Bab 3: Worries
In the end, Harry opted to observe the unnatural darkness from a distance. He knew that there were some protections in place, something about the sacrifice of his mother, so he guessed that he would be safe inside the house.
That didn't mean that he wasn't curious though, so he sat next to his window, looking out at the way too dark street, wand in hand, Shiva on his shoulders.
"What is that stuff?" he wondered aloud, while observing that the darkness seemed to blur at the ends. Behind it, the normal night seemed bright if compared to the mist.
"I do not know. But it smells of fear."
Harry frowned as an idea formed inside of his head... but it couldn't be right. That simply wasn't possible... was it? But then, he saw evidence that prove his theory.
He saw black cloaks.
Sure, in the wizarding world black cloaks weren't exactly uncommon, as almost every wizard wore robes and black was the most common colour, but... down there were no wizards.
There were Dementors.
His eyes widened and he heard Shiva hissing sharply as she saw them too. Dementors? In Little Whinging? How was that possible, he was sure these creatures stood under the control of the Ministry...! And surely no Ministry member would-
He stopped, suddenly remembering something. He still received the Daily Prophet every morning and while he once had only looked at the headlines for news of Voldemort, he had started reading the newspaper more precisely lately, after a suggestion of Shiva. After all it was his only source on what was going on in the wizarding world as long as he had to stay here.
And while most of the stuff was rubbish he remembered reading several small comments about himself, being the laughingstock of the nation once more. Because he told them the truth.
But of course, people were like that. It didn't matter how often he saved their behinds, they'd always turn against him if he said or did something they didn't like. They were just as bad as the Hogwarts students...
Anyway, right now a lot of people hated him, so... maybe it wasn't all that strange for Dementors to appear here?
He watched as they glided up and down the street, before taking the path down Magnolia Crescent. Dammit, he had never been so glad to take up advice from a snake. Though he knew by now that Shiva was no ordinary snake.
After the Dementors were gone for a few minutes, he relaxed a bit and went to get one of his books. He didn't trust the silence enough to go back to normal just yet, but he could just as well read while occasionally watching the now empty streets.
He had about fifteen minutes of peace before something happened again. He noticed movements from the corner of his eye and as he looked up, he saw an owl flying hurriedly in his direction. Confused, he opened his window and the bird bolted inside, before almost collapsing on his floor, an action that made Hedwig - who, for once, sat happily in her cage, dozing - give off a disgruntled hoot.
He carefully took the letter from the exhausted animal and began to read.
Harry,
Please tell me you're alright!
I overheard something about Dementors in Little Whinging, was that true? Did you meet them?
Whatever you do, stay inside, don't leave the house!
Sirius
He frowned. News certainly travelled fast. He had no idea where his godfather was - though he had a feeling it had something to do with wherever Ron and Hermione stayed, seeing that Sirius' letters weren't all that informative either - but how that place had gotten the news so quickly... it was beyond him.
He was the only wizard in Little Whinging after all... wasn't he?
Stopping that train of thought, he managed to write a short answer note, telling Sirius that he was fine and wouldn't go outside. He then let the owl recover a little bit longer before sending it off again. For a second he had wondered if he should ask how the hell the story had gotten to whomever his godfather had overheard, but seeing that news were so rare these days he probably wouldn't have gotten an answer anyway.
He went back to his book instead - Intermediate Transfiguration, he was slowly catching up - and got quite absorbed in it again, forgetting the time and everything around him for a while, before he heard another owl. Guessing that it had to be one of his friends, or maybe even Sirius again, he let it in without taking his eyes off the book, since he was at a quite interesting part right now.
Only an impatient hoot brought him out of his little trance and he looked up in surprise as he recognised the bird being the eagle owl from his birthday. He took it's letter and it set off once again without giving him a chance to read the parchment first, much less writing a reply.
Harry,
Do not worry, the person who sent the Dementors will not bother you again.
News did travel fast, then... he wondered if this mysterious writer was with Sirius, though on the other hand, if Sirius was still worried they might not have the same source of information...
He shook his head. It probably wouldn't do to keep wondering, he'd figure it out sooner or later. For now he should better concentrate, Transfiguration was a complicated subject and he wasn't able to test any of the theoretical knowledge...
What followed were another two weeks of waiting. The only news he got were about Mrs. Figg - an old lady that had always been his babysitter when the Dursleys went somewhere before he got to Hogwarts - who had been found lying on one of the streets between her house and Privet Drive the day he had seen the Dementors. The muggles had hurried to place her into a hospital, saying she seemed to be in some kind of coma, but Harry had a distinct feeling that she wouldn't wake up ever again, as her body couldn't work without a soul...
He actually nicked a candle from his relatives to mourn for a few minutes, knowing in his gut that the arrival of the Dementors had somehow been his fault.
On a happier note - more or less - Sirius wrote another letter, in which he said something about someone being uncharacteristically stubborn about insisting that Harry stayed with his relatives as long as possible and that he was working on it, but after that, no other letter made his way to Harry.
