Harry Potter and the Book of Souls

AUTHORS’ NOTES:

HARRY: Well guys, another chapter is up....yay! Thanx to all those who reviewed!

HERMIONE: By the way, "Adstringo Morsmordre" means "to bind the dark mark."

CHO: No Cho Chang yet guys…we’re saving the best for last! ~_^

RON: …rather the worst for last!

CHO: *THWAP*

RON: *sobs head*…just kidding Cho… enjoy everyone!

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>Chapter 3 –- Past and Present>

“HARRY! Harry! Wake up!”

Harry felt a strong pair of hands shaking his shoulders intensely as he awoke. The concerned faces of his godfather, Sirius Black and his former professor, Remus Lupin, met his unfocused eyes as he struggled to open them.

“Harry, you scared us half to death with all your screaming,” said Sirius concerned.

“Are you alright?” asked Lupin with a clouded expression in his eyes.

Harry looked apologetically at Sirius before saying, “I’m fine. It was just a nightmare."

    Sirius’s next few words were lost as Harry became preoccupied with his recent dream. Harry's nightmare brought so many questions to his head that the presence of Lupin and his godfather, Sirius, didn’t seem to catch his attention for a moment.

    Harry quickly snapped out of his daze, however, as he heard the sound of his angry uncle bellowing, “WHAT IN BLAZES IS GOING ON HERE?!”

    Looking up, Harry saw his uncle turn towards his godfather and yell, “Who are you?!”

    Sirius grinned evilly and bowed deeply before saying, “Sirius Black, mass murderer, at your service. And this here is my werewolf friend, Remus Lupin.”

    Harry had to fight the urge to chortle as he saw Uncle Vernon’s skin turn from a shade of beet red to dull grey tinged with green.

    “Now, I’ve heard a lot of things about you from my godson here…” Sirius began to say menacingly.

    “So you’re that deranged godfather that useless little freak rants about all the time.”

    Harry could see Sirius visibly bristle with barely restrained anger.

    “I knew all of you people were lousy excuses for humans like those two idiots, Lily and James who went and got themselves blown up,” sneered Uncle Vernon.

    Despite his blood boiling with anger, Harry yelled out, “NOOO SIRIUS, YOU CAN’T!” as Sirius whipped out a wand and pointed it threateningly at Uncle Vernon.

    At seeing what Sirius was attempting to do, Lupin leaped towards Sirius and took hold of his arm saying, “Sirius, you know you’re not supposed to do magic, let alone in front of muggles.”

    “That muggle has no right to insult Lily, James, or Harry— especially in front of me!”

    “Sirius, they’re the only family I have.”

    At this, Sirius’ fiery expression subsided, and he lowered his wand before looking at Harry, saying, “Alright Harry. For your sake.” He then turned to Uncle Vernon with an even more menacing expression and yelled, “You’d better watch your back! Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!”

    Uncle Vernon scurried out of the small bedroom with amazing agility considering his enormous bulk. The petrified scream of Aunt Petunia could be heard from across the hall as Uncle Vernon entered the room and slammed the door behind him. Harry cleared his throat softly before turning to Sirius, saying, “So, what are you doing here?”

    There was a tense silence as Sirius and Lupin quickly glanced at each other. Then Sirius answered with a gentle voice, “Well, I couldn’t miss my godson’s birthday.” Yet, the smile on Sirius’ face quickly faded as he shifted slightly and spoke, “Dumbledore informed us about the letter you sent him last night. We’ve come to take you away from the Dursley’s for the rest of the summer. You are no longer safe here.”

    Harry was still in disbelief about what was happening. He had no idea that the letter he sent to Dumbledore would have had such extreme repercussions. He quickly stopped thinking about the letter, however, and focused on the words he had just heard. Harry wasn’t sure whether to be glad about finally leaving the Dursleys or scared that Voldemort was alive and trying to kill him. All he could feel was numbness. Each day he had been hoping the Triwizard incident from fourth year was just a dream and that Voldemort wasn’t truly alive. Now that this news had come to him, the shadow of insecurity the Dark Lord had left in the back of Harry’s mind loomed over him and weighed heavily on his heart.

“So what happens now?” Harry asked softly, staring distractedly at Hedwig’s empty cage.

    “You’re spending the rest of the summer with us — for youre safety, of course,” replied Sirius in an obviously fake cheerful voice. “Now where are all your things?”

    “They’re in the cupboard under the stairs,” Harry replied, disheartened.

    Sirius carefully descended the almost completely destroyed staircase into a small hallway lined with dozens of pictures of the Dursleys. As he stepped over a splintered piece of wood that used to be part of the banister, Sirius slowly opened the door to the cupboard under the stairs. He stretched his arm out and reached for the small light above, pulling the string-switch. As the light flickered on, Sirius looked down and saw his godson’s trunk covered in a thick layer of dust. The trunk was sitting on a small, rusting bed frame, which was cushioned by an old moth-eaten blanket. Sirius picked up Harry’s trunk and lifted it out of the small cupboard before heading back upstairs.

