The Final Year

Chapter 5

Harry stood at the front window, looking out at the perfectly manicured front lawn of Number 4 Privet Drive. The late summer sun glared harshly down from above, reflecting off Uncle Vernon's new sedan, occasionally catching Harry in the eye with a sharp ray. Someone from the Order was to take him to Kings Cross, he just wasn't certain who or how. The one thing he knew was that he was anxious to leave.

Harry's trunk lay behind him, with Hedwig's cage on top; the owl sleeping with her head tucked neatly under her wing. Everything he owned was in that trunk. Harry hoped he'd never have to come back to this house or see his relatives again.

He glanced behind him and caught a glimpse of his Aunt Petunia peeking out of the dining room to see what Harry was up to. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him and pursed her lips tightly. Rather than saying anything she simply turned and returned to the kitchen, where Uncle Vernon and Harry's cousin, Dudley, were waiting.

You'd think they'd at least say good-bye, Harry thought miserably as he turned back to the window.

He continued to scrutinize every movement outside the pristinely clean picture window. He saw a shiny, red sedan similar to the one his uncle just bought, but it simply trundled past the house. A woman on a bicycle rode by, that Harry thought looked familiar, but she too went by without a glance at Number 4. He sighed heavily and continued to scan the sunlit street.

A few moments later Harry saw another figure making its way down the opposite side of the street. Slowly, an elderly man walked with a small terrier pulling him along. Surely this couldn't be his escort? Harry watched as the man and his dog inched closer, the dog stretching the lead as far as it would go. As they moved directly opposite Number 4, the dog stopped and pointed his nose directly across the street at the Dursley's house.

Harry stepped back from the window, pulling his wand from his back pocket of his jeans, and peered around from the side. He could see the elderly man saying something to the dog, and then watched in horror as the dog suddenly lunged towards the house. Although small, the muscular build of the terrier and the sudden change in movement nearly pulled the old man off his feet. The man regained his footing, and Harry could see him trying to pull the dog back that was now in the street, barking viciously at apparently nothing.

Harry's heart caught in his throat and sweat began to build on his forehead as the dog slowly began to wear the elderly man down and began to edge across the street. Harry's grip tightened on his wand and his eyes narrowed as he held his breath in anticipation.

"Haven't you left yet!" his aunt's voice shrieked from right behind him.

Harry jumped around, instinctively fixing his wand on his aunt's chest.

"Wh.. what are you doing with that thing out?" she questioned nervously, her eyes darting between Harry's outstretched wand and the intense look in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath and without a reply, Harry turned back to the window, but the elderly man and the dog were gone.

The dog must've seen one of Mrs. Figg's cats, Harry tried to tell himself logically, and the old man got him under control and went on their way.

But, as Harry looked down the street he saw no sign of the man and his dog. They couldn't have gone around the corner that quickly, Harry thought as he pressed his head against the cool of the glass trying to see if the old man had perhaps turned back the other way. But, no, there was no trace of him.

"You still haven't explained yourself!" Aunt Petunia's voice broke in once again. "And, get your forehead off my window! You'll leave smudges!"

"I thought I saw something," Harry replied lamely.

"Well," Aunt Petunia continued her lips pulled back over her horsy teeth in a grimace, "the only thing I want to see is you on your way out of here."

Well, Harry thought to himself, I guess there's my good-bye.

However, before he could reply in kind, a long, shiny, stately, black limousine pulled up in front of the house.

"Oh my," Aunt Petunia uttered as she turned and headed quickly back to the kitchen.

Harry smiled as he saw Kingsley Shacklebolt exit the passenger side front seat of the impressive vehicle and make his way up to the front walkway.

Not wanting to wait a moment longer, Harry tucked his wand back into his back pocket, grabbed Hedwig's cage with one hand and his trunk with the other. The wheels he had transfigured from a pair of buttons he had found lying at the bottom of a drawer and attached magically to one end of his trunk caught momentarily on the threshold of the doorway, as if in protest of Harry's leaving. However, with a strong tug, the wheels freed themselves and began to roll effortlessly towards the tall, bald figure of Kingsely Shacklebolt just feet from the doorway.

