Chapter 3 Version 2

Grimmauld Place, London, England

Harry once again was up in his room, this time cleaning his broom for what had to have been the thousandth time that week when he heard the commotion coming from downstairs.
“What should we do Remus? She’s knocking at our bloody door!”
“We just should ignore it, she’ll leave in due time.”
“If we just leave her there she’ll be attracting attention. You know full well Voldemort has spies all over here.”
“We need to get hold of Dumbledore…”

Harry headed downstairs to see what was making Moony and Tonks so nervous. At the foot of the staircase in the hallway stood an anxious looking Tonks with her wand drawn and pointed at the front door from which there was an incessant rapping coming form the other side.
“Tonks what’s going on? Why is Moony flooing Dumbledore?” Harry asked, keeping his own wand out just in case.
“Keep it down Harry. That girl we helped a few days ago is outside knocking on the front door as if the fidelius charm and about three-dozen other ones weren’t protecting it. I mean, blimey, the headmaster himself set them up, so one way or another this’s bad news.
A few tense moments passed until Lupin appeared with the headmaster in right behind him. Without saying another word Dumbledore took four quick paces to the door and swung it open to reveal the young girl. An awkward silence fell over the rather odd sight. There was the girl, mid knock standing in front of a man in purple robes, and behind him stood three people pointing what looked like sticks, right at her.
“Umm…hiya. Is Harry here, he said I could stop by if I wanted to talk,” Emma asked finally breaking the silence.
Harry didn’t wait for a cue from Dumbledore; instead he just walked right up to her. “Hi Emma, how are you? It looks like your cut knee is doing better. Tonks knows her stuff doesn’t she? Oh and your hair’s back to normal, what’d your mum think?”
“Ya it feels loads better, and my hair changed back that night. Mum didn’t care too much, she’s used to weird things happening.” She responded, fingering her brown hair nervously, “Well I wanted to see if you could come swing with me at the park down the street?”
Harry stopped momentarily, looking up at Dumbledore to see what he thought. The headmaster shook his head ever so slightly. Harry didn’t care though, he still was upset with the headmaster and he had no right to lock Harry up like he did to Sirius. “Okay Emma, why not. I need to get outside anyhow, I was starting to get sick of doing my homework.” Harry sidestepped Dumbledore and headed out the doorway.
“Harry, perhaps now isn’t…” the headmaster started to say but Harry had turned around and cut him off.
“Don’t worry about me Albus, I can take care of myself.” He said tersely, his eyes daring Dumbledore to try and stop him. However there was not challenge, just an expression of deep sorrow etched on the Headmaster’s face. Harry took the last step out the door kept going without looking back.
Dumbledore turned around to face Lupin and Tonks. “Tonks if you wouldn’t mind following Harry I do not believe it wise to be outside in these dangerous times. The girl is fine though, her name is indeed on the list of perspective students for this year. What still troubles me however is how she can see through the numerous wards that have been painstakingly placed throughout the house. I must be off now, there are some questions to be answered about this, Remus floo me if anything else occurs.” He bowed curtly and strode into the kitchen.

Dinner that night at Grimmauld Place was quiet once again, Moony and Mad-Eye had left with Kingsley to deal with some rumors of a Death Eater recruiting hideout near Glouscter that they were hoping to stamp out before it gained more members, therefore Harry was left alone with Tonks and Hestia Jones.
“So Harry, what did you and Emma end up doing today?” Tonks asked, trying to sound genuinely curious although she had followed and watched every step they took from under the invisibility cloak.
“Not much, just talked mostly. She’s really shy because of all the bullying she’s dealt with. She reminds me a lot of myself actually. Except she’s a girl, and she’s got a family that cares about her. I’m positive that’s she’s magical though, she showed me how she can move a pebble if she really wants to.”
“Dumbledore told us that her name is on McGonagall’s list so she should be getting a letter sometime soon. That amount of magic does seem to be a bit much though; she can already wandlessly move rocks and can see through our wards. She could certainly be a handful if she goes to Hogwarts.” Tonks said chuckling as she poked at her overcooked chicken.

