A/N: This will not be sticking with the timeline of the Harry Potter books. Thanks to my beta for pointing this out!
Chapter 2: Time to face the wrath…
"What in the blue blazes are you doing here, Harry?!" Charlie Weasley demanded, still in a shock, as he ran a hand through red hair. Harry noticed that he had dyed it considering it was darker than the rest of the Weasleys. "And how in the world did you end up here and what created that crater?!" Harry just coughed, expelling another black cloud and winced at the smoky taste in his mouth. Charlie's heart rate finally slowed down and realised that Harry was still standing in the middle of the crater. "Ah hell." He walked over to the edge and held out his hand.
Harry looked at it before gripping it with his hand and Charlie hauled him out of the pit before looking into it and whistling as he looked at Harry. "Did you feel the need to destroy the world or something?" Harry laughed, shaking his head.
"Nah, things kinda got out of hand," Harry explained before looking around then looked at Charlie. "Is there a safe place we can talk?" Charlie nodded, understanding what Harry was getting at. He led the way over to a house that was just outside the reserve. Looking around, Harry saw different types of houses. Some of them were two floors, some of them were bungalows. There was a building similar to a student dorm that Harry has seen pictures of in magazines.
"It depends on the level you are at," Charlie spoke up, seeing Harry's curious expression as he took in the different houses. "The dorm is like Hogwarts. People who have started here will attend there for lessons on how to handle dragons and such. They also stay there until they have graduated. The bungalows and houses are for the people who live here." Harry looked at Charlie, curious.
"You don't have to live here?" he asked and Charlie shook his head as he pointed to a strange veil like door that was on the grounds of the dorm.
"That is a floo point. People can floo home and back no matter where they live. It depends on the people. This isn't exactly a good place to raise children. They get into everything and more than once we've had children hurting themselves trying to play with the dragons." Harry nodded, understanding.
"So, why do you live here?" he asked. "Mrs. Weasley seems to like it when you all are home." Charlie snorted.
"That's the reason why I live here. I love my mother but she can be overbearing. She just likes coddling us. Which is one of the reasons why Ron is like he is," Charlie explained.
"What, you mean the jealously and such?" Harry asked and Charlie nodded.
"Ron has always been resentful that our parents never had a lot of money. Bill, the twins and I make a lot of money doing our jobs but because we don't live with our parents, we don't have to pay to stay there."
"I thought your parents didn't have enough money was down to the fact that your father doesn't get promoted due to being a muggle-lover," Harry pointed out; at least this was the excuse he was getting.
"And you're right," Charlie told him. "But you also have to factor in that my parents have seven children and Hogwarts does take up a lot of money to pay for the tuition."
"Oh," Harry murmured. Charlie looked over his shoulder at the young man.
"They never told you anything about Hogwarts, did they? Or about your vaults?" Harry shook his head.
"No. I mean, I've seen my vault but I've only been down there three times. Your mother usually gets the money for me," Harry frowned. "Wait, I thought you needed a key to get into vault." Charlie nodded.
"You're right," Charlie told him, unsure of where Harry was going with it. "Charlie said it's been a long time tradition since other wizards would go into other people's vault in order to steal money or items."
"Then how did your mother get my key?" Harry asked. Charlie looked at him, still not sure. "I still have my key. I never gave it to your mother so how can she get into my vault?" Charlie stopped in his tracks as he tried to register the implications of what Harry was telling him.
"Did you tell the Goblins who you want to have access to your vault?" Charlie asked and Harry shook his head.
"I never knew I could do that," he admitted and Charlie frowned as he started walking again with Harry following him.
"I will talk to Bill and find out what's going on. I know he is in France for a meeting," Charlie said. Harry frowned before grinning.
"How are he and Fleur getting on?" Harry asked. Charlie looked at him, shocked before he remembered the blonde champion that had been at Hogwarts during Harry' fourth year.
"They're dating," Charlie admitted. Harry frowned.
"Ron said they were just getting to know each other," Harry pointed out and Charlie grinned.
"Did you really think Bill was going to tell his little brother, the one who had a crush, that he was dating her?" Charlie asked before chuckling. "Bill knows too well of Ron's jealously of people getting what he wanted. Beside, our mother would be furious if she ever knew."
