Author's Note: Okay, if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix or Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch, Renata's going to seem
as kind of a shock, so I thought I'd give you a quick introduction. She
went to magic school in California, her mom was the Defense Against the
Dark Arts teacher in my version of Order of the Phoenix and was Lily's best
friend.. Her dad was killed by Voldemort. And Renata positively rocks at
Quiditch.
Summer was half-over and Harry Potter sat entertaining the possibility of running away from home-not that his current location was much of a home to run from-his cousin wouldn't notice and neither would his aunt or uncle, even if they did notice they'd be grateful for it. They'd probably throw a party, if someone could convince Aunt Petunia that her house would remain spotless throughout it. Harry sighed, but Dumbledore would of course know, Dumbledore always knew. Harry could hardly wait until the school term started again. Things always got better then; or worse, depending on how you looked at it, but as far as Harry was concerned it was much better than staying with the Dursleys. Anything was better than staying with the Dursleys. Harry sat at his desk to read the letter he had just received from one of his best friends.
Harry,
Happy Birthday! How is your summer going? I hope you've
finished your homework and haven't been flying where anyone will
see you. Guess what? I've made Head Girl! Isn't it exciting? I
wonder who they've chosen for Head Boy. Is it you? Percy's
wedding ought to be interesting. Ron's the best man, did he tell
you? I've never been to a wedding of this sort before. Only
Muggle weddings. The package here is your present. It's a spell
I've been working on. There're instructions inside. I'll see you
soon.
Hermione
Harry opened the present the letter had come with. A note had attached instruction about how to use the "Live-Write Communication" Spell. Already things don't seem quite normal: Muggles, spells, and flying aren't normal discussion topics for most people. But Harry James Potter was by no means most people. Harry was an orphaned wizard about to embark on his seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry smiled. Hermione Granger never changed. As always she was concerned with rules, regulations, and homework; but she was a great friend all the same. One of Harry's best friends as a matter of fact. So was Ron Weasly. Ron's third oldest brother Percy would be getting married this summer and Harry really hoped he could go to the wedding. He'd have to write to Ron about it. Harry turned his attention back to the package he'd been sent. Inside were a note, a bottle of green ink, a quill, and a sheaf of parchment. The note said the parchment, quill, and ink, were all specially enchanted. If he, Hermione, Renata, or Ron happened to be writing on the parchment at the same time they would be instantly writing back and forward to one another. The rest of the note explained that this was much like the private Chat Rooms on Muggle Internet systems.
Harry knew that if he could just get through August he'd be back at Hogwarts. Harry tried not to concentrate on the fact that this would be his last year there. After Hogwarts, he didn't know what he wanted after he graduated. He shook the thought from his mind. He still had the year ahead of him so there was no reason to worry about it now. Harry looked at the quill, ink, and parchment Hermione had sent him. He wrote down, "I am here." The letter had said, wait ten minutes, if no one replies tear the paper in half and then you're no longer in the discussion.
To Harry's surprise there was a reply almost immediately, in purple ink. "Hey, Harry, happy birthday."
The note had said they all had different color ink so they could tell each other apart. "Hi, Renata. How's your summer going?"
"Not bad. Yours?"
"No worse than usual. Did you hear about Ron?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm best man in Percy's wedding."
The red ink appeared directly under Harry's green. "Hi, Ron."
"Hey, Ron."
"Hello to you two, too. This new spell of Hermione's works great, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Yep. When's the date again?"
"Er-25th of August. Harry, can you get there? It'll be at the house."
"Probably, I'll write to Sirius."
The purple ink appeared, "You could always hitch a ride with my mom and me."
"Thanks, I'll check with Sirius first though."
"By the way, Harry, happy birthday. Did you get my card and present?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, thanks, Ron."
"You got mine, too?"
"Uh-huh. Thanks, Renata." Harry looked over at the cards from Renata and Ron. He noticed that now only his own owl was in the room. Janus was gone, on his way home to Hermione. Harry petted Hedwig a moment before returning his attention to the paper.
"With you two leading the team, Gryffindor oughtta do pretty good this year, huh?"
"You think so?"
"Of course, Harry. As long as you don't overwork the team again."
A new color suddenly appeared on the page, blue. "Hi, everyone. Is this working okay?"
"Yeah, great."
"How'd you come up with this?"
"It's sort of complicated to explain."
"Then don't," Ron scribbled.
"When will everyone be in Diagon Alley?"
"Whenever I can get a ride," wrote Harry.
"Again, if you just ask my mom or I can drive you."
Harry was embarrassed; the Dursley's hadn't permitted him to take a driver's education course this summer, so he still didn't have a license. He could ride his godfather's flying motorcycle, but he had no way to get it. Hermione and Renata had gotten their licenses this summer, but he and Ron didn't. As wizards, they wouldn't need to drive once they learned to Apperate. But they couldn't get their Apperating licenses yet.
