A/N: Wow, you guys, thanks for all the feedback. I checked my pages on Saturday and was so excited to see how much you guys liked the last chapter. The darkest stuff has passed and by the end of the chapter we have a 17 year old Harry ;)
For those of you concerned, this story will not be a Ron and Hermione romance. Of course, you will be seeing a certain Miss Luna Lovegood in a few chapter's time ;) I am a big fan of stories where Ron and Hermione are friends, nothing more! hehehe
Anyways, enough from me- Happy Reading! :D
Harry awoke with a start, sitting straight up as his eyes began to adjust to the darkness of the room. He looked around wildly, not remembering where he was or what he was doing.
Then it all came rushing back to him, his father's 'surprise' in Diagon Alley, the Death Eater attack…. His father's death…" Harry felt his tears start to rise again but he forced them away.
"I need to leave," he said quietly to himself. He had no idea what time it was, it was dark outside so it was most likely very late, and Harry surprised himself realising he had slept away the entire day.
Harry crept down the hallway, keeping to the wall as so not to be seen. The kitchen was lit so he figured he'd have to get out by the front door. As he put his foot down on a floorboard, it creaked loudly and he heard a chair being scraped across the floor in the kitchen.
"Harry!" the man named Sirius strode into the hallway. "Where were you off to?" amusement was evident in his eyes.
"Oh… uh…" Harry looked around wildly. "Nowhere…"
"Why don't you come in and have something to eat before taking off?" Sirius said pleasantly.
Harry had no choice but to agree, as his stomach was growling loudly at the prospect of nourishment. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder as they went down the dark hallway, and then Remus was smiling at him from the table.
"Evening Harry. Did you have a good kip?" Remus asked.
Harry nodded wordlessly as Sirius set a plate heaped with food down in front of him. He looked at the two men and then began shovelling in as much as he could.
"Easy there," Sirius laughed. "We've got more where that came from."
Harry couldn't respond, his mouth was so crammed with food. The three of them sat in silence together as Harry ate as much as he could hold.
"Thank you," he finally said as he tucked away the last bit of potatoes. "It was very good."
"Thank you," Sirius took the finally empty plate to the sink then sat down. "Harry," he looked at Remus who nodded. "We'd like to talk to you about something."
Harry looked down at his hands, which were clenched on his lap. They were going to ask him about how James died, he knew it. And when they found out, they'd kick him to the street just like Tom Riddle had, just like his mother and friends would have if they knew what happened.
"We'd like to know if you'd consider staying here with us, instead of running Merlin knows where," Sirius continued, unaware of Harry's thoughts.
Harry braced himself for the storm of questions but they never arrived. He looked up to see Sirius and Remus looking at him expectantly and realised they had not asked him about his father.
They wanted him to stay with them!
Harry was partly tempted to say no- he didn't ever want anyone to know what he did, yet his more sensible half- the one that sounded a lot like Hermione- told him to not refuse this offer so quickly. "You want me to stay with you?" he asked.
"We'd enjoy that very much. We knew your father, he was one of our best friends and in honour of him, we want to take care of you." Remus spoke up.
Harry was extremely shocked. "Really?" he asked.
Sirius nodded and smiled invitingly at him. Harry tried every possible excuse to deny it in his head and none sounded as good as the offer these two men had just presented to him.
"Okay," Harry finally agreed, a true smile appearing on his face for the first time since he'd left his friends behind in Diagon Alley.
"Really?" Sirius grinned widely. Remus was smiling as well and it was infectious for Harry, whose mouth was stretching.
*** *** ***
It had been six months since Harry had started living with Sirius and Remus, and he loved them both very much already. He had an especially close relationship with Sirius, as he was prone to telling him stories about himself and his father when they were younger at Hogwarts.
He awoke late a night, dripping with sweat. Harry threw his blankets off, trying to force the images of his nightmare from his head. His father had been standing in front of him, finger pointed straight at his chest.
"You killed me," James said in a dull tone.
"No I didn't," Harry replied, trying to run to his father and hug him, but something was holding him back.
He furiously wiped his eyes before sliding his recently acquired glasses onto his nose. "I didn't kill my father," he tried to convince himself. "It wasn't me…" sighing he flopped onto his back, and tried as hard as he could to push that image away.
After thinking about other things for 15 minutes or so and not succeeding, he got up and left his room, padding down the hallway to Sirius's bedroom. He didn't bother to knock as he knew Sirius would be dead to the world.
Harry padded over to the bed and climbed in, trying not to wake the older man. His foot kicked out and hit Sirius in the knee, and he snorted and rolled over on his side.
