Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
Special thanks to Anna Rose and Kez.
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Chapter 5: THE GIFT FROM SIRIUS
"Something wrong?" asked Harry, suddenly preparing himself for the worst. Had there been another attack? Had somebody else died? What was going on? He shot a quick glance at the Dursleys and saw them looking between him and Dumbledore nervously.
"Let me explain first, Harry," said Dumbledore, as he went into the living room and conjured a chair, completely out of thin air. Harry ignored Petunia's and Dudley's yelps and sat down on the couch.
"What I have come to discuss," said Dumbledore, peering at Harry over his spectacles. "Is Sirius' will."
The effect on Harry was immediate; as soon as he heard Dumbledore's words his insides turned to ice and he started to shiver. He didn't want to think about Sirius! Why couldn't everybody just leave him alone and let him deal with it himself? He didn't want anything from him! He was the reason Sirius had died!
"Sirius has left you quite a lot, Harry," continued Dumbledore. "Half of his money in the vault is yours and has already been transferred to your own vault. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger got two thousand Galleons each, and Remus received the rest of the money. However, there is more-" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he said this "-he has also left the house in Grimmauld Place to you and something that you can find outside."
Harry looked up at this, unable to stop himself from getting curious. What else could it possibly be?
"However, before you go and see it, there is something else you ought to know."
Harry suppressed a snort.
Dumbledore let out a small sigh as though he knew exactly what Harry was thinking (something that wasn't unlikely) and suddenly he sounded much more serious.
"Harry, this is not common knowledge yet, very few knows about this. Last night, just after Kingsley died, Fudge was sacked. He has been replaced by Mrs. Bones. Now, it is not certain Mrs. Bones will keep the job - that depends on The Selection in the end of September - for now she is only a substitute.
"However, as soon as I heard about it, she and I had a talk. In the end we both agreed to make an exception of the rules, and allow you to practice magic during the rest of the holidays as an adult. You need to be able to take care and defend yourself at these times."
Harry had to keep himself from leaping up from the couch and giving the old wizard a huge hug. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! His head immediately started to spin with all the things he could do, but Dumbledore wasn't finished.
"You must remember, however, that this brings great responsibility. You will be considered as a legal adult and you must not misuse this in any way. The consequences will be great."
"Does that mean that I'm allowed to join the Order?" Harry asked eagerly, sitting at the edge of the couch.
"Alas - no," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "You cannot. You have enough to deal with at the moment."
Harry nodded, only slightly disappointed. He shot a quick glance at the Dursleys, who now stood in a corner, holding on to each other, rigid with fear. Harry smiled. Oh yeah, this will be fun...
However, Harry suddenly thought of something else. "Sir? Is there anyway possible that I can get training lessons? I've been reading about some spells I'd like to try out, but I need someone to train me."
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "I'm sure that can be arranged. I can train you personally about three days a week."
Harry's stomach turned over in excitement. "Great! When can we start?"
Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's eagerness. "I have some time tomorrow. But I suggest that we do this in Grimmauld Place."
"Alright..." said Harry slowly. He didn't really want to go back to that place, but if that was the only way he could get some training done he didn't have much choice.
"You will have plenty of time to study there," said Dumbledore, again reading Harry's mind. "The house is empty with the exception of Mr. Lupin and the Grangers, since it is not safe for them to live in their homes at the moment."
Harry nodded and felt his stomach do another turn at the thought of seeing Hermione after what happened last night. He had crossed the line. What would he ever do if she abandoned him?
"How are we getting there?" Harry asked, remembering the cold flight last year and not exactly eager to do another one. Especially not without his broom, Harry reminded himself sadly.
"I will use Fawkes," Dumbledore replied. "However, I dare say you would rather use the last gift Sirius can give you. It is waiting for you right outside."
Harry nodded weakly.
"When do you prefer to leave?"
"Oh," said Harry, his mind elsewhere. He cleared his throat. "I guess I can leave in an hour or two. I just ... need to pack first."
"Very well, be careful about how you use the gift," said Dumbledore softly, and he disappeared with a quiet pop.
Harry stayed in his seat for a while, thinking the whole situation over. So much had happened at once.
The Dursleys, who had been strangely quiet the whole time, still stared at the spot where Dumbledore had been, not daring to move at all.
Harry quietly went up to his room to get his wand. He was feeling exceedingly excited because now he had the oppertunity to do what he had dreamed about for so long. He was legal. He was independent.
The first thing he would do was to check out the gift from Sirius, he decided, but he halted when he came to the front door. Something was holding him back. The last thing...
Closing his eyes and ignoring the lump that had formed in his throat, Harry opened the door and stepped outside.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, and gasped.
There, standing right in front of him, was the coolest motorcycle he had ever seen!
