A Reflection of Himself

As Harry sat alone in the dark kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, his eyes drifted around the dreary room, taking in every small detail. Somewhere, a clock ticked away, and he noticed just how numerous the cracks were that lined the aged walls, where plaster had fallen off completely in some places, and paint had chipped and peeled away. Since it was dark outside, the only light that came into the room was from the half-moon and the stars in the night sky. Harry wanted nothing more than for someone else to show up, but in the mean time, he would have liked to have been able to light a fire with Incendio, but he couldn't even do that... not without getting in trouble, at least.

Sighing, Harry wondered how much longer it would be before the others arrived. He wanted to see the Weasleys and his friends. How Harry longed to see Lupin's gentle face or hear Sirius's barking laughter... but they were not here. No, Harry was utterly alone at the present moment, and right now, he would have even favored the Dursleys' presence over such unsettling silence, save for the ticking of some hidden clock.

Before long, Harry found himself cradling his head in his crossed arms on the worn wooden surface of the table in front of him. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the horrific visions of the Dursleys, their seemingly-lifeless bodies lying rigid within their living room, having been kissed by the dementor, out of his head. He wasn't safe anymore. What had happened to the supposed blood bond and the protection it was supposed to offer Harry? Harry, however, had known for a long time that his days of safety were strictly numbered. With each infernal tick of the clock, time passed away, and the hour drew ever nearer when Harry would find himself face-to-face with Voldemort for the final time. The ticks were only a reminder, though. Clock or no, time would still pass.

Suddenly, a low, barely audible, sound of boots walking across floorboards brought Harry's attention back full-force, and he started, sitting up in the chair with a jolt. He turned around to face whoever it was that had entered. Harry hoped it would be Lupin with Sirius's portrait, but when Harry's green eyes came to rest upon the dark figure of Severus Snape, Harry frowned slightly and murmured, "Hello, sir. Er, what are you doing here?"

Snape slowly inclined his head toward Harry and said in way of greeting, "Did you not think to light a fire, Potter? Perhaps my presence would not have scared you so much if you actually had some light in here. As for why I am here, the Headmaster has already decided to notify the Order members and have an emergency meeting straight away."

With those words, Snape aimed his wand at the fireplace and uttered, "Incendio!" Flames immediately burst to life within the grate, filling the room with light and warmth.

"I couldn't very well do that, sir," Harry scowled, "not without losing my wand."

"Did you ever think of employing a different method, like matches, perhaps?" Snape inquired smoothly, picking up a box of long matches from the counter.

Harry just glared at him.

"As dim as you can be at times, Potter, sitting in a dark house immediately after your former place of residence was attacked is hardly a way to bring comfort to oneself."

"I know that," Harry snapped, but then he realized in an afterthought that Snape was, in his own twisted way, trying to ease his apprehension and fear. "Erm, sorry..." he mumbled. "I've just been through a lot..."

Taking a seat quite a distance from Harry, Snape replied in a strangely gentle voice, "I know, Mr. Potter. The others will be here soon, though, and we will start to try and figure out where to go from here. The Headmaster was still alerting other members of the Order when I left Hogwarts, but he should be nearly done by now."

Harry nodded absently, not quite sure how to react to Snape's assurance and still surprised that Dumbledore had decided to have an Order meeting right away. Such a thing was strange coming from him, and yet, Harry wasn't really all that surprised, not after having seen a different side of Snape in the past year.

Before Harry had a chance to dwell any further on the subject, the rest of the Order members began to file into the house, rapidly filling the room. Lupin was among the last to enter, and he took a seat right next to Harry, placing Sirius's portrait on the table near them. Both of them had looks of concern on their faces. Even though they were not Order members, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were also there, surrounding Harry, asking him if he was all right.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Lupin asked while placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Just a bit shaken up, really," Harry replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Completely understandable," Sirius commented. "Will you even really miss them, though? I mean, after the rotten way they treated you and all..."

