The Potter Manor Chronicles

Chapter Two

"What's taken you two so long?" Arabella asked as Sirius and Annie entered the "old crowd's" cottage. That cottage had been an unofficial meeting place for Dumbledore's people for nearly a year. Several of Annie's experimental plants inhabited the garden that lined the small, but cozy cottage. "We had to proceed without you."

"Did everything go alright?" asked Annie.

"Yes, Derek filled for you and the disorientation charms have been put into place."

"Are they working?" asked Sirius.

"They're working," answered Arabella. "Severus Snape let us test it on him. He had to go to Madam Pomfrey. The spells will work on anyone with the Dark Mark."

"Damn!" said Sirius. "Snape was a guinea pig and I missed it.

"Would you mind telling me why you missed it?" asked Arabella.

"We had some arrangements to make concerning Harry," explained Annie.

"Harry?" said Arabella. "Why? What's happened?"

"We've made a little arrangement with the Dursleys," said Sirius. "They'll be staying with us at the Potter Manor during Harry's summer breaks."

"Has Dumbledore agreed to this?" asked Arabella.

"I haven't talked to him yet, but he won't have a choice," said Sirius. "I am Harry's legal guardian and the Dursleys have agreed."

"We can use some of those disorientation spells along with the blood protection at the manor," said Annie. "It's the safest place for Harry; and maybe he'll have a chance to heal. Merlin knows the Dursleys will never give him that chance."

"You've probably got a point there," said Arabella. "If anything Lily or my mother-in-law has said about them is true, they haven't changed since they were teenagers." Annie and Sirius gave derisive snorts.

"Is Remus up yet?" asked Annie.

"He's still out cold," said Arabella. "I think he took too much Wolfsbane potion."

"I'm going to go check on him," said Annie with no small amount of worry in her voice. "Unless you need me to do anything right now, Sirius."

"Go ahead," said Sirius. "I'll contact Dumbledore to make the arrangements for the protective charms." Annie hurried down the hall toward Remus' room. "Why did they call off their engagement?" Sirius asked Arabella once Annie was out of earshot. "I mean, before Lily and James died, those two planning on getting married as soon as the war was over. But now, they just...I don't know, avoid the topic altogether." Arabella sighed sadly.

"They saw what had happened to all of their closest married friends," she replied in a don't-be-so-stupid-it's-obvious manner.

"So they just gave up," said Sirius.

"Marriage never did any of us any good," snapped Arabella. "Ben watched Veronica die before he was tortured and killed himself, Lily and James were murdered in their own home, and Teddy..." Arabella's throat became too tight as she said her husband's name out loud. Teddy and his father had been killed by Voldemort, who had left their bodies on Teddy's mother's porch. Since that night Mrs. Figg had become withdrawn from the world, and had allowed her food to go stale and put all of her energy into raising her cats ever since.

"Peter betrayed all those people," Sirius snarled. "And I let him do it. I must have suspected everybody but him."

"Stop blaming yourself, Sirius," said Arabella.

"No one else has stopped blaming themselves," said Sirius. Arabella could not think of a reply. "I'm going to call Dumbledore." With that, Sirius turned to the fire impatiently and threw some dust in. "Professor Dumbledore, are you there?"

Dumbledore's head popped into the fire. "Is something the matter, Sirius?" he asked.

"No more than usual," replied Sirius. "I just wanted to tell you about my plans for Harry's summer."

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Annie sat at Remus' bedside for a few minutes before his eyes flickered. He looked up at her apprehensive face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," said Annie. "We've just been a little busy."

"Do the wards work?"

"Arabella says they do."

"I thought you and Sirius were helping with them."

"We got a little held up, but your brother filled in for us," Annie answered and Remus' eyes widened with concern.

"Why did Derek have to fill in for you? Is Harry alright?"

"He will be," Annie answered and she proceeded to explain about Sirius' proposition to the Dursleys. Remus was smiling when Annie had finished.

"I wondered how long Sirius would tolerate the Dursleys' behavior."

