Summer Days

Chapter 3: Our Town

Ron,

    I've been moved. Your parents can probably tell you more. Hope to hear from you soon.

                                Harry

    It was late, and the sun had set completely. Harry finished up his note to Ron, and, as if on cue, Hedwig came flying through the window. She landed on top of her cage and hooted softly at Harry who smiled slightly.

    "Ready?"

    Hedwig flapped her wings as if to give him a positive response, and Harry set to work at attaching the small piece of parchment to her talon. "Take this to Ron," he told her, and sent her flying out the window.

    He looked around the bare room and realized that, for the first time, he had his own room that he could do whatever he wanted with.

    He blinked.

    He hadn't a clue what to do.

    'Unpack your trunk, you git,' a voice in the back of his head told him. He sighed and knelt down to open up the heavy trunk.

    Sitting on the top of the pile of clothes and books was a melted knife.

    Sirius' knife.

    For a few moments all he could do was stare at it coldly. After a few moments, He picked it up and threw it across the room.

    The melted knife flew past the floor doorway, missing Remus Lupin's left ear by an inch.

    Harry's eyes widened. "I-"

    "Bad time, then?" Remus asked, seemingly unphased, climbing up into the room.

    "No," Harry replied. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't see you."

    "It's quite alright," Remus replied, a smile playing on his lips. "I've had worse things hurled at my head, ask Bella sometime." He turned around and picked up the knife, and looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

He could only sigh and hand it back to Harry.

    Harry sighed as he watched the older man turn and walk from the room, closing the door softly behind him.

-----

    "Harry…"

    It wasn't that he was still asleep. He just didn't to open his eyes.

    "Harry," the singsong voice said again. "It's time to wake up."

    He grumbled incoherently and turned over, eyes still closed. He was determined to stay hidden under the warm covers for the remainder of his life… which probably wouldn't be very long, anyway.

    And then something shifted.

    He opened his eyes just as he slid off his mattress and onto the wooden floor. He looked up to Arabella as she set the mattress back down on the bed frame.

    She smiled. "Good morning."

    He gave her his best glare, and her smile grew wider. "I thought you could help me with the grocery shopping today."

    "No," he told her.

    Her smile faded and she perched her hands on her hips and stared at him. "So you're planning to hide in the room all summer."

    "Yeah."

    Her smile slowly came back as she looked down at him. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs. If you're not ready in fifteen minutes, I'm coming up here, and transfiguring you into a fish."

    He glared at her back as she left, and proceeded to get dressed.

-----

    Godric's Hollow was a very small town. Everyone they passed on the street seemed to know Arabella like an old friend. And everyone stared at Harry as if he had six eyeball protruding from his nose.

    They entered the grocery store and Harry looked around, nonplussed. Everything on the shelves seemed to be Muggle.

    Arabella sighed. "Well, come on, then." She took a cart from near the door and began push it along.

    She walked to the very back of the store to a very large door.

    "What's this?" Harry asked.

    "The grocery store," Arabella replied, giving him a look that said 'obviously!' She sighed and stepped through the door.

    He followed her, and was quite shocked to see a very different version of the grocery store on the other side of the door. The shelves were lined with Wizarding products. There was even an isle stocked full with Honeydukes products.

    They passed a good number of Wizards who smiled at Arabella. When they glanced at Harry, they looked quite shocked at first, but their looks quickly turned to polite smiles. He stared back, a little confused, and a little annoyed. He really, really hated the staring.

    "Do you want anything, Harry?" Arabella asked him, as she picked up a box of what looked to be wizarding cereal.

    "Huh?" he asked distractedly as the stares kept coming him way.

    "I asked you if you wanted anything," she replied, looking up from the box label. "Do you?"

    "Oh, no thank you," Harry replied. All the staring was starting to unnerve him. Why had she made him come? He didn't want to see people.

    Arabella sighed and took him gently by the shoulder. "Why don't you go and look at some magazines, and I'll come and get you when it's time to go?"

    He nodded numbly and wandered off to the isle that read "Periodicals." Standing around, glancing at the magazines in front of him was a very tall young man, a little older than Harry. He had orange hair, styled in a Mohawk, and was wearing green pants ripped beyond belief and a Weird Sisters t-shirt. He looked as if he were playing air drums as he looked over the magazines.

    Harry walked over and stood next to the taller boy and sighed, picking up a copy of Witch Weekly, that had a picture of some brightly smiling witch holding her wand up.

    the odd-looking boy turned to him, and blinked, and then turned back to the magazines.

    Harry tried to ignore it.

    And then the orange-haired boy did it again. And again. And again. Until finally...

    "Merlin's left buttock. You're Harry fucking Potter!"