Lupin glared at Sirius momentarily, and that quieted him immediately. Sirius laughed nervously, saying, "Just kidding, Harry. Seriously, I wouldn't wish such a fate on anyone."

Sirius visibly cringed at the very thought of the Dementor's Kiss. He had, after all, come very close to being on the receiving end of one a few years prior. Harry's friends took some seats nearby, breathing sighs of relief.

Dumbledore then called the meeting to order and explained the reason for the emergency meeting. Hushed voices echoed throughout the room, and Harry suddenly felt a strong arm around his shoulders.

"Let us take him, Albus," Mrs. Weasley's voice pleaded.

Harry turned his head to look at Mrs. Weasley and noticed that she had tears brimming in her eyes. It was her arm that Harry had felt on his shoulders.

"Now, Molly," Dumbledore replied evenly, "there is much to discuss yet. In a couple of weeks, Harry will be of age in the wizarding world, and so, he will only need a guardian for a short while. I believe that it would be safest for him to stay here in the mean time, and I would like for your family and Miss Granger to stay here as well."

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Harry, dear, we'll be right here for you."

"Thanks, Molly," Harry smiled, touched by her affection for him.

Then Lupin spoke up, "I would like to stay here as well, if that's all right with you, Albus. Sirius does as well. He's still Harry's godfather, after all, and I... well, I'd like to help look out for Harry, too."

"Well, Harry," Dumbledore remarked, smiling for the first time since the meeting had begun, "it looks like you will be in good hands. You may all stay here, then, and anyone else who would like to visit may come and go as they please. Now... unfortunately, there is the matter to address as to how this dementor was able to penetrate the magical protection that was offered by the bond of blood. Such magic is ancient and is very strong, and so, a very dark and ancient type of magic must have been used to break such protective magic."

"Well, that's obvious," Ron muttered to Harry.

Harry couldn't help but to smirk briefly at his friend's offhanded comment, and he was quite surprised to see that Dumbledore was proceeding with the meeting with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny still there. They, after all, were not members of the Order, but this time must have been an exception.

Dumbledore paused, regarding everyone closely and intently, and then continued, "I believe that Voldemort has used the force of a dementor who has fed off many of the most vile and evil souls in the world, thus creating a very powerful source of dark magic that has proven to have the power to overcome even the magical barrier offered by the blood protection. He probably infused the creature with a few dark incantations of his own, giving the creature more strength than ever to force itself into the Dursleys' house. No doubt Voldemort will continue to find more effective ways of penetrating our defenses, including the wards that are currently placed around Hogwarts."

Harry couldn't believe what his own two ears were hearing. This was just plain absurd!

"That's ridiculous!" Moody growled.

"Not so ridiculous, really, Alastor," Dumbledore replied calmly. "For every good spell, there is an evil spell to counter it. It is all a part of the balance of the universe and the way in which things work."

The old retired Auror grumbled and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. If such talk was making Moody uncomfortable, Harry hated to think what it was doing to the others. Snape remained expressionless, shrouded in the shadows of the corner that he sat in. The Weasleys, Hermione, Lupin, and Sirius moved closer to Harry, doing so unconsciously. It was as if they were hoping to protect him with their very bodies.

"Then what's to be done with the bodies of the family?" inquired a curious voice.

It was Tonks. Her young, heart-shaped face appeared from within the crowded room, and her hair was its natural color that night, being a medium brown and worn straight to her shoulders. Apparently, she was so unnerved by the events that evening that she had not the inclination or desire to transform her hair into some sort of wild color or style.

"How about we take them to St. Mungo's?" Sirius suggested, trying to suppress a chuckle. Joke-making was his way of dealing with the situation, after all.

Harry tried to imagine the Dursleys being kept in the wizard hospital. He pictured his uncle being alive again with his soul intact and practically running around the entire place, raving mad and what Ron would call "bloody mental." No doubt his aunt Petunia would be frantically screaming, demanding to be removed from such "freaks." Dudley would probably be content enough if he had enough good to eat, Harry conceded, but all in all, Harry knew that his relatives would never move again. They were as good as dead, if not worse.