"It seems like your mother does tend to go over board with the smothering," Harry muttered and Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, that's why Bill and I left straight after Hogwarts. Percy left when he joined the Ministry and it was the reason why Fred and George rebelled. They wanted to do something different from what we did. They always saw the rules as being meant to be broken." Harry laughed.
"Yeah, you should have seen how they left Hogwarts. It was awesome," Harry told him. Charlie chuckled, amused.
"I'm sure it was. The twins are nothing but original and inventive. They've always been inventive, they take that from Dad." Harry was startled.
"Your dad was an inventor?" Harry asked and Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, at least that's what our grandparents used to tell us but after he married mom, he either stopped doing it or continued it in private. Mom is one of those people who believe that we should stick with what we know," Charlie explained when he spotted his house. "Ah, here we are." Harry turned to see that they had reached a normal two floor house before looking around to find that he was smack bang in the middle of a muggle like community Charlie chuckled when he saw Harry's confused looks. "A majority of the people who work and live here are actually muggle-born. They refused to leave their stuff behind and ended up creating this."
"So, you have a lot of muggle things?" Harry asked as Charlie led the way up the garden path and Charlie nodded.
"We try and not use our wands around dragons. Their magic can actually interfere with ours, as you may have noticed during your first task. How the spells don't affect Dragons for long or affect them in a different way."
"Oh! That's why they don't take an interest if you transfigure a rock into another animal or fall sleepy when you try and lure them to sleep or stomp all over the place when you hit them with a blinding spell?" Harry asked and Charlie nodded.
"Yes, their magic is an old powerful magic. It's older and different from ours. It's safer not to use magic around here." Charlie unlocked the door and stepped to the side to let Harry in first. "Just place your stuff in the hallway. We'll get it later after you've explained."
"Okay," Harry placed his belongings in the hallway before adjusting Hedwig so she was sitting on top of the cases. She was currently sleeping as he slid a finger through the bars and stroked her breast feathers. Hedwig lifted her head from its resting place and turned bright orange eyes on her master. "I won't be long." Hedwig hooted softly, nipping Harry's finger affectionately before burying her head under her right wing once more.
Harry stood up and took a look around as Charlie made his way into the living room after closing the door. He threw his keys onto the small wooden coffee table. The hallway split off into three directions. One led the way into the living room, one led the way into the kitchen and the last one led the way to the stairs. Making his way into the living room, he was still unprepared to see how muggle like it was.
There was a large black couch, a material similar to leather, resting against a wall, the coffee table was in the middle and on the other end was a TV stand with a large HD TV and DVD player. Next to the TV stand, there was a large bookcase that ran from the ground to the ceiling and it was filled with DVDs. There was even a black iPod docking station with a silver iPod.
Walking further into the room, the window was off to the right side of the house, overlooking the street, there was a two-seater couch similar to the large couch close to the coffee table and there was a box seat under the window that covered the entire wall. There were numerous of cushions and there was a book lying on it, indicating that someone had been in the middle of reading when they had been interrupted.
The flooring was wooden rather than the carpet that his aunt seemed to favour. Looking around the room, he spotted an area off to the left that seemed like a separate world from the rest of the room. There was a fire place and the walls were covered with three large bookcases, all of them filled with books. There was a soft looking two-seater, red couch. Instead of the wooden floor, there was a dark carpet that seems to invite Harry into taking off his shoes and socks and burying his toes into the seemingly soft material.
"Wow," Harry uttered out and Charlie laughed.
"Most of this is actually inspired by my friend. She kinda took over the decorating," Charlie explained. Harry turned to face him.
"Do you live together?" Harry asked and Charlie shook his head.
"No, she lives two houses down from me," he explained. "We tend to spend a lot of time at each other's house when we're not busy."
"Ah," Harry nodded, looking around once more at the room. "This is only the living room and I find it awesome!" Charlie chuckled; amused by the wide-eyed look he was getting from the young man.
"Wait until you see the rest of the house," Charlie told him. "Once you've finished explaining, I'll get the guest room set up." Harry looked at him.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Harry told him only to back down when he got the patent Weasley patient look that Molly used to give him. Quietly, Harry said, "Okay." Charlie was just amused at how easily Harry backed down. He was about to say something else when they heard the front door opening and heels clicking on the wooden floor of the hallway.
"Charlie, the dragons have finally settled down."
