Peter Pan Fan Fiction / Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Always ❯ Chapter One – The Dream and Grimmauld Place ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter One - The Dream and Grimmauld Place

 

“Harry, come fly with me?”

 

Harry smiled at the other boy, accepting the hand offered to him. He was pulled up into the air and Harry closed his eyes. He had missed this; the feeling of safety and love. Not having to worry about the pressures of adult hood and not having to make such hard decisions; decisions that cost the lives of others. Harry immediately stopped smiling, remembering the way Diggory had died. His heart dropped instantly and Harry felt his throat close up.

 

“What's the matter, Harry?”

 

“I wish I had stayed in Neverland, Peter,” Harry responded, dropping his head. “And at the same time, I'm glad I didn't.”

 

“What happened?” Peter asked, leading them to sit on a cloud.

 

“I'm glad I left Neverland because I've got other friends and a godfather. I've got people that love me. I wish I didn't leave Neverland so that I didn't have to grow up and handle this responsibility the Wizarding World gave to me.”

 

Peter smiled sadly and hugged Harry, who snuggled into the warmth the other boy had to offer. “I wish you needn't go through this.”

 

“So do I,” Harry whispered. He then pulled away and sighed tiredly. “I miss you.”

 

“I miss you too; we all do.”

 

Harry stood up and got off the cloud. He flew around absentmindedly, aware that Peter was watching him. Harry smiled when Peter grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. Harry placed one hand on Peter's shoulder and held the other's hand while one of Peter's hands was on his waist. They danced not unlike the time when they were in Neverland. Harry sighed contentedly. This felt so incredibly right. So incredibly perfect. Peter grabbed Harry's chin with his fingers. He smiled down at him and started to lean forward. Harry's breath hitched slightly. Was Peter going to kiss him?

 

“Harry,” the other boy whispered.

 

“Yes, Peter?” Harry murmured, his eyes closing gently.

 

“Time to get up,” Peter said softly into Harry's ear. The smaller boy's eyes snapped open.

 

“What?” Harry felt himself stir awake. But, he didn't want to wake up now! Peter smiled sadly at him and leaned down to plant a light kiss on his lips.

 

“Boy, get up and make breakfast! Now!”

 

Harry groaned as he was forced to leave the dream world and enter the real world. He yawned tiredly before throwing the covers off and stumbling out of the room. By the time he had finished with his morning ablutions and was at the end of the stairs, Aunt Petunia was glaring at him. Without so much as uttering a word to him, she pointed to the kitchen where she had undoubtedly started to fry the bacon. Harry kept his eyes downcast as he made the Dursleys their breakfast. He served the food, ignoring his growling stomach, and began to clean up.

 

“Boy, we are going to go do some shopping today for Dudley's things. You are to stay here and finish up your chores. Is that understood?” Uncle Vernon told Harry, his stern, beady eyes making him feel uncomfortable.

 

“Yes, sir,” Harry muttered. His jaw clenched as the Dursleys finished their meal, leaving not even scraps for him, and left after Dudley made a few snide comments. When the lights began to flicker, Harry took deep breathes in an effort to control his anger. It wasn't long before everything went back to normal and Harry felt calmer. Unfortunately, he didn't notice that every light on Privet Drive had also flickered, causing some amount of panic to spread.

 

Harry shivered as he felt a cold gust of wind on his back. Whirling around, he noticed a window was open. Frowning slightly, he closed it and returned to doing the dishes. His mind began to wander back to the dream he had had before he was so rudely awoken earlier. Harry smiled sadly; he missed Peter so much. Missed feeling so safe and care free and not pressured. A blush spread across his face as he remembered the last part of the dream.

 

A cold gust of wind hit Harry again and he spun around, slipping and hitting the cold, unforgiving floor. He mentally cursed his inability to keep his feet firmly planted and looked up. The damn window was open yet again, and he hastily got to his feet and closed it. Harry fingered the wand in his pocket and looked around the room. The only thing there was furniture. Harry took deep breathes and finished his chores in a rush. Every few minutes he would stop whatever he was doing and make sure he was the only living thing in the house.