It annoyed him quite a bit but Shiva always managed to calm him down, suggesting other things Harry might want to read. At least he had had more than enough time to finish all the books on his list. He had even read Hogwarts: A History now (Hermione would be proud!), after which he had moved on to some other books he found in his trunk, that weren't terribly interesting but also not too boring. He really needed to pay Flourish & Blotts a visit... if the book list for school would arrive in time and he wasn't left here to rot of course.
But then, one evening - the Dursleys were gone to some kind of Lawn Competition - Shiva noted that she smelled people. Harry closed the book he had just been reading and drew his wand, asking her what kind of people she smelled. It couldn't have been the Dursleys, since their departure had not been too long ago, but he had no idea who else to expect.
"I... I smell wolf... and dog. But they are humans," she said, after a short, startled silence and Harry smiled. There was only one duo that matched this description.
Wand still in hand - no need to get careless now - and Shiva once more under his shirt he made his way downstairs. And as he got closer to the living room, he began to hear voices.
"Look at all this stuff! Who needs so many photos of some fat kid?"
"Sirius, hush! We don't want to seem like burglars!"
"Come on Moony, nothing a small Obliviate wouldn't cure."
Harrys smile broadened as he stepped into the room, watching as his godfather looked at the different photos of Dudley with disgust, while Remus Lupin - his Defence against the Dark Arts teacher in his third year - observed Sirius with mild interest. Both actually looked better than the last time he had seen them, but that probably didn't mean much, since they had both been in bad shape then.
"Don't curse the neighbours, please."
As both men whirled around he couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Not only at the situation, but he also remembered that these words had probably been the first English ones he had used since he had met Shiva a month ago.
"Harry!" His godfather grinned and wanted to walk to him, but Lupin held him back.
"Please, Sirius, remember what Mad-Eye said."
"Yes, yes... then hurry up!"
Harry had watched this little exchange of words slightly confused. Mad-Eye? As in, Mad-Eye Moody? The man he had thought his teacher last year until he had found out that it had actually been Barty Crouch Junior, a Death Eater who had disguised himself as the auror?
Lupin nodded shortly and looked at Harry. "What form does your Patronus take?"
He frowned. "A stag."
The werewolf nodded and his features softened, before he looked at Sirius again. "That's him."
And suddenly Harry found himself in a big hug that made Shiva almost lose her grip on him.
"Dang, I've missed you, pup!"
And he felt what was probably the biggest grin since forever on his face. "I've missed you too."
They stayed like this for a few more moments, before Lupin cleared his throat and Sirius let him go.
Harry nodded in greetings to the other man. "Professor Lupin."
Lupin smiled. "Please Harry, the days I taught you are long over. Call me Remus."
Harry nodded again, smiling himself, before he got serious again, deciding to get to the point of that surprising visit.
"So... I'm finally allowed to leave, then?" He raised an eyebrow as he got two short nods. "Great... about time."
"Sorry pup, I would've gotten you out of here earlier but, you know... wasn't allowed to and everything," Sirius grumbled before rolling his eyes and muttering something about old men and their sense of safety.
"Anyway, how about we get you packed?" Remus interjected the other mans mumbling. "Thankfully, we were able to convince Mad-Eye that Side-Along Apparition would be much safer for you than flying on brooms. Though not nearly as fun, I fear. But this way, Sirius was able to come."
Harry frowned. "Where are you staying anyway? I didn't know that you were living somewhere together?" he asked confused, but Remus shushed him.
"We will tell you once we've arrived at our destination. Sorry, but these are the safety measures we had to agree on before we were allowed to get you," he explained, though looking not too excited about it himself.
He probably didn't want to know who had set these safety measures...
A few minutes later all of them stood just outside of the house, next to Harrys trunk that was packed and closed now. Hedwigs cage was empty, since she was out hunting again, but she always knew where to find him so he wasn't too worried.
Instead, he watched as Sirius took the trunk and Remus the cage, before the former extended an arm to his godson.
"Hold on tight, you hear? We don't want you to fall off early or anything."
Harry nodded and did as he was told, wondering how apparition would feel.
The next thing he felt was Sirius turning on the spot and then he knew exactly how apparition felt.
One word? Awful. It was as if he had been compressed and sent through some kind of black tunnel way too small for him, before coming out and taking on his normal shape again.
He gasped for breath as the sensation was over and heard Sirius chuckle next to him.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," he said after a while, still holding Harrys arm - thankfully, he didn't knew if his legs would've supported him completely.
"That is one of the worst things you humans ever came up with!"
He blinked at the hissed words, before his eyes widened as Shiva stuck her head out of his shirt. How could he forget his not so little snake friend?
"Yeah, you're probably right..." he answered, shuddering slightly at the memory, before looking up and seeing the surprised glances of the two older wizards.
"Harry?" Sirius asked frowning, before shaking his head in a 'I should have known' way. "Trust you to acquire a pet snake while staying a month with your horrible relatives. Because anything else was too boring, huh?"
Today just seemed full of surprises.
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sorry for any mistake
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