Lettered

Disclaimer: J.K.R owns Harry Potter, not me. That's why she's making the big bucks, and I'm deciding between paying for books and buying food.

Alright! Now, I'm not always going to update this quickly. Hopefully once a week minimum?

Ok, not much going on in here, just taking care of plot. It's going to take a while to get to the good stuff, so be patient.

I'll reply to any and all comments in my livejournal, which is linked in my profile.

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August 2nd

Harry smiled as he read the last letter Tom had sent him. It seemed that Snape's restorative potion would be ready in the next few days, and Tom was getting excited. Not that Dark Lords get excited, as Tom had so vehemently insisted, but...

There was a knock on his bedroom door. Harry hurried to shove the letter into his trunk, then dashed over to the door. He was expecting the Order to pick him up today, and had been on pins and needles throughout the entire morning. Throwing the door open, he faltered when he saw who was standing on the other side.

"You!"

------

Severus Snape was having a bad day. His breakfast had been cold, he nicked himself while slicing mandrake roots, and he'd had to sit through another one of the old coot's speeches. This though, was just the icing on the cake. The old man had decided that he was the best person to pick up the Potter brat.

Apparating to the ends of the wards around number 4, Privet Drive, Severus let out a shudder. Ugh, suburbia. How could anyone live in a place like this? he wondered.

Steeling himself, the Potions Master walked up to number 4 and knocked on the door. An incredibly fat child opened the door, and upon seeing Severus' black robes, yelled back into the house, "Mom! Dad! It's another one of those freaks!" He was soon joined by an equally fat man and a scrawny woman with a horse-like face. The fat man, who's face was turning a rather unbecoming shade of purple, was the fist to speak.

"What do you want?"

Severus sneered at him. "I'm just here to fetch the Potter boy. I assume he's here somewhere?"

The fat man looked at him, frowning.

"You're here to take the freak off of our hands? Well, alright then. Dudley, take this... gentleman up to Harry's room."

------

Harry felt the blush rising up his cheeks as he met the eyes of his Potions Professor- the same professor whom he had caught fucking the dark lord last month. Severus raised an eyebrow, unsure of what exactly had caused the boy to turn so red.

"So, are you ready to go? I do not wish to spend any more time than necessary in this... domicile."
"I'll just be a few more seconds." Harry rushed over to the loose floorboard, and with a glance back at the door, lifted it up, pulling out his wand, photo album, and invisibility cloak. Rushing back to the trunk, he haphazardly tossed the latter two inside. His wand went straight into his back pocket. Finally, he opened Hedwig's cage, allowing her to fly out the window.

"Now, if we can...?" Seeing Harry's nod, Severus pulled out his wand and cast a quick shrinking spell on the trunk and cage, and headed down the stairs at a brisk pace, Harry at his heels.

------

Standing in front of 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry grumbled, "I bloody hate portkeys." The Potions Master ignored the young Gryffindor, and walked briskly into the house.

As soon as Harry stepped inside the house, he knew it was a mistake. Everywhere he looked brought back another memory of his godfather. It was all too much to take. Before Harry could both, though, Ron and Hermione ran up to him.

"Harry! Finally! How've you been? Have the muggles been treating you right? Did the greasy git try anything? How's..."

"A-hem"

The excited red-head stopped talking at the sound of his mother clearing her throat.

"Harry, dear, it's nice to see you. Would you like something to eat?"

Harry shot a grateful look to the matron of the Weasley clan. "Yes, please."

"Alright. Ron, show Harry to his bedroom. Hermione, would you be a dear and help me in the kitchen? Harry, why don't you go freshen up?"

Sighing, Ron grabbed Harry's arm, not seeing the way the brunet winced. "C'mon, we've all got our own rooms this time around."

Walking up the stairs, Harry noticed that Ron was unusually quiet. Breaking the silence, Harry turned to his friend, "So, what have you been up to?"

Ron paused for a moment, and then looked at Harry. "Well, there is one thing, but I should probably wait until Hermione's around to tell you..."

"What? Did you finally ask her out?" Ron's blush gave Harry all the answer he needed. "Well, it's about time! How'd it go?"

"She said yes" came the mumbled response.
"Well of course she did. She's only had a crush on you since fourth year."