 

The rational part of his mind was telling him that he was just paranoid, but Harry figured he'd rather be paranoid than dead. Harry felt cold once more and cursed out loud. He turned around only to freeze. In front of him was a big, dark dementor. It stared and appeared to be inspecting him. What was wrong with it? Slowly, Harry grabbed his wand and pointed it at the dementor. The Patronus Charm was at the tip of his tongue when he heard somebody else call out, “Expect Patronum!”

 

Harry whirled his wand at the intruder and relaxed slightly before stiffening. “What did Snuffles say to the bat in third year when we were playing with the rat?”

 

Remus Lupin grinned widely. “He told him to run along and play with his chemistry set. What is your patronus form?”

 

“A stag.” Harry returned the grin and lowered his wand before jerking his head at the three people behind Remus. “Who are they?”

 

“That will be explained when we get to where we need to go,” Remus answered evasively. Harry cocked an eyebrow.

 

“I certainly hope that's the real Moody.”

 

“Yes, he—”

 

“We don't have time for this, Lupin. We need to leave before another dementor comes for the boy,” Moody growled, his magical eye jerking madly. He turned towards Harry. “That was a fine show of constant vigilance! However, your reflexes are too slow. Had we been anybody else, you would be dead right now.”

 

“Wotcher, Moody, don't be so hard on him. He's only a kid,” said the only female of the group.

 

“He isn't just a kid, Nymphadora,” Moody growled, glaring at her. “He's the only hope of this world.”

 

“Don't call me Nymphadora!” the woman practically shrieked, her hot pink hair quickly turning a furious red.

 

“Can't we keep the peace long enough to do the task at hand?” the last unknown man said, rubbing his temples.

 

“Shacklebolt is right,” Remus said. “We have to get Harry out of here.”

 

“Wait,” Harry cried out. “Where are we going?”

 

“Away from here, Potter. We need to leave before anything else comes for you.” Moody's magical eye swirled around, searching for what Harry assumed potential threats.

 

“Harry, I assure you, when we get to where we need to get, you'll not be kept in the dark any longer.” Remus looked into Harry's eyes to show him he was speaking the truth.

 

“Alright,” Harry agreed.

 

“Good,” Remus smiled. “Now go to your room and pack your things. You'll be staying with the Weasleys for the rest of your hols.”

 

Harry grinned widely and turned to go upstairs. He heard the rest of them follow him, but said nothing. Harry quickly entered his room and immediately moved his bed. Ignoring the raised eyebrows momentarily, Harry moved a loose floorboard and gathered his things. Hidden in the secret crevice were his invisibility cloak, broom, some food, and a DADA textbook.

 

“I'm not allowed to have my trunk with me so before I came here, I shrink some things to sneak in,” Harry explained.

 

“Broom and food for emergency, invisibility cloak for discretion, and the textbook to look up and study defensive and offensive spells,” Moody analyzed. “I'll assume you always have your wand on you, yes?”

Harry nodded his head. “Of course.”

 

“If your relatives refuse to allow you access to your trunk, why would they allow access to your wand?”

 

“They don't. I put one of Fred and George's fake wands in my trunk and keep mine,” Harry elaborated.

 

“I see you've got a good head on your shoulders, something you've inherited from your parents no doubt,” Moody grinned.

 

Harry flushed slightly at the compliment and gathered his things. “The rest of my things are downstairs in m—the cupboard.”

 

He led them downstairs, not noticing Tonks and Shacklebolt exchange slightly confused looks at the unintentional slip. Harry froze when he noticed the padlock on the door to the cupboard under the stairs and mentally cursed. He had forgotten the Dursleys kept the key with them.

 

“What's the matter, Harry?” Tonks asked, looking at him curiously.

 

“My uncle has the key,” Harry said.

 

“Alohamora,” Remus said, pointing his wand at the padlock. The lock disappeared into nothingness, allowing Harry to take his trunk out of the cupboard. He opened it and quickly put his things inside except for his broom, which Moody told him to leave out. Confused, Harry did as he was told. It was at that moment that the Dursleys returned home. Harry watched the scene before him as if it were in slow motion. Dudley had walked into the house, loudly demanding something of his parents when he noticed the group of wizards (and one witch, thank you very much!). All color drained from his face and, instinctively, one hand went to cover his mouth while the other went to cover his bum. Uncle Vernon's face turned red.

