Trio is Company
“I watched his movements, and tried to speak to him about it myself, but now that I’ve received this, I am absolutely certain that he already knew.”
“You are absolutely certain that Dumbledore wrote this?”
“His phoenix delivered it. It’s dated to the day before his death.”
“So not only did he know, but he also knew that you worked it out.”
“That does appear to be the case. He would not have known that, however, had I not slipped that note into his pocket during his last visit.”
“When was this?”
“About a week before his death.”
“The way he wrote this note… it’s almost as though he knew he was going to die. As though he’d known for a while.”
“He was quite old, even by wizard standards. Perhaps he was dying already, Snape or no Snape.”
“Even so, he wouldn’t have allowed the secret to die with him. He must have imparted it to another.”
“If he did, I think we can all guess who.”
He stepped onto the doormat, and stared at the door of Number Four, Privet Drive for several minutes. The “Welcome” mat belied the owners’ hospitality, but after a moment’s hesitation, he knocked, stepped back, and waited.
Then the door opened, and he and his aunt looked at each other, one in bewildered annoyance, the other in resignation.
“Get inside!” Petunia Dursley hissed, stepping back to allow Harry entry. He stepped inside, lugging his trunk behind him, with his owl cage in his free hand, pausing only to nod at the taxi behind him, driven by a dark, bald man with an earring, who nodded back and drove away. As soon as she closed the door, Petunia rounded on her nephew.
“You are not supposed to be back yet,” she snapped.
Harry shrugged. “Term ended early.”
A surprised look flitted across her face, but it was quickly replaced with anger. “Why weren’t we informed?”
Her nephew didn’t respond immediately. A shadow seemed to pass across his countenance, but after a moment, he said shortly, “Unforeseen circumstances forced the school governors to cut the term short. So here I am.”
She didn’t look convinced. “This is highly irregular.”
“What caused it was highly irregular,” Harry retorted. “Now as soon as I get my stuff upstairs, I’d like a word with you.”
Petunia’s scowl deepened, but she nodded stiffly and disappeared into the kitchen. Harry sighed and took hold of the handle of his trunk, to awkwardly drag it up the stairs to his bedroom. He had known that his aunt wouldn’t react well to his arrival, but he felt it best to warn her of his friends’ impending arrival beforehand. As for what Kingsley had told him on the way to Privet Drive, Harry supposed he’d have to break it to his aunt slowly. Ron and Hermione coming to stay with him at Privet Drive, and the coming danger after Harry’s 17th birthday might be too much for her to handle all at once, and certainly would send Vernon into a flying rage, the last thing Harry needed at the present moment.
After a few minutes, Harry finally made it to his room and allowed his trunk to fall to the floor with a loud thud. He checked his watch, and put Hedwig’s cage on his desk. The owl looked at him expectantly, and Harry opened his trunk, fishing around for the box of owl treats. Finding it, he offered one to Hedwig, who accepted it happily. Then deciding that he had better get it over with, Harry slowly made his way back down the stairs, and entered the kitchen to see his aunt cleaning the countertop.
“May I have some lunch?” he asked politely.
Petunia said nothing. Harry took that as a “yes,” and opened the refrigerator. He surveyed the inside for a moment, and then settled on some cheese and crackers. As he pulled out a cutting board and started slicing the brick of cheese, Petunia spoke.
“All right, what is it?”
Harry hesitated. “I’m going to have two friends staying with me for the next couple of weeks.”
Petunia looked furious. “If you think I’m going to have two more of your kind” “
“We’ll keep out of your way,” Harry interrupted curtly. “They’ll be here to do some work with me. You don’t need to worry about what the neighbors think. Hermione has non-magic parents and knows how to act normally. She’ll help Ron do the same. You don’t even need to provide us meals. We’ll feed ourselves.”
Petunia looked slightly cheered at that.
“I should also tell you that they are both of age,” Harry continued, “and therefore they can use magic outside of school.”
His aunt’s face hardened again.
“I will tell them to do so only if it is necessary,” he added, “and they’ll avoid it in front of you, Uncle Vernon, or Dudley.”
“How long do they intend to stay?” Petunia inquired.
“Harry finished with the cheese and pulled a plate from the cabinet. “A couple of weeks at the most. Whenever I’m allowed to go to Ron’s place, so hopefully not too long. And if it brings you any consolation, we’re not coming back.”
“It doesn’t,” Petunia muttered. Then she realized what Harry had said, and raised her eyebrow. “You’re moving out?”
Harry nodded as he took a seat at the table. “I’ll be of age soon. I’ll leave with Ron and Hermione, and I don’t expect or intend to return.”