"So when does everyone want to meet in Diagon Alley?" asked Hermione.
"How's the 20th?"
"Fine."
"Sounds good."
"Okay."
"Listen, I've got to go. Fred and George are here. I haven't seen them in a while. I'll talk to you guys later. Write me."
"Take care, Ron."
"Bye."
"I've got to go, too. My parents are taking me shopping."
"Bye, Hermione."
"Bye Hermione."
"Bye!"
"Listen, you said you'd talk to Sirius, but why bother?"
"Huh?"
"Remember? He doesn't live all that far from me. Just a quick flight. I can talk to him now. Be back in, what? 10 minutes?"
"You don't need to."
There was no response for ten minutes. Harry was just getting ready to tear up the paper when words appeared again. "All set. Sirius is going to be in and out of town the rest of the summer."
"How does that solve anything?"
"Simple: On the 19th I can drive down and pick you up. You can either stay in our guest room or at Sirius's, doesn't matter. On the twentieth we go to Diagon Alley. Afterwards we bring back Hermione and on the 25th we all go back to Ron's."
"Why don't I stay there in the first place?"
"Harry, they are planning a wedding. They'll be so busy the house'll be upside down. They won't need more people to worry about. Trust me."
"Okay. I'm going to go eat now. Bye." Harry tore up the sheet and tossed it in the trashcan. He stood and stretched. He glanced at the mirror and frowned. He felt like he looked the same as when he was eleven. True, he had gotten taller since then but out of the mirror the same unruly black hair, green eyes, skinny frame, and lightning scar on his forehead. He pushed the bangs out of his face and looked at the scar. It was all that was left of a horrible night when Harry was only a year old.
The scene played back in Harry's memory. The cold laughter, the green light, his parents' last brave words. He knew it all. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and breathed for a moment before going downstairs. It was too early for lunch for the Dursleys but Harry didn't care. He could see his cousin had already made at least one raid on the kitchen. His cousin Dudley was.floppy. He had always been large due to lack of exercise (other than beating up people) but the diet he'd been on for the last three years had had mild success and it gave him a large, floppish look.
Harry put a sandwich together and got a glass of juice to take up to his room. He didn't want to be downstairs when his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley came in. They'd rather he'd not exist, and he'd rather not exist in their home.
As Harry shut the door to his room he heard Dudley and his friends stomp into the kitchen. Harry ate alone in his room. He wouldn't go back downstairs until all the Dursleys were occupied again. He lay down to think. Images flashed inside his head: his first Quiditch match, crashing in a flying car, watching his parents die, Cedric's death, Renata. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew was a sharp pain in his ankle.
"OW! That hurts. Stop!" He smacked the aggressive owl at his ankle and hoped it didn't belong to any of his friends. It was an eagle owl and it was bearing letter.
The owl hooted once before leaving.
Harry scowled and glanced at his ankle. Sure enough there was blood there. He hobbled down the hall to the bathroom to clean up the bite and bandage it up. Harry thought, I wonder who sent that? He opened the letter.
Do you miss me? You will not survive to turn 18. That is a
fact. I'll make sure of it. By the way, your friends may not
survive either. Just thought you ought to know.
Instead of a signature or name at the bottom, there was only a skull with a snake coming out of it like a gruesome tongue. It was the Dark Mark. Voldemort's sign. The sign of the man who had murdered so many innocent people, including Harry's own parents.
But there was no way to know whether Voldemort had sent this or whether it was one of his Death Eaters. It could have even been another Hogwarts student. Draco Malfoy and Harry hated each other. Harry tried to put the paper out of his mind and he shoved it in the trash. After all, Voldemort had been trying to kill him since he was a year old; the night he murdered Harry's parents.
Harry started working on his homework to help take his mind off things. When he went to bed that night, Harry couldn't sleep. The letter was still on his mind. Eventually Harry turned on the light and retrieved it. He tried to tear up the letter. It didn't work. He took out a shoe and smashed it on the paper; it didn't leave a mark. This was getting frustrating. Harry crept down to the kitchen out rummaged around a drawer for a match. He lit it and tried to light the paper. Again, there was no success. He ran it under water and the ink didn't run. Harry wasn't sure why it was so important to him but he had to destroy the letter. After a few more futile attempts Harry went back to bed, though it was a long time before he fell asleep.
Harry woke-up with the sun in his eyes and something under his arm. As Harry yawned lazily and stretched his arms he noticed something. The letter from the day before was stuck to his arm. Harry pulled it off and found both sides to be blank. His eyes widened in confusion. This letter had been serious. Now it was gone. What had happened?
Harry knew that he should tell someone about the letter. But who was he supposed to talk to? Ron? Hermione? Renata? No, it said they were in danger, too, or they could be. He didn't want to worry them. This was probably a sick joke of Malfoy's. Sirius? Professor Delano? Dumbledore? It was useless. Everyone would overreact. They always did. Best not to tell anyone.
