Chapter 4
Harry woke up in the morning with a dull ache in his head, it was nothing compared to the previous night's pain. “Ah shit,” Harry thought as the sun poured into his room. He had forgotten to close the curtains the night before. Being woken up at sunrise is not a good way to start off the morning. Harry groaned, pulling on his clothes and walking downstairs.
The kitchen was not as empty as he would have assumed, Sirius and Remus already sitting at the table drinking tea. Although, Sirius seemed to be more asleep than awake.
“Ah good morning Harry, would you like a cup of tea?” Sirius sat up at Remus’s voice, noticing Harry for the first time.
“Oh morning, Harry we,” Sirius nudged Remus, “have a question for you” Harry sat down at that, ready to answer any questions they asked. Well, maybe not any questions.
“We, sorry I noticed you had a slight bulge in your pants yesterday, so who’s the lady?” Harry choked on his drink, sputtering and coughing. His face started to heat up, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.
“What? I don't know what you’re talking about.”
“Your face says otherwise, Harry”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed Harry, It’s part of growing up, and going through puberty. We would be more worried if you never had an erection, because it would be a sign that you could be unhealthy.” Leave it to Remus to bring up the subject like he was teaching a class.
“Ok, but who is the girl?”
Harry was saved by Mrs.Weasley walking through the door. It’s not that Harry thought that they would be mad or unhappy that he was bisexual, but he didn’t know if he was ready to the share the news yet. Harry wondered if they even wondered if he could be anything but straight. A worried frown grew on his face.
Sirius saw the frown form across the table. He wondered if he had pushed too hard. He just wanted to be part of his godson’s life. What if he had just ruined the trust they had created? Sirius decided not to push anymore, and instead would wait until Harry was ready to tell him himself.
Soon everyone was in the kitchen, and breakfast was on the table. The previous discussion was lost in between the chaos of having all the Weasley’s, Sirius, Remus, Hermione and Harry in one place. Harry still hadn’t forgiven his friends, but he had come to the decision that he would treat them neutrally.
“Hey Harry, want to play wizard's chess later?”
“I’m good Ron.”
“Are you sure because we-”
Harry interrupted Ron, “Yes I’m sure.”
Hermione tried to talk to him next. They were getting on Harry’s nerves, he had already answered them and all of their words sounded scripted.
“I can help you with your homework, I’m sure it needs some improvement.” Hermione probably did not mean to sound rude, but she did.
Harry was done with this conversation, “No I think my work is fine thanks.” He left silence in his wake, putting his dishes in the sink and walking out the door to go find the twins who had previously left the table.
Sirius wanted to go after his godson, but didn't think it was best. Harry needed to be able to stand up for himself without Sirius cutting in. He just hoped Harry would one day be able to talk to his friends again, without becoming mad. Everyone needs a friend, and Sirius could not be that person. He had to be a parental figure, being Harry’s friend would not be good enough. If Harry was unable to forgive his friends, Sirius at least hoped he would make new ones.
——
“So Fred, George, how is your joke shop coming along?”
“Well, dear Harry.”
“Thank you for asking.”
“It’s going well.”
“All thanks to your contributions.”
“We have fliers.”
“You can have one if you want.”
“Pygmy Puffs are one of our favorites.”
“A quarter of the profits are yours anyways.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather have ten percent.” Harry knew it was impolite to ask for any money, but he did sacrifice the last of his innocent mind to win the money.
“Fifteen.”
“It’s ten or nothing.”
“Fine, you are a stubborn one, dearest Harrykins.”
“Thanks for doing business.”
Harry left as a headache started to form. Moving between Fred and George as they talked was tiring. He also had to try his best to remember who was who. Harry understood what it felt like to not be acknowledged, and the twins were two different people. They might have been identical on the outside, but they were not on the inside. Harry was already starting to notice the differences between them. He did not want to be the reason any one was ignored.
——
Days at Grimmauld Place all seemed to be the same. Everyone in the household would eat together for three meals. Conversation was sometimes sparse and sometimes lively. During the day they mostly cleaned, Harry liked to slip away often and think in his room. A couple nights a week an Order of the Phoenix meeting would be held. Ginny, who had gotten over her crush on Harry tried to listen to the meetings but her methods failed. She even tried to use Fred and George’s “Extendable Ears”. Harry had a feeling that the meetings centered around the prophecy Voldemort had mentioned in his dream.
Ron and Hermione had unsuccessfully tried to connect with Harry. He would either tell them no, or ignore them completely. It was sort of funny to see their reactions, each time Ron looked lost, and Hermione seemed to become more annoyed each time Harry brushed her off. They had mostly given up by the time Hogwarts letters had come in.
