Chapter One: Lonely Summer

A boy with messy black hair and sparkling green eyes stared out of the window. Normally Harry's time at Privet Drive was the worst of the year, but thanks to the absence of a few friends, this summer seemed almost peaceful. His horrible aunt and uncle were ignoring him as usual although they were feeding him better. His aunt Petunia had actually bought him a pair of jeans from the local consignment store. For some strange reason, she was being slightly more civil to him than usual. He figured the thought of Mad-eye Moody or Tonks with her pink hair walking up the driveway was what was causing the change in her personality. Just when the thought had made his face crack into a smile there was a knock at the door.

"What?" Harry said in a rude manner.

"Dinner's ready, mum said for you to come and fix your plate," Dudley replied.

"Tell her I'm coming," Harry said coldly.

Just then, an owl flew onto Harry's bed.

Harry knew instantly that it was a Hogwart's owl, and Hedwig hooted unhappily.

"Hush, you're going to get me into trouble," Harry hissed at her.

Harry held his breath as he removed the parcel tied to the brown owl's leg. The owl flew over to Hedwig's cage where she snapped her beak angrily at him.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry snapped at her.

She cooed at him as if to respond. Hedwig had never really gotten over the incident with Harry and the school owls in his fourth year, and this particular owl was the one Harry used to send Sirius a message instead of Hedwig.

There was a loud smash down stairs, "TELL HIM TO SHUT THE BLOODY BIRD UP!" roared Vernon Dursley.

"Calm down Vernon, do you want those freaks showing up at our front door?" Petunia shot back.

Harry heard the stair creaked and then a slight knock on his door.

"What?" Harry spat.

His aunt Petunia opened his bedroom door with a seriously stern look on her face, "Your uncle requested that I come up stairs and ask you if you could quiet down your bird."

"Owl," Harry corrected.

"Whatever," she snorted. "I can see you don't want to join us for dinner," Petunia said as she turned to walk out the door, "I'll have Dudley bring you up a plate, a small plate," she said coldly.

Harry didn't bother answering her, as much as he hated his remaining relatives, he hated the thought of going back to Hogwarts even more. He was so numb, he had barely written Ron and Hermione, and he didn't even answer any of Hagrid or Tonks' letters. He wrote Moody and Lupin twice a week to assure them that the Dursleys were being civil and to keep them from marching up the Dursley's front door and hexing them. The thought of them showing up usually made Harry crack a grin, but his uncle was insistent that he write those letters to keep them away. It was in fact it was the only thing having to do with magic his uncle had ever insist he do. Harry had lost some weight over his summer vacation, probably because he hardly ate his first two weeks home. He rarely left the house, or his room. Most of the time he was lying on his bed, sulking in his utter depression. Finally Harry opened the parcel from the owl.

"Great, my O.W.Ls are finally here," Harry muttered.

Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully passed 5 of your O.W.Ls with an E level or higher. You will be informed on which classes you have been excepted into when you receive your book list for the term. Congratulations.

Miniva McGonagall
Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Transfiguration: E
Charms: E
Care for Magical Creatures: O
Astrology: A
Divination: A
Potions: A
Herbology: E

"Well, could be worse. At least I won't have to put up with Snape this term," Harry thought bitterly to himself.

Dudley knocked and slid a plate, small, as Aunt Petunia had dictated through the slit Vernon had placed on the door about 5 years earlier when he and Petunia had locked Harry in his room to keep him from returning to Hogwarts.
"Oh yum, Petunia's meatloaf," Harry said sarcastically towards Hedwig's direction.

He picked up the plate and set it on the desk in his room. Grabbing up a piece of parchment, he began to write Lupin and Moody.

Lupin and or Moody,

I'm fine, Dursleys are being civil. Don't send help, yet.
Hope all is well.

Harry

"That should do it," Harry said, "Hedwig, I've got something for you to deliver, come over here."

Hedwig floated down onto Harry's shoulder and let him slip the parchment around her leg.

"You know where to go girl," Harry encouraged.