He had a faraway look in his eyes as he said this, something Petunia did not fail to notice. She frowned at him for a moment, but her expression wasn’t angry, but inquisitive, and then she seemed to understand what he was implying. Then she inhaled deeply.
“Very well,” she relented. “You may allow your friends to stay here, but don’t expect Vernon to take it well.
Harry shrugged. “I never did.”
“When will they arrive?”
“In about an hour.”
Petunia looked resigned. “Clean up after yourself,” she told him, “and answer the door yourself when they arrive.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Harry muttered sarcastically.
An hour later, he remained at the table, occasionally checking his watch until at the exact moment Ron said they’d arrive, Harry heard a tentative knock on the front door, and he got up to answer it.
“Harry!” someone cried as soon as he opened it, and a mass of bushy brown hair flew at him. Harry staggered in surprise at the sudden pair of arms that enveloped him.
“Hermione!” he laughed. “I only just saw you two hours ago!”
Hermione backed off, looking sheepish, and Harry stepped aside to let her and Ron in.
“Hello, mate,” Ron said, clapping Harry’s shoulder cheerfully. “So, the Muggles will let us stay?”
“I talked to Aunt Petunia, and she eventually relented,” Harry replied, closing the door. “Uncle Vernon’s not home yet, though, so he doesn’t know yet.”
Ron grimaced. “He won’t be happy when he comes home and finds out, will he?”
Harry shook his head as he led them up the stairs. “You had better brace yourselves for an explosion.”
“I’ll use a silencing spell on him if I have to,” Ron told him, shrugging.
“You’ll do no such thing!” Hermione scolded.
“I’m not totally against it myself, to be honest,” Harry told her as they entered his room. “But I don’t think it would hurt to threaten him, especially if he decides to come plowing in here or something equally stupid. I’m not putting up with his crap any longer.”
He sank on the bed, and Ron closed the door.
“Your mum finally let you come here, then?” Harry asked, thinking of the heated discussion Ron had started with Mrs. Weasley as soon as he told her he intended to go with Harry to the Dursleys.
Ron snorted. “Eventually she gave in, when Ginny pointed out that while the wards are in place here, we’re just as safe here as you are, and it would make your stay here more bearable. Dad agreed, and Mum finally relented.”
Harry nodded, and turned to Hermione. “What about your parents?”
“They’re going to leave,” Hermione told him quietly. “Mad-Eye told me that the Order’s going to relocate my family to the United States. Mum and Dad will continue their practice there.”
“Do they know yet?”
“It was Dad’s idea,” Hermione replied. “He and Mum knew that their lives were in danger, and they started making arrangements as soon as they were told about Dumbledore’s death.” She paused for a moment, her expression downcast, but she added, “They want me to go with them, of course, but they accepted it when I told them that I’m needed here.”
They fell silent. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the birds outside and occasionally a car driving by. Then Ron asked, “So what’s the plan?”
Hermione answered first. “We can’t do anything until Harry’s of age, obviously. The Ministry can track his wand until then.”
“I was thinking about it on the way here,” Harry said, “and I think that a good time would be after I get my Apparation license. At least we’ll be gone from here by then.”
“When’s Mad-Eye planning to escort us to the Burrow?” asked Ron.
“Kingsley told me that the plans aren’t completely settled yet,” Harry told him. “But someone from the Order will inform me as soon as they’ve arranged something.”
They continued talking in this manner for some time, but whenever someone mentioned the Order of the Phoenix, Harry couldn’t help but worry about how to handle them as soon as he actually got to the Burrow. To his knowledge, Dumbledore had told none in the Order about the task he had given him. They certainly had no idea that Harry, Ron, and Hermione intended to leave the Burrow as soon as Harry came of age, and Harry had no intention of telling them, and he said as much to Ron and Hermione, who agreed.
Immediately after he expressed these thoughts, Ron then frowned, and asked, “Does Ginny know?”
Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hadn’t told Ron and Hermione about breaking off the relationship, and he worried about Ron’s reaction. Unable to make eye contact with Ron, Harry asked quietly, “About the Horcruxes?”
Ron nodded.
“No,” Harry replied, “and she isn’t going to. But she does know that Dumbledore’s left me things to do. I’m not sure what she suspects otherwise.”
Ron seemed to accept this answer, but Harry noticed Hermione watching him with an inscrutable look, and he wondered how much Ginny had told Hermione.