A slender girl came in the room. She was barely over five feet with long curly black hair that reached her buttocks. She had dark blue eyes that reminded Harry of the deep ocean. She wore a red zip up jacket made out of dragon hide and red trousers that were made out of a similar material. She wore a black choker that had a small, simple ruby crystal attached to it.
Her blue eyes widened when she spotted a strange young man standing in the middle of Charlie's living room looking like he had walked through a burning building.
"Who are you?" Harry and the girl asked together before they stared at each other, somewhat suspiciously.
"Rina, meet Harry Potter. Harry, meet Rina Malloy, she works here and is one of my friends," Charlie introduced the two of them. Rina arched an eyebrow.
"Harry Potter, as in the 'boy-who-lived' Harry Potter?" she asked. Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed.
"Yeah, that's me," he muttered, "but I prefer to be 'Just Harry'." Rina gave him an amused smile.
"Yeah, you're Harry alright. Charlie told me all about you when he came back after meeting you in the summer. He couldn't stop raving about you after the first task in your fourth year. I was beginning to think you could walk on water," Rina told him. Harry stared at her, shocked before he started laughing, grinning at Charlie.
"She's a feisty one," he told Charlie before looking at Rina who shook her head, amused. "Nope, I can't walk on water. However, I am completely biased about my best friend, Hermione Granger. There isn't anything that girl can't do. I'm pretty sure she could walk on water if she put her mind to it." Rina chuckled.
"Modest and cute," she nodded approvingly, "there just might be a god after all." She winked at Harry before leaving the house only to stop in the doorway as she remembered something mysteriously appearing in the reserve. Looking over her shoulder at the guilty party, who looked down at his shoes with a sheepish grin, sensing what she was thinking. "I'm sure you'll tell me all about it later." She left them alone.
"She's different," Harry spoke up, breaking into Charlie's gaze as he continued to stare at the door.
"Yeah, you got that right," Charlie muttered, turning back to face Harry with a frown. "You've still to answer my questions." Harry winced.
"Can I get washed and changed first?" he asked. Charlie took pity on him.
"Sure. I'll get you some towels and show you where the bathroom is." He led the way up the stairs. Harry grabbed his stuff and followed Charlie up the stairs until they reached the landing. There were five doors. "Okay, this door," he pointed to the first door, "This is my bedroom. This is the guest room, next, Rina's room." Harry arched an eyebrow, amused, and Charlie rolled his eyes. "This is the closet where the towels and spare bathrobes are kept. That, at the end of the hallway, that's the bathroom."
"Do I put my stuff in the guest room?" Harry asked and Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, I'll get the towels. Just use the shampoo and soap. We'll get you your own stuff, including clothes. Working around Dragons tends to incinerate your clothes quickly." Harry chuckled as he headed into the bedroom, marvelling over the room. The bed, with dark blue quilt, was off to the left corner of the room with a bedside table next to it. Along the wall was the built in wardrobe. Across from the bed was the set of drawers and desk. At the far end of the room was a long box seat under the window and a bookcase partly filled with books.
Harry pulled his stuff into the room and placed Hedwig's cage on the desk before he placed his trunk on the bed and opened it, staring at his baggy clothes that were two times bigger than his body. He was about to put them away when Charlie arrived at the door, knocking on it.
Harry turned and smiled when he saw Charlie holding two towels and a bathrobe in his hands.
"You can go for your shower now if you want," Charlie held out the towels and bathrobe.
"Thanks," Harry took them and headed over to the bathroom while Charlie moved closer to the trunk and frowned when he saw the clothes. He had noticed the clothes Harry was wearing were too big for him but had hoped that it was just an accident with how he got here. Looking toward the door, he sighed sadly. He needed to take Harry shopping so he could get clothes that actually fitted him. A wry smile crossed his face as he thought about Harry's hair, a haircut wouldn't go amiss.
Harry couldn't believe his eyes when he entered the bathroom. The walls were in a light blue tiles with the floor were non-slip dark blue tiles. Off to his left, there was a large bathtub. It reminded him a little bit of the bathtub in the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. Across from it was the large walk-in shower. The sink was next to it with a medical cupboard and mirror above it. The toilet was on the other side of the room with a cupboard.
Placing the towels on the heating rack that was on the wall in between the bathtub and the shower, he placed the robe on the coat hanger on the back of the door before locking it. Moving to the centre of the room, Harry stripped out of his tattered clothes and placed them into the washing basket that was next to the sink, unsure what he was supposed to do with them. He didn't have a lot of clothes but he didn't want to risk using the repairing spell on the clothes in fear it would make it worse. He pulled his glasses off and placed them on top of the cupboard.