She nipped at his ear lovingly and flew out the window into the dark still night. As he watched her slowly disappear out his window, he made out the figure of another owl getting closer. Harry thought about shutting his window and ignoring whoever it was sending him a message, but soon realized it would do no good. The owl would just come in through an open window down stairs, cause a commotion and make his way up to Harry's room.

"Pig, what do you have this time?" Harry asked Ron's little owl.

For some reason he detested this small owl now, perhaps because his late godfather had given it to Ron or perhaps because it was just so annoying. Harry snatched the package from Pig's leg and contemplated throwing it to the floor and ignoring it, but eventually began to open it.

Harry,

Haven't heard from you much mate. Hope everything is okay and all. Hermione says hello. We're at the Order's headquarters and Dumbledore said it won't be long until you can join us here. Mum awful worried about you, she didn't like it one bit that Dumbledore sent you to that horrible place right after, well, you know. If you want to talk about it, just let me know, I'm here for you mate. Have you been reading the Daily Profit? Sure you have, but be expecting a surprise in it tomorrow. It's great news! Hope to see you soon or at least hear from you.

Ron

P.S. Mum doesn't believe those muggles are feeding you properly so she made me send some snacks, enjoy.

Harry crinkled up the letter and threw it into the corner. How could Ron act so chipper? Harry honestly didn't care if he never got away from Privet Drive again, sure he hated it but at least nobody was trying to kill him while he was here. While he still had a subscription to the Daily Profit he barely read any of the articles, most of the time he just tossed it into the waste basket and tried to forget he was a wizard.

"Harry, can we talk?" Dudley Dursley was peeking into Harry's room with a fearful expression on his face.

"Go away Dud," Harry snapped.

Dudley turned to walk away then suddenly turned around and said, "No, we need to talk about something."

"What do you want?" Harry said " I have enough on my mind without you annoying me."

Harry made a grab for Mrs. Weasley's treats.

"What are those?" Dudley asked as his eyes grew hungry.

"None of your business," Harry said coldly.

"Fine, anyways, it's important, and I don't know who else to talk to, if I asked mum or dad they would probably be pretty angry at me," Dudley began as if Harry had given him permission to talk to him.

Dudley entered Harry's room and sat on the bed.

"What don't you understand about go away, Dud?" Harry asked hatefully.
Dudley suddenly pulled out a Hogwarts letter from his pocket. "It's addressed to me," Dudley said as he stared down at the green ink.

Harry sat there staring at his cousin, what was he supposed to say, what answers could Harry possibly provide?

"It's probably my headmaster telling you what a git you are," Harry spat.

"Shut-up, or I'll….hit you," Dudley said as he curled up his fists.

The two sat there is silence for a few moments and Dudley started again.

"Anyways, last year after you attacked me and left," Dudley sneered, "Mum went up to the attic and brought a box of things down to toss into the bin. I was bored so I followed her to see what she was going to pitch. That's when I found this."

Dudley stared down at his hands for a second, then pitched the letter over to Harry. Harry began to pitch the letter back to Dudley but curiosity got the better of him. He opened it.

"It's a Hogwarts acceptance letter," Harry said surprised.

Dudley raised his head towards Harry.

"No it's not! I'm not a freak like you, they must have just addressed it wrong," Dudley said coldly.

"They never address anything wrong," Harry snickered, "you're a freak too, a magical wizard type freak!"

Dudley was on his feet, he had a threatening look on his face.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," Dudley threatened.

"I've got the most evil Dark Lord ever sending me death threats every time I turn around, and you think you scare me," Harry snickered.

Dudley gave Harry a cold look and stormed out the door.

"Good riddance," Harry muttered.

He walked over to his bed and collapsed.

"Way to go Harry, you're making jokes about Voldermort now," Harry said to himself.
His thoughts started drifting, and a tear ran down his cheek. "Sirius, why didn't you listen to Dumbledore?" Harry spoke into the air as if he was expecting an answer.

The next morning Harry awoke to a hooting Hedwig. She was bouncing up and down like she had the best news in the world tied to her leg. Another owl sat on Harry's desk with a copy of the Daily Profit.