It was large, and it had a beautiful black colour that reflected the light. It had a powerful engine and a wide, long black seat that were both probably made of skin and looked deadly comfortable. Harry didn't know a lot about motorcycles, but it was obvious that this was not something everybody could afford. It did, however, feel like he had seen the bike before. Strange.
With eyes wide of wonder, Harry moved his look to the front of the bike, where a note hung from one of its handles. Harry removed the note from the bike and read it with shaking hands. It was from Lupin:
`
Harry,
Sirius would have wanted you to have this. I hope you will enjoy it as much as he did, and take good care of it.
Take care,
Remus.
`
Harry dried his chin with the back of his hand. I hope you will enjoy it as much as he did... he could practically hear Lupin saying it to him and he could imagine Sirius; face written with joy and pride, as he rode the bike so fast that he would be gone with the blink of an eye, his rough mane of hair struggling against the wind. Gone...
Harry looked over at the bike again, longing to ride it.
But before that, he had other things to do.
-
-
The packing didn't take a great deal of time; Harry hadn't unpacked much of his school stuff, so all he really needed to do was to pack his clothes and books down in his trunk. Harry enjoyed very much the fact that he could use a Levitation charm on the suitcase, instead of carrying it down the stairs. Petunia, who did the mistake on passing the stairs with a plate of fruit in the exact moment as Harry made his way down the stairs with the suitcase levitating in front of him, dropped the plate of fruit with a shriek. The fruit fell to the floor and rolled in every direction, while the plate broke.
Petunia was furious: "YOU'LL CLEAN THAT UP BOY!" she yelled, pointing her bony finger at Harry, her hand shaking.
Harry grinned and lowered the suitcase to the floor. He cancelled the spell and used a simple `reparo' charm at the plate. Instantly the plate was whole and just as nice as before.
Petunia gaped like a goldfish, unable to utter a word, and her eyes was so huge that Harry feared they might pop out of her head and land on him.
He suppressed a chuckle; it was (almost) too bad he couldn't get the chance to stay here, when he actually could do magic and get the revenge he always wanted.
-
Harry didn't have to leave right away, so he had plenty of time to show the Dursleys just how grateful he was that they had taken "care" of him. For the next forty five minutes Harry used magic in every way possible, from getting the mail to chasing Dudley around the living room with books. When Dudley tried to run out the front door, Harry used the locking charm Hermione had taught him and lit his wand with a soft `lumos'. That was enough for Dudley to faint with fright.
Harry had already frozen his Uncle and Aunt, so they couldn't help their son anymore than Dudley could help himself.
He even levitated himself, but that didn't work too well. His feet would go this way and that, as if he was standing on slippery ice that didn't supported him.
Even so, Harry could perfectly understand why Fred and George had enjoyed using magic so much. He had waited so long for this, and it felt amazing! Why had he ever thought of using the Unforgivables?
-
-
After an hour, the fun had began to go away. The Dursleys would either faint or hide from him, so they weren't any fun. It was sad to admit it, but he wanted a challenge now. Shaking his head of himself, Harry reduced the size on his suitcase and put it in his pocket. Checking once more that he had gotten everything (he had collected a rather lot from his years at Hogwarts) he went outside, yet again marveling at the sight of the very cool bike. There was only one problem though:
Dumbledore had forgot to give him a key.
Great. Now how was he supposed to drive that thing?
Sighing, Harry touched the bike gently. It shivered under his touch, as if inviting him to come closer.
Suddenly feeling watched, Harry turned around and saw no other than Dudley spying on him through the window. He had a jealous look on his face, just like Harry had wore so many times himself when Dudley got something new and not him. Not able to stop himself, Harry flashed a grin teasingly at Dudley and the fat pig quickly ducked out of sight.
Harry laughed softly and turned his attention forward again. He still didn't know what he was supposed to do. Harry almost turned to go back in, but somehow the thought of just studying the motorcycle was too appealing.
He touched the bike again several times; down the front, over the seat, the wheels... every time the bike shivered, and every time Harry enjoyed it. Wondering how it would feel if he sat on it, he swung one leg over the bike and sat down on the seat. The bike shivered again, violently, and then, without warning, the motor started to run! Nothing could have prepared Harry for this, and he almost jumped right off again. Where had Sirius got this from? It couldn't be a muggle bike! Unless it was something similar to Arthur's flying car? Harry only knew one thing; there was no way this could be a normal motorcycle.
Harry was just looking for some kind of gas-pedal or something -anything that could make the motorcycle go forward, when the bike slowly started to roll down the street. Completely on its own. It was a wonderful and powerful feeling, even though they went pretty slow. However, the speed didn't worry Harry much. What was beginning to worry him was the fact that he didn't know how to stop it! Harry had no idea how he had got the bike to roll forward in the first place!
The bike stopped.
Odd.
