Leaving Grimmauld Place
Harry groaned as the morning sunlight burned into his eyes causing them to tear. He tiredly rolled onto his stomach and pulled his pillow over his head to block the sunlight. He could hear someone yelling in the hallway as his bedroom door opened. The soft noise of someone walking across the room echoed all around, as they sat heavily on the bed and tried to pull the blanket off him.
“Harry Potter, sir. Dobby did what you have asked of him," said a small voice beside him.
"Where is it?" replied Harry tiredly as the small house elf uncomfortably shook his shoulders.
"Dobby could not bring it to the Black family house, sir," replied the house elf while still shaking him.
"Why?" asked Harry as Dobby managed to pull the blankets off him.
"Because Harry Potter is leaving the Black family house today," replied Dobby as he watched Harry's head instantly shoot up from under the pillow.
"I forgot to pack my trunk--" yelled Harry while jumping off the bed and landing on his feet. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner? I still need to pack my trunk--"
"Don't worry about that, sir," said the small house elf as he jumped off the bed. "Dobby has already done it for you."
"You did?" asked Harry as he looked across the room too where his trunk was currently located.
Dobby quickly nodded his head. "Dobby also had time to make you and the Wheezy' some breakfast."
Dobby quickly opened the door for him. "Dobby," said Harry turning around to see the house elf again.
"Yes, sir?" Is there anything else you wish for Dobby to get?" asked Dobby.
"Not exactly. I need to talk to you after breakfast," said Harry while slowly walking out of the room.
"It would be an honor, sir," Dobby replied before snapping his fingers and disappearing.
Harry quickly walked down the stairs as the smell of Dobby's breakfast filled his nose. He quietly opened the kitchen door to find Tonks, Lupin, Hermione, and the Weasley family had already started eating. "Harry," said Lupin as he stood up and pulled Harry into a very tight hug. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Harry replied. Everyone kept asking if he was fine or feeling all right, and to tell the truth, he was starting to get annoyed.
"Well dear, stop standing around and come eat," said Mrs. Weasley as she pointed to an empty seat between Ron and Hermione.
Harry slowly walked over to the table saying good morning to everyone he passed. He looked over at Tonks, who gave him a playful wink. He quickly looked down to see himself fully dressed. He gave a sigh of relief before sitting between Ron and Hermione.
"Morning," he said to the both of them.
"Morning, Harry," said Hermione cheerfully. "We were just talking about what we would like to do after we leave Hogwarts-"
"Yes, Harry," said Lupin entering the conversation. "What do you plan on doing after you leave Hogwarts?"
"He is going to play professional Quidditch," said Ron, as he patted Harry on the back.
"Honestly, Ron," said Hermione with an irritated voice. "Just because you want Harry to play Quidditch, doesn't mean he wants to."
"What are you talking about, of course he wants to play Quidditch. Harry, think about this," said Ron. "Not only do you get the best gear in the whole world, and have me as your teammate, you also have the most beautiful witches looking in your direction--"
"Why don't we let Harry decide what he would like to do," interrupted Lupin as he looked over at Harry.
"Well... I was planning on becoming an Auror," replied Harry softly. Hermione gave a satisfied smile.
"If you like, Harry, I know a few people down in the Auror division, and I could talk to some of them for you," said Mr. Weasley while putting a sausage in his mouth.
A slight smile appeared on Harry's face, but before he had time to reply, an angry voice filled the room, causing everyone to go silent.
"You will do no such thing, Arthur!" yelled Mrs. Weasley as she furiously pointed a finger at Harry. "He's only fifteen! He has enough to deal with right now! Do you remember what Dumbledore told us the night he arrived here?"
"Of course I do, Molly," replied Mr. Weasley calmly. "But you must understand, it's Harry's choice on what to do when he leaves Hogwarts--"
"That's when he leaves Hogwarts!!" yelled Mrs. Weasley as tears started running down her cheeks. "He's only a child still!!"
Everyone in the room sat shocked at Mrs. Weasley's sudden outburst. No one had ever seen her yell like that before. Before Mr. Weasley had a chance to talk again, Mrs. Weasley ran from the room while wiping her tear stained face on her apron.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" asked Ron while Hermione stared at Harry suspiciously.
Harry quickly avoided her eye contact, and looked over to the eyes of his former professor. Lupin slowly nodded his head before getting up and placing his plate in the sink. "Dumbledore should arrive here soon. Did you get your trunk packed?" asked Lupin as he sat back down at the table.
