Harry Potter and the Year of Toil and Trouble

Chapter four

As one, Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped up, ran out of the door and onto the landing, where Fred, George and Ginny met them. They all ran downstairs, Harry threw open the living room door and they all rushed inside.

A sobbing Mrs Weasley was being comforted by Lupin. Sirius was reading a letter, looking grave.

"What's the matter? Is it dad?" cried Ron.

Sirius turned to him. "Yes, it's about your father."

Ginny burst into tears. Ron and the twins went white. "He's...he's..." Ron didn't want to finish.

"No, he's not dead. He's alive, but barely. Dumbledore's team found him in time. He's in St. Mungo's. The deatheaters all disapparated. Come in, sit down." He put a comforting arm around Ginny and led her to the sofa, where she and the others all sat down.

"What did they do to him?" asked Fred, looking from Sirius to his mother and Lupin.

"Tortured him for information," replied Lupin, breaking free from Mrs Weasley who sank into an available seat. "We're not entirely sure what information they obtained, your father is not yet in a position to tell us. It's probable they now know about the protection surrounding you Harry, your whereabouts and possibly Dumbledore's plans."

"What kind of plans?" asked Harry, but Lupin waved his hand. That didn't matter right now. "I'm taking your mother to St. Mungo's," he told the Weasley children. "I should be back later today. Your elder brothers will meet us there. I shall let you know how he is." Lupin finished by apparating alongside Mrs Weasley.

The Weasley children, Harry and Hermione all turned on Sirius. He had to shout to be heard over them all. "I don't know much about his condition, I'm sorry. All that I know is that he has been found and he was asking for Molly and you children. The fact that he remembers you is good, many people forget who they are after that kind of torture." His face went dark; he was obviously remembering Azkaban.

"When will he be back?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know, Ginny. I told you, I don't know anything. Once Lupin comes back, we'll know more. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything more."

They all sat in silence, worried and fearful. Sirius looked strained. Harry wondered what information the Deatheaters had managed to retrieve from Mr. Weasley and what the implications of discovering this information were. Would Harry have to face Voldemort again? He shuddered at the memory of the last time they met. He also wondered what Dumbledore was planning? Harry was curious, but this wasn't the time to ask further questions. Ron needed his support. He couldn't think of himself.

Later that night, Harry lay awake in his bed, thinking things over. It had been hard to get to sleep with Ron and the normally brave-acting twins sobbing into their pillows; but now they were asleep. Harry could not have slept if he wanted to. Guilt threatened to overwhelm him. It was because of him that Arthur Weasley had been kidnapped and tortured. If he weren't friends with Ron, if he had not involved Ron in the search for the Philosopher's stone in first year, the Chamber of Secrets in second year and everything else they had done, Mr. Weasley would be safe. Yes, Harry would have had no friends, but it was better to have no friends than to risk other people's lives, surely?

Since it was impossible for him to sleep, he thought perhaps he would go downstairs and finish some homework. He felt very thirsty; perhaps he would get something to drink also. He swung his legs out of his bed and stood up. He put on his dressing gown and a pair of slippers and left the room quietly, so as not to wake Ron, Fred and George. Out on the landing, he could hear voices coming from downstairs. He crept quietly down the stairs. Several stairs squeaked but the voices continued talking. They did not seem to have heard anything. Harry reached the living room door, which was slightly ajar. He peered through the gap between the door and the wall and listened. Sirius and Lupin were conversing in low voices by the fire.

"We shouldn't tell him," Sirius was saying, in his strong Scottish accent. "It's not as if he'll miss them. He's better off without them."

"Come on, Sirius, you're being ridiculous!" snapped Lupin. His voice was irritated and exhausted sounding. "Harry will find out sooner or later. He's smart. I am sure he'd be angry if you didn't tell him. Just because they mistreated him, does not mean they deserved to die!"

"I know that! I know!" Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his floppy, chin-length hair. "But...so many people have died because of Voldemort. Harry already blames himself for that Diggory boy's death, this could be too much for him, Remus!"

"Padfoot, I agree with you, but the longer we keep it from Harry, the angrier he'll be when we do tell him."

"We haven't thought about where he will live. He can't live with me because I'm the 'dangerous escaped prisoner' and he can't live with you either. The Weasleys have enough on their plates without another child going to live with them."

"Dumbledore doesn't know what's best for Harry," Sirius muttered

"you're talking about the greatest wizard in the world here Sirius, the one who defeated Grindelwand. You'd be soul-less without him. He got you this place, well away from anywhere and he got you a new wand, to protect yourself with. Dumbledore will work something out, I'm sure," said Lupin, although from the tone of his voice, he did not sound sure at all.

"what Harry has to put up with...it just isn't fair, Moony," Sirius sighed in frustration.

"but it can't be changed, Padfoot. He's always going to be the boy-who-lived. And he's not a child anymore, you can't keep things from him."