Down at breakfast Harry's large, purple-faced, mustached Uncle Vernon was already eating and talking with beady-eyed, long-necked Aunt Petunia. Dudley was of course giving his plate undivided attention. Harry sat down and helped himself to a piece of whole-grain toast. It tasted terrible but he ate it in anyway. He waited for a break in the conversation to talk to his Uncle.
"Er-Uncle Vernon?"
"What, boy?" he growled, his eyes narrowing.
"Er-that is-a friend of mine said they could pick me up on the nineteenth. Then you wouldn't have to worry about me the rest of the summer after that."
"A friend? How would they get here?" his voice was getting dangerous.
"Oh, a regular car. Some wi-I mean some people like me do use regular cars." He had nearly said "wizard" and that would have led to trouble. Or rather, more trouble.
"Are you sure? Who is this? They promise not to bring you back here?"
"Yes. It's a friend from school. The one who came last year. No, I won't be back here 'til next summer." And by then I could leave here forever, he thought.
"Last summer?" Uncle Vernon took a large bite of toast.
"Yeah. With Sirius and my professor. Renata said she'd drive me up to Sirius's house." Because you wouldn't let me get my license! Harry took another bite of the unpleasant toast in front of him as he waited for the answer.
"I'll think about it, if you behave."
Harry saw Dudley smirk across the table and knew instantly that this would not be an easy three weeks. *******************************************
During the rest of the week Harry was miserable. Only the thought of getting back to Hogwarts in September kept him going. "Soon I'll be back where I belong and after that, the next time I see them I can turn them all into frogs," he muttered to himself. From the time he had learned he was a wizard until the middle of his first summer after coming home from Hogwarts, Harry had been able to spook the Dursleys into think he was able to turn them all into beetles or anything else at will. But they had found out that he'd get expelled for doing magic outside of school. He was still underage, and underage wizards weren't permitted to do magic outside of school.
Harry heard Dudley and his gang thundering up the stairs. He grabbed a cloak that was lying on top of his trunk and he threw it over himself and held still. He didn't make a sound as Dudley and his friends came in, looking to beat him up as they always did. No one could see him. Harry was wearing the invisibility cloak he'd inherited from his father. They looked dully around the room. As they were leaving, Harry gave the one in the rear of the line a swift kick that caused him and his fellows in front of him to fall over, mostly on top of Dudley. Harry had a hard time not laughing; though through all the swearing the others likely wouldn't have noticed. Harry was glad that his invisibility cloak was still one secret the Dursleys hadn't caught on to.
Harry grinned and shut his door once they were out of sight. He sighed. That trick could cost him. If Dudley decided to somehow blame Harry, Harry's life would instantly be made worse by a certain uncle of his.
Dudley was too stupid to even suspect Harry but all the same, life became worse. The next day Harry had to mow and water lawn, prune the roses, repaint the garden bench, wash, all the dishes after each meal, vacuum every room in the house (but his aunt and uncle would let him in theirs), and he had to wash and wax his uncle's new company car, twice. Harry had just finished washing his uncle's car when Dudley and his friends came by.
"Hey, freak! Watch this!" Piers Polkiss launched a mud-filled water balloon at Harry. He ducked and it splattered allover the freshly cleaned car.
Harry groaned. Soon the mud-filled water balloons were being aimed not only at him, but the car as well. A few balloons landed without popping and Harry threw them straight back and the others, hitting Dudley twice and Piers once. When they were out of balloons Harry had guessed they were done. He started to clean the car again, not trusting himself if he had to speak to Dudley. He didn't notice Piers and another boy come behind him and grab his arms. By then it was too late and Dudley was already using him as a punching bag. When he and his friends were done with Harry, they left and the laughed.
Harry cleaned the car yet again and waxed it. When he was done, Harry went for a short walk. He wasn't going to give Dudley the satisfaction of seeing how hurt he was when he came in. Harry ended up at Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg appeared to be an ordinary Muggle on an ordinary street, but she wasn't.
Harry rang her doorbell and waited. It wasn't long before it was opened. But Mrs. Figg didn't answer.
"She's not feeling well today, sorry, no visitors-Harry?"
"Ginny? You're a long way from the Burrow aren't you?" Harry stared at Ginny. "You're taller."
She blushed. "Yeah, well Mrs. Figg went to Hogwarts with my mum and she hasn't been feeling all that well lately. She's better now actually. My mum sent me here because things are just so hectic at home and she figured it would be good to help Mrs. Figg here for a while. What are you doing here? You don't look so well."
It was Harry's turn to blush. "I live nearby. But the thing is, I-er- the thing is, my cousin beat me up. He and his friends. I think I got a couple cracked ribs, and my face isn't too good either. I'm still not allowed to do magic outside of school and I didn't want to show up back home looking like a train wreck."
