Harry walked out of the kitchen and towards the door as his aunt also got out of her chair and watched him leave. He had already moved his trunk outside and was about to close the door when he heard his aunt speak again.
"Goodbye, Harry. I'm sorry I never loved you." Petunia said softly, but loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry froze at the words, uncertain on how to respond, but in the end just nodded and closed the door without saying anything. That, he hoped, would be the last time he ever had to see his aunt.
Harry pulled his trunk to the end of the sidewalk and sat on top of it while trying to clear his head of the conversation he had just had. He had never really understood the Dursley's and doubted now that he ever would. That, however, was not something he would ever lose sleep over.
He had no idea when someone would be coming to get him or where he could find Sirius, so even with his ability to apparate Harry felt a little trapped. Technically there should be someone from the Order of the Phoenix watching him, but he knew that was not always the case. The minutes slowly passed and soon Harry was beginning to worry that he would be sitting outside all day waiting. It was over an hour later when Harry finally saw someone he recognized walking down the sidewalk towards the house.
"Sirius!" Harry called as he jumped up and ran towards his godfather.
"I said I'd be here, didn't I?" Sirius asked. "I see you're all packed, ready to go then?"
"Absolutely." Harry answered. As they turned to go get Harry's things they heard a soft popping noise that both of them recognized as the sound associated with apparition. In a fraction of a second both of them had their wands out and pointed towards the source of the noise, only to lower them a second later.
"Hello Albus, something I can help you with?" Sirius asked with a hint of anger evident in his voice. Professor Dumbledore stood in front of them with a disappointed look on his face, meanwhile Harry was glaring at the man angrily.
"Harry, I apologize for decieving you but you must understand staying here really is in your best interest." Dumbledore said, ignoring Sirius. "I only want to keep you safe."
"I don't know what you're up to, Dumbledore, but this isn't about my safety." Harry replied. "What's this really about?"
"I promise you, Harry, what I do is for the greater good." Dumbledore answered. "Please remain here until school starts again."
"Harry, I need you to look at this." Sirius interrupted, slightly turning his back on Dumbledore. He handed Harry a slip of paper on which an address was written. Instantly Harry felt the knowledge of where Sirius lived enter his mind. "Now, why don't you apparate us out of here? I'd like to see you do it."
"I can't, Sirius." Harry said. "Underage magic restrictions, remember?"
"About those, Minister Bones decided to get rid of them for all students currently enrolled in any magical school." Sirius answered with smile on his face. "You can use magic as much as you want with no worries. It's nice to be a friend and advisor to the Minister, isn't it?"
"Sirius, you know Harry needs to stay here!" Dumbledore said loudly, but Harry and Sirius were still ignoring him.
"That's brilliant!" Harry said excitedly. "Let's go." Harry placed one hand on Sirius and the other on his trunk and before Dumbeldore could say anything else they disappeared, leaving the old Headmaster standing in the muggle neighborhood alone. He sighed and shook his head, wondering how he had allowed things to slip so far out of his control, before he also disappeared in the same manner Harry had.
When Harry and Sirius arrived at their destination Harry found himself staring at long row of houses that looked almost identical to each other. He looked up and down the row, wondering which one belonged to Sirius until finally his godfather spoke.
"Think about the piece of paper I showed you, Harry." Sirius advised him. Harry nodded and remembered the address that had been written down. As soon as he did he saw that two of the homes appeared to be moving apart to make way for another house that had been sandwiched between them.
"That's amazing!" Harry said with a goofy grin on his face. Even after years of living in the magical world he had still not lost the joy of seeing something new and unexpected. "This belongs to you then?"
"That's right." Sirius answered with a nod. "This is the house I grew up in. Welcome #12 Grimmauld Place, home of the Blacks." Sirius led Harry up to the door but stopped once he had placed his hand on the doorknob and turned towards Harry. "I do have to tell you something before we go in. The Weasley's are inside."
"Why aren't they at the Burrow?" Harry asked curiously, but without any anger in his voice. Although his friendship with Ron had fallen apart he still liked the rest of the Weasley family, especially the twins.
"This is also the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Sirius explained. "Arthur and Molly are members, and she offered to help clean up. Until about a month ago no one had lived here since since my mother died, which was many years ago. Magical houses develop unique problems when they're left alone for that long, especially in a house like this."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"My family enjoyed a vast collection of dark objects, many of which attract dark creatures." Sirius said. "The hard part about cleaning this house isn't the dirt and grime, it's the dangerous objects and creatures that are lurking inside of it. I'm sure you'll see though, Molly has been making her kids help and will probably ask you to as well. It'll at least be something interesting to do."
"I don't mind helping." Harry answered. "Let's go in." Sirius nodded and opened the door. After taking a few steps he turned and put a finger over his mouth, telling Harry to be quiet. Harry looked confused for a second before Sirius pointed to a painting of a woman at the end of the short hallway who appeared to currently be sleeping. Once they were past the painting and into another room Sirius stopped to explain.
"Sorry about that." Sirius said. "The painting is of my mother and she's even more foul in death than she was in life, as hard as that is to believe. Unfortunately we can't silence her and no one's been able to break the sticking charm holding her to the wall. So for now we just try not to let her know we're here." Harry nodded in response and they continued on towards the kitchen. Even before he entered the room Harry could hear the sounds of several members of the Weasley family talking and laughing. He smiled at the pleasant sounds until a terrifying thought struck him: would Mr and Mrs Weasley treat him different after what happened between him and Ron? He hoped not and stepped into the kitchen, realizing that was the only way to find out.
"Harry, dear!" Molly Weasley called as soon as she saw him. She had been at the sink washing dished but rushed over and pulled him into a hug which he happily returned. As he hugged her Harry looked around the room and saw Fred and George sitting at the table discussing something while Ginny sat listening to them with a disgusted look on her face. Harry could only imagine what they must be talking about. Ron was opening and closing cabinets as if he were looking for something, most likely food Harry guessed. A few seconds later she pulled back so she could get a better look at him. "You've grown like a weed, Harry! But you're still much too thin, are you hungry? Lunch isn't for a few hours but I could whip something up if you'd like."
"No thanks Mrs Weasley, I'm fine" Harry said with a grin. "Hey everybody."
"Harry my good old chap! My brother and I were just talking about you." one of the twins said. Harry thought it was Fred, but wasn't sure.
"Oh? And why is that?" Harry asked as he walked towards the table and sat down. Sirius went over and began talking to Molly while Ron continued to search for something to eat, apparently oblivious to everything else.
....
Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.