Chapter 7
"I, I'm..." Harry started to say, but he couldn't find the words. He knew what had happened. He had put his guard down. Voldemort had possessed him again, and had Harry not caught it in time, he truly may have tried to kill Lupin.
Lupin, however, smiled at him. "It's okay Harry," he said to the stunned silence and questioning looks around him.
Apparently they didn't feel that it was okay at all to have someone come after them like that.
He sighed at all the faces around him. "I think we all know that Harry was not acting under his own will there." Harry looked up, surprised that Remus had realized what was going on. So did many other members of the order, as they gave Harry more fearful looks.
"I think that there can be no doubt that Voldemort just used that intense moment to take control of Harry." A few of those in the room had dawning expressions on their faces, only just now realizing what had happened.
Lupin grinned at Harry. "But you fought him off, didn't you?" Harry couldn't say anything.
He just buried his head in his arms, unable to look at anyone. He felt some one hug him from behind-Hermione, no doubt, but he didn't care. He had nearly attacked one of his best friends, and if he had, Harry had no doubt that Lupin would no longer be standing, as he would have used one of Voldemort's curses on him, he was sure of it.
Harry took off and left the room, heading back upstairs. How could it be that for the first time in his life he had
had an actual birthday party, and it had ended up being his worst birthday ever.
Harry lay in bed for hours, until a soft knock came from the door and Ron walked in. "Harry, mate," Ron said. "We're about to have lunch, and this came for you today." He threw an envelope to Harry.
"It's our Hogwarts letters. Mum says we can go to Diagon Alley later today to pick up our stuff. And you know who the new DADA teacher is?" Ron told him grinning. Harry shook his head. "It's Lupin again!"
This was the wrong thing to say, as Harry buried his face in his arms after this statement. "Oh, Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.."
"It's okay," Harry told him, rising from his bed. He stretched and looked at Ron. "How's Hermione?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "I think she's been taking crying lessons from Cho this summer mate." Harry grinned, remembering that almost every time he saw Cho last year she was crying, whether it be over Cedric's death or her suspicions that he liked Hermione... Harry felt a twinge of guilt at that. What would Cho say now that Harry was with Hermione?
"Alright, I guess I'd better go talk to her then."
There was no need, as Hermione burst into the room at that very moment, Ron nodded and left, closing the door behind him.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione started, tears swelling up in her already puffy eyes. "It's okay Hermione,"
Harry said reassuringly, smiling at her. "I'm over it. I'm actually kind of happy with myself for being able to fight him off like that." Hermione smiled back at him.
"Well, I knew of course that something was wrong when you went after him like that," Hermione said in her all to normal know-it-all voice. "But it wasn't until Lupin said that you were possessed that I realized," She sniffed, tears swelling up again. "Oh, Harry it just must be so hard, having to deal with all of that, with the prophecy and such."
"I know," Harry said, grabbing her hand and walking towards the door. "But I'm ready for it."
Later that day they all went to Diagon Alley and He, Hermione, and Ron were off instantly to buy there book supplies. Harry and Hermione did not hide the fact that they were together, as they held hands everywhere they went, making for some interesting meetings with old school friends.
When they ran into Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, two of their fellow Gryffindor sixth years, Seamus dropped his ink bottle, splashing ink all over Dean's new robes, which Hermione cleaned up with a simple flick of her wand.
They also ran into the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, whom all erupted in giggles at seeing Harry and Hermione, but Harry had expected no less, they were always giggling at something. They saw many other members of the DA, all wanting to know when the first meeting would be and such.
Harry realized that he hadn't even thought about it since he knew Lupin was coming back. "We'll just figure it out when we get to school okay?" Hermione told a disappointed Ernie McMillan and Terry Boot.
Harry grinned when he saw Neville Longbottom, another fellow 6th year Gryffindor walking out of Ollivander's with his new wand. Harry's grin faded as he remembered exactly how it was that Neville lost his old wand in the first place.
Finally, after what seemed like days of shopping (the worst being when Hermione forced Harry and Ron to buy new homework planners, as they had both thrown the one's Hermione had bought them the year before in the fire) they made it to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, which Harry had been looking forward to all summer.