"Come in, then." Ginny led the way through Mrs. Figg's neatly kept, cabbage-smelling living room and through a wall that wasn't really there. This was Mrs. Figg's office. It was quite the opposite of the rest of the house.
Mrs. Figg's office was casual and a mess. Things not found in the rest of the home were all over the workplace: eyes of various creatures, large and dusty tomes, a burning fire in a corner that while emitting heat it didn't catch anything else on fire, and there were also two cauldrons and a lady stirring the one on the right.
The woman was muttering at one of the books; had brown hair that was on its way to gray, and blue eyes that searched the page as if looking deeper than it.
"Mrs. Figg?"
The woman looked up, "What, Ginny? Harry, what brings you here? You look awful."
"Dudley got to me. Could you help me?"
"Since you don't want to get expelled for doing spells outside of school. I understand. How much damage?"
"Cracked ribs and both these eyes will be black."
"Hmmm. Yes, that one is already turning blue. Ginny, get some ice from the freezer, please."
"Ice?"
"It'll bring the swelling down around your eyes, Harry. Sit." She motioned to a large comfortable chair in the corner. Mrs. Figg got up and chose a book off the shelf, muttering to herself. She picked up her wand and started making motions as she talked.
Harry found his breath coming easier and his chest didn't hurt so much. "Thanks. Is there anything you can do about the eyes?" Now that he was breathing better he noticed the headache more.
"I think so. And I'm sure you've got a headache. Oh, Ginny. You've got the ice. Put this on your eyes for a few minutes, Harry. Ginny, will you get him a glass of water and some aspirin for his headache?"
"Sure."
Harry could hear Ginny leaving even though he couldn't see her. He also heard Mrs. Figg going through packets and jars of things. It seemed to be a long time before Harry was allowed to remove the ice. Mrs. Figg held out two poultices and put them over his eyes. They smelled foul and were slimy.
"What's in these?"
"You don't want to know," said Ginny, standing somewhere near the door and sounding slightly amused.
"Relax, it's banana leaves, shredded mandrake root, fish scales, a little dragon's blood and some spit from a Kneazle."
Harry tried not to gag.
"Here, take these aspirin."
"How? I can't see anything." He felt two aspirin pressed into one hand and a glass of water into the other. Attempting to take these without watching was slightly more difficult than it looked and Harry spilled water down his front.
He heard Ginny laugh. "It's all over you!"
"Can I take these off my eyes yet?"
"Wait another five minutes. Ginny, watch the clock for him. I have to go work on something. Goodbye, Harry."
"Bye. Thanks." Harry groped around for a place to put his glass. He didn't want to get up; he might not be able to find the chair again.
"Here. Give me that. There's no table near you." Ginny took the glass and set it down somewhere across the room. "I didn't know you lived near here."
"I'm just a few streets away. Ron didn't mention you were staying here."
"Really? When was the last time you heard from him?"
"This morning."
"Oh." She lowered her voice to a whisper and started giggling. "Did he tell you he's been writing a lot of letters to Hermione this summer?"
Harry was beginning to feel dumb. "No. Hermione didn't mention it either."
"Oh, he never sent most of them. Although he did send a few to Renata."
"Really? He sent letters to her?" Things seemed to be getting worse by the second. He had talked to all three of them that morning and they hadn't mentioned anything; well Hermione was off the hook since she hadn't known about the letters. He was quiet for a while. "Er-I think it's been five minutes. Can I take this stuff off my eyes?" Harry removed the sloppy, gooey, stuff from on top of his eyes. He looked around for a mirror and found one hanging in the corner. "Wow. You can hardly tell. What sort of magic was this, anyway?"
"Witch doctor brand. It's pretty old but it still works well enough."
"I've got to get home. The Dursleys probably think I'm gone for good now and are all celebrating."
"No, they're not!"
"Sure they are." Harry shuffled all the way home, his mind wandering and he got lost twice during the short distance back to Privet Drive. Why was he so worked up about this? The four of them were friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata; four friends and mild troublemakers at Hogwarts. They'd all been through a lot together. Especially he and Ron. They'd been friends since the first time they boarded the Hogwarts Express. But they were all friends. What was so unusual about writing letters to your friends during the summer? Nothing. They all wrote to each other because they missed each other. But Ginny had made it sound like there was something else. Harry sighed. It was probably nothing. Ginny was just Ron's dumb little sister anyway. A little thought in the back of his mind said, But she isn't so little. She's only a year younger than you. She's not a baby; she's 16.
When Harry entered the dining room his only relatives barely acknowledged his entrance.
"Did you finish the car?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry filled his plate and did not speak another word and wasn't spoken to again. Harry cleaned the plates in silence.
When Harry was on his way to his room Dudley asked dumbly, "Why aren't you hurt?" He knew he'd been hitting Harry hard.
