Pure and Simple

Summary: The Dark Lord’s return is the beginning of the war. Harry meeting a certain auror is the beginning of something else entirely. Harry/Kingsley

Main Pairing: Harry Potter/Kingsley Shacklebolt

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Rating: M/NC-17

Warnings: Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, violence, some angst, attempted noncon (just in one chapter), possible threesomes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or it’s characters…but can you imagine the possibilities if I did…

Author’s note: This fic is canon books one, two and three with only slight differences in four and mostly non-canon for the rest of the books. I also have all students starting Hogwarts a year later than in canon which makes Harry 15 not 14.

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"Excuse me," Harry muttered, pushing his way through a group of third years on the Hogsmeade platform.

Pulling his trunk behind him and holding Hedwig's cage securely under his arm, Harry followed Hermione's bushy hair through the crowds of students as they babbled excitedly about the holidays to come. Harry ducked his head as he felt the eyes that followed him and the not-so quiet whispers. He sped up his pace as he saw Hermione reach the end of the train, thanking any deities he could think of that his friend was smart enough to pick a compartment far away from everyone else.

The Hogwarts' students had said their goodbyes to the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' students early that morning. Harry and Hermione had bid farewell to Xavier and Victor, both giving the Bulgarian boys a peck on the cheek. Harry had Xavier's address and had promised the handsome youth that he would write. Although Hermione and Harry rather regretted their show of affection afterwards when Ron and Ginny had persisted on teasing them relentlessly. Until Hermione snapped and shoved Ron unceremoniously out of the carriage on the way to Hogsmeade at which point Ginny had wisely shut up, eyeing the bushy-haired girl warily.

The Leaving Feast the day before had been very difficult, and Harry watched as the Hufflepuff's grieved for something which should had never occurred. Harry had appreciated Dumbledore dedicating the feast to Diggory, but had been disappointed when he had been included in the toasts. He had felt the entire students population's eyes on him. Harry wondered what they thought of him. They hadn't believed him in second year, what reason should they have to start now? Especially if Minister Fudge's reaction to Voldemort's return was anything to judge by.

Harry shook his head in an attempt to dispel his thoughts and focused on Ron's head as they followed Hermione onto the train and into a compartment that already occupied Ginny, Seamus and Dean, the latter of which was sprawled across his boyfriend's lap and looking utterly content.

Harry smiled as he acknowledged the fact that he had been brought closer to the young lovers because of their mutual admission of homosexuality. He now had both their addresses and had once again promised to keep in contact if he could.

Soon after the train pulled away from Hogsmeade station, Harry was involved in a game of Exploding Snap with Ron as the other four talked about their plans for the holidays and looking forward to spending times with their families. They all deftly avoided the subject of Voldemort's return unless Harry brought it up and someone always steered the conversation in a different direction if it looked like he was becoming uncomfortable. Harry fell into silence once the game was finished and closed his eyes as Ginny began to play with his hair, a fetish she had recently developed.

"Are you ok, Harry?" Hermione's voice was soft and Harry couldn't help smiling at the sound of it.

"I'm fine," he replied in the same tone. "Just imagining how bad this summer with the Dursleys is going to be and when Dumbledore will let me leave." He opened his eyes and saw their sympathetic expressions and Dean and Seamus' curious ones and immediately began to reassure them.

"It won't be that bad, but I want to keep up our schoolwork and some how I don't think I'm going to have much freedom after what happened with Dudley last summer." He recalled the Ton-Tongue Toffee incident and shuddered as he remembered the rage on Vernon Dursley's face.

"We'll talk with Mum and Dad," Ron said quickly and Ginny nodded her agreement. "They'll make sure that you're out of there and back at the Burrow in no time."

"And you both better stick to your trai-exercise," Hermione amended with a covert glance at Dean and Seamus, but the two hadn't noticed her slip-up. "If I come to the Burrow and I find you stuffing yourself with food you'll be our jinx dummy for homework next year."

Everyone laughed and Harry felt happier at the idea that he wouldn't be spending too long at the Dursleys.

They had almost an hour left before the train would arrive at King's Cross Station when the group were joined by Fred and George. The two pranksters took the opportunity to tease Seamus and Dean mercilessly when they found about their relationship until the two looked like they'd had their heads dipped in red paint. When they had finally ran out of dirty jokes they turned their attention to Harry and cooed over his hair while making suggestive remarks and leering at him until Harry hexed them with rabbit ears and tails and they meekly submitted. They spent most of the trip discussing the results of the Third Task only after Harry had brought it up.

Shortly before arriving at Platform nine and three quarters, they paused their conversation when loud voices could be heard outside the compartment. Peeking out the windows in the sliding doors they watched as Draco Malfoy cringed away from an older Slytherin who was whispering to the blond, his expression vicious. The younger Slytherin remained expressionless, but the words that were spat from his mouth appeared intent to hurt as Malfoy winced at the strong grip on his wrists. Despite the blond's was attempting to remain calm, the fright in his eyes was apparent. The brunet Slytherin asked him a question and after been roughly shaken Malfoy quickly nodded his head.

With a triumphant smirk the older Slytherin left Malfoy sagging against the wall of the train. His head turned and Harry almost winced at the fear and despair in his eyes before it rapidly disappeared and he hurried away. The Gryffindors couldn't help but feel concern. Not when Malfoy who always presented a calm facade to the world appeared that terrified. Hermione's face was curious when she gazed after the silver-eyed teenager. What could have been said to cause Malfoy such a degree of stress? The fact that the Dark Lord was back should have been a cause of celebration for the Slytherins. But Harry suddenly recalled seen a similar look of fright on the faces of several other Slytherins in the past few days.

