Harry Potter and the Most Feared

The Last Stay

It was finally over, and he was alone. The funeral ended, and Harry Potter was finally going back to the Dursleys. With great difficulty, he boarded the Hogwarts Express with his fellow classmates. Harry chose an empty compartment, and locked himself in.

"Cierra foris prince," he said aloud. It was a spell Flitwick had taught them that enabled doors to lock for a short period. The only way to get in would be with the password. In this case the password was 'prince', a word that kept circling his mind.

He took a seat by the window as he meditated on the different thoughts that were pouring into his mind. The corridors of the train were unusually quiet, for there was no reason to be celebrating the end of this term. He clasped what remained of Dumbledore's last mission, a very old locket. Hot tears started to burn his eyes as the thought of not seeing Dumbledore came back to his mind. He was alone now. There was no one to help him in times of danger. The one person that could teach him how to survive was erased from his life. Harry became lost in his thoughts and did not become aware of the pounding behind his compartment door. Perhaps it was that he did not want to talk to anyone, or that he did not want to see anyone. It was hard for him to look at someone he loved, and not see them dying because of him. After all, that is how everyone else had died: because of him. He, Harry Potter, was the reason everyone was dying.

Rain started to fall as the Hogwarts Express left the station. Harry took one last look at the surrounding hills and closed his eyes in hopes of getting some rest before their arrival at King's Cross. He plummeted into a deep sleep. Suddenly, he was at a hillside overlooking a river. The large trees made shadows onto a large group of people circled around what seemed to be a grave. He cautiously approached the group of people with an eerie feeling that no one could hear him coming.

The group of people consisted of familiar faces. Many members of the Order were dispersed among the crowd- standing behind what seemed to be some people kneeled down on the floor. He approached the people and noticed that it was Ron and Hermione crouched down in the front of the group. Ron was silently staring at the grave while tears slid down his cheeks. He was holding Hermione's hand for support, for she was crying and running her fingers across the gravestone. Whose funeral was this? It just occurred to Harry that some other people were not there. Most notably, he was nowhere to be seen. Harry crept closer to the grave until he was on the other side of Hermione. She had now thrown herself on the gravestone and was sobbing uncontrollably. He held out his hand in hopes of being able to grab her and pull her away from whatever was causing her to cry. Clearly, she could not tell he was next to her. It was then when Ron came closer, pulled her up onto her feet, and gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head.

"It will all be all right, Hermione. He wouldn't want us to be like this, at least not today," Ron told her. "It's finally over. It'll be okay."

"I know," Hermione responded back, "but I miss him. I didn't even get to tell him..." her voice started to fade away as they slowly moved away from the grave, which revealed the occupant's name. Harry read the grave aloud.

"Here lies a friend and companion. A person who, with courage and love, rid the world from the worst horrors known. Here lies The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, Harry James Potter".

Harry couldn't believe what he was reading. This was impossible. He had just been on the train two seconds ago, and now he was dead. Harry looked up to find that everyone was gone. He was by himself at the graveyard. Suddenly, it became darker and colder. He heard something crawling behind him, and he instinctively went to grab for his wand, which to his horror, wasn't there. A hooded figure appeared, coming closer with a wand raised directly at Harry's chest. The hooded person muttered a spell, and with a scream, Harry woke up in an empty train compartment.

His surroundings were blurry, and a blanket was sticking to his sweaty body. While he had slept, someone had come in and had taken off his glasses and had wrapped a blanket around him. He figured that Ginny must have checked on him after he had fallen asleep.

"But that's strange; I thought I had locked the door," he thought to himself. Right then the compartment door slid open. He quickly put on his glasses, and he saw that it was Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. They all looked pale and walked cautiously inside the compartment to take a seat around Harry.

"Are you alright Harry? Is something wrong? We heard you moving about before we came in," said Ginny as she stared into his eyes. He looked away from Ron and Hermione, unable to look them in the eyes.

"I'm fine. I just... almost fell off the seat," he added hastily as concerned looks came to him from all directions.

"We didn't think we would be able to get in. The door was locked when we came aboard the train. I'm surprised you didn't hear me and Ginny banging on the door," Ron explained to him. "We couldn't get it open." Ginny hadn't opened the door. Who could have taken off his glasses, and most importantly, how did the door unlock? Who knew the password?

"Are you sure everything's all right Harry?" Hermione asked him. He looked at her and saw that her eyes were a bit puffy from her crying, and she had a worried look on her face.

"Really, I'm fine" he responded looking away from her gaze again. He found it hard to look at her. The dream had felt so real. Her pain, her crying, felt real. Could it have been a premonition or was it just a nightmare? His eyes began to burn again.

Several minutes passed in silence. Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione kept discreetly glancing at each other. Harry took a glance at Hermione, and she glanced at him. He quickly shifted his glaze and he saw her smile with the corner of his eyes. Ginny stood up and interrupted the moment of silence.