Their conversations carried so late in the afternoon that Harry completely forgot about his uncle’s impending arrival from work. When Vernon actually did arrive, Harry had expected him to be angry, but he was glad that Ron and Hermione were able to keep cool enough heads to react when they did. It started when Harry heard the sound of a car pulling into the drive, and he looked out of his window in time to see his uncle step out of his car and slam the door shut. It wasn’t a good sign that Harry could see, even from his window, that Vernon was already in a foul mood.
“He’s home,” he told his friends. “Get your wands out.”
“Harry, I’m not jinxing your uncle!” Hermione snapped, but she pulled her wand from her sleeve all the same.
“Hopefully, you won’t need to,” Harry told her. “He might back off when he sees your wands. With any luck, Aunt Petunia will be able to placate him a bit anyway.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t have such luck. A few minutes later, they heard a shout of surprised fury, which was soon followed by loud, rapid footsteps coming up the stairs.
“THAT RUDDY FREAK AND HIS FRIENDS WON’T DARE SET FOOT IN THIS HOUSE AGAIN ONCE I’M THROUGH WITH HIM!”
A second later, the door flew open, but Ron, reacting the moment he heard Vernon’s shouting, cried, “Protego!”
The force of the shield blasted Vernon Dursley back a bit, and he roared and tried to force his way into the room, though the shield kept him in the doorway, unable to cross the threshold. He then froze when he saw Ron and Hermione both aiming their wands at him.
“As you can see, Vernon,” Harry said coldly, “Ron and Hermione are of age, and will not hesitate to use magic if you bother me again. So I suggest you leave.”
Vernon’s face turned purple. “I will not be spoken to like that in my own house!”
“Yeah?” Harry shot back. “Try to stop me! You can’t even set foot in this room!”
A vein pulsed in Vernon’s temple, and he tried to step inside again, but Ron raised his wand higher, keeping the shield in place.
“We won’t be here any longer than we need to be,” Harry continued, “and then I can promise that you’ll be rid of me for good. Once I leave, I’m not coming back.”
“Good riddance!” Vernon snapped. “But I’m still not having those freaks here!”
“You’re not in any position to make demands,” Harry told him. “Leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone.”
Harry thought that the vein in his uncle’s temple might burst at this point, but clearly recognizing defeat, Vernon stepped out of the room. With a flick of his wand, Ron slammed the door shut.
Hermione lowered herself into the chair at Harry’s desk, and she stowed her wand back up her sleeve. She looked shocked. “Harry, is he always like that?”
“Normally he pretends I don’t exist,” Harry told her calmly. “Aunt Petunia acknowledges me, but she normally doesn’t have anything decent to say. It’s all right, though. They usually ignore me, and I prefer it that way.”
“But they’re your family!” Hermione protested, scandalized.
“Nobody in this household really feels that way, myself included,” he replied indifferently. “By the way, Ron, good thinking with the Shield Charm. I suppose he had a bad day at work.”
“I’ve seen your uncle’s temper, mate,” Ron said seriously. “Figured it might be necessary.”
Harry woke up early to a sharp tap on the window, and he sat up and glanced at his alarm clock, rubbing his eyes. It was 5:30. He yawned and looked at the window, expecting to see an owl there, but he couldn’t see anything. He frowned and watched the window for a moment, but deciding that he probably was just hearing things, he lay back down.
There was another tap, and he sat up again, confused, but he still couldn’t see an owl. He slid out of bed and stepped over Ron’s sleeping bag, then looked out the window. He barely had time to notice something shift in the yard and vanish, and in that instant there was a muffled but loud crack just outside the window, and something tiny and colorful suddenly popped into existence on top of the window sill outside, wavering over the edge.
Ron snored.
Harry promptly flung the window open and steadied the house-elf. “Dobby?” he hissed, annoyed. “What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Dobby apologizes for waking Harry Potter up,” the elf squeaked, sinking into a bow once he was in a safer position on the window sill. “Professor Dumbledore’s Order can’t send Harry Potter owls anymore. They say ‘tis too dangerous. So they sends Dobby to deliver messages instead.”
“You’ve got a message for me?” Harry asked.
“Yes, sir. Dobby has a letter from Professor Lupin, and the other from Harry Potter’s lady Wheezy.”
“My what?” Harry spluttered, feeing his face grow hot. He glanced quickly at Ron, but to his relief, his friend remained sound asleep. He never would have lived this down if Ron had overheard.
“Does Harry Potter want his letters?” Dobby asked tentatively, showing him the two envelopes.
Harry said nothing, but he took the letters and examined them in the early morning light. Sure enough, one was addressed in Remus Lupin’s tidy script, and the bulkier letter was in Ginny’s writing.