"Hello, Harry. Let me help you with that," Kingsley said with a smile as he took the trunk from him. As Kingsley and Harry walked back towards the limo, Harry turned back for one last look at the house he had lived in for so long, yet never really thought of as his home.

A bittersweet feeling swept him as he saw his aunt, uncle and cousin now standing on the front porch. Petunia Dursley stepped forward and made her way down the walkway towards her nephew. Harry stopped, unsure what to do, as Kingley continued to the car, the boot of the car opening for him, as if by magic, for him to put in the large wooden trunk.

Harry watched his aunt approach as the golden rays of sun caressed the top of his head. I guess I should say thank you, Harry thought as he soaked in the late summer warmth.

Petunia Dursley reached him quickly. Harry opened his mouth to begin to say something of the appreciation he had for the Dursleys for allowing him to stay there for the past 16 years. Even though they had never been exactly nice to him, all right, they had been down right cruel most of the time, they still had given him a roof over his head, food on the table, and because of this they had kept Voldemort and his followers at bay. Certainly, that deserved a thank you. However, before Harry could utter even a single syllable, his aunt swooped in, putting her face within inches of Harry's.

"Here me clearly, boy," she hissed between clenched teeth, "NEVER... DARKEN... OUR DOORSTEP... AGAIN!"

"No problem," was all Harry could think to say as he turned and continued to walk towards the limousine and Kingsley waiting for him.

As he walked, he felt the anger flush his cheeks warmly and then noticed the heat of the summer sun cool as a dark cloud obscured it from sight. Quite suddenly, a cold wind whipped along Privet Drive, which was emphasized with the sudden dark shadow cast by the cloud. Harry had just reached the limo and put Hedwig on the floor of the back seat when he heard POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!

Harry turned to look for the source of the noise. In an instance he took in several things, as if time had slowed down.

Harry noticed that six cloaked wizards with white masks had appeared with their wands pointed at Number 4. Mad Eye Moody, the paranoid ex-auror, had also appeared out of nowhere and his wand drawn and pointed at the Death Eaters in front of him. Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin seemed to be quite confused at the sudden appearance of so many strange characters on their neatly manicured front lawn, and Uncle Vernon appeared to be about to tell them off, for one was crushing his begonias.

Time regained its normal pace as Moody turned to Harry, his magical eye swiveling nauseatingly in its socket. "Get that damned wand out of your back pocket, boy! What've I told you about that?!"

With those words, quite suddenly the melee began. The Death Eaters had begun throwing curses at Number 4. The first hit Dudley square in the chest, and Harry watched in horror as his cousin's lifeless body slumped to the ground. His Aunt Petunia had nimbly ducked another curse and made for the other side of the sedan. Uncle Vernon let out a howl of rage as another spell hit his precious automobile, shattering the windows. He foolishly lunged over the body of his dead son, towards the offending Death Eater, who sent a Cruciatus Curse at the large Muggle for fun.

In a thrice, Harry had his wand out and he, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks, the young auror who had been apparently driving the limousine, had joined the fray, distracting the Death Eaters from their original targets. Moody hit the Death Eater standing in the begonias with a "Stupefy!" that sent him reeling across the lawn. The other two Death Eaters, changed their focus to the group by the limo, sending a barrage of curses in their direction.

"Get the boy out of here!" Moody ordered.

"We're not leaving you alone, Moody!" Kingsley shouted back as he narrowly ducked an Expelliarmus! from one of the Death Eaters.

Harry ducked down behind a hedgerow and sent out a Blasting Curse that nicked the shoulder of one of the Death Eaters and sent blood and flesh spraying out behind him.

Suddenly POP! POP! POP! POP! filled the air and four more wizards appeared from nowhere on the surreal scene unfolding on Privet Drive. Remus Lupin, Bill and Charlie Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher had all apparated on the other side of Uncle Vernon's now significantly damaged sedan, taking advantage of the cover of the hunk of steel.

"There's backup," Moody said sternly, "now get Harry out of here!"

Kingsley grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him into the back of the limousine. Tonks ran around the other side of the vehicle, sending a Cheering Charm at one of the Death Eaters who doubled over in laughter, before hopping in the driver's seat. Kingsley pulled the door of the car closed just as Tonks squealed the tires and took off down the drive.