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Remus and Annie walked into the living room just in time to see Sirius finishing up his proposal to Dumbledore.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "Your task for the summer will be to watch over Harry and insure that the spells remain in place. That will go for the two of you as well," he said to Remus and Annie. "I daresay you will need to get started as soon as possible." With that Dumbledore vanished with a pop!

"What's going on, Padfoot?" asked Remus.

"We have a lot of work to do. Are you feeling up to making a few protective wards, Moony?" asked Sirius. Remus grinned.

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The Dursleys had managed to leave Harry in peace following their confrontation with Sirius and Annie. His head ached constantly and he had no appetite, not that he was fed much at the Dursleys' House anyway with Dudley still on his diet. There was a constant pressure at the top of his throat that was threatening to erupt. Harry had decided not to owl anyone about his condition because they would naturally worry. Harry hated being fussed over. Every time he so much as got a paper cut, people acted like he was going to drop dead.

Just then, Hedwig flew in through the window and landed on Harry's pillow. She gave his ear an affectionate nip and held out her leg, which had a letter from Ginny attached to it. Shit, I forgot to write her yesterday, Harry thought as he untied the letter and stroked Hedwig's neck.

Harry

You forgot to write. Remember my threat!

But seriously are you all right? Please answer as soon as possible.

He won't admit it, but Ron's really worried too.

Love,

Ginny.

Harry sighed, stood up, and walked over to his trunk. He pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment to write to Ginny.

Ginny,

I'm fine. Sorry I didn't write yesterday, but there's been an interesting development where Sirius is concerned. I'll tell you more later. In the mean time, try not to worry too much. I'm fine. Say hi to Ron for me.

Love,

Harry.

Harry folded up the note and tied to Hedwig's leg. She gave him an affectionate nip before taking off again. An enormous wave of nausea swept over Harry. The pain in his head made it unbearable to stand. He lay back down and blacked out before his head hit the pillow.

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Harry woke up to find that someone was wiping his face with a cool cloth. He opened his eyes to see Sirius standing over him.

"Sirius?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Ssshh, you've got an awful fever," Sirius said gently.

Harry looked around and noticed that he was not in his bedroom on Privet Drive. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Dunno," Sirius answered. "We brought you here last night and decided it was best not to wake you in your condition."

"So we're at the Potter Manor?"

"Yep," said Sirius with a grin. "This was your father's bedroom when he was growing up. Your aunt ant uncle don't seem too happy to be here, but it's amazing how much their level of tolerance is raised when they see gold." Harry laughed, but felt extremely queasy. Sirius seemed to notice. "You'd better get some sleep, Harry. I'll get a potion for you."

Sirius stood up, exited the room, and returned a minute later carrying a small goblet. "Here, Harry, this'll help." Sirius gently lifted Harry's head and held the goblet to his mouth. Harry was relieved to discover that the potion tasted quite sweet. It was rather like drinking iced pumpkin juice.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry whispered. Sirius smiled at him. Harry returned the smile, but he still felt queasy. He began to shiver and curled up into a fetal position, clutching his shoulders. Sirius put his hand gently on Harry's head and began to stroke his hair lightly as though he were a small child. "What's-wrong-with-me-Sirius?" Harry asked through clattering teeth even though he already knew the answer.

"It's your scar again, Harry. But don't worry. You'll start feeling better once the potion takes effect."

Harry nodded and smiled again. Sirius took Harry's covers and laid them gently over him. Harry could feel himself drifting off.

"Sirius?" Harry said through heavy eyelids.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for bringing me here. I'd rather be here with you and feeling ill than back on Privet with the Dursleys and feeling perfectly healthy." Sirius laughed his dog-like laugh.

"Harry, I guarantee you that this will be a very interesting summer." With that said, Harry drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

Sirius stood up and watched his godson sleep for a minute. For the first time in nearly fifteen years, he felt that he had done something right. Harry was finally in the place where he should have been his entire life. Sirius wondered if James was watching his son sleeping soundly in his old bedroom. James' magnificent, old four-poster was certainly a long way from the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys' house. Although Lily had never been a violent person, Sirius was quite certain that Petunia and Vernon would not have escaped unmarked from her wrath upon seeing her son locked in a cupboard and being a punching bag for Dudley. Sirius snickered at the name given to the Dursley boy. It was almost more amusing than the name of his ever-so-prestigious private school-Smeltings.