That evening Harry decided to finally try and respond to at least one of the countless letters he’d gotten. At first he’d thought that the sudden change of locations would stop the flow of letters but shortly after the owls managed to somehow find where he was. From what he’d read his friends didn’t know about the attack or that he wasn’t even anywhere near Privet Drive. He pulled out a sheet of crumpled but clean parchment, dipped the end of a quill he’d dug up from the bottom of his trunk into some ink, and began to write.
Five hours later Harry was sitting at his desk surrounded by a pile of used parchment. He’d had been so focused on his letters that he hadn’t gone to bed, the activity being a welcome respite from the haunting dreams. He was having trouble writing what he truly meant and thought, the words seemingly vanishing the second he managed to think of the proper one. He couldn’t figure out what to write to these people who he had carried into a life-threatening situation without asking them and then nearly getting them killed. He’d spent the entire night drafting, writing, and then re-writing to finally come up with five letters; one each for Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Ron, and Neville, each trying to explain how deeply sorry and upset he was. Finally, only thirty minutes before breakfast he put his quill down, rubbed his eyes, and sealed the last envelope of the five, he then handed them to Hedwig, and went to take a shower hoping he wouldn’t fall asleep in it.

That afternoon Emma once again came and knocked on the door to see if he wanted to come and swing with her. Harry of course said he would and headed out with her down the street.
When they reached the broken down slide and the rust swings he saw a woman sitting on a nearby bench. Harry instinctively grasped hold of the wand he kept in his pocket. As they got closer Harry noticed the shocking similarity between the woman and Emma. “Is that your mum?” Harry asked Emma as they approached.
“Yeah, she said she wanted to meet you. Come on.” She pulled him over to her mom.
“Hi I’m Joy, Emmaline’s mother. She’s talked non-stop about you for the last week so I decided that I should come down and meet the famous Harry Potter.”
“Yes, Harry Potter,” he instinctively moved his hair to cover his scar, “its nice to meet you, your daughter is really great.”
“Thank you; she says the same about you.” Joy looked at the scrawny young boy. His face had a strange haunted look that she only saw in the victims of horrific crimes, his eyes carried with them an immense weight that a teenage boy should not have. “Would you like to have brunch with us? It would be nice to talk to you some more, and I’m sure Emma here would enjoy it.” She asked, hoping that she might be able to get some food in this boy. Although not looking as bad as he did when he first arrived at Headquarters he was still looking quite peaky.
“Um sure, that would be great,” Harry said warmly.
So the three departed the park and headed up the street to a small but well kept house on the opposite side of Headquarters. When Harry entered it he immediately could tell that this was a loving family. Pictures of Emma and her family on the walls, and everything had a homey feel to it that both the Dursleys’ and Grimmauld Place lacked. The closeness of it compared to the dank rooms of headquarters reminded him a lot of the Weasley’s own house.
“Your house is really nice, it reminds me of a good friend of mine’s.” Harry said as he looked over the various pictures
“Thank you, we try and make it feel nice and cozy.” Joy was surprised at how polite and mild-mannered the young boy was considering how he appeared. But no he wasn’t a boy, he’s a man, she corrected herself. His eyes make him look like he’s a hundred years old. Joy’s motherly intuition told her that he had seen or been subject to something that had caused him to skip over his childhood.
“C’mon Harry! Over here into the kitchen, we have loads of food.” Emma dragged him into the kitchen and sat him down. Joy opened up the oven and pulled out a freshly baked coffee cake and cut each of them a piece; there was also bacon, eggs, and orange juice on the table. For a while the room was only filled with the sounds of the silverware hitting plates as they ate.