"Well, since everything is fine here, I'm going to go see some of my friends before we arrive at the station. I'll see you in a little while." She crossed the compartment and headed out the door. Once the door closed, another moment of silence came. Ron was the first to speak.

"Does anyone else know about the Horcruxes?" Ron asked Harry.

"No," Harry replied. "Not even Ginny," he added before Ron even had a chance to say anything. "Only us three, and I plan on keeping that way," he added in a more forceful tone than he intended.

"We were trying to find you to see if anyone from the Order has talked to you about what you are to do this summer," said Hermione, clearly wanting to change the topic. Right when Harry was going to answer the door reopened, and Tonks walked in the compartment, sealing the door behind her.

"Wotcher Harry ... Ron, Hermione."

"Hi Tonks," Harry responded. She crossed the compartment and took a seat across from Harry and Hermione.

"I've been assigned to tell you what the plan for this summer is. The Order believes that the safest thing to do is stick with Dumbledore's plan. You are to stay with your uncle and aunt until the eve of your birthday. That night the Order will come and take you to a secure location. We do not know if the protection at the Dursley's will continue after your birthday, and that's why we will come for you. Once at that secure location, we will discuss plans. Do you have any questions?" Harry looked at Ron and Hermione who clearly were thinking about different plans.

"No," Harry told her. "Sounds like everything is planned out. I don't have any ques--"

"Tonks?" Hermione interrupted. "Ron and I were wondering if it was possible for us to stay with Harry," she said cautiously.

"I'm afraid not Hermione," Tonks responded. "The Order insisted that the plans stay as set. You will all meet soon enough." With that said, she got up and left the compartment leaving Hermione with a look of disappointment and worry on her face.

"Don't worry Hermione," Harry assured her. "I won't do anything without you." She gave a weak smile and turned her head away, clearly trying to hold back tears.

*******

The arrival at the station came without one drop of rain. The three best friends got out of the train and found themselves surrounded by people rushing to find their families. They finally located Moody, Tonks and Lupin. However, none of the Weasleys or the Grangers were in sight. The group greeted them and quickly moved to a less populated part of the platform.

"Potter," growled Moody. "Tonks told us that you know about the plan for the summer. Your uncle is waiting on the other side of the barrier. I've already talked to him also." Harry smiled at the thought of a terrorized Vernon talking to Moody. "Potter, you are to stay at the house no matter what. Absolutely no wondering off into the streets, not even to Arabella's. I want you to write every day, and report anything that is slightly unusual. Do you understand me, Potter?"

"I think we all understand you, Alastor," Lupin said trying to lighten the mood. "Just take care of yourself, Harry."

"And you all do the same," added Harry. Together they all crossed through the barrier and walked back into the Muggle world.

"There's Dursley," said Moody. "We'll be following closely all summer, Potter. Remember, constant vigilance!"

"What about us?" asked Ginny, who had just joined them. "Where are we going?"

"You three are coming with us," growled Moody. "Best of luck, Potter."

"Take care, Harry," added Lupin.

"See you in a couple of weeks," said Tonks.

"We'll see you soon enough mate," Ron told him.

"Be careful Harry," said Ginny and she kissed him on the cheek. Harry then turned to Hermione, who like usual looked worried.

"It's all right, Hermione. I'll see you soon. I'll be okay," Harry told her. She gave him an unconvinced look.

"Bye Harry," she said to him. She gave him an unusually tight hug ("She must have been wanting to do that for a while," Harry concluded) and gave him a kiss on the cheek. With that, he turned away from the group, and headed off behind Uncle Vernon.

*******

Days passed by quickly after Dumbledore's funeral, and everything was getting worse for Harry. The Dursleys' attitude seemed to have reached a new level of hatred toward him. Harry guessed that they were enjoying his last weeks living with them. By enjoying, he meant torturing him in any way possible. Already he had fought with his uncle, and at one point Harry almost lost it completely.

The Daily Prophet ran articles on the events the night Dumbledore died. They published pictures of the Death Eaters involved and a description of each of them. Next to Greyback's picture was Snape. His caption read, "Former teacher at Hogwarts. Responsible for Dumbledore's murder. Extremely dangerous." Next to Snape was Draco Malfoy. His caption read, "Son of known Death Eater Lucius Malfoy. Could be dangerous." Harry kept this clipping, to remind himself of what he must do, and why he must not fail. The Prophet also stated other occurrences where Muggles were being tortured and killed. More wizards were dying, luckily no one Harry recognized. There were also speeches by Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic, that were trying to convince that they were doing everything possible to catch the Death Eaters.