"That's what she said." Ron grinned at his friend.

"Well, I'm just gonna get changed and unpack. I'll meet you in a few minutes."

After Ron left, Harry pulled out his wand and unshrunk his trunk. Pulling off his too-large tee-shirt, he tossed it in the corner of the room. As he was digging through his trunk for another shirt, he heard the bedroom door open.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" came the embarrassed voice of Ginny Weasley. Her embarrassment was soon replaced with concern, however, when she noticed the bruises that Harry was trying (unsuccessfully) to cover. "What happened to you?" she demanded.

"It's nothing! I'm fine, just a little sore, that's all." Harry lied.

"Bullshit, Harry. Your entire back is yellow. Who did this to you?"

"It's fine! It's none of your business," he snapped, "I can take care of myself."

"Fine then!" Ginny stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

------

Once she was outside of the room, Ginny stopped. There has got to be some way to help Harry, she mused, and I wonder... yes! That should work!
The girl changed direction suddenly, rushing to her room to write a letter to the leader of the light, one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

------

Meanwhile...

Riddle House, Little Hangleton

"My Lord, the Potter boy has been delivered to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. I've also been informed that they plan on going to Diagon Alley in two days to buy their school supplies."

"Excellent, Severus. Now, when will the potion be ready?"

"It will be ready tomorrow morning. I assume you'll want to take it immediately?"

"You assume correctly. Now, about Potter... have you noticed any oddities in his behaviour?"

"Actually, yes. When I went to pick him up, he wouldn't stop blushing. You wouldn't happen to know why that is, would you my lord?"

Voldemort just laughed.

------

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I need to speak to you as soon as possible. It's about Harry. I'm worried about him. When he arrived here, I noticed a fair number of fading bruises and other injuries covering his body. I'm worried about his safety. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Ginevra Weasley

Ginny gave the letter one last look before tying to the foot of Ron's owl, Pig. "Take this to Professor Dumbledore, will you? And wait for a response?"

The little owl chirped, and flew off.

------

Harry sighed and threw himself on the bed. Ever since Ginny saw the bruising yesterday, she'd been watching him. She watched him while he ate. She watched him while he read. She watched him while he played chess with Ron. It was so blatant that even Ron, who generally missed most aspects of human interaction, commented on how it seemed that Ginny still had a crush on Harry. It didn't help that Snape was giving him odd looks, either, or that Ron and Hermione kept finding excuses to sneak off to snog. Seriously, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. grabbing his pillow (it was easier than moving his head), he heard a crinkle. Curious, he opened the pillowcase and pulled out a letter.

Dear Harry,

It's me. I told Severus to put this somewhere where you'd be the only one to notice it, so if you're reading it, I guess he did good.
So, now that I have my own good looks back, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for a butterbeer or something. I know you're going to be in Diagon Alley tomorrow, so if you're interested, meet me at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll be in the corner opposite the Diagon Alley entrance. If you can't sneak away, don't worry about it.

Regards,
Your Friend

Your Friend. Was it true, do I really think of him as a friend? Not the Dark Lord, not just some guy? Harry wondered. Yes, I think I do.

Feeling much better, Harry quickly stripped out of his clothes and tossed on his pyjamas. It looked like he had something to look forward to after all.

------

Meanwhile...

Ginny opened the letter Dumbledore had finally gotten around to sending.
Dear Ginny,

I know you may be worried about young Harry, but be assured, he is perfectly safe with his muggle family. I've been keeping my eye on him, and have found no reason to be concerned.

Regards,
Albus Dumbledore

Bullshit, Ginny thought, Absolute fucking bullshit. Well, if he won't look out for Harry, I guess I will.

------

Diagon Alley was just as packed as ever. Harry, who had no money with him, made his way to Gringotts, accompanied by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. As he reached the teller and presented his key, he heard someone yell his name.

"Mr. Potter! We've been trying to contact you for months! We have some forms that you must fill out! Don't worry, it will only take a moment, and you can head straight to your vault afterwards."

"Alright, then. I'll see you all in a few minutes?" He directed the last at his three companions.

"Yeah, we'll be waiting here for you."

The goblin directed Harry to a plush office. After shutting the door and waving for him to sit down, the goblin started talking.