“Thank you for having me over Emma, I get really bored over the summer so it’s nice to do something every once and a while. I can’t wait ‘till school starts.” Harry said as they cleaned up.
Emma laughed, “That’s silly. Why would you want to go back to school? Summer’s fun!”
“Because it’s more of a home to me than anywhere else,” he said quietly.
“Do you not do anything with your parents over the summer?” Joy asked.
“No, my parents were killed when I was one, I live with my Aunt and Uncle, and they usually don’t like to acknowledge I don’t even live with them.” He said with a sour laugh.
“Oh, I’m sorry; Emma lost her father, Harold, in a car accident. If you don’t mind me asking, how did your parents die?” Joy asked softly.
Harry tried to think of a story in his mind that would not reveal him as a wizard yet still explain what happened. In the end though, he decided to just tell part of the truth.
“Well, my parent’s were murdered by a man named Tom Riddle. He killed both of them, and tried to kill me. He didn’t though, but left me with this scar.” He lifted his bangs out of the way so they could see the lightning bolt scar he was so famous for.
“Did the police ever catch him?” Emma asked.
“No, he ran away after that, no one could find him. Some said he was killed… but he was seen again last year.” Harry stated, satisfied that the story made at least some sense.
“Well I’m sorry that happened to you. You said that you live with your Aunt and Uncle now, how are they?” Joy said patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.
“They’re….ok…. I guess. Well actually right now I’m not living with them. Right now I’m staying with my friends who have a house here. My Aunt and Uncle live in Surrey. They never liked my mom, or my dad, so they don’t exactly love me. I’m more like a tenant or something. They’re as happy to see me go off as I am so I try to only stay at their house as long as necessary.
“Oh, well I’m sorry to hear that. Do you like your school though? Do you go to the public one near here?” Jay asked, she hadn’t seen the boy at Emma’s school and most of the neighbourhood kids went there.
“Nope, I go to a boarding school in Scotland.”
“Really? I went to a boarding school too, what’s it called?” Joy asked.
Harry hesitated for a moment, but then decided to tell them because they would most likely be figuring out soon enough.
“It’s called Hogwarts, it’s near a town called Hogsmeade. It’s really cool, the school’s an old castle and there’s a huge lake that you can hang out by. It’s like my real home.” He said nostalgically, a moment later however he remembered how horrible the last school year was; everything from Umbridge, to learning about the prophecy Dumbledore had been keeping from him had been an absolute nightmare. Harry shook his head clearing it of all those memories, it’ll be better this year, I know it will.
“It sounds cool, I wish I could go to a school like that it would be wicked!” Emma said excitedly.
“I’ve never heard of a school by that name, but Emma’s right it does sound wonderful, I could see why you love it so much. Do you have to apply?” Joy asked, it sounded like a great school and she herself had enjoyed boarding school. Maybe Emma would too, it certainly would help her get away from the bullies around here. Eventhough her daughter never admitted it she knew that she was being bullied and it broke her heart that there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
“Actually I just got a note one day saying that I was accepted into it, apparently my mum and dad had me signed up for it. It was one of the happiest days of my life.” Harry said happily, thinking about what a shock it will be for Emma and Joy when they get the letter.
“Well I’ll have to look into that, I enjoyed my boarding school experience and I’m sure Emmaline would too.” Joy glanced at her watch and gasped. “Oh no, I’m sorry I’m going to have to go I have a case that I should be working on. Harry you’re more than welcome to stay with Emma if you want to. Emma I’ll be at my office, you know the number, and I’ll be home around six alright?” She bent down and kissed her daughter on the forehead.
“I think I’ll be going home also, I have some chores I need to do, I’ll see you tomorrow though okay?” Harry smiled at the little girl.
“Sure, same time, same place. See ya Harry!” She hugged him around the waist.