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Harry felt the warm rays of the morning sun on his face. His eyes snapped open and he saw an unfamiliar closet across the bedroom. Harry also noticed that the bed he was lying in was quite a bit more comfortable than what he was used to on Privet Drive. Then he remembered that he wasn't on Privet Drive anymore. Sirius had taken him to his old family home. And the Dursleys were going to have to be the ones walking on eggshells and living by his rules for a change. Harry felt a grin spread across his face. He lifted his head slightly off the pillow and was relieved to find that he no longer felt ill.

"Well look who finally woke up. You were really starting to worry me, you prat," said a voice from behind Harry causing him to jump and fall off of the bed. He looked up to see Ron standing over him wearing an expression somewhere between amusement and concern. "Sorry, Harry. Didn't mean to give you a fright," Ron said as he offered Harry his hand to help him up. Harry grinned and took it.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked.

"A little over and hour ago," said Ron. "Sirius owled my mum and dad last night and they said that we could come-me and Ginny I mean-because we'd be safe from You-Know-Who here. You should see the looks on your aunt and uncle's faces. They don't seem to happy about staying in a house full of wizards."

"Ginny's here?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, so is Hermione," Ron answered. Harry suddenly realized that he had not showered since he had left Hogwarts. He quickly sniffed under his armpit and felt a gagging sensation at the back of his throat.

"Er-I think I'd better shower," said Harry. Ron began to snicker.

"C'mon, Harry. My sister doesn't care about how much you stink," said Ron.

"Oh, shut up, Ron," replied Harry. "Like you don't get all self conscious about how you smell around Hermione." Ron's ears turned pink and he and Harry burst out laughing.

Suddenly a thought crossed Harry's mind. He frowned and his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" asked Ron.

"Er- I have no idea where the bathroom or anything else is," said Harry. "I was unconscious when Sirius and Annie brought me here." Ron grinned.

"You have your own private bathroom," said Ron pointing at one of the doors. "This place is really incredible. I bet even Malfoy would be jealous. Sirius said that your dad grew up in this house. Is that true?"

"I guess," said Harry. "I don't really know that much about my dad's family."

"Oh," said Ron. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Forget it," said Harry with a smile. "I'm just glad you're here." Ron started grinning again. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a minute, I have a shower to take." Ron nodded and left the room. Harry walked over to the door Ron had pointed at and opened it. His jaw dropped when he peered inside. His private bathroom was even more impressive than the Prefects' bathroom. He walked over to the bathtub and began turning on the different taps. A few of the poured water and the rest poured different colors of soap into the marble tub.

Harry watched as the foam built up and invited him to climb in. Perhaps a bath would do him more good than a shower. Harry stripped off his pajamas and stepped into the water. He felt the bubbles massage every inch of his skin. Harry took a deep breath and fully immersed himself in his bath. He stayed under as long as he could enjoying the wonderful sensation.

As he popped his head back up above the water level, he remembered that Ginny was waiting for him. Harry saw that several towels and a bathrobe had been left for him. He stepped out of the tub, dried himself off and pulled on the bathrobe. Harry saw that his trunk was sitting next to his bed. He opened it up and pulled out some clothes to wear.

After he finished dressing. Harry looked thoughtfully at his open trunk and then around his new room. This was his room at his house. Not Aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon's house, his house. Harry pulled out a few of his schoolbooks, some Zonko products, and some gifts from Fred and George and tossed them across his bed. He stood there admiring his handiwork with a grin on his face. Aunt Petunia couldn't say a thing about the state of his bedroom.

Harry turned around and walked out into the hallway. He stood there for a moment not sure which way he should go. He was not even sure where exactly Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were waiting for him. Just as Harry was about to yell for someone to help him, help showed up.

"Harry Potter, sir, you is up!" squeaked Dobby gleefully as he came running down the hall toward Harry. The tiny house elf flung his arms around Harry's waist then stood back and beamed up at him. Dobby' tennis ball eyes were brimming with tears of joy. Harry noticed that he was wearing one of Uncle Vernon's old mustard-yellow socks and one of the violet socks that Ron had given him.