"Actually," replied Harry as he finished his last sausage. "Dobby did it for me."
Harry quickly looked over to see a reded face Hermione glaring at him as Lupin got up and left the room. "H-he did it on his own. I didn't tell him to do it. I-I promise," Harry stuttered.
"I would hope so, Harry," said Hermione as she got up and placed her plate in the sink.
"S.P.E.W" whispered Ron under his breath. He had a sour look on his face.
"What's S.P.E.W?" asked Tonks while biting into her toast.
"It's a group of people who go and try to convince other people that house elves aren't treated fairly, and that they shouldn’t work for anyone but themselves," replied Fred while rolling his eyes.
"It's stupid really," said Fred shaking his head.
George looked at everyone around the table. "I mean, everyone knows that house elves were made to serve wizards."
Standing by the sink, was a red faced Hermione, who obviously heard the conversation at the table.
"Yeah," said Ron as he looked at Fred and George. "It's not our fault they are all mad enough to work for free."
Out of her anger, Hermione picked up her plate that had been sitting in the sink and whipped it as hard as she could towards Ron. However, she was not as accurate with plates as she was with spells. The plate she whipped across the room hit Harry on the back of the head, causing him to fall to the floor, and the plate to break into pieces on his head.
"Harry!!" said Hermione as she ran over and kneeled beside him. "I'm so sorry. I-I wasn't aiming for you."
"It's all right, Hermione," replied Harry while rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you have a particularly hard head," came a voice by the door.
"Well, Gin," said Harry turning to see the redheaded witch walking into the room. "I guess my head isn't hard enough." Harry slowly removed his hand to reveal blood dripping down his neck.
Hermione stared at the dripping blood, feeling guilty she even tried to throw a plate at anyone.
"Come on, Harry. Mum can heal your hard head," giggled Ginny as she helped him off the floor.
Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who decided to follow them, walked up the staircase, and into the bathroom/ laundry room where Mrs. Weasley was washing clothes.
Ginny gave two knocks on the door before entering.
"What's a matter, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley when Ginny entered.
" Harry's head is bleeding-"
"What!!" yelled Mrs. Weasley as she pulled Harry into room and examined his head. "How did this happen?"
"Well…I-I kind of fell down the stairs and hit my head on the floor," he lied.
Hermione gave him a thankful look as Mrs. Weasley pulled out her wand. "Okay," she said in a motherly voice. "This is only going to sting."
Harry nodded his head while Mrs. Weasley muttered an incantation and gave very complicated wand movements. At first he felt nothing. But after a few seconds, it started to sting.
"There. It should stop bleeding in a couple minutes," said Mrs. Weasley as she picked up a basket of clean clothes.
"Mrs. Weasley?" said Harry before she could leave the room. "How do you know healing spells? I thought only Healers could know those kind of spells."
"Well you can't be a mother with seven kids, and not know a single healing spell," she replied before leaving with a warm smile on her face.
"Let's go play a game of Gobstones," said Ron as he walked into the hallway followed by Hermione. Harry made his way to the door, but Ginny quickly blocked it.
"Actually," she said while looking at Ron and Hermione. "I need to have a word with Harry."
"Okay," replied Ron as he tried to walk back into the room, but Ginny blocked it.
"Alone," said Ginny as she slammed the door on her brother's face, and turned to look at Harry.
"You wanted to talk to me?" said Harry as he sat on the counter.
"Yes," replied Ginny as she pulled out a newspaper, and handed it to Harry . "Ron and Hermione haven't seen it yet."
Harry glanced down to see they same article he read yesterday. Harry looked up to see Ginny's white face. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.
"What do you mean what's wrong?" said Ginny as she ripped the paper away from him and pointed at the headline. "Azkaban is empty. The Dementors are gone. Death Eaters are attacking families, Harry."
Harry watched as Ginny slowly sank to her knees. "It's okay, Ginny," Harry said as he kneeled beside her.
"I-I-I'm scared, Harry," said Ginny as a tear escaped her eye. "What if my family is attacked, or what if you get attacked?"
"Listen, Ginny. I can't be too sure about myself. But I promise, that I will never let anything happen to you or your family."
"Thanks, Harry," said Ginny as she wiped the tear from her face.
"No problem. Now let's go find Ron and Hermione," replied Harry as he stood up and opened the door.
They both stepped out of the bathroom/laundry room with their clothes looking wrinkled from kneeling on the ground. They were busy straightening their clothes, when two people walked up the stairs and spotted them.
"Harry. . .Ginny," said Lupin as he looked at the open bathroom door, and then their wrinkled clothes.