“Thanks Dobby,” Harry told the elf. “How should I let you know when I have a response ready?”
“Dobby will respond to Harry Potter’s calls,” the elf replied.
“But you’re a free elf.”
“Yes, sir, and Dobby can respond to anyone he likes.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll let you know.”
Dobby nodded and Disapparated with a loud crack that caused Ron to sit up abruptly.
“Whassamatter?” he asked incoherently.
“Nothing,” Harry told him casually. “Just Dobby with a couple of letters.”
This didn’t appear to really register with Ron. Still half-asleep, he nodded, and sank back down on his pillow to begin snoring again. Harry took a seat at his desk and looked between the two letters. Lupin’s was the shorter, so Harry decided to read it first.
Harry”
Kingsley saw the Carrow siblings wandering around Little Whinging after he took you home. They can’t approach Privet Drive, but no doubt the Death Eaters will attack your aunt’s house the minute you turn seventeen. It’s likely that there will be more the closer we get to your birthday. We’re going to move you soon for that reason, probably on Monday. We’ll let Molly know when you are on your way. In the meantime, DO NOT leave Privet Drive.
Don’t worry about your aunt and uncle; we’re making arrangements for their safety.
Remus
P.S. Don’t use Hedwig to respond. The Death Eaters will undoubtedly intercept any owl they see approaching Little Whinging. We’ll find some other means of correspondence.
Harry glanced out the window to look into the street nervously, but he didn’t see anyone out there. He supposed he’d have to inform Aunt Petunia about this, but he didn’t want to do so while Uncle Vernon was at home. Harry didn’t think that the Death Eaters would attack his aunt or uncle when they left for work or errands, not if they wished to remain inconspicuous, but his aunt at least needed to be informed.
Harry then turned to Ginny’s letter, and after glancing at her brother nervously, he broke the seal and began to read.
Dear Harry,
I hope your aunt and uncle are treating you well, and I’m glad that Ron and Hermione are there with you this time. Dad and I had to step in to get Mum to agree to let Ron go with you, but it’s lucky Ron’s there at all, really. The rest of us are back and settled at home, although members of the Order come here a lot, and have been setting up enchantments all over the Burrow. Even though Dumbledore’s Fidelius Charm on headquarters is still in effect. Snape could appear there at any time. The Order has vacated the place again, but Mad-Eye’s got plans to renew the charm again soon so Snape won’t be able to get in.
Mum’s worried about you, of course, but she’s also occupied with preparations for Bill’s wedding, which is going to be a few days before your birthday, by the way, so you had better be here by then. Fleur’s still being a nuisance, but she’s not as bad as she was last year, so I can endure it. I’m still not sure what Bill sees in here, but then again, I’m not a man hanging around a half-Veela.
There are two things I want to say to you, Harry, while I’ve got the opportunity. The first thing is that I overheard Mum and Dad talking to Kingsley and Mad-Eye after dinner, and what they had to say might interest you. You didn’t hear this from me, but the Ministry is planning to close Hogwarts indefinitely, and since you therefore won’t be able to remain safe there next year, the Order has decided to build you a new sanctuary once the protections over your aunt’s house expire. They’ve already placed anti-Apparation/Disapparation wards around the Burrow. I think that the Floo Network and Portkeys are the only way in and out, and on top of Mum keeping charge of the Floo Powder, the Aurors are also watching the network.
I don’t know what you’re planning, but we both know that you’ll have a harder time doing whatever Dumbledore’s left you to do, while the Order’s breathing down your neck and restricting your movements. They have your best interests at heart, of course, but I don’t think they know that Dumbledore’s left you a task, and it’s probably best not to tell them, especially Mum. She’s a good person, but I think she doesn’t want to accept that we’ve grown up. She was upset when Fred and George joined the Order.
I don’t think Lupin and Mad-Eye completely agree with the Order’s new policy (I’m not sure I would have been able to get this to you if Lupin was in accordance with them on this one), and I doubt that Fred and George like it either, but I think the rest of the Order outvoted them.
The other thing is that I meant everything I said to you at Dumbledore’s funeral, and I understand your decision, but as soon as I’m of age myself, I intend to join this fight. I don’t know where you’ll be when that happens, Harry, but this is my fight as much as it is yours, Harry, and I will be fighting the Death Eaters, even if it means fighting to the death. If that ever happens, Harry, you are not to blame yourself. My family would be in deadly danger even had we never met you, and I need you to bear that in mind.
Hope to see you soon.
Love, Ginny.