 

“What are you freaks doing in my house?” he snarled. The wizards' eyebrows lifted together in unison. Freaks?

 

“Mr. Dursley, we are merely here to collect Harry,” Remus said diplomatically. Vernon turned to glare at Harry.

 

“You're the reason these freaks are here. I won't have any of this freakish nonsense in my house, do you hear me boy?” the obese man said viciously. He stepped forward towards Harry and would've probably smacked him upside the head had it not been for a wand pointed in his direction.

 

“I'm leaving for the remainder of the summer and will not return until the school term is over. Attempt to stop me and I will hex you,” Harry said quietly but dangerously. The air was buzzing with his loose magic, raising the little hairs at the back of their necks.

 

“You're not allowed to do magic outside of school. You wouldn't dare risk getting expelled,” Vernon replied, his voice laced with fear and a twinge of confidence.

 

“Try me,” Harry spat. “Tell me, Dudley, would you like for me to give you back that pig's tail? I'm sure pig ears will be a charming addition, yeah?”

 

Dudley let out a squeal of distress before his eyes rolled in the back of his head. It seemed like the entire house shook as his grossly overweight body hit the floor. Aunt Petunia, who had remained quiet for the entire exchange, seemed to snap out of her daze.

 

“Just get out,” she said as she stepped aside. “Hurry and go before the neighbors see you. And don't come back until next summer!”

 

Harry stiffly nodded his head and walked towards the door. Petunia glared at him and the rest of the wizards before slamming the door closed. Tonks coughed slightly at the incredibly awkward moment. She glanced at Harry with a flash of something in her eyes before it was gone.

 

“Fabulous woman. She and my Aunt Bellatrix ought to have tea sometime,” Tonks mumbled, earning a confused look from Harry and a strangled chuckle from Shacklebolt.

 

“Come, let's go to Headquarters,” Remus said gently. He easily hid his confusion and worry at the Dursley's and Harry's mutual dislike of each other.

 

“How are we getting there, Moony?” Harry asked, looking at the uncle-figure curiously.

 

“We,” Remus grinned, “are going to fly there.”

 

“Fly? But, won't the Muggles see us? And what about the Ministry of Magic? They'd have a fit, wouldn't they?” Harry replied, worried and excited, realizing why Moody told him to leave out his Firebolt.

 

“Don't worry about it, Mr. Potter. You're traveling with four adult wizards—” Shacklebolt began.

 

“And witch,” interrupted Tonks, mock glaring her partner.

 

“Excuse me, three adult wizards and one adult witch,” Shacklebolt corrected, earning a satisfied grin from the now blonde Tonks. “We, therefore, are able to do magic. We'll cast a disillusionment charm on all of us.”

 

“Disillusionment charm?” Harry asked quietly, scanning his brain.

 

“A charm that enables the people under it to not be seen. It's kind of like putting on an invisibility cloak,” Remus explained, quickly slipping into teacher mode.

 

Moody growled impatiently and tapped his staff on the ground. Four brooms materialized out of seemingly nowhere and Harry absentmindedly realized that they had probably been under this disillusionment charm. He would definitely have to learn to cast it when he returned to school. Mounting his broom, Harry waited for the charm to be cast on him before he kicked off. The air ran through his hair and he closed his eyes. Sweet Merlin, he missed doing this with Peter. No need for brooms or concealment charms. Just him and Peter, snuggled close together, the wind hitting their faces in feather-like caresses. A stab of regret hit him in the gut.

 

`You could have still been with him, had you decided to stay,' a part of him said viciously. `But, no; you decided to leave Peter and for what? To become a scapegoat to a world that doesn't deserve your loyalty or time?'

 

`You're wrong,' Harry internally replied. `I have to do this. I'm the Saviour of the Wizarding World; if I don't bother to save it, who will?'