"Harry?" Sirius blinked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I had another nightmare," Harry replied in a small voice.
"The same one?" Sirius asked. When the young boy nodded, Sirius pulled him close and gave him a hug. "You know that it's only a dream, right?"
Harry didn't say anything as he pulled away. "I don't know," he mumbled.
"Harry," Sirius put both his hands on Harry's shoulders. "You. Are. Not. Responsible." He said, slowly.
Harry looked up at his guardian, emerald eyes shimmering with tears. "I wish that day had never happened."
"We all do," Sirius replied comfortingly. Harry just stared down at the comforter as Sirius slid back underneath the sheets.
"I hate going to sleep," Harry said, putting his head down on the pillow.
"You can stay in here, I don't mind." Sirius yawned widely. Harry nodded and pushed himself under. "Listen, Harry…" he seemed deep in thought for a moment. "You were not in any way responsible for what happened to your father. Remus and I talked with you about Tom Riddle and what he did to us… I know I can't prove anything to you but I think you believe it, underneath everything."
"But Tom was always so nice to us," Harry protested.
"He's nice to get where he wants," Sirius said firmly.
Harry stared up at the ceiling. "I know," he replied quietly.
Sirius propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at his young charge. He had lived a thousand lives in such a short time, his eyes were wise beyond his age and Sirius wished he could take away the pain he knew Harry was feeling. "Come on," he said now. "Things always look better in the morning."
Harry gave him a half smile then snuggled onto his side, curling his body up into a little ball before falling asleep almost immediately.
And Sirius spent the rest of the night awake should he have another nightmare.
*** *** ***
One of the greatest things in Hermione's life until recently was her love of reading. Yet ever since her parents, James and Harry had died it hadn't seemed so important, now it seemed like something that she was doing to just keep her mind off things.
"Hermione?" A quiet voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you hungry?" Ron looked at her anxiously.
"No," she gave him a small smile. She knew Ron was watching out for her and she genuinely appreciated it. "Just thinking…"
Ron nodded as he sat next to her. "Are you all right?"
Hermione shrugged. "As right as I can be I suppose."
Ron nodded again. "Is there anything I can help you with?" his tone sounded slightly desperate and Hermione realised he just wanted to cheer her up. "I'll bet Harry would know what to do."
Hermione whipped her head to look at him and Ron realised his mistake as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry Hermione," he said. "I miss him a lot too."
"Sometimes I just feel like it's all a bad dream," Hermione replied, wiping at her eyes. "I think to myself that my parents are off back in Lorandon and Harry's just out walking with his dad, and that they'll all come back at any minute."
Ron slid next to her on the bench they were currently occupying. "I know… I mean, they never even found his body," he chose those words gingerly. "I mean, Tom Riddle brought back James's body, but no one ever found Harry's."
With Ron's statement, Hermione found the courage to admit something she had been thinking for several weeks now. "Can I tell you something- you have to promise never to breathe a word to anyone."
"Sure," Ron agreed.
Hermione took a deep breath. "I think the reason they never found Harry's body… is because Harry's not really dead."
Ron's eyes grew wide, but before he could say anything a figure in billowing black robes approached them. Both children grew silent as Tom Riddle glared down at them.
"Having a nice day?" his tone was dark.
"Fine," Ron replied shortly. "We're busy."
Tom raised an eyebrow at the young boy's tone. He turned towards the girl, curling his lip with disgust at her unkempt bushy hair and pale face. "You, girl… are you enjoying life as an orphan?" he asked snidely.
"You leave her alone!" Ron jumped to his feet as Hermione's lower lip began to tremble. "She wouldn't be an orphan if it weren't for YOU!"
Tom snarled and plunged his hands into his robes but was stopped by another sharp voice.
"Lay just one spell on those two and I'll kill you," Lily was coming towards them, her arm extended. "You may have ruined my life but I will not let you destroy theirs!" her green eyes were snapping coldly.
Tom left his wand inside his robes and forced a smile onto his face. "Your highness," he couldn't hide the sarcasm.
"Save it," Lily replied, her hands going on the children's shoulders. "I know what you've done and what you are… it's not hard to figure out exactly what your plan was now that you've gone through with it."
Tom narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm the king now, just you remember that," he replied, his voice low.
"You'll never be king in my eyes," Lily said coolly. "Come on you two," she spoke to Ron and Hermione and they turned their backs on him and went back to the castle.
Tom watched them go, his hand once more fingering his wand. "Watch out, your highness or I'll have you killed just like your husband." He muttered. "And I'll send those brats away in the same manner I did your son."