"What are you doing here, Dobby?" asked Harry with a grin.

"Dobby is here on orders from Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter sir!" said Dobby. "Professor Dumbledore told Dobby that he had a very important assignment for him, sir! He told Dobby to go to the Potter Manor for the summer and help with the protective wards. Dobby is so happy, Harry Potter sir!"

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Dobby," said Harry.

"Oh Harry Potter is too kind to Dobby!" Dobby sobbed.

"I need your help, Dobby."

"Dobby will be happy to help Harry Potter with anything at all," said Dobby.

"Er-how do I get down stairs?" At that moment Harry's stomach growled. Dobby's eyes widened.

"Harry Potter must be very hungry," squeaked Dobby. "Dobby will show Harry Potter to the kitchen, sir." With that, Dobby seized Harry's hand and pulled him down the long corridor to a spiral staircase, which he pulled Harry down the staircase so quickly that Harry began to feel slightly dizzy. He was glad to finally reach the bottom. Dobby pulled him down another corridor, which was filled with paintings of people who bowed and curtsied as they passed.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the kitchen. To Harry's great displeasure, the three Dursleys were sitting at the table having their breakfast: Grapefruit. The three of them eyed Dobby with the utmost revulsion.

"Harry Potter is awake, Miss Annie," Dobby squeaked to Annie who was standing near the counter reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. Annie looked up and grinned at Harry.

"Hungry, Harry?" she asked.

"Starving," Harry replied. "But Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are waiting for me outside."

"For your information, Hermione and Ginny insisted that you be well fed before you go outside. I really don't think it would be wise to go against their wishes so what do you want for breakfast?" asked Annie.

"Can I have anything?" asked Harry.

"Anything at all," replied Annie.

"Excuse me," Aunt Petunia cut in. "But Dudley is on a diet and we feel that it is best if the whole family follows it. This should be sufficient." Aunt Petunia held up a grapefruit quarter, which was much smaller than the one Dudley had eaten.

"Since when have you considered Harry to be a part of your family Petunia?" Annie snapped. "And that," Annie added pointing to the grapefruit quarter. "Will certainly not be sufficient. Harry has been ill and needs proper nourishment."

"Well I must be going to work," said Uncle Vernon nervously. He then cleared his throat and addressed Annie. "How do I get back?"

"Someone will lift the wards for you," Annie replied and Uncle Vernon hurried out through the door without without taking the time to kiss his wife goodbye.

"So, what would you like for breakfast, Harry?" Annie asked as Aunt Petunia glared angrily after her husband.

"Um, sausage, a whole plate of sausage," Harry answered grinning at the look of horror on Dudley's face. For the past two summers Harry had gotten more to eat than his cousin due to generous gifts of food from his friends, but now Dudley was going to know that Harry would have more to eat than he did.

"Dobby will fix Harry Potter's breakfast right away," squeaked Dobby as though he had just been awarded the Order of Merlin. "Harry Potter must have a seat." Harry sat at the opposite end of the table from his aunt and cousin. Within seconds, Dobby had set a plate full of delicious smelling sausages in front of him. Harry began to eat slowly, savoring every bite as Dudley watched hungrily.

"Well, look who's awake," said Remus as he and Sirius entered the kitchen. "Good to see you up and about, Harry. How are you feeling?"

"Much better than I felt last night," said Harry. "Whatever Sirius gave me must have worked." Sirius smiled warmly at Harry.

"Come along, Duddykins," said Aunt Petunia as she eyed Sirius and Remus nervously. "Why don't we go and watch some television?"

"Leaving so soon. Petunia?" Annie asked with false pleasantness.

"Dudley's diet has been very hard on him," said Aunt Petunia shortly as Dudley continued to stare longingly at Harry's breakfast. "It's bad enough without him," Aunt Petunia pointed furiously at Harry. "Eating like a pig!" Annie and Sirius both went red with anger at those words. Harry simply exchanged a look with Remus and they both rolled their eyes, but Dobby stepped forward.