He made his way over to the shower, opened the glass door. He stepped in, closed the door and took a few steps back before switching on the shower to ensure that he wasn't hit by the hot and cold spray. Once the water reached lukewarm water, Harry cranked up the heat until it was hotter and stepped under the spray, relishing the feel of the hot water flooding over him; he washed and re-washed to remove the soot.
It was nice to be able to relax for once. Being at the Dursleys, he was barely allowed time to have a shower, not to mention that loneliness and the fear of Voldemort and his death eaters on the streets, free to do whatever they wanted because everyone was too scared to stand up to them. Sighing heavily to himself, Harry pushed himself off the tiles, turned off the shower and opened the door.
A hand snuck out and grabbed one of the towels that were resting on the heating rack. He dried his body before wrapping it around his waist before he stepped out and grabbed the other towel and rubbed his hair, drying it as much as he could while walking over to the sink where the mirror cabinet was. He lifted his left hand and wiped the steam away from the mirror and looked in it.
His hair was nearly shoulder length and his bangs were already obscuring his eyes. Brushing them out of the way, he ran a hand over his chin and could feel stubble starting to form and decided to leave off shaving for the moment. It wasn't a necessity and he wanted to know what he looked like with a five o'clock shadow, it should prove interesting. Pushing himself away from the sink, he unwound the towel and placed it in the basket and dumped the other one in too. He picked up his glasses and walked over to the door.
Lifting the bathrobe, he slid it over his body and tightened the belt before unlocking the door and headed into the hallway. Charlie stopped in place from where he was coming out of his room and he smiled at Harry. Harry noticed that he was carrying a bundle of clothes in his arms.
"Hey, you're out," Charlie told him. Harry nodded as he moved closer and Charlie handed him the clothes. "I called Rina over and she brought some clothes for you. She borrowed them off one of the guys who has a brother who is roughly the same height as you."
"Thanks," Harry took the clothes in his arms before looking up at Charlie, who nodded.
"You go and get changed. I'll get some food on for us to eat and you can tell me your story." Harry nodded and headed into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Charlie watched him before heading down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen. The spacious kitchen was well appointed and included a complete range of muggle appliances.
Rounding the counter, he reached the cupboard above the cooker and pulled out some pans and placed them on the cooker before making his way over to the fridge and pulled out some eggs, bacon and mushroom, intending to make a bacon and mushroom omelette. While he made the mixture, the backdoor opened to reveal Rina. She was now out of her earlier clothes and wore a short black skirt and a white elbow length sleeve white shirt. She still wore her necklace and wore black Mary-Jane shoes.
"Hey Rina," Charlie greeted as Rina closed the door behind her and moved over to the top cupboard next to the back door and pulled out three plates and three glasses and placed them on the counter.
"Hey, how is he?" she asked, moving around the counter and opened the fridge to pull out an array of different drinks and placed them on the counter.
"He's getting changed into the clothes you brought over," Charlie told her as he flipped the omelettes. Rina nodded as she collected three forks and placed them on the counter before taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Charlie looked over his shoulder at her, struck as ever how beautiful his best friend was before he cleared his throat and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just glad he looked better after his shower," Charlie told her as he switched the cooker off, picked up the pans and slipped the food onto separate plates before placing the pots and skillet into the sink and took a seat on the opposite side of Rina. The two of them had become fast friends since she arrived two years ago at the tender age of eighteen, excited to be working with dragons.
Ever since then, his desire for her had just heightened, despite him believing that it was just a crush. It just seemed like he found a new reason to be attracted to her. Her hand placed itself on top of his, causing his light blue eyes to snap up to meet her darker ones. She was looking at him with concern.
"Are you okay? You just zoned out on me," she explained. Charlie gave her a grin, shaking his head.
"I'm fine," he assured her. She nodded as she pulled her hand away from him just as Harry came into the kitchen, dressed in clothes that actually fitted him. Rina smiled when she saw him and patted the stool that was at the top of the counter, in between her and Charlie.
"Come on, sit down and have something to eat," she encouraged. Harry sat rounded the counter and sat down, looking at the food. He felt his stomach rumble, reminding him of how long it had been since he had decent meal and tucked into his food.