"What?" asked Harry as he glanced at the open bathroom door. "We were just talking."
"In a bathroom?" said Tonks breathlessly.
Harry looked over at a red faced Ginny, as Lupin and Tonks stared at them with their mouths hanging open. "Come on, Ginny," said Harry with in an annoyed voice. They walked into Ron's room, where they found Hermione standing over Ron, who was currently on his knees gasping for breath.
"Do you have anything else you would like to say about S.P.E.W?" asked Hermione as Ron furiously shook his head. "Good."
"What happened?" asked Harry as he walked into the room followed by Ginny.
"She. . .elbowed me. . .in the. . .stomach," answered Ron slowly.
Harry and Ginny looked over at Hermione who was sitting on Ron's bed, with a smile on her face. "So," she said casually. "What were you guys doing?"
"Talking," replied Harry simply.
"About what," asked Hermione as she stood up from the bed.
"Stuff," answered Ginny softly.
"Stuff?" Hermione echoed. "What kind of stuff?"
"You know, just stuff," said Ginny as Hermione gave a wide grin.
Suddenly, several very loud pops echoed from somewhere in the house. Harry immediately pulled out his wand and grabbed Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. They quietly ducked behind Ron's bed with their wands held tightly in their hands.
"Harry," said Ginny in a whisper.
"Quiet," replied Harry as he looked at her worried face. He quickly stood up and glanced around the room to see if there was any sign of a Death Eater. "Get your wand ready."
"I left it in my room," said Ginny as Harry kneeled beside her again.
"Harry, do you think Death Eaters are in the house?" asked Hermione with a hint of fear in her voice.
"I don't know," he said while standing up and walking over to the door. "But I'm going to make sure it's safe--"
"We are coming with you," said Ron as he looked at Hermione and Ginny who nodded their heads in agreement.
"No," replied Harry flatly. "I'm going by myself."
Hermione looked at him as she felt her temper rise again. "You can't go by yourself!! We are coming with you--"
"I'm not going to lose anyone else I care about to Voldemort," said Harry softly.
"Harry," said Hermione slightly taken aback. "We need to help you. If Death Eaters are in the house, you might be out numbered."
"I'm not changing my mind," said Harry as walked across the room.
"You are going to get hurt," said Hermione as she ran in front of him and blocked the door.
"Move," said Harry calmly, but Hermione wouldn't budge. "I'm not going to get hurt. Ginny, I made a promise to you and I am not going to break it."
"We are coming with you," said Hermione again.
"You are not," said Harry. He could feel his anger rising. "I don't want any of you to get hurt. Don't you understand that?"
"I understand. But you need to understand that you could get, hurt" said Hermione as Ron and Ginny stood beside her. "We need to come with you-"
"I will make you a deal then," said Harry as he watched Hermione's face screw up in concentration.
"What kind of deal?" asked Ginny softly.
"If I don't come back in ten minutes, you guys can come and look for me."
"Fine," said Ron before Hermione or Ginny could say anything.
"Sorry, the deal is set," said Harry, as Hermione and Ginny looked at Ron while clenching their fists.
Harry quickly left the room, leaving an uncomfortable redhead, and two furious girls behind him.
Harry slowly made his way down the stairs with his wand held out in front of him as a loud crash echoed from the kitchen.
Harry quickly ran down the remaining steps quietly, and dove behind one of the dusty couches in the living room. He could hear voices in the kitchen whispering to one another. He slowly poked his head out from behind the couch, and looked around the room to make sure it was safe.
"Okay," he said to himself as he stood upright. "It's now or never."
Harry ran as quickly as he could across the living room and jumped into the kitchen while firing stunners in every direction. He heard the distinct sound of several bodies hitting the floor as he dove behind a nearby counter for cover. "Harry?" said a voice which came from across the room.
Harry slowly poked his head out from behind the counter to see Lupin, Dumbledore, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley standing there with their wands still pointed at him.
"W-what are you guys doing here?" asked Harry as he stood up with his wand still held tightly in his hand.
"I believe you will be leaving with Dumbledore. We are here to escort you," said Lupin as he walked over to the people Harry had Stunned. Harry looked down to see Tonks, Kingsley, Mad-Eye Moody and Fred and George unconscious on the floor.
"Ennervate!" said Mr. Weasley and Lupin as Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore walked up to Harry.
Mrs. Weasley quickly gave him a bone crushing hug and asked, "Why were you attacking us, Harry?"