"I'm invincible. The older I get the stronger I get. You can't hurt me. Never again." This wasn't true but Harry laughed when he saw the look of terror on his cousin's face.
The price to his joke was his uncle getting him up at dawn the next day to clean the gutters on the roof.
Summer was half-over and Harry Potter sat entertaining the possibility of running away from home-not that his current location was much of a home to run from-his cousin wouldn't notice and neither would his aunt or uncle, even if they did notice they'd be grateful for it. They'd probably throw a party, if someone could convince Aunt Petunia that her house would remain spotless throughout it. Harry sighed, but Dumbledore would of course know, Dumbledore always knew. Harry could hardly wait until the school term started again. Things always got better then; or worse, depending on how you looked at it, but as far as Harry was concerned it was much better than staying with the Dursleys. Anything was better than staying with the Dursleys. Harry sat at his desk to read the letter he had just received from one of his best friends.
Harry,
Happy Birthday! How is your summer going? I hope you've
finished your homework and haven't been flying where anyone will
see you. Guess what? I've made Head Girl! Isn't it exciting? I
wonder who they've chosen for Head Boy. Is it you? Percy's
wedding ought to be interesting. Ron's the best man, did he tell
you? I've never been to a wedding of this sort before. Only
Muggle weddings. The package here is your present. It's a spell
I've been working on. There're instructions inside. I'll see you
soon.
Hermione
Harry opened the present the letter had come with. A note had attached instruction about how to use the "Live-Write Communication" Spell. Already things don't seem quite normal: Muggles, spells, and flying aren't normal discussion topics for most people. But Harry James Potter was by no means most people. Harry was an orphaned wizard about to embark on his seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry smiled. Hermione Granger never changed. As always she was concerned with rules, regulations, and homework; but she was a great friend all the same. One of Harry's best friends as a matter of fact. So was Ron Weasly. Ron's third oldest brother Percy would be getting married this summer and Harry really hoped he could go to the wedding. He'd have to write to Ron about it. Harry turned his attention back to the package he'd been sent. Inside were a note, a bottle of green ink, a quill, and a sheaf of parchment. The note said the parchment, quill, and ink, were all specially enchanted. If he, Hermione, Renata, or Ron happened to be writing on the parchment at the same time they would be instantly writing back and forward to one another. The rest of the note explained that this was much like the private Chat Rooms on Muggle Internet systems.
Harry knew that if he could just get through August he'd be back at Hogwarts. Harry tried not to concentrate on the fact that this would be his last year there. After Hogwarts, he didn't know what he wanted after he graduated. He shook the thought from his mind. He still had the year ahead of him so there was no reason to worry about it now. Harry looked at the quill, ink, and parchment Hermione had sent him. He wrote down, "I am here." The letter had said, wait ten minutes, if no one replies tear the paper in half and then you're no longer in the discussion.
To Harry's surprise there was a reply almost immediately, in purple ink. "Hey, Harry, happy birthday."
The note had said they all had different color ink so they could tell each other apart. "Hi, Renata. How's your summer going?"
"Not bad. Yours?"
"No worse than usual. Did you hear about Ron?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm best man in Percy's wedding."
The red ink appeared directly under Harry's green. "Hi, Ron."
"Hey, Ron."
"Hello to you two, too. This new spell of Hermione's works great, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Yep. When's the date again?"
"Er-25th of August. Harry, can you get there? It'll be at the house."
"Probably, I'll write to Sirius."
The purple ink appeared, "You could always hitch a ride with my mom and me."
"Thanks, I'll check with Sirius first though."
"By the way, Harry, happy birthday. Did you get my card and present?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, thanks, Ron."
"You got mine, too?"
"Uh-huh. Thanks, Renata." Harry looked over at the cards from Renata and Ron. He noticed that now only his own owl was in the room. Janus was gone, on his way home to Hermione. Harry petted Hedwig a moment before returning his attention to the paper.
"With you two leading the team, Gryffindor oughtta do pretty good this year, huh?"
"You think so?"
"Of course, Harry. As long as you don't overwork the team again."
A new color suddenly appeared on the page, blue. "Hi, everyone. Is this working okay?"
"Yeah, great."
"How'd you come up with this?"
"It's sort of complicated to explain."
"Then don't," Ron scribbled.
"When will everyone be in Diagon Alley?"
"Whenever I can get a ride," wrote Harry.
"Again, if you just ask my mom or I can drive you."
Harry was embarrassed; the Dursley's hadn't permitted him to take a driver's education course this summer, so he still didn't have a license. He could ride his godfather's flying motorcycle, but he had no way to get it. Hermione and Renata had gotten their licenses this summer, but he and Ron didn't. As wizards, they wouldn't need to drive once they learned to Apperate. But they couldn't get their Apperating licenses yet.
"So when does everyone want to meet in Diagon Alley?" asked Hermione.
"How's the 20th?"
"Fine."
"Sounds good."
"Okay."