His friends seemed not be helping at all with the situation. Ron kept bothering him about random things. Harry had the feeling that Ron really didn't agree with Harry breaking up with Ginny. Hermione on the other hand was acting a bit strange towards him. Her letters were discreet, and she acted differently in the letters. She was clearly hiding something. Harry did get the feeling that Ron and Hermione finally had admitted their feelings to each other. However, that quickly changed as their letters went from friendly to not so friendly towards each other. They were trying to hide their troubles from Harry, but Harry knew his best friends. They didn't want him to suffer again by being in the middle of their fights.

The worst was that he kept having nightmares of people dying and of Voldemort torturing people he loved. He spent most of the night up, studying from old books. Hermione sent him a couple of new books for him to read, which by now he knew front to back. He kept pondering about his future, what he would do after he got out of the Dursley's. He made a conclusion that he would have to face going back to Godric's Hollow.

*******

It was the eve of Harry's seventeenth birthday. It was already dark outside. A slight breeze swept inside Harry's room. It was then that he noticed that Aunt Petunia was yelling for him to go downstairs. He walked downstairs and went to the kitchen where she was calling. She was alone and looked different from usual.

"Dudley and Vernon have gone out. I'm expecting that someone is coming to get you," she said to him nastily.

"Yes. They should be here soon," Harry spat back at her. He went to go towards the door when she told him to wait.

"There's something I've been meaning to show you. I figure now is a good time since you are about to leave." She pulled out a rusty crumpled old envelope and handed it to Harry. He took it and read its content.

"Dear Ms. Evans, You have been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...." he read aloud. "This is my mother's Hogwarts letter. Why are you showing this to me?"

"That's not your mother's letter. It's mine." Harry's jaw dropped, and he flipped over the envelope. Sure enough, it was addressed to Petunia Evans.

"There is a reason why I disliked your mother. When I received this letter, I couldn't believe what I was reading. I was a witch! The first witch in our family. Then, it dawned on me what had just happened. My family would disapprove of me being a witch. I would be an outcast; I would become a freak to them! As quickly as I had received the letter, I hid it. Never would someone know I was a witch! Then years passed, and my sister got a letter too. My parents were thrilled! She got to do what I had wanted to do. She got all the glory I should have received! I couldn't stand it."

"I promised myself that I would never approve of magic again," she continued. "I tried to get away from anything that resembled magic. I would find a man that was just as against it as me. No matter what type of personality he had. That's when I met Vernon, and I knew he was perfect for me. We married later on, an agreement that I knew would separate me from my sister. Little did I know she would end up dead. There hasn't been a moment when I have regretted treating her like scum." Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Then you came along. I finally got a chance to make up for my errors. However, it was impossible to treat you like normal. I had married, after all, to a man who completely disapproved of Lily. I couldn't leave him though. What was I to do with two newly born children? I had no money; I could not raise you by myself. So I decided that the best way to raise you would be following Vernon's commands, whether I agreed with him or not. I thought that you deserved to know why I am 'against' magic. Before you go, I just wanted to let you know that I....that I....am sorry for the way I treated you." She started to cry, and Harry stood dumbfounded. Aunt Petunia was a witch! That's why she hated his parents. She had been jealous.

Just then, three loud cracks came from the living room. Petunia quickly wiped the tears away. Harry into the room to find Tonks, Lupin, and Moody there.

"Ready to go Potter? We need to leave as soon as possible," said Moody. "Tonks, go get his belongings and send them ahead." Tonks quickly left the room, and returned minutes later.

"Everything set?" asked Lupin. "Good. Say good bye to your aunt Harry. We will wait for you right here." Harry went back to the kitchen where he found his aunt.

"I'm leaving now," he said to her. She was crying softly and clutching the letter. For the first time he felt sorry for her. He went up to her and gave her a hug. "Thanks for everything." This made her start bawling.

"I know this won't mean anything to you, but you can come back anytime you want. This will always be a home to you, no matter what Vernon says." Harry gave her one last look, and turned to go back where the others were.

"Ready?" Lupin asked. "Good. We will be Apparating there. Since you haven't had your test, yet I suggest you hang on tightly to my arm. Look around one last time Harry, and say good bye." Harry took one last good look, and with a pop, they were being transported to a new location.

They stopped and landed inside of a building. Harry looked around and saw that they were in what seemed to be like an entrance corridor to a castle. There was an enormous chandelier above them and two grand staircases in front of them. Everything was clean and beautiful. The room was circular and had different halls expanding from it. The gold of the railings and doorknobs showed the majestic elegance of the room. Artwork was hanging from every vacant wall filled with different wizards crowding around to see the new guests. Behind him, Harry saw two enormous oak doors, which, he guessed, led outside. There was a faint smell of goats in the air also. Harry looked up the stairs, and his eyes stopped at what was hanging from the wall. A large phoenix suit of arms was hanging on top of the staircases.

"Is this Dumbledore's house?" asked Harry.

"Well I guess you can call it that," said a rough voice behind them. "It's finally time we metHarry Potter. I am Aberforth Dumbledore."