"So, you're the famous Harry Potter? Well, I'm Geirshank. I'm not sure if you've been made aware of this, Mr. Potter, but you happen to be the sole heir of Sirius Black- your godfather, I believe?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, as such, you now have access to the Black family vaults. I just need you to sign these forms, and then I will give you the key. Would you like to inspect the vaults while you're down there?" At Harry's nod, he smiled.

"Alright. Sign here, here, and here. Also, we need one drop of blood for verification purposes, don't worry, it can't be used anywhere else- here you go, just prick your finger and let the drop fall here... and we're done! Now, let's get you to your vaults and you can be on your way. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, actually... I'm wondering, how were you trying to contact me?"

"Well, since you are a minor, we've been trying to contact you through your magical guardian- Dumbledore. I don't suppose he's passed any of this information on to you, has he? In any case, one of the forms you signed allowed us to owl information directly to you. I don't suppose you'd want us to let Dumbledore in on that little fact, would you?"

"No, not particularly, I guess. Thank you, though."

"Oh, it's no problem. We appreciate confidentiality here, after all. Now, off you go. Griphook, take this young man down to his vaults 687 and 711."

Turning to follow Griphook, Harry asked the more taciturn goblin, "Is he always that talkative?"
Griphook sighed, "Unfortunately."

------

After going to Gringotts, the four went to Flourish and Blotts first, picking up their school books. Harry, who had somehow managed to get an O in his potions exam, was taking seven subjects: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy. Ron was taking six subjects, having gotten a P on his potions exam. Ever the over-achiever, Hermione was taking all of the same classes as Harry, except Astronomy, as well as Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies.

After going to the Apothecary, Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, who had been making googly eyes at each other the whole time.

"Why don't you guys go to Fortescue's or something?I think we'll be alright without you- right Ginny?"

Ginny caught on right away. "Yeah, Harry's right. I'm sick of watching you two flirt."

"Ginny!" Hermione cried, only slightly put out, "That's not very nice."

"Well, it's true. I mean, c'mon, who wants to see their brother making eyes at, well, anyone?"

Hermione turned to her boyfriend. "Ron?"

"Yeah. We'll meet up with you at Fred and George's later, OK?"

"Great. Now, go!" Ginny practically shoved the two towards the ice-cream shop.

"God, those two are sickening." Ginny murmured. "I mean, I know they're in love and all, but damn."

Harry just raised an eyebrow at the young red-head, who blushed.

"I'm just sick of running into them snogging every time I turn around. Anyways, do you want to do something, or what?"

"Actually, I was just going to head for a butterbeer or something. I got some interesting news at the bank, and I haven't really had a chance to think about it..." Harry trailed off, looking apologetic.

"Oh, that's fine. I'll head to Gred and Forge's now, then. You want to walk me?"

"It would be my pleasure. "

5 minutes later, as Harry was walking away from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes towards the Leaky Cauldron, he hummed to himself, pleased. He was so focused on his meeting that he missed the girl trying (and failing) to follow at a discreet distance.

------

Tom was bored. He'd been at the same table for the last hour. He'd been unwilling to move, afraid that he might miss Harry's entrance if he did so. There were four empty butterbeer bottles in front of him by the time Harry showed up. Catching Harry's eye, he smiled and nodded. Grinning, Harry sat down, and looked at the empty bottles in front of him.

"What? I've been waiting here for two hours now. I think the barman's getting a little suspicious. Oh, and now that you're here, I'll be right back." He nodded at the bottles, and then inclined his head towards the WC.

Harry chuckled and sat down. He had to admit, Tom looked pretty good. He looked a couple years older than he had in the diary. His hair now reached his shoulders, and he wore it loose. He wore a plain but stylish black robe. The biggest difference, though, was his smile. He no longer looked tense and dangerous, like he did before. No, this time, he looked genuinely happy.

Leaning back, he noticed that he could see the whole pub from this corner. The pub was fairly empty, with a hag sitting in another corner, and a trio of wizards drinking butterbeer and going over paperwork. He turned to watch another person enter from Diagon alley, a short witch in a hooded cloak. As he watched, a lock of red hair fell out of the hood, and he felt his stomach clench.