"Wow, this is really good," he mumbled. The eggs were soft but not soggy. The bacon were crispy to the point it wasn't burnt and the mushroom was soft with a bite to it. "Who cooked?"
"Charlie," Rina told him after she finished her mouthful. "He makes the best omelette." Charlie grinned as Harry looked at him in awe.
"You don't get a lot of fast food out here. Rina is mostly the cooker around here though, she makes the best meals and desserts you've ever tasted," Charlie redirected the conversation.
"Do you cook?" Rina asked Harry. Harry shrugged.
"My aunt and uncle used to make me cook all the time. I must be alright as they've never gotten poisoned from my food or thrown it out," Harry told her after he finished his next mouthful and filled his glass with pumpkin juice and took a sip, missing the glare Charlie and Rina had shared.
"So, Harry, are you ready to tell us how you got here?" Charlie asked as they polished off the last of the meal, refilling their drinks.
"I received a parcel from an anonymous source. I left it alone and went for a walk to clear my head when I bumped into someone. We talked for a little and he gave me a small background history on Voldemort and trust me, the answers were helpful. He told me that there was something being kept from me and I needed to head to Romania if I wanted to know the truth."
Harry took another sip of his pumpkin juice. "I ran all the way back home and bumped into my cousin. I dragged him home only to be nearly caught by a Dementor. Once we reached the house, I pushed him in and used my stag to ward the Dementor off before hurrying up the stairs. I grabbed my stuff then ripped open the parcel and this fell out," he showed them the large clear ruby crystal. Gold claws seem to hold the crystal to the necklace. Rina took it in her hands and admire it. "The next thing I knew was that I disappeared in a whirlwind and lightening and ended up in the middle of a crater here." Charlie frowned.
"So, this person told you to head to Romania in order to get your answers?" Charlie asked and Harry nodded.
"Yeah, they were very adamant that it was Romania that I was supposed to go to," Harry told him, still confused as ever.
Rina thought about it before she remembered something her grandmother had told her when she had been a young girl.
"Wait a minute; are you the one who is related to Jack Potter?" Rina asked. Harry tilted his head while Charlie nodded.
"Yeah he is," he turned to Harry, "Jack was your grandfather, your father's father."
"Oh," he turned to look at Rina with a curious look. "What does that have to do with anything?" Rina shot him a look of disbelief.
"Are you telling me you never got anything from your parents? I mean no letters or anything?" Harry shook his head.
"No, Dumbledore told me there wasn't a will made," Harry explained and Rina frowned.
"I think you will need to go to Gringotts soon," Rina informed him. "There are a lot of things that are being unsaid here."
Charlie noticed that Harry was beginning to get frustrated that Rina hadn't answered his original question and decided to step in.
"Rina," she looked at him. "Will you please put the boy out of his misery?" Rina looked at Harry, startled before shooting him a sheepish grin.
"Sorry," Harry shook his head, "My grandmother was the one who told me this story. Apparently there was a Potter a long time ago who was on the brink of dying. A dragon had been nearby him at the time and given him some of her blood, infusing the Potter bloodline with Dragon blood. Harry, you have a dragon lineage in you. That would explain why the dragons were acting up before you arrived and settled when you did arrive. They sensed that you were here and you were safe." Harry just stared at her, open-mouthed. So did Charlie.
"Are you sure?" Charlie stuttered out and Rina nodded.
"Yes. My grandmother swore on her life that it was true. She said she knew of a Potter and they had relayed the tale to her." Rina looked at Harry. "You need to get onto Gringotts straight away. You should have been informed of this when you were thirteen because you needed to be warned."
"Warned of what?" Harry croaked out.
"Your powers will activate after going through an emotional trauma," Rina explained. Charlie paled.
"What kind of trauma?" he asked her. Rina shrugged.
"My grandmother said something about death or extreme fear," Rina tried to recall. "There are many different emotional traumas but to trigger the dragon blood, it needs to be life or death."
"Harry…" Charlie whispered as he turned to face Harry only to see the young man's face had been drained of blood. Rina, instantly knowing she was missing something, pinned them both with a glare.
"What are you not telling me?" she demanded. Charlie looked at her.
"During the third task, Harry and another champion disappeared when they touched the cup. It had been a portkey. Cedric died and Voldemort was reborn," Charlie explained. Rina gasped as she covered her mouth before looking at Harry.