"I. . .umm. . .thought you were Death Eaters," replied Harry as he stared at his shoes.
Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle as three teenagers quickly entered the room with their wands held tightly in their hands. They quickly glanced around the room where they saw the unconscious bodies on the floor.
"That's what I'm talking about, Potter!!" yelled Moody's voice from across the room. "Constant vigilance!!"
Dumbledore gave another soft chuckle as Harry gave a nervous smile. "Are you ready to go, Harry?" asked Dumbledore as Ginny walked over to her mother.
"Yes, sir," replied Harry politely.
"Well, we must be off--"
"Wait!!" yelled Hermione as she and Ron quickly walked beside Harry.
"Miss Granger. How may I help you?" asked Dumbledore with a cheerfull smile.
"Can we go with Harry?" asked Ron quickly.
"I'm afraid not," replied Dumbledore softly. "The only one who would be able to go with Harry, is Miss Weasley."
Everyone's mouth fell open in shock. Dumbledore chuckled softly at the group of witches and wizards before him.
"Why is Ginny the only one who gets to go with him?" asked Ron as he eyed Dumbledore suspiciously.
"You and Miss Granger are prefects. You need to arrive by the Hogwart's Express so you can get your instructions from the Head Boy and Girl."
"Does that means Harry is going to Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, Miss Granger," replied Dumbledore turning to look at Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.
"Can I really go with Harry, Professor?" asked Ginny excitedly.
"Only if Molly will allow you," said Dumbledore with a slight smile.
"I'm tired of staying at Grimmauld Place, Mum. May I please go with Harry to Hogwarts?" asked Ginny.
"Albus, may I have a word with you in the living room?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Certainly," replied Dumbledore as he nodded his head. Dumbledore quickly followed her into the other room. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat quietly at the table while Tonks and Moody walked over to Harry.
“Harry, you were impressive," said Tonks as she ran a hand through her purple hair.
"You're damn right he was impressive!!" yelled Moody as he limped over to Harry and patted him roughly on the back. "I didn't even see that Stunner coming. "
"Yeah," said a voice from behind Tonks and Moody. "He hit all five of us with Stunners."
"I can't even believe that," said Tonks as Kingsley Shacklebolt stood next to her. "He Stunned two Aurors, one ex-Auror, and two jokers."
"It was just luck," said Harry while he blushed from being praised. "I was just firing the Stunners in every direction. I didn't even know where I was aiming."
"You still hit us, Potter," said Moody as everyone smiled at him.
"But," said Tonks as everyone turned to look at her. "Why were you attacking us?"
"Well," said Harry nervously. "I kind of thought you were Death Eaters."
"What gave you that idea?" asked Kingsley.
"You did Apparate into the house when you could have used the Floo Network," said Harry softly.
There was a moment of silence before Tonks spoke up. "Why didn't we use the Floo?"
"Dunno," growled Moody.
Several more minutes passed before Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley walked back into the kitchen. "Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore calmly as he came to a stop in front of Ginny. "Molly has kindly granted you permission to stay at Hogwarts for the remainder of the summer to keep Harry company, but only under certain conditions. "
"Really?" asked Ginny excitedly as she ran over and hugged her mother.
Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny tightly. "But, you must stay inside the castle at all times. And listen to all the teachers, including Professor Snape."
Ginny quickly ran up the stairs to pack her trunk. She had a face of disgust as the thought of listening to Snape entered her mind.
Harry and Dumbledore walked out of the kitchen. They noticed a redheaded witch sitting on her trunk while her mother stood beside her.
"Harry," said Mrs. Weasley as she gave him one of her famous hugs. "Please be careful. And watch after Ginny--"
"Mum, I am not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself," said Ginny while her mother looked at her and Harry.
"And nothing inappropriate," she added.
"Mum!!" yelled Ginny, as her face turned red with embarrassment. Harry was blushing as well.
"Sorry dear," said Mrs. Weasley as she gave her only daughter a tight hug. "Study hard for your O.W.L.s."
"I will," replied Ginny as she stood in front of the fireplace with Dumbledore and Harry. She gave a wide smile to Harry.
Dumbledore handed both of them a piece of paper. They quickly read what was written and handed it back to him.
"You may go first, Harry," said Dumbledore as he lit the two pieces of paper on fire.
Harry quickly stepped into the fireplace while holding a hand full of Floo powder. He slowly lifted his hand and spoke, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's office."
With a brilliant burst of emerald flames, he was gone.
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A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my fic. I want to give the biggest thanks to Robin and CraftlySlytherin . Your the best!!!