Against His Nature

CHAPTER 2

Harry Potter yawned as he sunk lower into the bubbles of his bath letting the warmth of the water wash away the aches and pains of a summer spent with the Dursley’s. Only an hour before he’d been anxiously sitting outside his relative’s house, waiting for Remus Lupin to come and pick him up. He’d been packed and ready all week for the trip to the Weasley’s and today couldn’t have come soon enough. This summer had been tough but it would hopefully be his last spent with his atrocious relatives. By this time next year he’d be an adult and legally allowed to perform magic outside Hogwart’s grounds.

He’d be his own man.

Smiling at the thought Harry closed his eyes to enjoy his bath a little more but just as his hand had slid below the surface there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Hey Harry,” Harry sat up immediately and glanced guiltily at the closed door of the bathroom. “Mum says dinner is ready, so hurry up.” Ron’s voice filtered in through the door, and despite it being locked Harry still blushed a little and grabbed for his towel. There were few times in Harry’s life when he had privacy, and of those times none of them had been at the Weasley’s.

“Yeah coming.” Harry called back as he hauled himself out of the bathtub and into the warm towel he’d tugged off the radiator a moment before.

Drying and dressing himself in jeans and a long sleeved shirt Harry attempted to tame his messy head of hair before he scuttled downstairs.

The kitchen was chaos as usual in the Weasley’ house hold. Most of the family was already seated at the table and Mrs. Weasley was busily handing out plates of food. Harry took his seat between Fred and Ron gratefully accepting the large overstuffed plate of sausages and cabbage that Mrs. Weasley passed him.

“Sinking ships upstairs were you Potter?” George inquired from across the table with a curious smile.

“Yeah, you were up there so long you look like a prune.” Fred winked across the table at his twin brother and Harry pointedly avoided answering them knowing they were being crude.

“You’ll go blind if you do it to often Harry.” Ron added causing a pink stain to flush onto Harry’s cheeks, as he glanced across the table at Ginny and Mrs. Weasley who thankfully hadn’t overheard the conversation.

“Where’s your Dad Ron?” Harry shoveled a large fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth as he glanced up to the head of the table to find Mr. Weasley’s seat empty.

“Outside talking to Lupin, they’ve been out there since you arrived.” Ron mumbled around a mouthful of sausage, gravy dribbling precariously down his chin. Harry nodded and glanced out of the kitchen window into the darkened backyard. Sure enough Harry could see Mr. Weasley and Remus Lupin outside on the gravel path talking. Harry stared at them for a few minutes watching what appeared to be a very serious conversation pass between them. Lupin had been quieter than his usual self when he’d picked Harry up at the Dursley’s, but Harry had thought much of it.

“So Harry what do you want to do for your birthday this year?” Mrs. Weasley’s pleasant inquiry drew Harry’s attention back indoors.

“I’m not sure but I’d like to go to that new Quidditch Shop in east end.” There was a muttering of enthusiastic agreement from Ron and his brothers.

“Oh good that’ll make a nice day then. We’ll go to the shop in the morning and we’ll use the tickets Arthur got from the Ministry to go and see the cannon’s play their night match.” Another round of enthusiastic mumbles rose from around the table just as Mr. Weasley and Remus came in through the back door. Harry watched cautiously over the rim of his orange juice glass as both elder wizards glanced in his direction silently before joining the party already seated at the table. Swallowing a lump of sausage Harry smiled mildly at Remus who helped himself to some mashed potato and passed the bowl down to Mr. Weasley. Conversation passed easily between them as the meal progressed but Harry was cautiously observing Lupin to see if anything was wrong.

It was only as Remus leant over the table to pick up another helping of pie for desert that Harry noticed the letter sticking out of the werewolf’s coat pocket. The letter wouldn’t have meant anything if Harry hadn’t caught the flash of ink that spelt out his name on the front of the letter.

“Is that from Hermione? I’ve been wondering where her letters have been going to.” Harry reached for the letter as Remus sat back down again. In a split second Remus had dropped the pie he’d been holding and grabbed at the letter Harry had slid out of his coat pocket. Harry stared at Remus in shock as the werewolf snatched the letter out of his hands and stuffed it back into his cloak pocket.

“It’s just your book list for this year Harry, Remus has offered to collect your things for you while we’re watching the game tomorrow evening.” Harry frowned at Mr. Weasley who’d interrupted what Remus was going to say not a second before.