Harry turned in his seat and peered out the back window of the limo, watching arcs of green and red light being sent by the members of the Order at the Death Eaters.

"Don't worry," Kingsley said from next to him, "they'll take care of that bunch."

Harry turned to look at the large bald man and saw he was applying a healing charm to the top of his thigh where a large gash was bleeding quite freely.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I'll be fine," Kingsley answered with a grimace as the wound began to slowly close.

Harry felt a lunge and heard a BANG! When he looked out of the window again they were nowhere near Privet Drive.

"I'm sorry about your cousin," Kingsley said solemnly.

"Thanks," was all Harry could think to say.

The smoked window between the passenger compartment and the driver's compartment slid down, and Harry could see Tonks' bright aquamarine hair spiked so high it scraped the ceiling of the car.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said as she turned around to look at Harry. "Bit of excitement, eh? You OK there, Kingsley?"

"I'll be fine, thanks," he replied.

Harry watched in amazement as Tonks continued looking behind her, not paying attention to where she was steering the limo. Several dustbins and a mailbox leaped out of the way as she went up over the curb. And, Harry almost screamed as the vehicle then veered sharply into oncoming traffic, but somehow seemed to slip between two oncoming lorries.

"You know they'll do their best to protect your aunt and uncle," Tonks voice broke into the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride horror Harry was watching out the window.

Harry turned his attention to Tonks' concerned face and said, "I know, thanks."

Harry sat back into the plush, buttery soft leather seat of limousine and began to think about what he was soon to face. Somehow the fight going on at the Dursley's didn't worry him too much. He was more concerned with what he was going to find on Platform 9 ¾. His mind raced back to just a few weeks earlier when he had received the letters from Hermione and Ron.

Pig, Ron's owl, had come fluttering into his bedroom like a feathery golf ball gone mad. Harry was barely able to get the letters from the teensy owl's leg as he fluttered manically.

"I wonder if they have Ritalin for owls?" Harry mused as he finally freed the owl of his burden.

He opened Hermione's first.

Dear Harry,

I'm not sure how to start this letter. As you know, I've spent the last week at the Burrow, with Ron and Ginny. Well, you also know that Ron and I are a bit like oil and water, but, as they say, opposites attract.

Perhaps I'm not certain what to say in this letter, because I'm not really certain exactly what it is I'm trying to tell you. Oh, that didn't make sense at all! I'm sorry, this is so much more difficult then I'd imagined. It's just that Ron and I have sort of become involved.

Well, not involved, like dating. At least he hasn't said anything about that, but it's possibly heading that way. Yes, I guess that's how best to describe it. Oh, everything's so up in the air. I'm not certain how he feels about me. Perhaps it's just a summer fling, but either way I thought you should know.

I'll write you more when I get home. I have to tell you about Malfoy and Ginny's remedial Potions class. Did you know she was taking remedial Potions? I don't know why she didn't ask me for help last year!

I hope everything if going well at the Dursley's. I'll see you at King's Cross in a couple of weeks.

Love,

Hermione

Harry set Hermione's letter on his bed and as he felt his head pounding madly, he opened Ron's letter.

Hello Harry,

How's everything going, mate? Well, it's been a bit crazy. Ginny just got home from remedial Potions a few days ago. Did I tell you she was taking remedial Potions? I don't know why she didn't just ask Hermione for help last year. Anyway, that complete sodding, git - Malfoy - actually oversaw her class! Can you believe it?! I guess he was giving Collin a hard time, making him even twitchier than he already is. We are definitely going to have to pay a little retribution to ferret face!

Anyway, Hermione's been here for a few days as well. I guess we're kind of an item. I can't believe it really. One minute I'm getting attacked by garden gnomes the next thing I know she's got her tongue down my throat! I'm not complaining though, mate! I'll fill you in on the details. I would've written you sooner, but with Hermione here it's been a bit busy.

Ginny thinks your going to whig out that we didn't tell you sooner. I told her she's a nutter. Then she slugged me. God she can hit hard for a little whip of a thing!

Well, got to go, Pig's buzzing about my head and I'm about to throttle him.

See you in two weeks!

Ron

Harry did the only thing he could think of. He crumbled up both letters and with a quiet, Incendio, lit the two letters on fire.