harry glanced at Mrs. Weasley. "Err... I..."
"Of course you are always welcome here dear, you are part of the family and we have more than enough space," Mrs. Weasley jumped in.
Harry smiled gratefully at her and felt his heart swell with love. This is what having a family feels like, he thought. He knew that this family wasn't truly his, and it would probably never feel exactly the same, but he was immensely grateful for their unconditional acceptance of him.
"Which brings me to the question of your arrival here, Harry," Mrs. Weasley continued, "I wasn't expecting to see you at all this summer."
Another lie was on Harry's lips, but the open, smiling faces of the Weasleys prompted him to stay close to the truth. He could trust them with it. He told them what had happened, leaving out the details of the fight with Dudley and the manhandling he had endured by his uncle. He would not burden them with that, and also shame prevented him from elaborating. He told them he got into trouble because Dudley thought he had used magic against him and his aunt and uncle were so shocked and furious that they kicked him out, indefinitely.
"This is the only place I felt I could go to, safely," Harry ended his explanation.
Mrs. Weasley looked angry, but Harry realised it was not directed at him. If she thought there was more to the story, she didn't comment on it.
"I see, Harry," she smiled gently at him. "I'm glad you came here then."
Harry smiled back at her.
"I do, however, have to inform Professor Dumbledore that you arrived here safe and sound."
Harry slowly nodded at her, before she briefly squeezed his shoulder and left the kitchen to make a fire call.
Harry didn't know how he felt about the headmaster. The last time he had seen him he had been so angry and lost and had smashed his whole office to smithereens. He still felt bitter towards the man, but his anger had cooled. Dumbledore had a war to win and had to play the game well, regardless of the pawns he needed to get to his goal. Harry was unable to understand this last year, had felt unfairly treated by being kept in the dark for so long and for which his godfather had paid the price. But after hearing the prophecy, and the key role he had to play in this war because of it, Harry could understand that sometimes things had to be sacrificed for the greater good. He had never seen weakness in Albus Dumbledore, but the tear he let roll down his cheek that day said enough. For all the power Dumbledore possessed, he was still human, and was burdened with this immensely difficult and heavy task, and many people's lives depended on his decisions. He couldn't stay angry with the man for that.
"So... are you all right, Harry?" Ginny asked tentatively with a concerned frown on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said automatically with a shrug. When he saw Ginny's concerned look he added, "It's just a bruise. No big deal." His face broke in a gentle smile to reassure the red-haired girl.
"No, I mean are you all right about Sirius?"
It was just like Ginny to be this forward and direct. He often appreciated this perk of hers, it was refreshing to have someone, a girl, speak her mind openly and freely for a change. Especially as he was often clueless to what girls actually meant to say between the lines, like he was during his disastrous and short-lived romance with Cho Chang. But at this moment he could not help but feel cornered by her prompt question.
"I'm fine," he said curtly.
A silence ensued in which Ginny looked him directly in the eyes, giving Harry the feeling she was trying to read his mind. Ron sat like a statue on his seat, looking at his sister incredulously. The silence felt oppressive to Harry and the need to break it compelled him to elaborate.
"I mean, it's not... easy... by any means." He muttered. He really did not want to talk about it.
Then Ginny shifted in her seat and reached for his hand in a comforting gesture. Her bright brown eyes locked with his green ones and Harry was surprisingly unable to look away.
"You don't have to talk about it, Harry. Just know that when you do want to, we'll always be there to listen."
Harry gulped and blinked, not really knowing why those words affected him that much. He didn't want to talk about it, because there just wasn't anything to talk about. Not really... Yet Ginny's words suggested there was more to talk about and the fact that she let him figure it out on his own terms was deliberating.
She gave his hand a short squeeze before letting go and thankfully changing the subject to a much lighter one. Ron also seemed to unfreeze again and jumped in to help lighten the mood.
Harry, Ron and Ginny continued chatting for a little while longer until they heard a swishing sound from the adjacent room. Not long after that the form of Albus Dumbledore appeared in the doorway
looking powerful and gently at the same time with his magnificently coloured robes. Just behind him was Remus Lupin, who was dusting of his robes and looked just as dishevelled as Harry remembered him. Remus looked up an immediately sought out Harry's eyes. Harry gulped, not sure how Remus would feel about him after the events at the Department of Mysteries. Remus gave him a tentative smile before following Dumbledore further into the kitchen and broke eye contact to address Mrs. Weasley.
"Molly, so good to see you," he said, extending his hand to her politely.
Dumbledore greeted her as well and they exchanged pleasantries with each other for a short while before Dumbledore turned towards the other occupants in the room.
"A pleasure to see you all as well of course, though I must say I am surprised to see you here Harry" Albus looked at him over his half-moon glasses. He didn't seem angry really, but nevertheless Harry felt shame creep up at him. He knew that Dumbledore had not wanted him to leave the Dursleys this early, let alone indefinitely. He struggled to formulate a reply, but Dumbledore beat him to it.
"Fortunately, you have already spend a whole month at your aunt's house so I believe the blood wards have provided ample protection for now. I do wish you had contacted someone beforehand of your plan Harry and I trust you will do so in the future."
That was definitely a reprimand, Harry thought as he felt his cheeks heat up. He scoffed inwardly of the unfairness of it all. He hardly planned for all of this to happen and felt he had made the right choices within the available options. He opened his mouth to tell Dumbledore as much but the headmaster had turned his attention to Remus and was talking jovially again.
"Now that that's settled, I think you could best take Harry to Grimmauld Place per floo Remus. I have taken the necessary anti-tracking precautions to this floo connection."
Harry's head shot up at this in bewilderment, but he wasn't the first to voice his disbelief at Dumbledore's words.
"What? You can't mean for Harry to leave now can you? He's just arrived!" Ron told them. Mrs. Weasley looked as if she wanted to smack him for being disrespectful towards the headmaster.
Ginny stepped in as well, "Why can't Harry stay here the rest of the summer? He'll be surrounded by his friends here."
"He has a friend there as well," Remus said gently and understanding, with a small smile on his face. Harry swallowed, not going to admit to himself how much Remus" words had meant at that moment.
"I understand this may be difficult and unexpected," Dumbledore said calmly to the teens," and I wish I could tell you otherwise, but headquarters is more securely warded, unplottable and the safest place for Harry to be outside of Hogwarts."
Ron and Ginny looked ready to continue to argue this point in his stead, but Harry had already resigned himself to having to return to that house. He knew there was no point to try and persuade the headmaster in this. He sighed and stepped in.
"It's fine, guys," he saw their sceptical looks and added, "really, it is."
"But Harry, tomorrow is your birthday! Can you not stay for that at least?" Ron asked.
Harry started at the realisation that he had his birthday coming up as he had totally forgotten it. Not that is was a spectacular day for him in general anyway, but it might be enough to convince Dumbledore to let him stay at the Burrow just one more day. He looked at him questioningly, unable to temper his hopes.
For a moment he thought Dumbledore would decline, as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. But then he clapped his hands and smiled at them.
"Of course you can stay for your birthday, Harry. Remus will come and collect you tomorrow evening then." He nodded at Remus and Remus beamed at Harry before they both said their goodbyes and left.
He couldn't believe his luck as Ron clasped his hand on his shoulder and Ginny grinned at him. Mrs. Weasley, who had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time looked happy and somewhat relieved as well, before she ushered them out of the kitchen.
Chapter 2 The Burrow