"Why didn't my powers kick in?" Harry whispered. "I could have…" he choked on the last bit. Charlie swallowed the lump that formed in his throat as he remembered Harry's godfather, Sirius, had died just before the summer.
"Because you didn't know," Rina explained, unaware of Harry's loss. Harry looked at her. "You weren't informed therefore you weren't trained. You can't use a power you are unaware of." Harry frowned.
"I'm a Parseltongue," Harry pointed out and Rina nodded.
Harry slumped back in his chair, defeated. "I still do not understand how you could have not received any messages." Charlie frowned.
"Harry, have you received a letter indicating you were to go to Sirius' will reading?" Charlie asked. Harry looked at him before shaking his head.
"No," he whispered and a thunderous look crossed Charlie's face.
"Someone is holding your letters back," Charlie informed them. Rina looked at him, shocked.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Charlie nodded.
"It's the only thing I can think of. I mean, you said that Harry should have gotten a letter from Gringott when he was thirteen asking him to visit yet he never got one. I got one asking me to come down for Sirius' will reading two days ago and I live in Romania but Harry never got one and he lives in London."
"That's illegal," Rina pointed out. "Interfering with Gringotts mail is punishable by jail term because you could be interfering in a life or death matter." Charlie nodded before he looked at Harry, who was looking between them like it was a tennis match.
"We're heading to London tomorrow so you can get new clothes and we're taking you to Gringotts. You need to know the truth before it's too late," Charlie informed him. Harry just nodded eager to find out the answer of his inheritance. Someone had almost cost him his friends and had cost him his godfather. He would be damned if he sat off to the side once more.
"What about the will reading?" Rina asked.
"That's not until the 14th of August," Charlie told her before looking at Harry. "We'll go with you and you can meet up with everyone then." Harry nodded before he bolted up in his seat as a panic look crossed his face.
"Hermione! I forgot to write her a letter!" he bolted out of the kitchen and hurried up the stairs, leaving Charlie and Rina staring at the empty doorway in shock before looking at each other. Charlie shrugged, confused.
"My dad says they're really close," he gave as an excuse. Rina arched an eyebrow.
"Didn't you also say that Harry and your brother were close yet he is only thinking of Hermione," Rina pointed out.
"Really close," Charlie repeated. Rina just grinned.
"Maybe there is going to be love in the air after all," Rina murmured. Charlie tilted his head, confused. He never did get how girls always seem to know things before anyone else did.
Hedwig had been napping on the box seat when the door to the bedroom was flung open, startling her into pulling her head out from under her wing and hooting. She watched as her master came tearing into the room, rushed over to the drawer and started opening drawers at random, obviously looking for something. He let out a cry of victory when he found what he was looking for and placed it on the table and grabbed a quill out of the inkwell while sitting down at the desk.
The inkwell made a noise of unhappiness at being disrupted and startled. Hedwig just tilted her head, curious to what her master was scribbling away madly at. He muttered Hermione's name and Hedwig gave a soft hoot of understanding. He had obviously remembered how easily worried his best friend could get whenever she heard something had happened to him. Stretching her wings out, she settled back into place, watching as Harry finished writing, signing his name with flourish, folded the parchment and slipped it into the envelope before writing a name.
Standing up, he turned around to see Hedwig was watching him and walked over to her.
"Hey girl," he reached out and stroked her breast feathers. "Can you deliver this to Hermione for me?" he held out the envelope. Hedwig stood up and held out her leg. Harry smiled and tied it to her leg before offering her his arm. Hedwig climbed onto it, mindful of her claws, not wanting to harm Harry. He opened the window, allowing the cool breeze to wash over them and fill the room before looking at his familiar once more. "When you reach Hermione, give her the letter and stay with her." He attached something in her feathers. It was uncomfortable at first before she quickly got used to the weight. "If she really needs to talk to me, give her this but only if it is an emergency. I don't want her in danger." Hedwig bobbed her head before she reached up and nibbled Harry's ear before taking flight.
Harry watched her leave before he closed the window and turned when he heard a knock at the door. Charlie was standing in the doorway.
"Well?" he asked.
"I sent Hedwig with the letter and instructions to stay with Hermione. This will keep them both safe. Hedwig knows she's not to come back just in case someone follows her to find me," Harry explained. Charlie nodded before he looked at his watch and sighed.