Ginny. The one person who would recognize Tom. Fuck.

He was just trying to come up with a way to get her out of there when Tom got back.

"Fuck, Tom, you've got to hide." Harry hissed.

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

"Ginny Weasley followed me. She just showed up. Tom, she knows what you look like, and... Oh fuck, she saw us."

Indeed, Ginny's hood had fallen back, and her face was an unhealthy pasty white. Thinking quickly, Harry jumped up, grabbed Ginny, and pulled her out into muggle London.

------

"What the fuck is he doing here?!" she hissed at the brunet.

"Um, it's a long story. I need you to promise you won't tell anyone or make a scene or anything."

"Excuse me? There's a fucking Dark Lord in there, and you're asking me not to make a scene?"

"Look, Ginny, it's complicated. If I promise to explain everything to you inside, can you at least promise to think about it before freaking out?"

Ginny appeared to think about it for a minute. "Do you trust him?"
"About as much as I trust anyone else, Ginny. Look, I hate to say this, but if I have to, I will obliviate you."

"Fine. But this better be good, or else."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Harry lead Ginny back into the pub.

------

Ginny sat down and turned to Tom. "So, why are you and Harry so buddy-buddy all of a sudden?"

"It's kind of a long story. Last month, Harry sent me a letter. It seemed that my Occlumency slipped while I was... occupied."

"In other words, he was busy fucking Sn..." Harry started before Tom clamped his hand over the younger man's mouth.

"Anyways, Harry sent me a letter asking me to be more careful. I responded with a letter taunting him about his lack of sex life. Somewhere in there, we managed to work through a few issues."

Harry snorted.

"Was there something you wanted to add, Harry?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Absolutely positive?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"All right then. Anyways, we talked about our pasts, public opinions, the forces that warped me into that insane, megalomaniac git and my subsequent return to sanity, Dumbledore, the idiocy of Death Eaters, and anything else that came up. I even apologized to him- although you never heard me say that. Eventually, we became friends. Then, I saw a few things going on-"

"Are these the same things that left Harry covered with bruises?"

"You saw those? Yes, it was. And, since Harry seems to be attempting a non-verbal, wandless Avada Kevadra on me, I think I'll change the subject. Anyways, I managed to get a final note delivered to Harry, asking him to meet me today if he got away from you all. I assume that his attempts to get rid of you were rather obvious?"

"Actually, no, but I've been planning on keeping an eye on him, so of course, I followed him."

"You know, it's always nice to sit around and listen to people talk about you, wouldn't you agree?" Harry interjected.

"Well, I had to explain everything to her, didn't I?"

Harry pouted.

Tom rolled his eyes. "No, don't do that... brat. Fine. So, how was your day?"

"Well, I got some interesting news in Gringotts today. Apparently, Sirius made me his sole heir. The goblin... Geirshank?... told me that they've been trying to contact me for a while, but Dumbledore hadn't bothered to let me know. It's bloody frustrating, dealing with that man sometimes."

At that, Ginny nodded. "I know what you mean. Um, don't be angry, Harry, but I kinda sent a letter to Dumbledore after I walked in and saw those bruises...? And, um, he kinda sent a letter back saying that there was nothing to be worried about, because he'd been keeping an eye on you? I know, I know, I shouldn't have butted in, but I was worried, and it's obvious that there's something wrong, and if he's not doing anything about it..."
Harry interrupted her rambling.

"Ginny, it's ok. Yeah, I'd rather you not go behind my back, but I do know why you did it- it did look pretty bad. And frankly, Dumbledore's reaction doesn't surprise me. Hell, my first Hogwarts letters were addressed to 'the Cupboard Under the Stairs'- he obviously knows that the Dursleys treated me like shit."

At that, Tom interrupted "Treated you like shit? That's putting it mildly. I'm still planning on killing that fucking tub of lard you call an uncle, that vile disgusting ra-" He slammed his mouth shut suddenly upon seeing Harry's glare.

"You know, I think it's about time we met up with your Mum and Dad, Gin. I'll talk to you later, Tom." At that, Harry stood up, and walked stiffly towards the entrance to the Alley. Tapping on the proper brick, Harry started towards Fred and George's shop, with Ginny trailing behind him, a confused look upon her face.