"Listen, I've got to go. Fred and George are here. I haven't seen them in a while. I'll talk to you guys later. Write me."
"Take care, Ron."
"Bye."
"I've got to go, too. My parents are taking me shopping."
"Bye, Hermione."
"Bye Hermione."
"Bye!"
"Listen, you said you'd talk to Sirius, but why bother?"
"Huh?"
"Remember? He doesn't live all that far from me. Just a quick flight. I can talk to him now. Be back in, what? 10 minutes?"
"You don't need to."
There was no response for ten minutes. Harry was just getting ready to tear up the paper when words appeared again. "All set. Sirius is going to be in and out of town the rest of the summer."
"How does that solve anything?"
"Simple: On the 19th I can drive down and pick you up. You can either stay in our guest room or at Sirius's, doesn't matter. On the twentieth we go to Diagon Alley. Afterwards we bring back Hermione and on the 25th we all go back to Ron's."
"Why don't I stay there in the first place?"
"Harry, they are planning a wedding. They'll be so busy the house'll be upside down. They won't need more people to worry about. Trust me."
"Okay. I'm going to go eat now. Bye." Harry tore up the sheet and tossed it in the trashcan. He stood and stretched. He glanced at the mirror and frowned. He felt like he looked the same as when he was eleven. True, he had gotten taller since then but out of the mirror the same unruly black hair, green eyes, skinny frame, and lightning scar on his forehead. He pushed the bangs out of his face and looked at the scar. It was all that was left of a horrible night when Harry was only a year old.
The scene played back in Harry's memory. The cold laughter, the green light, his parents' last brave words. He knew it all. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and breathed for a moment before going downstairs. It was too early for lunch for the Dursleys but Harry didn't care. He could see his cousin had already made at least one raid on the kitchen. His cousin Dudley was.floppy. He had always been large due to lack of exercise (other than beating up people) but the diet he'd been on for the last three years had had mild success and it gave him a large, floppish look.
Harry put a sandwich together and got a glass of juice to take up to his room. He didn't want to be downstairs when his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley came in. They'd rather he'd not exist, and he'd rather not exist in their home.
As Harry shut the door to his room he heard Dudley and his friends stomp into the kitchen. Harry ate alone in his room. He wouldn't go back downstairs until all the Dursleys were occupied again. He lay down to think. Images flashed inside his head: his first Quiditch match, crashing in a flying car, watching his parents die, Cedric's death, Renata. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew was a sharp pain in his ankle.
"OW! That hurts. Stop!" He smacked the aggressive owl at his ankle and hoped it didn't belong to any of his friends. It was an eagle owl and it was bearing letter.
The owl hooted once before leaving.
Harry scowled and glanced at his ankle. Sure enough there was blood there. He hobbled down the hall to the bathroom to clean up the bite and bandage it up. Harry thought, I wonder who sent that? He opened the letter.
Do you miss me? You will not survive to turn 18. That is a
fact. I'll make sure of it. By the way, your friends may not
survive either. Just thought you ought to know.
Instead of a signature or name at the bottom, there was only a skull with a snake coming out of it like a gruesome tongue. It was the Dark Mark. Voldemort's sign. The sign of the man who had murdered so many innocent people, including Harry's own parents.
But there was no way to know whether Voldemort had sent this or whether it was one of his Death Eaters. It could have even been another Hogwarts student. Draco Malfoy and Harry hated each other. Harry tried to put the paper out of his mind and he shoved it in the trash. After all, Voldemort had been trying to kill him since he was a year old; the night he murdered Harry's parents.
Harry started working on his homework to help take his mind off things. When he went to bed that night, Harry couldn't sleep. The letter was still on his mind. Eventually Harry turned on the light and retrieved it. He tried to tear up the letter. It didn't work. He took out a shoe and smashed it on the paper; it didn't leave a mark. This was getting frustrating. Harry crept down to the kitchen out rummaged around a drawer for a match. He lit it and tried to light the paper. Again, there was no success. He ran it under water and the ink didn't run. Harry wasn't sure why it was so important to him but he had to destroy the letter. After a few more futile attempts Harry went back to bed, though it was a long time before he fell asleep.
Harry woke-up with the sun in his eyes and something under his arm. As Harry yawned lazily and stretched his arms he noticed something. The letter from the day before was stuck to his arm. Harry pulled it off and found both sides to be blank. His eyes widened in confusion. This letter had been serious. Now it was gone. What had happened?
Harry knew that he should tell someone about the letter. But who was he supposed to talk to? Ron? Hermione? Renata? No, it said they were in danger, too, or they could be. He didn't want to worry them. This was probably a sick joke of Malfoy's. Sirius? Professor Delano? Dumbledore? It was useless. Everyone would overreact. They always did. Best not to tell anyone.