"Hiya Harry!" Fred and George yelled to him, beckoning him over to their counter. "How do you like it?" Fred asked beaming.
"It's brilliant." Harry replied, grinning as he saw Hermione trying to subdue her excitement. She had never been very supportive of Fred and George's opening of a joke shop. Ignoring her, Fred and George pointed to counter.
"So how do you like all the stuff," George asked. Harry grinned as he saw Fred and George's fireworks, the various pills to take if you want to get out of class, a few new transfiguration pills, gloves and ankle and wrist bands to go with the already popular headless hats, but Harry was surprised to see that there were no Dudleydum's there.
"Hey Fred," Harry asked, but George answered as if he knew what was going to be asked. "Mum won't let us sell the Dudleydum's anymore." he said sourly.
"What? Why not?" Harry asked, not sure if he was more surprised that Mrs. Weasley had told them that they couldn't sell them or that Fred and George actually listened to her.
"Well, you see Harry, the problem was that when you gain 300 pounds, your clothes, uh, don't really fit anymore." Harry burst out laughing, he knew Hermione was giggling next to him.
"So yeah," Fred finished. "Mum said that we couldn't sell them anymore on the count of people eating them and there clothes ripping so badly that they couldn't wear them anymore, if you catch my drift."
Harry definitely did and he and Ron stocked up on many joke items, but Hermione absolutely refused to let them but any of the pills to get out of class with. "Oh well," Ron muttered to Harry as they left the store. "We can always buy them at school." Harry grinned and they walked out to the last person Harry wanted to meet.
"So your seeing that mudblood now are you Potter?" came the sneering voice of Draco Malfoy, staring at him with the utmost contempt.
"What if I am Malfoy?" Harry replied, staring bullets back at him and then walking off. Apparently Draco couldn't come up with a comeback for that, and if he did Harry didn't care to hear it.
A few moments later, as Harry was contemplating whether or not to apparate him and Hermione back to Grimmauld Place while Draco was still staring at him from afar, Harry ran into Mark Evans, who was walking around with the Creevey brothers.
"Harry!" all three of them yelled at once, running over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting, talking about quidditch, although Hermione didn't seem to in to the conversation. The Creevey's looked at Mark and then Mark back at them.
"You know Harry?" They all said at once.
"Looks like your fan base is growing Harry," Ron whispered in his ear.
"Want me to get Ginny over here?" Harry grinned and playfully elbowed Ron in the ribs, remembering how Ginny had been very taken with him when they first met. Harry stood up.
"So," he said to the Creevey's. "I see you've met my cousin." Colin and Denis' faces brightened with surprise. Ron and Hermione looked at Mark with renewed interest, Harry had told them about Mark, but they had never met him.
"You're really Harry's cousin?" Dennis asked with a voice that made Mark sound like he was royalty. Mark nodded quizzically, not knowing what the big deal was. Ron laughed as he stood up and put out his hand.
"I'm Ron Weasley," he said. "Harry's erm, somewhat famous in the wizarding world." Mark's eyes grew to the size of melons as he shook Ron's hand.
"Is that true?" Mark asked in awe. Hermione smiled as she took Mark's hand next.
"He is, but he's just Harry to us right?" she said, hugging Harry around the waist and giving him a quick kiss. The Creevey's eyes went wide with excitement at this, and Mark looked at them strangely and asked,
"Are you..."
"Yes, we are Mark." Harry said grinning before Mark could finish his sentence. The Creevey's stared at each other in disbelief, and Colin pulled his camera out.
"Harry, could we get a picture of you two then, for my dad you know?" he asked eagerly, Dennis nodding his head in agreement.
Ron choked back a laugh and stepped out of the way. Harry and Hermione shrugged and then smiled at Colin, whom took the photograph immediately.
"Thanks Harry!" He yelled enthusiastically and he Dennis and Mark left waving, and Draco Malfoy came up to them again, sneering.
"Love that didn't you Potter?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione rolled their eyes.
"What, was that for the daily prophet Potter, or maybe for your fan club?"
"Let's get out of here." Harry muttered, apparating quickly behind a stunned Malfoy, Hermione in hand. Ron laughed and walked off with them, none bothering to stare back at Malfoy's astounded face.