A sly smile crossed his lips. Harry would never come back. He would never believe that his dear friend Tom would betray him this way.
Would he?
***Ten Years Later***
Seventeen year old Harry Potter stretched out on the chair behind the modest shack where he lived with his two guardians, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.
He had a part time job in the village, a busboy working at the local pub The Three Broomsticks. He enjoyed seeing other people, especially the few friends he made since coming to live there.
When he was home, he usually helped Remus in the garden or Sirius in the kitchen. Under Sirius's tutelage, he had become quite a decent cook and made many a meal on his own.
Harry rarely thought of his life back in Diagon Alley. Sure, he thought often of his parents, but the memories no longer made him cry hysterically. He felt content where he was instead of ashamed for running. Harry thought of his mother and Ron frequently, but they actually weren't who he missed the most.
He sighed, blowing his breath out through his teeth as he thought of Hermione. Hermione, with her long bushy brown hair and bright brown eyes. Sometimes he thought himself silly for keeping her on his mind all the time; all he truly had of her was a memory.
"Stop being daft," Harry told himself sternly. "You're man enough to admit how you feel about a girl." He turned onto his side, stretching languidly.
Who was he kidding, he reasoned. Harry knew that he was head over heels in love with his former betrothed. Former, yes, he mused. He was no longer a prince therefore no longer betrothed to Hermione.
"Harry," Sirius came out the back door, smiling at the young man he considered as good as a son. "How was work?"
"Fine," Harry grinned back. "You know- same old same old."
Sirius sat down in the chair next to him. Harry had to admit his surrogate father was still a dashingly handsome guy, not a streak of silver in his black hair, and his eyes still retained a youthful glint. "Any girls?" he was always pushing Harry to find a girlfriend.
"No," Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not looking."
Sirius leaned forward. "Why not?"
"We've been over this before," Harry replied impatiently.
"You're in love with a memory," Sirius said.
"So what, maybe I like it that way," Harry was defensive.
"I've decided to make it my new mission to find you a girlfriend," Sirius ignored Harry's previous statement.
"Why don't you get a life instead," Harry grumbled. "I'm making dinner tonight, so make sure you at least stick around for that," his tone was slightly sarcastic.
"Harry my boy, I've taught you well in many things except romance," Sirius got up and put his arm around his shoulders.
"And that's one lesson from you I'd like to never learn," Harry replied. "Why don't you find your own girlfriend?"
"Because I find it more fun to find you one." Sirius smirked.
"Look," Harry broke away and faced Sirius. "I know you hate the fact that I'm not interested in taking up with one of the girls here in the village. But I want to wait for something better. I want to wait for Hermione, whether you think she'll show up or not." He strode into the house, leaving Sirius shaking his head behind him.
Harry pulled several pots out of the cabinets, banging them onto the stovetop as loudly as he could. Remus came into the room, smiling fondly at the boy as he started dinner.
"Sirius on your back again?" he asked, taking a seat at the table. It had been a full moon the night before so he was extra tired that day.
"Of course," Harry said, stirring his tomato sauce briskly. "He wants me to find a girlfriend. He doesn't understand that I'm not interested in these village girls."
"They certainly seem to like you," Remus remarked idly.
Harry shook his head as he dumped spaghetti into another pot. "I can't help who I want," he said, his head down as another vision of Hermione came across his eyes. He liked to think she had grown up to look much like she had at the age of seven, with her hair still long and bushy, her eyes sparkling and looking back at him with the same amount of affection as he did with her.
"I know you can't." Remus nodded. "And Sirius knows that too, but you seem to forget that what he does best is be annoying."
That remark made Harry laugh. "Too right you are," he replied.
Remus snorted and shook his head. "Just ignore him, Harry. Sooner or later when you don't let him know it bugs you he'll let it go."
"Or as soon as I find someone," Harry dumped his spaghetti sauce into another dish and brought it to the table.
Remus got up and pulled some plates and silverware out. The two men worked in silence until Harry ventured another question.
"Remus?" Harry sounded timid. "Do you think I'm being stupid for thinking of Hermione this way?"
"No," Remus answered. "And I'll tell you this- Sirius doesn't either. He's just being his normal prat self by acting this way. It's really his way of showing you he cares."
Harry nodded. "All right," he brought his spaghetti to the table. "Thanks," he smiled at Remus.
A/N: That's a good place to leave off! In the next chapter we go back to Lily, Hermione and Ron in Diagon Alley.
Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this, please leave me a review letting me know!