Down at breakfast Harry's large, purple-faced, mustached Uncle Vernon was already eating and talking with beady-eyed, long-necked Aunt Petunia. Dudley was of course giving his plate undivided attention. Harry sat down and helped himself to a piece of whole-grain toast. It tasted terrible but he ate it in anyway. He waited for a break in the conversation to talk to his Uncle.
"Er-Uncle Vernon?"
"What, boy?" he growled, his eyes narrowing.
"Er-that is-a friend of mine said they could pick me up on the nineteenth. Then you wouldn't have to worry about me the rest of the summer after that."
"A friend? How would they get here?" his voice was getting dangerous.
"Oh, a regular car. Some wi-I mean some people like me do use regular cars." He had nearly said "wizard" and that would have led to trouble. Or rather, more trouble.
"Are you sure? Who is this? They promise not to bring you back here?"
"Yes. It's a friend from school. The one who came last year. No, I won't be back here 'til next summer." And by then I could leave here forever, he thought.
"Last summer?" Uncle Vernon took a large bite of toast.
"Yeah. With Sirius and my professor. Renata said she'd drive me up to Sirius's house." Because you wouldn't let me get my license! Harry took another bite of the unpleasant toast in front of him as he waited for the answer.
"I'll think about it, if you behave."
Harry saw Dudley smirk across the table and knew instantly that this would not be an easy three weeks. *******************************************
During the rest of the week Harry was miserable. Only the thought of getting back to Hogwarts in September kept him going. "Soon I'll be back where I belong and after that, the next time I see them I can turn them all into frogs," he muttered to himself. From the time he had learned he was a wizard until the middle of his first summer after coming home from Hogwarts, Harry had been able to spook the Dursleys into think he was able to turn them all into beetles or anything else at will. But they had found out that he'd get expelled for doing magic outside of school. He was still underage, and underage wizards weren't permitted to do magic outside of school.
Harry heard Dudley and his gang thundering up the stairs. He grabbed a cloak that was lying on top of his trunk and he threw it over himself and held still. He didn't make a sound as Dudley and his friends came in, looking to beat him up as they always did. No one could see him. Harry was wearing the invisibility cloak he'd inherited from his father. They looked dully around the room. As they were leaving, Harry gave the one in the rear of the line a swift kick that caused him and his fellows in front of him to fall over, mostly on top of Dudley. Harry had a hard time not laughing; though through all the swearing the others likely wouldn't have noticed. Harry was glad that his invisibility cloak was still one secret the Dursleys hadn't caught on to.
Harry grinned and shut his door once they were out of sight. He sighed. That trick could cost him. If Dudley decided to somehow blame Harry, Harry's life would instantly be made worse by a certain uncle of his.
Dudley was too stupid to even suspect Harry but all the same, life became worse. The next day Harry had to mow and water lawn, prune the roses, repaint the garden bench, wash, all the dishes after each meal, vacuum every room in the house (but his aunt and uncle would let him in theirs), and he had to wash and wax his uncle's new company car, twice. Harry had just finished washing his uncle's car when Dudley and his friends came by.
"Hey, freak! Watch this!" Piers Polkiss launched a mud-filled water balloon at Harry. He ducked and it splattered allover the freshly cleaned car.
Harry groaned. Soon the mud-filled water balloons were being aimed not only at him, but the car as well. A few balloons landed without popping and Harry threw them straight back and the others, hitting Dudley twice and Piers once. When they were out of balloons Harry had guessed they were done. He started to clean the car again, not trusting himself if he had to speak to Dudley. He didn't notice Piers and another boy come behind him and grab his arms. By then it was too late and Dudley was already using him as a punching bag. When he and his friends were done with Harry, they left and the laughed.
Harry cleaned the car yet again and waxed it. When he was done, Harry went for a short walk. He wasn't going to give Dudley the satisfaction of seeing how hurt he was when he came in. Harry ended up at Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg appeared to be an ordinary Muggle on an ordinary street, but she wasn't.
Harry rang her doorbell and waited. It wasn't long before it was opened. But Mrs. Figg didn't answer.
"She's not feeling well today, sorry, no visitors-Harry?"
"Ginny? You're a long way from the Burrow aren't you?" Harry stared at Ginny. "You're taller."
She blushed. "Yeah, well Mrs. Figg went to Hogwarts with my mum and she hasn't been feeling all that well lately. She's better now actually. My mum sent me here because things are just so hectic at home and she figured it would be good to help Mrs. Figg here for a while. What are you doing here? You don't look so well."
It was Harry's turn to blush. "I live nearby. But the thing is, I-er- the thing is, my cousin beat me up. He and his friends. I think I got a couple cracked ribs, and my face isn't too good either. I'm still not allowed to do magic outside of school and I didn't want to show up back home looking like a train wreck."
"Come in, then." Ginny led the way through Mrs. Figg's neatly kept, cabbage-smelling living room and through a wall that wasn't really there. This was Mrs. Figg's office. It was quite the opposite of the rest of the house.