Harry was beginning to feel stupid now. Could the bike read his mind or something? Or was he just being stupid? Probably the latter, Harry mused to himself, but there was no harm in trying. It wasn't like he had anything better to do.
"Er, can you go forward?" Harry asked the bike, wearily.
The bike went forward again, a bit faster this time.
"Can you stop again too?" asked Harry, confused but excited, and the bike stopped. Now Harry was certain. The bike did exactly what Harry wanted it too. Cool!
Harry asked the bike to go forward again, even faster this time, and the bike again did what Harry wanted it to. He enjoyed the feeling the bike gave him; how powerful it felt under him, and how the bike bid his every command... It made him feel very powerful and free.
-
After riding on the nearly empty road for half an hour, Harry had discovered that the bike didn't only go faster or slower if Harry wished so, it could also become invisible. Harry was also invisible when the bike was, and he had every intention of staying so, but after a car nearly collided in him from behind Harry figured that it was safest to be visible.
Harry also found out that riding in a light sweater wasn't a good idea because the wind was freezing, and he soon couldn't feel his fingers and arms very well, sense they were stiff with cold. He stopped behind a gas station and transfigured his sweater to a black jacket. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was warmer.
Harry shrugged and put on the jacket, and noticed a couple of girls that came out of the shop. They gave him a wink, and broke down in a fit of giggles. Frowning, Harry found his way back to the motorcycle and quickly climbed it.
He was getting used to the shivering now and without a second thought he ordered the bike to go forward.
The girls had stopped giggling at him now and were instead staring at him with open mouths. Harry closed his eyes in irritation, he should have been more careful. They were bound to find him suspicious now.
They didn't stop staring, however, and even though Harry got more and more space between them, he couldn't help but wish he could just fly away, from them and from the world. He didn't like people staring at him; it didn't matter if they were muggles or not.
Suddenly the bike lifted from the ground.
At first, Harry didn't notice, because that was exactly what he had wished for, but as soon as he realized it he
yelped in surprise and quickly lowered to the ground again. He didn't dare turn around to see if the girls had
noticed, and he pretended that nothing had happened.
Hopefully they had been so far away that they hadn't seen what he did. As soon as he was certain that he was out of sight for anyone that might be watching, he let himself and the bike come invisible and lifted from the ground.
What a feeling it was! It was wonderful and couldn't be compared to anything else Harry had ever flew on. Yes, his Firebolt came close because of the speed, but he had to admit that the bike was fast as well, and it was very, very comfortable to sit in.
If a muggle wondered what the sound was and looked up, Harry didn't notice. For the first time that summer Harry allowed himself to have pure fun, and he didn't think of Sirius' death or the Prophecy for once.
-
-
It took Harry a little over two hours to get to Grimmauld Place, and when he finally got there he quickly shrunk the motorcycle and put it in his pocket before he rang on the doorbell.
A dark-haired woman with brown eyes that were a bit wrinkled opened the door, and Harry realised she must be Hermione's mother.
"Hello, I'm Harry," said Harry politely, and Mrs. Granger greeted him with a friendly smile.
"Please come in," she said. "We've been expecting you."
Harry stepped into the dark hall and breathed in shakily. The house was exactly like he remembered it; gloomy and dark, although it looked a bit cleaner some places. Careful to avoid waking the portrait of Sirius' mum, he stepped into the living room.
He almost expected to see Sirius standing beside Lupin and the Grangers, and just the memory of how much his Godfather had hated that place was enough for Harry to feel a rush of anger and a lump in his throat.
Harry suppressed a whimper as Lupin caught his eye. The memories was still too fresh, too much to handle.
He wished he had never come back.
"Hello, Harry," Lupin said. "How are you doing?"
"Hi," replied Harry, his voice sounded strangled. "I'm all right, I guess."
Harry shrugged and slowly started to back away. He didn't want to be there anymore; he wanted to go someplace quiet where he could be alone.
Harry had just reached the doorstep when Lupin called after him:
"Harry?"
Harry stopped.
"This isn't going to work," said Lupin, and Harry noticed that he, too, looked worn.
Harry didn't know what to say, so he did nothing.
"You must know that I don't blame you, Harry," said Lupin quietly.
"Yeah, well," whispered Harry, and, as his anger again flared inside him, he found more strength to his voice: "You should. It was my fault, and my fault alone."
"No," said Lupin, a bit more forcefully. "It wasn't. Sirius made the choice to come along, and he knew what consequences it could bring. He came for the same reasons you did."
Harry was saved from answering anything else when Hermione came over. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered; with her hair behind her ear, and a neck that looked delicate and proud...
"Can I talk to you a sec, Harry?"
"Sure," Harry answered as his stomach turned over in a new wave with dread. What a coward he was.
