Leather Jacket

Harry woke up to a tremendous boom of thunder outside. He rolled around to look at his clock. It was five o'clock in the morning. He reached over to his lamp and turned it on, blinking sleepily in the dim light. He lay there, unable to force himself to get out of bed. He stared at a letter resting on the floor that had been sent to him by the new head of the Order, Remus Lupin. Its greeting was a cheerful, 'Dear Harry'. However, Harry had known the moment the letter arrived that it was carrying bad news. He remembered the sinking feeling that had spread through his insides as he read the second line of the letter.

'It has been decided that you stay at your aunt and uncle's house until further decisions are made.'

Harry hated that the one chance he had of leaving the Dursley's forever had now been completely erased from the option list. Harry's birthday had come only a few days ago, and on that promising day when Harry became of age, he had received that letter. Of course, Harry could understand the reasons behind this. Probably because it would appear that Harry was still protected by Dumbledore's original spell that kept him safe when in his relation's care. Another reason for this crushing of his hopes would most likely be convenience for the Order; having him around might jeopardize the efforts still being made to defeat Voldemort. But no matter how many reasons there were, Harry was not looking forward to facing the Dursleys' murderous stares for another day.

The Dursleys weren't the only thing troubling Harry's mind. He often found that his thoughts focused on Ginny a lot ever since he left Hogwarts. He found that he missed her so much. Harry did not think he could have regretted any other decision he'd made more than the one he'd told Ginny about. How could he have pushed her away, thinking it was a heroic and noble thing to do? How could he ever get her back?

As Harry felt sleep close in on him once more, he wondered how long it would be until they would come and take him away. But right as he closed his eyes and thought this, he heard a tap on the window, followed by a hoot. Harry put aside any tiredness he was feeling and sprung so quickly out of his bed that he gave himself a headache. He rushed over the window, flung it open, and took a letter from the owl's extended leg. It flew away and Harry hurriedly shut the window, keeping the rain from entering his room. He unfolded it and eagerly read to himself,

Pack everything. Disillusion yourself. Be ready in seven minutes with broom. -Moony

Harry rushed to his closet, then to his desk, then under the bed, and his bedside table, collecting everything. He closed his overstuffed trunk with lots of effort, and sat on top of it, waiting. He sat there for a minute, staring around at the empty room that he would hopefully never see again. Then, there was a sound downstairs. He flicked his wand, raising his trunk off the ground and moving it in front of him as he carefully and silently exited the room and made his way across the upstairs landing. He crept past the sleeping Dursleys' rooms and descended the stairs. As he entered the kitchen, he found Lupin standing by the door, accompanied by Tonks and Moody.

"Come quickly, Harry. We have no time to lose." Lupin hissed in a hoarse voice. Harry was reminded of the summer before his fifth year. Lupin took a letter out of his pocket and placed it on the kitchen table. Moody then growled,

"Give me your trunk, boy." Harry did so and watched Moody turn it into a small box, and handed it back to Harry, who slipped it in his pocket. He now held just his broom and he followed Lupin outside. They waited for a minute, then green sparks appeared in the sky- a signal. Without a word, they took off into the cool night air.

This trip, if Harry correctly remembered, was extremely worse than the previous one. Even with a waterproofing charm, Harry still got wet. His teeth chattered and he focused hard on keeping his grip on his slippery broom handle. But one fact still remained: he felt better flying. It somehow made him feel happier than if he was on solid ground. But he was soon reminded of Ginny and how easily she could fly. It had been a little more than an hour and Harry was starting to feel very tired and waterlogged. Though, one thing he could not feel was his body. Finally, he saw that in front of him, Lupin was getting lower in the air. Harry followed and they went through the thick layer of clouds below and then were flying above what looked to be an old and run-down neighborhood. Lupin then signaled for them to descend and Harry followed once more. He found himself landing across from a very familiar patch of grass. It made Harry's insides give a little twist. They swiftly crossed the deserted and wet slicked street to the patch of grass, Tonks moving directly beside him, wand out. Unlike his previous visit, Harry found that the house materialized in front of him as soon as he stepped off the road. Harry, Lupin, Tonks, and Moody ascended the steps and stood in front of the black door with a serpent knocker. Harry was looking expectantly at Lupin, but he made no effort of opening the door. Then Harry remembered that he was the owner of this house. He took out his wand and tapped the door with it. He heard the locks sliding out of place and the door clicked open. Tonks shooed him inside and once everyone was inside, the door closed swiftly, its heavy bolts locking back into place. It was dark in the foyer, but Harry could smell the familiar smell of dust and old wood. He was back at Grimmauld Place.