“Oh,” Harry didn’t quite know what to say as everyone stared at him. “You don’t have to, I’m capable of buying my own things.” Remus shrugged his shoulders flippantly a cautious smile not quite meeting his eyes as he glanced down the table at Mr. Weasley.

“Don’t want you missing the game Harry, I’ll take care of things for you.” With another smile Remus finished off his pie and rose from the table to politely take his leave. Harry knew when he’d been lied to, but he refused to believe his elder friend would do anything to deliberately harm him. Harry walked with Remus to the fireplace in the living room, leaving the Weasley’s behind to clear up the kitchen. Remus paused in front of the fireplace as he gathered a hand full of floor powder and turned to face Harry.

“Happy Birthday Harry, you’ve grown into a fine young wizard.” Harry stared blankly at Remus’ random comment but offered a hug and a thank-you to the werewolf who readily accepted it. Harry frowned as he watched Remus step away from him and disappear into the floo leaving Harry shaking his head in confusion. Remus had never been an outwardly emotional person and the comment he’d made seemed to fit the awkward kind of mood Remus had been in since picking Harry up from the Dursley’s. Pushing his concerns aside at birthday paranoia Harry joined Fred, George and Ron upstairs to go through some of the details of the cannons Quidditch strategy before tomorrow’s game before bed.

It was very late when Harry tiptoed down the crooked staircase in the Weasley house. The sausages at tea had made him thirsty and without wanting to wake up half the household Harry had come downstairs to get a drink. Harry cringed as the bottom step creaked when he put his foot on it. Adjusting his step Harry skipped over the last step and onto the polished floor of the hallway. The kitchen was just across the hall, and Harry tiptoed towards the darkened room. Harry quickly made himself a glass of water in the dark kitchen and was heading back for the stairs when light spilling out from under the doorway into the living room caught his attention. One glance at the clock in the hall said it was too late for anyone to be out of bed but Harry could hear the mumble of voices coming from within the living room. Curiosity had gotten Harry into a lot of trouble in the past but past experiences couldn’t dampen the pull curiosity seemed to have on him. Turning from the kitchen to the living room Harry tip toed over to the closed door and bent down to see through the key hole.

Harry couldn’t see much through the small space but he could hear a lot more clearly now the voices within.

“Are you sure we’re doing the right thing Arthur?” It was Mrs. Weasley’s voice Harry identified first as he strained to hear what was being said.

“No I’m not sure but considering the options that are open to us, Harry seems the obvious choice.” Harry’s ears pricked up at the mention of his name and he pressed himself closer to the keyhole to try and see whom else was in the room.

“At least Ginny has agreed to try and make it work. It seems such a shame to put such a burden on them so young.” Mrs Weasley sounded saddened and Harry frowned a little as he watched a piece of parchment get passed from Mr. Weasley to Mrs. Weasley.

“It’s that bloody Fudge. Bumbling idiotic fool.” Mr. Weasley sounded angry, as he seemed to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. “At least we don’t have to worry about our other children.” There was a mutter of agreement from Mrs Weasley.

“I wish I could say the same about poor Severus…” In that instant Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and like a guilty scared rabbit practically sprang from his place by the door and squealed like trapped cat. The light in the hall was flicked on immediately and the door to the living room was flung open, Mr. and Mrs Weasley staring out into the hall.

“What are you doing up Mr. Potter?” Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood before Harry, staring at the young wizard pointedly over the tops of his half moon glasses.

“Albus, we were expecting you to come in through the living room.” Mr. Weasley commented quickly not sure what to make of the situation. Harry opened his mouth several times in an attempt at an explanation but in the end he merely shook his head and held out the now empty water glass to the elder wizard by way of explanation. In his fright Harry had tipped the entire contents of the water glass down himself and was becoming rapidly aware of the water soaking into his cotton boxer shorts.

“A slight miscalculation Arthur nothing to worry about.” Albus smiled past Harry at the Weasley’s before changing his gaze back to Harry. “I suggest you take yourself back up to bed Mr. Potter, tomorrows going to be a big day…” Something in the twinkle of Albus’ eye told Harry that tomorrow wasn’t just going to be a big day because of his birthday but Harry chose not to comment as he scurried red faced and guiltily back up to his bedroom. What ever was going on was yet another secret being kept from him.

TBC>>>>>