Harry had had enough. He opened the living room door. Sirius and Lupin both jumped a mile at the sound of the door opening.

"HARRY!" cried Sirius. "You scared us! What are you doing out of bed?"

"Has something happened to the Dursleys?" asked Harry, looking from Sirius to Lupin. He saw Lupin shoot an 'I-told-you-so' look at Sirius.

"Come on, back to bed," said Sirius, getting up and steering Harry out of the room, avoiding the question. Harry pulled away from Sirius and turned to look at him.

"Sirius, answer my question."

Sirius looked into Harry's eyes for several seconds. Then, he sighed, went, and sat down on a sofa. He motioned for Harry to sit down next to him.

"Harry, the Dursleys are dead."

Harry had expected this news from what he had overheard, but it was still a shock. He sat, staring unseeingly at Sirius for a few minutes before forcing himself to speak:

"What happened?"

"Arabella found them" answered Lupin. "She met me at the hospital and told me. She noticed that there had been no activity at their house for a day or two and went to investigate. She found them in the living room, unmarked but dead."

"Was the Dark Mark there?" asked Harry.

"No, there wasn't a Dark Mark above the house. I don't know why. There was also no sign of Deatheaters at any time near the house, but it probably was their work. Only Avada Kedavra could have killed them in such a way."

"But...I thought...Voldemort said he couldn't touch me at the Dursleys." Harry was confused. "I thought there was some 'ancient magic' surrounding the house. That's what Voldemort said."

"He couldn't touch you there, Harry," Lupin explained. "It's possible they killed the Dursleys as a warning to you, or perhaps they obtained information to break the spells from their torturing of Arthur Weasley. I don't really know."

"If only they came with Dumbledore and me," whispered Harry, staring down at his knees, one hand idly playing with the amulet Hagrid had given him for his birthday.

"You couldn't force them, Harry," whispered Sirius also, putting his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulling him close. Harry accepted the hug. He burrowed his face into Sirius' chest. He could feel a burning sensation in his throat and his eyes began to sting. He blinked, trying to force back the tears, but to no avail. The tears came; they flowed, and Harry found himself emptying all the emotion of the past four years onto his godfather's chest.

Lupin came and sat down on Harry's other side and patted Harry on the back, while Sirius continued to hug him.

"Are they going to kill everyone close to me?" came Harry's muffled voice.

"They'll try, Harry," Sirius answered honestly.

"They would have killed Mr. Weasley. Then what would Ron have said?" cried Harry, looking up at Sirius. "It's because he's my best friend that this happened! And Cedric...he died because I told him to take the cup with me! It's because of ME he's dead!"

"Harry, you know damn well that's not true!" said Sirius harshly. Harry was taken aback by the tone of his godfather's voice. He saw that Sirius was fighting back tears of his own.

"Harry," Sirius spoke again in a softer voice. "Not a day goes by where I don't blame myself for your parents' deaths. I have constant nightmares where your father appears and starts blaming me." He gave an involuntary shudder. "But however guilty I may feel, it doesn't change the fact that they are dead. I've learned to accept it, hard though it has been. I know now it wasn't my fault. I didn't know that Peter would do what he did and your parents didn't know that he would betray them. Just like you didn't know Voldemort would kill Cedric. I can't spend the rest of my life wondering 'what if?' and neither should you."

"I know I can't change the past, but I can change the future can't I? Wouldn't it be safer if...if I didn't hang around with Ron and Hermione anymore? Or you guys?"

"Harry, would that make you happy?" asked Lupin. "We all know that it wouldn't, so don't be silly. Ron and Hermione will always be your friends and I'm sure Ron doesn't blame you for what has happened. Sirius and I...well, we're your family now. We'll always be there for you if you need us." He smiled at Harry who smiled back.

"I'm glad I found you guys," he said. "I mean, I was lonely living with the Dursleys. You'd think I'd feel lonelier now that they're dead, but I feel less so. I know that sounds bad, but I've got you guys. And Ron and Hermione." Harry felt a bit better. Sirius and Lupin nodded their understanding.

"What about the funerals?" asked Harry now.

"You can't go, Harry," explained Lupin. "You know it's too risky. Arabella will be there and I think your aunt Marge is going, from what Dumbledore told me."

"She's not really my aunt. She's...she was...uncle Vernon's sister. I don't think she'd want me there anyway. Wait!" he added, suddenly remembering. "Is Mr. Weasley okay?"

"He's been given a lot of medicine," said Lupin "and much of his memory is coming back. It will be several days before we can question him; he needs time to recover. He won't be able to return to work however."

"He won't?" asked Harry. Lupin shook his head.

"No, he's too nervous. He's been through a terrible ordeal. He won't make a full recovery. Not enough to return to work."

Harry didn't answer, but if he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to. For from outside the house, came several loud voices, saying the same curse, at the same time:

"Avada Kedavra!"