 

`Dumbledore saved the Wizarding World from a Dark Lord before. Why can't he do it again?' the voice pointed out mockingly.

 

`I—I don't know.' Harry frowned in confusion; why couldn't Dumbledore save the world again? Was it because only Harry survived the Killing Curse? A feeling deep in his gut told him there was much more to the situation than he knew of and he hated it.

 

“Alright, Harry, follow me,” Remus called, leading the group. Harry was lost in thought until they finally landed, looking around with raised eyebrows.

 

“London? What's in London?” he asked. Moody reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper.

 

“Read this, Potter, and memorize it,” was the hurried statement. Harry looked at the slip of paper that read, `Number 12, Grimmauld Place.' As soon as he finished reading git, a house appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Harry's eyes widened.

 

“Was this under a disillusionment charm as well?”

 

“No, it isn't. Get inside, I'll explain everything,” Remus said quietly, his hand on Harry's shoulder. The small group rushed inside before anybody could see them. Noise assaulted Harry's ears and he winced at the volume. The grip on his shoulder relaxed slightly and led him into a room.

 

“Harry!”

 

Harry froze and turned around, a wide grin threatening to split his face in half. “Sirius!” He was pulled into a strong hug, effectively cutting off his circulation.

 

“Padfoot, I don't think he can breathe,” Remus said amusedly. Sirius immediately let go.

 

“Sorry about that, Harry,” Sirius replied sheepishly. “Well, how're you? I hope the Muggles have been treating you great.”

 

“It was fine,” Harry said quietly.

 

“Fine?” The two wizards turned to see Moody, who was glaring slightly at Harry. “Black, they had his school trunk locked in a cupboard! What if he had needed it? The only thing that protected this boy this summer was his thinking of constant vigilance! Had he not decided to keep some things locked away and had we not gotten there in time, the boy would have been as good as dead. And don't think I forgot about Dursley's use of the word `freak'.”

 

“Dursley did what?” Sirius asked incredulously.

 

“It's not that big of a deal,” Harry said immediately. “Honestly, I'm used to it.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

 

“Used to it? Why should you be used to it? How long have they been calling you a freak?” Harry was saved from answering when Molly came down the stairs.

 

“Harry, dear! Aw, look at how you've grown! How was your summer? Hope those Muggles treated you alright,” she said, enveloping him in a big hug.

 

“It was fine, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry responded, not meeting Sirius' eyes.

 

“Great! Now, why don't you go upstairs? The kids are there and so is Hermione. I'm sure you want to catch up?” Molly smiled warmly at him.

 

“He'll be right up there, Molly. Is it time?” Sirius asked, earning a sharp nod. “Alright. And don't think we won't be having a talk about this later, Harry.” The last part was whispered and Harry sighed tiredly before nodding his head in a resigned manner. “Good. Now, all you need to do is go upstairs and your friends are in the first door on the left.”

 

Harry went upstairs quickly, anxious to see his friends. They hadn't sent him any letters and he wanted to know why. Walking over to the first door on the left, he opened it and was ambushed by bushy brown hair. He quickly spat some of it out and returned the hug of one of his best friends.

 

“Nice to see you as well, Hermione. I recommend you stop using whatever shampoo you normally use; it tastes horrible.” The room erupted into laughter at his statement and Hermione slapped his arm playfully.

 

“Prat! How was your summer?” she asked, smiling brightly at him.

 

“It was alright. Would have been better if I got any letters,” he replied, looking at his friends expectantly.

 

“We're sorry about that, Harry; Dumbledore forbid us to send you any letters. He said it was too dangerous, with the resurrection of You-Kn—alright, Voldemort! Oh, don't flinch, Ron! It's not that big of a deal,” Hermione admonished.

 

“Yes it is,” Ron argued, suppressing another shudder. “Don't say His name!”

 

“Please, it's not like he's going to materialize out of nowhere! Now, like I was saying, it was too dangerous to send letters. They could fall into the wrong hands.”

 

“It's alright,” Harry sighed. “I have a question; is this house under the disillusionment charm? And who's house is it?”