"Bloody hell, what is it now?" Harry spat, but it didn't diminish the owl's mood.

Harry threw Hedwig and the other owl his meatloaf from the previous evening. He untied the Profit and his letter from the two owls' legs. He was about to throw the newspaper into the trash ,as usual, when he suddenly gasped.

Sirius Black Cleared of All Charges….

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has insisted that escaped murder Sirius Black be cleared of all charges. Mr. Sirius Black was sentenced to life in Azkaban prison after the deaths of James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew and no less than twelve muggles. Black was thought to be the Potter's secret keeper who turned them over to he who must not be named.
New evidence shows that another close friend of the Potters, Peter Pettigrew, was actual the one who betrayed the Potters and murdered all those muggles. In faking his own death, he framed Sirius Black.
Sadly, Black's release comes too late. In a late night raid on the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries last spring, Black was killed as he fought along side other Dumbledore supporters.


Harry threw the paper aside. I don't need to relive it, Harry thought bitterly. He started to stand up and go down stairs for a bit to eat when his eye caught Ron's letter.


Dear Harry,

Great news, you're coming to headquarters today. Mum and Dad said I could be the one who tells you. I know you're excited, you're getting away from those terrible muggles and you'll be with us, your friends, again.
It's a lot more exciting here this year, no more house cleaning. You'll see when you get here. Tonks and Lupin will be picking you up by Floo transport around one or so. See you soon mate!

Ron

He didn't want to enter back into his nightmare again. Why was he so cursed, why had Voldemort marked him? Maybe he didn't want to go back to the wizarding world, after all, what was the wizarding world without Sirius Black?
Harry's heart dropped.

****

The day passed quickly. Finally the day came when he was meant to leave. Harry made it a point not to tell the Dursleys he was leaving today. He slowly gathered his things into his chest and secured Hedwig into her cage. The clock down stairs made its normal "bong" type sound only this time it was followed by Petunia's loud piercing scream.

"We've been civil to him, what are you doing here?" Vernon asked fearfully.

"Calm down , Dursley, we're here to do you and Harry a favor," Tonks said with a smile.

"He's leaving then? Thank heavens," Vernon said happily, "Well hurry it up then before the neighbors see."

"Harry, are you ready to go?" Lupin shouted up stairs.

Harry wasn't ready to go, for the first time in his life he wasn't ready to leave Privet Drive. Maybe if he hid under the bed, or jumped out the window and took off down the street. He was willing to do anything not to rejoin the wizarding world where he was a marked man.

"Harry, are you okay?" Lupin's voice sounded concerned.

"Coming," Harry choked out.

Remus Lupin opened Harry's bedroom door and saw Harry sitting on his bed.

"Harry are you okay?" Lupin asked.

"I'm fine," Harry said shortly.

"Here let me help you get your things down the stairs then," Lupin said as he performed a hovering charm on Harry's chest.

"How have you been?" Lupin said as he turned towards Harry.

Harry's face told Lupin the entire truth.

"I know Harry, I miss him too," Lupin said with a forced smile.

Harry started to say something, but stopped and instead stood up and led Lupin and his chest out the door.

"Hello Harry, ready to go?" Tonks asked with a wide grin on her face.

Lupin shock his head at Tonks as if to give her a warning. Tonks brought a finger to her lip as if to say sorry in an unknown sign language.

"Okay Harry, you've traveled by Floo before, we finally have access to the Floo network again since the Ministry's on our side," Tonks said enthusiastically.

"Go on then, get out of here," Vernon urged.

Harry caught Dudley out of the corner of his eye, he looked worried. Harry grinned and yelled out, "See you later freak."

Petunia let out a whimper and ran to comfort Dudley and Vernon suddenly turned blood red.

"Alright, time to go," Lupin said with urgency in his voice.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Vernon roared.

Lupin was attempting to calm Vernon Dursley down, but Harry never witness if he succeeded. He had already thrown his Floo powder into the fireplace and was being whisked away to Grimmauld Place.