Harry put the letter down and shut his eyes, unsure whether to smile or worry about the last paragraph in the letter. Of course, Ginny was not one to simply remain and home and wait for word, because she wanted to be in this fight as much as he did. Harry knew her disposition too well. Ginny had her own past to deal with; Voldemort had hurt her personally, had touched her in ways few could understand, and Harry knew that Ginny wouldn’t rest until she helped bring him down.
But there was also the more immediate point in this letter, and Harry sighed in frustration. He’d half-expected the Order to do something like this, but it indeed would make leaving much more difficult. He felt a rush of gratitude for Ginny for tipping him off.
Just as he made a mental note to inform Hermione about Ginny’s letter, she entered the room herself, staring at Ron in annoyance. Seeing Harry awake, she asked grumpily, “Does he always snore this loud?”
Harry smirked. “Usually, yeah. You share a dormitory with him for six years, though and you can sleep through anything.”
“Then why are you awake?”
“Dobby woke me up,” Harry told her, holding up the two letters. “They’re from Lupin and Ginny. Lupin says that someone will come by on Monday to escort us to the Burrow. Apparently they’ve seen a couple of Death Eaters in the area.”
A look of alarm briefly appeared on Hermione’s face, but she retained her composure, and said casually, “I suppose that’s only to be expected.”
Harry then handed her Ginny’s letter. “I think you’d better see this.”
Hermione scanned its contents, and a moment later, she groaned. “Should have realized that the Order would make things difficult. Lucky that we can depend on Ginny.”
“Depend on Ginny for what?” Ron asked, sitting up suddenly, and causing Harry and Hermione to start.
Hermione recovered first, and handed Ron the letter. “The Order’s making things complicated.”
“Bloody hell,” he breathed as soon as he read it. “How are we going to get started with this going on?”
“We’ll have to find a way around their protections,” Harry sighed. “As you know, they don’t know about the Horcruxes, and I don’t think they know the contents of the prophecy either. And it’s going to stay that way.”
“Quite right too,” Hermione stated, her expression thoughtful. “It’s like a conspiracy. The more people who are in on it, the less likely we are to succeed.”
“Then the best way out of this would be to leave before the Order completes the protections around the Burrow,” Harry added.
Hermione nodded. “I’ll start researching magical transportation, since we won’t be able to Apparate out of the Burrow. We need to consider all alternatives to get around the defenses. Harry, if you don’t mind, I think you should write down everything you can remember that Dumbledore told you. It will be of immense help to all of us.”
With that, she left the room. Harry groaned. “Blimey, it’s worse than the written O.W.L. exams.”
Ron didn’t answer. He was still looking at Ginny’s letter. “Harry, what’s she talking about in the last paragraph?”
Harry looked away guiltily. “She’s not going to stand in the sidelines, that’s all.”
“I know that’s what she’s saying,” Ron told him sharply. “None of us expected her to stay in the sidelines. What happened between you two?”
Harry didn’t answer, but Ron didn’t seem to require it. Pulling the strings together, he finally said, “You broke up with her, didn’t you?”
Harry inhaled deeply. “Yeah,” he said, bracing himself.
Ron stared for a moment, and then looked back at her letter. “That explains why she didn’t sit with us on the train back, and why you two barely said a word to each other in King’s Cross.”
Harry said nothing, but he heard Ron laugh humorlessly.
“I’m not going to hex you, or anything,” he told Harry. “Since she’s underage until next year, you can’t take her with you, and anyway, you promised Dumbledore that you wouldn’t tell anyone else about the Horcruxes. Still, you’ll have a lot to answer for once this is over.”
“And when will that be, Ron?” Harry demanded. “This probably will take years. We’re not going to be finding Horcruxes every other day, and I’m not sure how to destroy them either. And anyway, you know that we might not ever come back.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Ron snapped.
“Why not?” retorted Harry. “It’s a perfectly realistic consideration Ron. There’s a war on. People go out there, and they don’t always come back. I’ve said it before, most of the stuff I’ve done, the times I’ve thwarted or escaped Voldemort, involved a lot of luck. At some point, I might not be so lucky.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I think you should take the optimistic point of view, Ron said fairly. “When a man is convinced that he’s going to die tomorrow, he’ll probably find a way to make it happen. That’s why I’m not going to let you convince yourself that you won’t survive.”
Harry gaped at him. “When did you get all insightful?”
Ron smirked. “Sirius said that to us, summer before fifth year.”
“Way back then? And you remember it?”
"Prat." But Ron was still grinning, and Harry couldn't help but smile too.