Ron and Hermione had both been made prefect’s. Hermione was no surprise, but how Ron got the job will forever be unknown. Harry lost respect for Mrs.Weasley when she forgot about Fred and George. Harry knew that all the Weasley children were accomplished, just all in different ways. Honestly he thought Fred and George had to work the hardest to get where they were. Unfortunately, Harry was banned from leaving the house and someone had to get his supplies for him. He had been looking forward to going, maybe seeing a certain blond haired wizard. He needed to buy some books to improve his windless magic, but maybe they would have them in the library.
——
“That’s everyone in the family.”
Had Harry heard right? Had Mrs.Weasley just said everyone? Last he checked Fred and George had never been prefects. Speaking of them, they looked hurt that they had been forgotten. Fred and George had never wanted to be prefects, but it hurt to be thought less of for not becoming ones themselves. They apparated out of the room, most likely to go develop more products.
As soon as Ron had left to go brag to the rest of the house, Hermione followed him and Harry was left alone with Mrs.Weasley, a bad combination for his rage.
“Don’t ever overlook Fred and George,” He snarled, his tone dark. Harry left the room as fast as he could, not wanting to blow up, leaving a shell shocked Molly Weasley in his wake.
She soon forgot about the incident though, becoming occupied with household chores and her family.
——
On the plus side, Harry was able to bond more with Sirius and Remus. They had nightly board game competitions. Harry had quickly learned that Sirius was not skilled at muggle board games, but very competitive. Remus looked over the work he had done over the summer, and helped Harry with the small revisions he needed to improve his work. They were the people Harry had always wanted around.
Harry’s dream issue was the same. He would often have nightmares that followed skull splitting headaches. The more dreams Harry had, the more positive he was that he was actually in Voldemort’s mind. Voldemort often referenced a prophecy that had something to do with the two of them. His other dreams had pretty much stayed the same, and had been dubbed “Draco Dream’s.” As much as he hated admitting it, he had accepted his dreams as part of his life.
Harry’s feelings of rage had continued to grow uncontrollably, he was starting to become worried over his own lack of control. He had been successful at not blowing up, except for one day…
——
Harry had known there was a large Order of the Phoenix meeting by the sheer amount of people walking in the house. None of the teenagers were allowed in the meetings, but they had been warned that many members would be staying for dinner. The meeting seemed to last forever, Harry being able to finish his book and talk to Walburga. Sirius had explained Walburga’s tendency to scream, but whenever Harry was around she never did.
The meeting ended, and all of the kids were called down to dinner. Harry took his time getting to the kitchen, expecting a few others who he didn’t know. Boy was he wrong.
The first person he saw was Dumbledore, sitting in an obnoxious cloak, happily eating. On his right sat Severus Snape, a snarl plastered on his face. Harry tried to ignore them, hoping that if he pretended they weren’t there, then maybe they would go away. He sat at the opposite end of the table and tried to sit as quietly as possible, hoping to be swallowed by the dinner discussions.
“Ah, Harry I didn’t see you walk in, how have you been my boy?” Harry chose not to answer, instead he continued eating his food.
“Potter, answer the headmaster’s question.”
Harry sighed knowing there would be no way out of this one, so he coldly replied, “I’ve been fine.”
“Splendid, now Harry I understand you haven’t always had the best potions grades and I had an idea that I have already discussed with Severus. He is willing to tutor you in potions on Tuesday and Thursday nights.”
He had to be joking. Why would anyone spend any free time with the person that bullied them? Snape didn’t object meaning he already knew, Dumbledore had probably bribed him. “No, I'm good.”
Dumbledore looked shocked at his refusal, but soon connected the dots. “Harry it will be good for you, I know Severus isn’t your favorite teacher and you might be mad at me but it will benefit you in the long run.”
Harry had become angrier and angrier throughout the entire conversation; they didn’t even stop to think of his own feelings. “Might be mad at me” really set Harry off. Rage coursed through his veins, and he couldn’t stop the explosion that followed.
“MAD, I'M NOT MAD IM FURIOUS. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABANDONED BY EVERYONE YOU TRUST, BEEN FORCED TO STAY IN THE PLACE YOU HATE MOST, AND THEN HAVE EVERYONE BRUSH YOU OFF!” Sighing he said in a short voice, “So no, I’m not mad at you Dumbledore.” Before strutting out of the room.
His outburst had caused the entire room to shake and tremble, Harry had looked incredibly powerful, his eyes almost looked to be glowing. Everyone had their eyes stuck to Harry’s seat unbelievingly.
Sirius was the first to shake out of his stupor, “Look what you did.” He got up to go find Harry, and Remus soon followed suit.
Needless to say, in the days that followed everyone was weary of Harry and treated him like he was glass. School tomorrow would probably be even worse, the last task hadn’t been that long ago and Harry had changed a lot over the summer. He was bound to receive many stares. But maybe, just maybe, being surrounded by a castle of magic would lessen his nightmares.