The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole, England

Ginny had just taken a shower and was combing her still damp hair. As she brushed she thought back to the letter she’d written Harry; it had been over two weeks since she had sent it and had still not heard back. She’d asked her mom how Harry was this morning and she simply replied that he was doing perfectly fine. Something about her mom’s response seemed canned but she figured it was just that she didn’t want her to know how bad the Dursleys really were. She wanted to help Harry though, she’d watched silently year after year as Harry came back to the Burrow, every time he looked dejected and starved. She knew that he only thought of her as a friend but she always allowed herself the small hope that maybe one day she might be able to pay him back for everything he’d done for her.
Ginny stopped when she heard a tapping noise on her window. Outside was the unmistakable white shadow of Hedwig holding an envelope clasped in its talons. Her heart leapt as she raced over to the window. Throwing it open she let Hedwig in and took the letter from her. Hedwig nipped at her finger affectionately and then hopped back out the window.
Ginny didn’t know why but her hands were shaking out of nervousness. She sat down and tore the envelope open.

Dear Ginny,
Thank you for the letter you sent me, it’s nice to know that there are people out there who care for me. Sorry I didn’t write back sooner, I got loads of letters from everyone and I’ve been trying to figure out what to write to you all.
First thing, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am about taking you all to the department of mysteries and almost getting you killed. I should have though it through and not just followed my instinct, maybe then Sirius would still be alive.
For some reason I feel that I can talk to you about this, I hope you don’t see me as weak once you’ve finished this letter. I’ve been having trouble sleeping, every single bloody night I have these nightmares. The bad one is when I just replay the battle in the Department of Mysteries, each time I see Sirius get hit, each time I see him fall through the veil. On good nights I have a dream of this small glass box with some silver liquid in it. I know I’ve never seen it before in real life but for some reason it feels familiar to me. These days I get only a couple of hours of sleep a night… blimey I’m so tired even right now. I remember you saying that you had nightmares after the chamber of secrets, do you still have them? Can you get rid of them? It would be nice if I could get at least a couple of hours more sleep.
I don’t know what your parents have told you but I’m at Snuffle’s place now, some Death Eaters tried to attack my Aunt and Uncle’s home but just got my Uncle Vernon’s toe (I’ll explain later). Anyhow, after the attack they I moved into Snuffle’s nearly two weeks ago and I’ve been mainly staying inside although I met a little girl down the street who will probably be getting her letter to Hogwarts in the next couple of weeks.
Anyway, I hope I don’t seem defenceless or weak to you now, I just had to tell someone and you offered to listen to me. Hope I’ll be able to some visit you and Ron soon I’m going mad in this house, everything creaks when you move and the whole place still smells like Mundungus although he left three days ago.
- Harry

Ginny’s eyes fogged over with tears, she couldn’t believe that he’d actually written back to her let alone told her so much. She knew that he was stubbornly quiet about his feelings so this confession of sorts was very important.
She looked back down at the letter, he’s having bad dreams? Well, how couldn’t he after everything he’s suffered through, I’m just surprised he hasn’t completely snapped under the weight of everything. The first few months after Ginny had been rescued by Harry from the young Lord Voldemort she had barely been able to close her eyes in fear of being repossessed. It had taken the combined efforts of Madam Pomfrey and her mother to finally allow her to get a decent night’s sleep, and that was with the aid of a dreamless sleep potion. Why wasn’t Dumbledore giving him that same help she got? Was it because he couldn’t help? Or was it to make sure it did not interfere with Harry’s trespasses into Voldemort’s consciousness?
That wasn’t the only big piece of information in the letter though, Privet Drive had some how been attacked by Death Eaters. Although he was okay and apparently now staying at Grimmauld Place it unsettled her that neither of her parents had told her or Ron that he was staying there. She’d overheard snippets of conversations between her mom and dad about Voldemort recruiting and something about growing number of attacks, but those had all been done through the extendable ears and very rarely paid off. She was smart enough to know that there was a war brewing but the thought that her friends and family, and even herself now, were caught up in the middle of it worried her to now end.
Exhausted from the day of chores and Harry’s emotional letter Ginny yawned loudly. I’ll write him tomorrow. He said he sent letters to everyone so Ron and Hermione probably have one too, I’ll talk to them and see what he said to them. As she nestled herself under her covers she went over possible ways that they might be able to somehow either get Harry to the Burrow or go to Grimmauld Place. No one should be left alone trapped inside for the whole summer…