“Is this everything?” Sirius asked as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

Harry walked to his bed and reached under it to lift up a piece of loose floorboard. He pulled out a few items from his secret compartment, before saying, “Yeah, that’s all of it.” He replaced the wooden board with a creek and slowly straightened himself releasing a sigh of relief.

Harry gazed out of his small window, and saw what was, without doubt, one of the most spectacular sunrises of all time. The sun was a huge orb of bright amber, with its golden rays glistening over the shadowed treetops. The light spread across the morning sky with a rich yellow glow, pushing back the darkness brought by night, and slowly tingeing the heavens with pink. A soft gentle breeze caressed his skin, chilling him as he smiled in awe at the beauty of the world around him.

“So where are we going?” Harry asked calmly, turning back to look at his godfather.

“It’s a secret location where Lupin and I are staying,” Sirius answered in a voice too innocent for Harry’s liking.

Deciding not to pursue the subject further, Harry grabbed the things he picked up from inside the floorboard and made for the door. He descended down the stairs with Sirius and Lupin in tow. He stepped outside and saw a Volkswagen Beetle. The white paint was starting to peel, revealing orange rust stains on the dented body of the car.

“So what do you think about my car Harry?” said Remus as he approached behind. “I know it’s not new, but it gets me around,” he added as an afterthought. He took Harry’s trunk to the front of the car and put it in the front compartment.

“Well, get in, Harry,” said Sirius as he came from behind Harry and opened the back door. Harry bent down and climbed into the small vehicle. As he peered into his new surroundings, Harry quickly closed his eyes before reopening them to make sure they were still working. The interior of the car was much larger than what he had expected from the outside view, and was covered with a wallpaper of pale yellow lilies that were continuously blooming, emanating a light, fragrant scent. The large, velvet covered chairs were soft and comfortable, making Harry sink into them as he sat down. The overstuffed scarlet cushions were embroidered with lions that roared softly as the engine roared into life.

“Wow!” exclaimed Harry in awe, causing Remus to blush slightly as his face broke into a toothy grin from ear to ear.

“I’ll accept that as a compliment,” he replied smugly and started the car down the street.

Harry stared back at his former home one last time as it dwindled in the distance. It felt strange, knowing that he would no longer see what was his home for the past fifteen years. Despite all the harsh treatment he endured from the Dursleys, Harry couldn’t help but feel a bit sad at the thought that he was leaving number four Privet Drive and the normalcy it encompassed. He mentally shook himself, returning his easily drifting thoughts to the impending journey. He couldn’t believe it. Everything that Harry had hoped for since he discovered the truth about Sirius was finally happening. It wasn’t just a dream anymore. He was actually in the back seat of Lupin’s car, on his way to a new home — one in which he knew he would be loved.

Sitting on the comfy back seat, Harry further examined his surroundings. The car seemed as if it was a small motor home on the inside. The back seat was large enough to be a bed; this somehow reminded Harry of the Knight Bus he had seen the night before. But right beside the bed was a small refrigerator with a radio on top. He moved closer to the refrigerator and took a good look at the radio. It was on, but the volume was very low. The tuner had words in place of the usual numbers Harry was accustomed to seeing on Uncle Vernon’s radio. The small screen in front had the words Wizarding Wireless Network written on it in bold letters.

Lupin looked at Harry through the rear view mirror and said, “You’ve been through a great deal today Harry. You should get some rest.”

“Alright,” Harry said lying down, although he had no intention of falling asleep. He peered up at the ceiling and realized that it was enchanted to imitate the outside sky, which reminded him of the ceiling in the Great Hall. As he gazed at the roof of the car he found himself picking out shapes from the puffy clouds. Harry made out the shape of a cat, which reminded him of the orange-striped feline Crookshanks that belonged to his best friend Hermione Granger. As the car continued to move, Harry picked out shapes of other animals such as toads, Hippogriffs and even a stray potato-like garden gnome which brought a smile to his face as it reminded him of his past adventures at Hogwarts and of his best friend Ron Weasley.

The clouds gradually darkened as they passed into the suburb. New shapes began to form. Three clouds appeared more prominently than the rest, forming into the shapes of several animals familiar to Harry. As he traced the moving figures in the sky, Harry imagined them to be the famous Marauders from his father’s time in their animal forms, playing together without a care in the world. This made Harry miss his friends even more, causing the familiar ache in his heart for the magical realm to reappear.

With the ache still present like a pressure on his chest, Harry’s thoughts returned to his nightmare. He remembered with curiosity the bright vermilion wing that had replaced his arm in the dream, and pondered at its ramifications. Another memory, this time of his two animal companions, flitted into his mind.

When his gaze returned to the sky, it seemed as if it was mirroring his thoughts, because the ghostly figure of a bird accompanied by two other creatures appeared above him. Although he couldn’t distinguish one of the figures, the other one looked unmistakably like the fox in his dream. His thoughts soared alongside the figures in the sky until the car shuddered to a halt.

“We’re here,” Remus announced.

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