"You shall not speak in such a way about Harry Potter, Miss!" he squeaked. Petunia stared in shock at the house elf's defiance. Harry, Remus, Sirius, and Annie all snorted with laughter.

"You know," said Sirius. "You son might be able to eat some real food again if he actually managed to lose some weight. Has it ever occurred to you to make him get up off his fat arse and do a little exercise?"

"HOW DARE YOU!" shrieked Aunt Petunia.

"No, how dare you!" said Sirius. "You've been working Harry to the bone his entire life while your son does nothing but sit around and eat. If you don't start pushing him soon, he'll be a slug for the rest of his life. If you believe in half the things you're constantly yapping about, I'm sure that you want your son to amount to something more than a slug. If you like, I'll be his personal trainer and see that he gets some proper exercise."

Aunt Petunia stood there silently wearing an expression that was somewhere between disgust and terror. Sirius pulled a sack full of Galleons out of his pocket and began swinging it around casually.

"Fine," said Aunt Petunia trying to push a resisting Dudley forward. "Get him into shape, but if you hurt him..."

"He won't feel anymore pain than anyone else who exercises does." replied Sirius as he pulled his wand out of his belt and pointed it at Dudley. "Come along, Dudley. We must get started right away if we are to make any progress." Dudley obeyed out of fear of the wand that was pointed at him. He whimpered as he and Sirius headed out the door and down the corridor. Aunt Petunia and Annie shot each other nasty looks before Aunt Petunia stormed down the corridor as well.

"Where can I find Ron, Hermione, and Ginny?" asked Harry.

"They're out by the lake waiting for you," said Remus.

"The lake?" asked Harry. Remus hit himself on the forehead.

"I keep forgetting that you've never been here, sorry," he said.

"It's really lovely by the lake," said Annie. "We ought to give you and your friends a tour a little later."

"That's not a bad idea," said Harry. "This place is huge."

"C'mon, Harry," said Remus. "I'll show you how to get outside." Harry followed Remus down a new corridor. It was filled with magnificent tapestries and magical objects that Harry was certain would fascinate Hermione and inspire a whole new surge of reading.

"Did you spend a lot of time here when you were a student?" Harry asked Remus. Remus' eyes twinkled.

"Your father invited me over every summer," Remus answered. "I'm glad your grandparents had a sense of humour or we'd have driven them mad."

Harry laughed. He had seen Sirius and Remus interact quite a bit in the last twelve months. He was rather certain that they were a handful for any adult when they were younger.

Harry and Remus reached a large entrance hall and Remus pushed one of the double doors open for Harry.

"Thanks, Remus," said Harry as he walked through the door. Remus smiled and walked back down the corridor.

Harry spotted Sirius making Dudley do some warm-up stretches. Further ahead, he saw a large body of water that glistened in the morning sun. Harry could make out both Ginny and Ron's flaming red hair on the shore.

Harry walked to the lake, not daring to run because his stomach was quite full from his breakfast. He grinned at Sirius who stood over a whimpering Dudley attempting sit-ups. Sirius seemed to be rather pleased with himself.

As he approached the lake Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all turned around. Ginny ran up to Harry and threw her arms around him as though they had been apart for ages. Harry hugged her back. He felt the wonderful sensation of comfort that came from Ginny's physical presence. The teddy bear was nice, but it wasn't Ginny.

"What took you so long?" asked Ron with a grin. "I mean you were putrid, but you weren't that putrid!"

"I had to watch Sirius make a deal with my aunt," said Harry. At that moment, Dudley came trucking up to the group followed by Sirius who was prodding, or rather zapping, him with his wand (get you mind out of the gutter, People! I mean I like a good slash fic as much as the next person, but Dudley/Sirius? C'mon! I would never do that to my darling Sirius. NEVER!)

"Hello there," said Sirius cheerfully as he and Dudley stopped. "Jog in place, Dudley. You don't want to lose your rhythm." Dudley obeyed looking too terrified to defy Sirius. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all put their hands over their faces partly to stifle fits of laughter and partly to block out the stench of Dudley who was already dripping with sweat.