Harry had always dreamed of the day when he would rid himself of the Dursleys, but he certainly never thought it would be this way. As much as he disliked them, knowing that they had treated him downright cruelly at times, Harry would never have wished the fate of the Dementor's Kiss on anyone, save Voldemort.

"That would not work, Black," Snape sneered from his corner. "Even a fool like you should know that only wizards are allowed to be hospitalized in St. Mungo's."

"Yes, I know that, Snape," Sirius retorted. "It was called a joke, in case you didn't know."

"That is enough," Dumbledore interjected sternly. "Severus is right; St. Mungo's is only for wizards and witches, but thank you all the same for trying to lighten the mood in here, Sirius. Now, as far as any Muggle would deduct, the Dursleys would appear catatonic. They would best be taken care of in a Muggle institution for such conditions. Kingsley, Nymphadora, would you two like to take care of the arrangements?"

The two Aurors agreed and said they would get started first thing in the morning. With that decided, Dumbledore reminded Harry of the importance of staying within the walls of Grimmauld Place until his departure for Hogwarts and adjourned the meeting, saying that it was already quite late and that another meeting, one to follow up this one, would be in the very near future.

The Order members began to leave, and Dumbledore was the last one out the door.

"Good night, Harry," he said. "Do take care and be careful. You have many others here who will be looking out for you."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, nodding. He yawned, suddenly feeling very tired.

Dumbledore left, and the front door was closed. While the adults talked in the kitchen, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins surrounded Harry, asking question after question.

"Guys, guys," Harry said, feeling flustered, "I'm okay, really. The only thing I am right now is knackered."

"Of course," Hermione nodded. "It's best we all head to bed. It's quite late, and after seeing an Order meeting, I think we're all tired."

After the twins, Ron, and Hermione headed upstairs, Ginny quickly hugged Harry and murmured, "I'm so glad you're all right, Harry," into his ear. She brushed her lips against his cheek as she breathed, "Good night," and then went up the stairs as well.

From within the kitchen, the adults, including Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Lupin holding Sirius's portrait, left the room and headed down the corridor toward the bottom of the stairway where Harry was standing. Mrs. Weasley embraced him one last time before heading upstairs with her husband.

"Ready to head up, Harry?" Lupin asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry mumbled. "I'm tired, but I dunno... I still can't get that dementor and what it did to the Dursleys out of my head..."

Lupin only nodded with understanding and then placed his hand on Harry's back to encourage him to ascend the staircase. The slight nudge was enough to make Harry walk up to the room that he would be sharing with Ron, and with a good night to Lupin and Sirius, Harry opened the door, entered the already dark room, and fell onto the nearest bed without even removing his shoes.

Ron had heard Harry walk into the room, and he was about to ask him how he was holding up when he heard soft snores coming from Harry's bed. Smiling to himself, Ron pulled the covers up higher on his bed, shifted a little, and closed his eyes. Knowing that his best friend was safe and sleeping was a very good feeling indeed.

That night, Harry somehow managed to sleep soundly and deeply, dreaming of flying high on his Firebolt, playing Quidditch with his friends, Gryffindor winning the House cup, kissing Ginny, laughing with his friends on a sunny day by the lake... It was as if some sort of mercy had been granted and given him the solace he needed. The visions that had been plaguing his waking thoughts did not haunt him that night, but it was a small comfort in comparison to knowing that he was surrounded by a loving family that would do anything for him.

Even though Grimmauld Place was old and dreary, when it was full of people who cared and loved, the atmosphere took on that of a real home in which lives a true family. Never had Harry felt like this in the presence of the Dursleys, despite their rather nice house and their blood relation to Harry. True family was a lot more than just blood, and Harry knew this.

Blood was strong, but love was stronger. Love was the most ancient and most powerful magic of all, and there was no amount of hatred that could match it.