-
As Harry followed Hermione upstairs to her room, he noticed that Hermione seemed to be nervous, just as he was. Harry really wished he knew what she was thinking. However, if he had bothered to learn Occlumency, then maybe… no, he couldn't do that to her anyway.
Upstairs, they went into a room, and Hermione closed the door behind him. Harry found himself staring at the floor again with nothing to say.
"So…" said Hermione.
"So… How are you doing?" said Harry, not knowing what else he could start a conversation with.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Hermione, biting her lip. "But Harry? We need to talk..."
"About what?" asked Harry wearily, but deep down he knew exactly what she meant. Hermione frowned.
"About last night," she answered as she looked up at him with eyes that begged him to say something... anything.
"Oh, right," Harry said. "The kiss?"
Hermione smiled and nodded, relieved for a moment, before she got her serious expression back. "Yeah. Well, I was just wondering... did it, you know... did it mean anything to you?"
This caught Harry off guard, and he had no right answer. If he said no, he would hurt her. If he said yes, someone else might hurt her. Did it really mean that much to him? Of course, he had thought a lot about it, but he didn't have that kind of feelings for her, did he? Did it mean anything to her? Was she upset about it?
"Did that mean anything to you?" repeated Hermione, close to tears now, but Harry couldn't see if that was because she was sad or if it was because she was angry.
"Er, of course it did," Harry said, in a tone that he hoped she would take in the way that suited her best.
"Oh," said Hermione, and looked thoughtful. "I guess I should turn down Ron then... I mean, I would have done it anyway, but-"
"What?" Harry said; he had lost her again.
"I'll turn down Ron."
"Oh, but you shouldn't do that for me-" Harry began, but he was interrupted as Hermione wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. He hugged her gently back, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Her hair smelled nice though, and Harry felt a shiver run down his spine.
After a while he let go a little, and he felt Hermione's hair tickling him in his neck. Her eyes locked with his, and he was filled with an enormous strong urge to have her closer in his arms. It was a weird sense of familiarity, even though he was sure he had never felt that way before. If felt that as long as he had her there, he could protect her from anything,. Like there was no place else she was supposed to be. Like... she was all he needed.
Oh, that was scary! And he was nowhere near prepared for it.
Some part of him wanted to run and hide under his bed or something, but the urge to have her close won easily, and Harry lifted his arm to touch Hermione's cheek, then down her neck. He enjoyed how soft her skin felt, just like he had imagined it.
She moved forward slightly, so he could easily bend down a little to kiss her... He could feel her breath against his own mouth... He didn't realize that kissing her was exactly what he was about to, before he was so close that the slightest movement would make their lips to connect.
Oh dear, he had gone to far again! Quickly, he snapped his head up and took a step back. Hermione, who had closed her eyes, opened them, obviously confused.
"What's wrong?" she asked, taking a step forward to reach him. Harry had to take another step back to avoid her.
"We can't... do this," said Harry, trying hard to look into her eyes. She stared back at him, biting her lip.
"There's a prophecy," Harry began, knowing there was no other way to explain why he did what he did.
"Yeah," Hermione said. "It broke."
"True... but that Prophecy was only a record. The real one was given to Professor Dumbledore, and... he told me what it said, when I got back to Hogwarts after fighting Bellatrix. It pretty much said that I have to die in an attempt to kill Voldemort."
Hermione jumped and paled sheet-white in a matter of seconds. "WHAT?"
Harry nodded, refusing to feel sorry for himself.
"Harry, are you sure?"
"Yeah, it says that `one has to die at the hand of the other, because neither can live while the other survives.'"
Hermione's eyes widened, and Harry could tell she did some quick thinking. "But... it doesn't say that you have to die, it says that either you or Voldemort have to die."
"Yeah, like I have a chance against him!" Harry said sarcastically.
"But you must have, or the prophecy wouldn't have said it like that."
"It also said that Voldemort couldn't kill me because I have powers he has not. But-" Harry said when Hermione opened her mouth to add something. "-That has to be that my mother died to protect me... But I won't have that anymore, because Voldemort has my blood and can touch me now even. You really should be with Ron, Hermione. He's a very nice guy and it's obvious that he likes you very much." Harry swallowed with difficulty. It was unbelievably hard to say.
Hermione pursed her lips slightly, but said nothing.
"Yeah. That's why he always does so many stupid things around you."
Hermione said nothing to this either and walked over to the window, her back against Harry. Harry sat down on the only bed in the room, staring at his hands. They didn't do anything for several minutes until Hermione, without turning around, asked: "But why can't we be more than friends? The prophecy doesn't say that you can't try to have a normal life and live a little-"
"Yes, it does," interrupted Harry. "It says that `neither can live while the other survives.'"
"But then that prophecy would be like a curse!"
"It's exactly what it is," Harry answered quietly; his voice barely over a whisper as it went up for him too.
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