Crookshanks nuzzled Sirius' leg. Sirius bent down and picked up the ginger cat and began stroking his fluffy head. "Lovely day for a nice, long run isn't it," he said. Dudley whimpered again.

"It certainly is a nice day for a very long run," said Ron with a Fred and George-like grin.

"Well, we must be getting to it. Lots of work to do here," said Sirius as he pointed at Dudley. "See you at lunch." With that Sirius set Crookshanks down and gave Dudley another zap from his wand and they were off again. Ron doubled over with laughter.

"I wish Fred and George could see that," he said.

"I'm sure they will," said Harry. "I reckon it'll take all summer for Sirius' exercise plan to take any effect on Dudley."

"So this is the new development you wrote me about," said Ginny.

"Yeah," said Harry. "The Dursleys are having some financial problems and Sirius offered to help them out on the condition that they stay here during my breaks."

"I'll bet they just love that," said Hermione.

"Annie did have to botch up a transfiguration spell on Dudley to get them to listen," said Harry. Ron closed his eyes and the same up-lifted expression appeared on his face that had been there the day Draco Malfoy had been turned into a bouncing ferret.

"This couldn't have happened at a better time." Harry continued. The Dursleys started in on me the moment I got home. In all honesty, I don't think I could have taken another summer of that."

"Is that why you didn't write me right away?" asked Ginny. Harry bit his lip nervously remembering his scar hurting and his dream.

"Let's go see Buckbeak, Ron," said Hermione taking Ron's hand and pulling meaningfully him toward the Paddock where Buckbeak stood.

"Huh?" said Ron. Then he looked at Harry. Concern flashed in his eyes. "Oh, right then." Ron and Hermione headed off toward the paddock. Ginny took Harry's hand and pulled him into the cool shade under a large oak tree by the lake. They sat down. Harry leaned against the trunk and stared blankly at the lake.

"What happened?" asked Ginny.

"I suppose Sirius told you that I haven't been feeling well," said Harry.

"Yes," Ginny answered slowly.

"Well, my scar hurt and I passed out shortly after I arrived at the Dursleys' Tuesday." Ginny's eyes widened. "Voldemort was torturing whoever was suppose to deliver me to." Harry's throat tightened

Ginny reached over and pulled Harry's head to her shoulder and began to stroke his hair. Harry felt tears prick his eyes.

"I hope I never have to see Privet Drive again!" said Harry abruptly.

"What?" said Ginny slightly startled.

"If my uncle's company starts doing well again, I'm staying here. This is where I belong. I don't care about that stupid blood protection. I'd rather be in danger with the people I care about than safe with the Dursleys."

"Where's all this coming from?" asked Ginny.

"I'm just tired of the leaders of the magical community deciding what's best for me. I didn't ask for this," Harry said pointing to his scar. "One minute, I'm this great hero to them and the next I'm some dark and dangerous wizard because I can talk to snakes or my wand is the brother to Voldemort's, or my main mentor is a werewolf. What gives those Rita Skeeter lemmings the right to tell me what to do? This is my life, dammit!"

"You're right, Harry," said Ginny. "I wish I had the power to change things for you."

"I know you do, Ginny," said Harry as he brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead softly. "I'm sorry, I just feel so frustrated sometimes."

"You have every right to feel that way." Harry lay down and Ginny rested her head on his chest.

"This is the place where my dad grew up and I know nothing about it," Harry mused as he and Ginny caressed each other's fingers. "I mean Dobby had to show me how to get downstairs." Ginny giggled.

"Dobby certainly seems happy to be here," she said.

"He's not half as happy as I am," said Harry. Just then an owl landed next to them. Harry saw that the letter tied to its leg was addressed to him...in the writing of Cho Chang.

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Okay, everything's been established, now the plots will really begin stay tuned. If there is anything you'd like to see happen in this fic. Go ahead and suggest it. If it is something I believe in, you may just get your wish.

You will see Derek Lupin in a later chapter as well as get more of an explanation of who some of the people Arabella was talking about were, I promise. Thank you for reading. If you review, I send you yet another thank you,

GreenLily.