Mrs. Figg's office was casual and a mess. Things not found in the rest of the home were all over the workplace: eyes of various creatures, large and dusty tomes, a burning fire in a corner that while emitting heat it didn't catch anything else on fire, and there were also two cauldrons and a lady stirring the one on the right.
The woman was muttering at one of the books; had brown hair that was on its way to gray, and blue eyes that searched the page as if looking deeper than it.
"Mrs. Figg?"
The woman looked up, "What, Ginny? Harry, what brings you here? You look awful."
"Dudley got to me. Could you help me?"
"Since you don't want to get expelled for doing spells outside of school. I understand. How much damage?"
"Cracked ribs and both these eyes will be black."
"Hmmm. Yes, that one is already turning blue. Ginny, get some ice from the freezer, please."
"Ice?"
"It'll bring the swelling down around your eyes, Harry. Sit." She motioned to a large comfortable chair in the corner. Mrs. Figg got up and chose a book off the shelf, muttering to herself. She picked up her wand and started making motions as she talked.
Harry found his breath coming easier and his chest didn't hurt so much. "Thanks. Is there anything you can do about the eyes?" Now that he was breathing better he noticed the headache more.
"I think so. And I'm sure you've got a headache. Oh, Ginny. You've got the ice. Put this on your eyes for a few minutes, Harry. Ginny, will you get him a glass of water and some aspirin for his headache?"
"Sure."
Harry could hear Ginny leaving even though he couldn't see her. He also heard Mrs. Figg going through packets and jars of things. It seemed to be a long time before Harry was allowed to remove the ice. Mrs. Figg held out two poultices and put them over his eyes. They smelled foul and were slimy.
"What's in these?"
"You don't want to know," said Ginny, standing somewhere near the door and sounding slightly amused.
"Relax, it's banana leaves, shredded mandrake root, fish scales, a little dragon's blood and some spit from a Kneazle."
Harry tried not to gag.
"Here, take these aspirin."
"How? I can't see anything." He felt two aspirin pressed into one hand and a glass of water into the other. Attempting to take these without watching was slightly more difficult than it looked and Harry spilled water down his front.
He heard Ginny laugh. "It's all over you!"
"Can I take these off my eyes yet?"
"Wait another five minutes. Ginny, watch the clock for him. I have to go work on something. Goodbye, Harry."
"Bye. Thanks." Harry groped around for a place to put his glass. He didn't want to get up; he might not be able to find the chair again.
"Here. Give me that. There's no table near you." Ginny took the glass and set it down somewhere across the room. "I didn't know you lived near here."
"I'm just a few streets away. Ron didn't mention you were staying here."
"Really? When was the last time you heard from him?"
"This morning."
"Oh." She lowered her voice to a whisper and started giggling. "Did he tell you he's been writing a lot of letters to Hermione this summer?"
Harry was beginning to feel dumb. "No. Hermione didn't mention it either."
"Oh, he never sent most of them. Although he did send a few to Renata."
"Really? He sent letters to her?" Things seemed to be getting worse by the second. He had talked to all three of them that morning and they hadn't mentioned anything; well Hermione was off the hook since she hadn't known about the letters. He was quiet for a while. "Er-I think it's been five minutes. Can I take this stuff off my eyes?" Harry removed the sloppy, gooey, stuff from on top of his eyes. He looked around for a mirror and found one hanging in the corner. "Wow. You can hardly tell. What sort of magic was this, anyway?"
"Witch doctor brand. It's pretty old but it still works well enough."
"I've got to get home. The Dursleys probably think I'm gone for good now and are all celebrating."
"No, they're not!"
"Sure they are." Harry shuffled all the way home, his mind wandering and he got lost twice during the short distance back to Privet Drive. Why was he so worked up about this? The four of them were friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata; four friends and mild troublemakers at Hogwarts. They'd all been through a lot together. Especially he and Ron. They'd been friends since the first time they boarded the Hogwarts Express. But they were all friends. What was so unusual about writing letters to your friends during the summer? Nothing. They all wrote to each other because they missed each other. But Ginny had made it sound like there was something else. Harry sighed. It was probably nothing. Ginny was just Ron's dumb little sister anyway. A little thought in the back of his mind said, But she isn't so little. She's only a year younger than you. She's not a baby; she's 16.
When Harry entered the dining room his only relatives barely acknowledged his entrance.
"Did you finish the car?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry filled his plate and did not speak another word and wasn't spoken to again. Harry cleaned the plates in silence.
When Harry was on his way to his room Dudley asked dumbly, "Why aren't you hurt?" He knew he'd been hitting Harry hard.
"I'm invincible. The older I get the stronger I get. You can't hurt me. Never again." This wasn't true but Harry laughed when he saw the look of terror on his cousin's face.
The price to his joke was his uncle getting him up at dawn the next day to clean the gutters on the roof.