 

“You didn't know, mate?” Ron asked, surprised. “This is the Black family home. It became Sirius' since he's the heir. And the house is under the Fidelius Charm. Basically, you cast the Fidelius Charm on the house and there's a secret keeper. The only way anybody will know there's a house here is if the secret keeper tells them. Remember, your parents had it on their house when they went into hiding.” Harry and Hermione looked at him with shock. “What?”

 

“Ron, how'd you remember so much about the Fidelius Charm?” Harry asked curiously.

 

“It's Pureblood stuff,” Ron said in a dismissive manner whilst rolling his eyes. “It's not that serious. And most families used it whenever they opposed You-Know-Who.” Hermione kept on staring at him. “What?!”

 

“If only you used that knowledge and applied it to your academic studies!” she burst out.

 

“I don't want to!”

 

“School is important, Ron!”

 

Harry tuned them out as they began to bicker like an old married couple. Did his family use the Fidelius Charm? And if they did, why did they choose Peter Pettigrew as a secret keeper? Surely they would have chosen Sirius or Remus first? Or were they tricked? Harry rubbed his temples. Suddenly, two sets of hands grabbed at his sides. Harry jumped up and shrieked, turning around with his wand drawn. A red hue danced across his face when he realized who is was.

 

“Fred! George! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” he said, putting his wand away, clutching his heart.

Fred and George laughed. “We can tell, mate.”

 

“And did you know—”

 

“When you scream—”

 

“You sound like a girl?” they finished in unison. Harry blushed harder.

 

“Shut up. What are you guys doing here?”

 

They grinned mischievously and held up something. “Well, there's an Order meeting going on downstairs.”

 

“Order meeting?” Harry asked, his brow scrunched in confusion.

 

“The Order of the Phoenix,” Hermione explained. “It was created during the first war to stop Voldemort—don't flinch, Ron!—and the Death Eaters. Dumbledore created it, and honestly Fred, George! Your mother banned you both from using those Extendable Ears! And besides, she fixed the wards on the door to not allow those things!”

 

“Extendable Ears?”

 

The twins showed him a fleshy-like ear thing. “We invented these. They're called Extendable Ears and basically we'll use them to hear on the other side of the door.” They turned to Hermione. “Come on, Hermione. Aren't you DYING to know what's going on? And besides, we've improved these.”

 

The twins walked outside the room and put the Extendable Ear on. Right before they could drop the ear down next to the door where the meeting was held, the door opened and the adult wizards stepped out.

Fred squeaked out, “Retreat!”

 

The kids barely managed to make it into their room. Footsteps were creeping up the stairs and stopped right before the door. They could hear hurried whispers and quickly thought of something to say just as the door opened and Sirius and Remus stepped in.

 

“And that's why you should always use condoms, kiddies,” George said importantly.

 

“Any questions?” Fred asked, looking at the now-mortified soon-to-be fifth-years.

 

“What's going on here?” Remus asked, his eyebrows hidden behind his hairline.

 

“Harry's never had the sex talk!” the twins said together, pointing at the brunet in accusation.

 

“You haven't?” Sirius asked incredulously, looking at Harry in shock.

 

Harry blushed a bright red and squeaked out, “No.”

 

The twins looked at him in amazement. “Harry, we were—”

 

“Just joking. We—”

 

“Didn't think you'd—”

 

“Actually not had the—”

 

“Sex talk yet,” they finished together.

 

“Harry, I think it's time we had that talk now,” Sirius mumbled, leading Harry out of the room. Harry shot a helpless look at his friends before leaving the room with Sirius, an amused Remus in tow.

 

A/N: Yay! Sequel time!! So, surprisingly, only one person guessed how the sequel was going to go last time. Virtual cookies to Amy!! TheGayGod and lazycrazykitten, you were very close, so you also get virtual cookies!! So, this story is going to be an estimated twenty chapters. If you didn't read Never, I recommend you do that. This story will tie any loose ends Never had, and in order to understand what's going on, you'll need to read that one. I'd like to thank people who've supported me and encouraged me to continue on with this. Especially my beta, Maxim, who went over Never and decided to beta this sequel. Thank you so much!