"Bed time, it's nearly eleven and we'll need to get up early tomorrow," Charlie told him. Harry nodded as he walked over to the bed. "Do you want anything to drink?" he shook his head.
"No thanks. I'll see you in the morning," Harry told him. Charlie nodded and closed the door. Harry sighed as he turned back to his trunk and pulled out a pair of pyjama bottoms and placed it on the top of the bed. Turning back to his trunk, he pulled out the rest of his clothes and shoes before moving over to the closet and putting them in the correct places. He turned back to his trunk and removed his books, walking over to the bookcase and placed them in it. He removed his writing materials and placed them on the desk before pulling out his broomstick, putting it in the corner.
He closed his trunk and placed it on its end next to desk before putting his wand under his pillow where he usually kept it. Habits were hard to break but it could save a person's life if they kept their weapons close to them. He stripped himself out of the clothes he had borrowed and pulled on his PJs. Scooping up his clothes, he exited the bedroom and headed over to the bathroom where he placed the clothes into the washing basket.
Picking up a spare toothbrush that Charlie had set out, he was about to start cleaning his teeth, only to jump when Rina came into the bathroom. She smiled as she spotted him before placing her clothes into the basket. She was dressed in a large red tee-shirt and red shorts. She picked up her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth. Charlie entered the bathroom and all three of them stared into the mirror as they brushed their teeth while trying not to laugh at how weird it was.
They managed to keep a straight face as they spat out their toothpaste before wiping their mouths and rinsing them out with mouthwash. When they were finished, they made their way out of the bathroom and over to their doors that led to their room.
"See you in the morning," All three of them said together as they entered their rooms and closed their doors, bursting into laugher.
****************
Dumbledore sighed to himself as he sat at his desk looking over the papers, making a note whenever he saw something he agreed or disagreed with when there was a knock at his door.
"Come in," he called, sitting back on his chair and looking around at his office. Fawkes was currently missing from his perch in the office. Dumbledore had been startled when he noticed that she was gone but deduced that she had decided to take a break. He looked toward the door to see Alastor Moody, an old friend, limp into the room.
"Yes, Alastor?" he greeted with a tired smile.
"Potter's gone," Moody informed him, not the one to beat around the bush. Dumbledore paled.
"What do you mean Harry is gone?" Dumbledore asked his tone hard as he stood up.
"Just like I said," Moody replied in a gruff tone, not please with Dumbledore's tone. "Potter had left. A Dementor tried to attack him and his cousin before he drove it off. He ran into the house, grabbed his stuff and disappeared. His Aunt and Uncle are refusing to say anything while their son is still in a shock from the Dementor."
Dumbledore growled as he looked out of the window.
"It is imperative that we find Harry Potter as soon as possible. He is at risk from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We must not let them get their hands on him."
"But we don't know where he went," Moody reminded. "He just disappeared. There is no magical signature to give us any clues. His owl had been taken with him. All we can do is wait and see if he sends a message to one of his friends and follow the owl when she goes to take the mail back to him."
Dumbledore dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Moody left the office as Dumbledore walked over to the window. Where could have Harry gone to? He obviously wasn't at Sirius' old place as there were members of the Order there and they would have alerted him if Harry had shown up.
The Weasleys hadn't contacted him so Harry wasn't there since they would have let him know. An idea came to his mind… Hermione Granger.
*****************
Hermione sighed to herself as she made her way down the stairs wearing a pair of denim shorts and a white sleeveless shirt. Her usually bushy hair had tamed down over the years and had now settled down into curls that reached her waist and were held back by a white headband. Her familiar, Crookshanks, a fluffy, orange cat, followed her down the stairs before bounding into the living room just as the doorbell rang.
Hermione looked toward the door curiously before gripping her wand hidden within her clothes as she walked over to the door. Peering through the peephole, she was even more curious when she saw who it was on the other side. Opening the door revealed her headmaster standing on her doorstep with a smile.
"Hello, Miss Granger," Dumbledore greeted. Hermione tilted her head, curious.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore. To what do I owe this visit?" she asked him, inviting him into the house before leading the way into the living room. Dumbledore followed her, taking a seat on the couch as she sat on a chair. Dumbledore looked around.
"Are your parents in?" he asked. Hermione shook her head.
