Harry Potter and the Serpent's Eye by Marauder9744
Chapter Notes: Well, here's Chapter 1 - it's really short, I know, but once the story gets going, around Chapter 4 or so, the chapters will get much longer. I hope everyone enjoys, I've been planning this for quite some time. I'd like to thank my wonderful beta, LucyLupin - I couldn't do it without you. Enjoy, everyone!
Chapter 1 - Harry returns to his hated childhood home with some problems along the way, obviously; Harry is paid a visit by some old friends.
Harry sat in the back seat of his uncle’s car as it came to a halt behind a long line of other cars.
“Ruddy traffic,” exclaimed Uncle Vernon from the driver’s seat. “What in blazes is the hold-up?”
Aunt Petunia said something that Harry did not care to hear. His head was leaning against the window in the backseat; his thoughts drifting from Sirius to Dumbledore to Ginny, all the while listening to rain splash against the roof of the car. He had just left Ron and Hermione at King’s Cross Station and was making the all too familiar car trip back towards Surrey; back to number 4, Privet Drive, for what would be the last time in his life. It would be about a month before he would see Ron and Hermione again at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Almost a month before he would have to face Ginny again. His thoughts drifted back towards her and he sighed sadly as he stared out the window at the other motionless cars. This would be harder than he thought.
“Well, are you going to answer me or not, boy?” snapped Uncle Vernon, jostling Harry from his brooding state.
“What? Sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Harry replied honestly.
“I said, isn’t that one of your lot?” Harry looked forward through the front windscreen and, sure enough, there was Nymphadora Tonks with her bubble-gum pink hair and leather boots, rushing from car to car and looking in the back seats of each.
“There you are, Harry,” she cried, as she finally reached Uncle Vernon’s car and opened the back door. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”
Harry moved swiftly out of the car, and was just about to ask what was going on when he glanced further down the highway. Cars were being thrown through the air with ease and Harry could see three or four of them on fire near the closest exit.
“Harry, come on,” Tonks said again desperately. “We would have been here sooner had we been able to find your car quicker.”
“Death Eaters?” asked Harry gravely, as he and Tonks hurried through the maze of cars.
“Naturally,” she replied, sighing as she grabbed Harry’s upper arm. “Ready for Side-Along? I know you can Apparate by yourself, but we can’t afford a mistake.”
“Sure, but where are we going?” asked Harry, looking at her quizzically.
“You’re not going to like what I’m going tell you,” she replied, trying to smile.
Sure enough, moments later Harry was staring at his aunt and uncle’s house.
“What about them?” Harry asked. “They’re still in danger.”
“Not to worry, Harry, two teams of Aurors arrived just before we Apparated; they’ll be fine, as will everyone else. From what little information we have, it seems to be a mere coincidence that you were on that highway. It appears that it was a random attack,” Tonks replied in her best Auror voice. She noticed Harry’s depressed look, looked him in the eye, and smiled.
“I can’t imagine why they’d be interested in you anyway.” At this, Harry smiled up at the young Auror.
“Come on, Harry, let’s get you inside the house. At the very least, this should give you some time to yourself before your loving family returns.”
“I can hardly wait,” replied Harry, sarcastically.
Tonks led Harry into the house and attempted to warm-up a bit of stew that was in the refrigerator but only succeeded in igniting the oven mitt that she was wearing. She didn’t seem too put out and giggled as she said, “Maybe I’ll just let Remus do the cooking for me.” Harry grinned at this and got up to warm the stew himself.
“Well you seem to have everything under control here, and it’s high time I got back to the highway. See you soon, Harry,” said Tonks, as she made her way to the front door.
“Can I ask you something, Tonks?” Harry asked as she neared the door.
“Anything,” she replied.
“Would you have done what I did with Ginny?”
“Well, truthfully Harry, I myself would have been more interested in a man in the first place,” replied Tonks cheekily.
“I meant…” started Harry but Tonks cut him off.
“I know what you meant, and no, I would not have,” she stated simply.
“Thanks,” replied Harry gloomily.
“Listen,” said Tonks, putting a companionable arm on his shoulder. “What you did was extremely noble and intelligent… and a right bit stupid.”
“Thanks again,” said Harry, smiling now.
“Don’t worry, Harry, who knows what might happen when a slow love song begins to play at the wedding,” she said and she kissed the top of his head and swept from the house. Harry sat back down at the kitchen table, thinking of what she said with a small smile tickling the edges of his face.
* * *
It wasn’t long before Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley came trotting into the house, looking absolutely furious. Uncle Vernon strode to where Harry was sitting and looked down at him in disgust.
“If you ever endanger my family again, boy, it will be the last thing you ever do,” he snarled menacingly.
Harry didn’t feel up to fighting with his uncle and without a word went to retrieve Hedwig and his trunk from the back of the Dursleys’ car. He lugged his things up to his bedroom without a word to his relatives, flopped down onto his bed and fell asleep.
* * *
The weeks passed in a daze for Harry, the same thing, day in and day out, every day. After two weeks of loneliness at Privet Drive, with no outside contact from Ron, Hermione or anyone for that matter, Harry began to worry. He had things that he had to do; he needed to be prepared for his hunt for the remaining Horcruxes. He needed to prepare himself for the final battle with Voldemort. Yet here he sat, as June melted into July, alone, with no outside contact from his friends and not a word from the Order of the Phoenix. He had, of course, written countless letters to Ron, Hermione, Remus Lupin and Mrs. Weasley and had received no reply from any of them.
It was on a warm night on the eighth of July that Harry would discover the answer to these strange events. As he sat at his desk staring out into the night sky he noticed a small flicker of light coming from the far end of Privet Drive. He focused his gaze at this light but did not see it again and he simply assumed that he was imagining things. But at that very moment there was a knock at the door. Harry sprinted from his bedroom to the stairs and reached the bottom as Uncle Vernon reached for the doorknob.
“Who could be calling now?” he said to himself but when he opened the door it was obvious who it was. Four redheads were standing at the Dursleys’ front door all staring at Uncle Vernon as a purple vein appeared on his forehead.
“Harry!” cried Ron as he pushed passed Uncle Vernon and clapped Harry on his back. “We thought something happened to you, mate.”
“Why would anything have happened to me, and why didn’t you answer any of my letters?” Harry asked staring at his best friend.
“I did, we all did, mate,” Ron replied gesturing to his family behind him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stepped into the Dursleys’ hall and Harry saw them clearly for the first time. Mrs. Weasley had a worried frown on her face as she rushed forward and grabbed Harry.
“Oh, Harry dear, we thought…” but what exactly Mrs. Weasley thought would not come out of her. Instead she began to sob into Harry’s shoulder.
“Err…nothing happened to me, Mrs. Weasley, I’m fine, really, I’m alive,” Harry tried his best to comfort her but she continued to sob.
“Molly dear, it’s all right, come here,” said Mr. Weasley, crossing the room past a still inaudible Vernon Dursley, grabbing his wife and gently smoothing her hair. When he moved, Harry caught sight of the fourth, much shorter, Weasley who had been standing behind her father.
“Hi, Harry.”