"Emergency, a client broke a tooth and needed it fixed." Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling.
"Ah, the wonders of human nature," he told her. Hermione just gave him a small smile filled with curiosity to why her headmaster would be in her house late at night. "I was just wondering, have you heard from Harry yet?" Hermione shook her head, frowning.
"No, but that's not usual. He told me that his aunt and uncle won't allow him to free Hedwig until he is at least a week in," Hermione explained. "I'm sure he'll contact me when he can."
"Ah, good," Dumbledore told her. Hermione frowned.
"Sir, is there a reason why you couldn't just ask Harry himself why he wasn't sending messages?" Hermione asked.
"I didn't want to interrupt his family and I didn't want to bother him, especially after the loss of his godfather," Dumbledore explained. Hermione just seemed to accept the excuse and he stood up. "Well, as that little mystery is solved. I shall head back to the headquarters. I hope you will have a good summer, Miss Granger. I shall see you close to the end."
"Thank you. Bye Professor Dumbledore," Hermione told him as he disappeared on the spot.
Hermione's smile faded as worry set in. There was more to what Dumbledore was saying. Something has happened to Harry. Worrying her bottom lip, she briefly thought of writing Harry a letter but remembered that she had no way of sending it to Harry unless Hedwig was there.
Hermione made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Once she entered it, she crossed the room over to the desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of parchment and dipped her quill into her inkwell when there was a tap at the window. Lifting her head, relief ran through her when she spotted Hedwig outside of her window. Hermione left her quill in the inkwell before climbing onto her knees on the box seat and opened the window to allow Hedwig in.
Hedwig gave a soft hoot as she settled herself on Hermione's arm before holding out the leg that had the letter tied to it. Untying the letter, she watched as Hedwig hopped off Hermione's arm and onto the seat before settling down, clicking her beak. Hermione closed the window and got comfortable on the seat before she opened the envelope and pulled the letter out. Unfolding it, she began to read.
'Dear Hermione,
I do not know if you know yet but I have left Privet Drive. I went for a walk and found myself learning something new. I was told to leave so I ran, only for Dementors to swoop in on me. It was exactly the same as last year, Hermione. They are not under Voldemort's control; they are still under the Ministry. I managed to get away and I am somewhere surprising. I'm not going to tell you because you know just as well as I do the Order read our letters and there are a chance the Death Eaters could be reading them too.
This is for both of our protection. I won't place you any in further danger when I'm not around to protect you, although I did a crappy job at the end of the year. I'm so sorry. I should have seen it coming and protected you.'
"Oh Harry, it wasn't your fault," she breathed sadly to herself before she composed herself to read the rest of the letter.
'I hope you are okay despite me dragging you into danger. Other news, I learned some surprising stuff. I do not know everything yet. I will be finding out tomorrow where I have to meet a few people to get answers and hopefully find a way to defeat Voldemort. It's the only way this war will end.
I would tell you not to worry but as I know you, all I can say is don't worry too much. I am safe, Hermione, I promise you and I will see you soon. I have a few things to do first and then you are the first person I'll be looking for.
I am leaving Hedwig with you because I trust you to look after her when I'm not there and she loves you. If you really need to send me a message, talk to Hedwig and she will give you something that I've hidden among her feathers. Only do so if you really need to talk to me. We can't risk anyone finding me right now.
I'll see you soon.
Harry.'
Hermione sighed with relief, pressing the letter close to her chest before she looked at Hedwig, smiling as she reached her right hand out and scratched Hedwig's neck lovingly.
"So, Harry ordered you to stay here, huh?" Hermione asked. Hedwig let out a hoot of confirmation, her eyes dropping half-mast as Hermione continued to scratch her. Giggling, Hermione pulled her hand away and picked up a treat from the open drawer where she usually kept owl treats. She gave Hedwig the treat just as Crookshanks made his way into the bedroom, crossed the room and jumped up onto the box seat. He nudged his head into Hedwig's side as a greeting before climbing onto Hermione's lap.
Unknown to Hermione, someone had been watching as Hedwig arrived and was waiting for the moment she wrote back to Harry so they could follow the letter and bring their saviour back home.
TBC
Rina is said like this - Reen-Na & based her looks on Jordana Brewster (Mia from Fast & Furious)
Charlie's looks are based on Paul Walker (Brian from Fast & Furious)
Obviously looks are altered but similar in personalities.