Harry glanced up as the train began to pull to a stop and watched the happy mothers, fathers and siblings eagerly waiting for their family member to leave the train. He quickly noticed the shock of red hair in the middle of the crowds and felt a small smile tugging at his lips.

As the other's gathered their luggage and left the compartment Harry grabbed Fred's arm to stop him, and began to rummage in his trunk for his Triwizard winning as the twins watched him with raised eyebrows and bemused expressions. He smiled triumphantly as he found them under a pair of underwear and tossed the heavy bag into George's arms. The gold clinked as it moved inside the bag and Harry grinned at the gaping twins. It was so rare to see them speechless.

"I've decided that you should have this," Harry said simply. But the twins continued to gawk at him and Harry had time to wonder if they would notice if he left before Fred snapped out of his shocked daze.

"Harry, we can't-," Fred protested shaking his head.

"Look I overheard you both talking about how Bagman conned you out of your savings. I don't need the money so you should take it."

"But-,"

"No," Harry cut George off. "If you don't take it I'll end up throwing it away in the first bin I can find. It would go to much better use if you started on that joke shop of yours. We'll probably be needing something funny in our lives soon enough." Harry was persistent and the twins eventually gave in after all their arguments had been countered.

Fred and George sighed simultaneously. "Your mental," George muttered as he balanced the sack of coins in his arms. "Not that I'm complaining mind but your still off your rocker."

Harry smiled at them cheekily and left the still awestruck twins discussing his mental health. He joined Ron, Hermione and Ginny on the platform where they were being hugged and kissed by Mrs. Weasley, who soon had Harry in her grasp.

"I love your hair dear," she cooed, and Harry glared over her shoulder at the snickering Ron and Ginny. Bill looked indignant at his mother's fuss over Harry's hair when his own was constantly criticized. "And you've all grown so tall," she added as she eyed them up. This was the first time since Harry had known her that she hadn't admonished him about his weight. "But you all need food. Your far too thin." Oh well, old habits die hard.

There was a lot of rolling eyes, but they all accepted her mothering with minimal fuss. Harry grinned when Mr. Weasley warily eyed the still dazed forms of Fred and George when they hopped off the Hogwarts Express. Something good rarely happened when Fred and George looked so blissful. They left the platform together through the barrier and emerged in the muggle Kings Cross station.

"Hermione," a voice cried out almost as soon as they had emerged. Harry turned with Hermione to see her parents walking towards them hurriedly, and Hermione was promptly dragged into crushing hugs by both her parents. The Grangers moved forwards to greet the Weasleys and Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger discussed the apparent too-thin forms of their children.

Curious Harry joined Hermione once she moved away from the main group and beckoned to him out of sight of the rest of them. She looked around nervously and then swiftly took a small package out of her jacket packet and handed it to the raven-haired boy.

"This is from Ron, Ginny and me to help you through your time at the Dursleys. No! No don't open it here. Wait until your hom-at the Dursleys." They both smiled at her slip, knowing that home was the furthest thing from what the Dursleys were to Harry.

"Boy!"

Harry sighed and looked around to see a red-faced Vernon glaring at the Weasleys with a very pale Petunia behind him, her eyes fixed on Harry.

"Come on boy, I don't have all day!"

Harry sighed again and with one last smile directed at his friends he went to face his impatient uncle only to be hit suddenly by from the side, knocking the wind out of him. He glanced down in surprise and found that both Hermione and Ginny were hugging him fiercely.

"Bye Harry," Ginny whispered, then leaned up to plant a soft kiss on his cheek, with Hermione doing the same at the other side.

A blushing Harry returned their gestures and then untangled himself from their embrace.

"See ya mate," Ron called out, waving at him.

"Bye Harry," Fred and George mumbled. The were looking a little doe-eyed at the large bag of gold in their hands.

"We'll see you soon dear," Mr. Weasley said, smiling worriedly at him.

Harry waved at them all and turned to meet his aunt and uncle, slowly letting the smile fall from his face as he thought about the impending weeks he was about to spend with them. Harry tucked a stray piece if raven hair behind his ear and walked towards them. He winced as his uncle grabbed his wrist in a tight hold and dragged him out of the station, shoving his way through the crowds with Aunt Petunia following meekly behind them.

Uncle Vernon was muttering rapidly about "red-headed freaks" and "obscene displays in public" as he pushed Harry into the car. His mumbling continued the entire way home but Harry's eyes were drawn to his thin aunt who never once participated in his uncle's conversation. Instead she had practically burrowed down in her seat and shot her husband nervous glances out of the corner of her eye. Harry managed to tune out Vernon after a little while, something he had become adept at. However, his eyes narrowed when Vernon's hand shot out to change the gears and Petunia flinched away from him. That was definitely. . .strange.

The houses of Privet Drive were exactly as Harry remembered them. He watched the identical houses fade to a blur as the car sped down the road where it finally slowed then stopped outside Number Four. Harry couldn't help the sudden feeling that he had never left and the time when he could leave never seemed to be so far away. His uncle had pulled to a stop and remained inside the car as both Harry and Petunia quickly got out. Harry unloaded his luggage from the trunk of the car.

"I'll be back in a few hours Pet. I just have some paperwork that needs to be sorted back at the office," Vernon said to his wife before glaring at Harry. "And don't you go getting in your aunt's way if you know what's good for you." He drove off and Petunia didn't even wait for him to turn the corner before going into the house.

Harry followed his aunt and without needing to be told he dutifully pulled his luggage upstairs and into the smallest bedroom of the house while his aunt silently entered the kitchen. Although there was no love lost between Harry and his aunt, he was curious about her silence. She would normally be screaming at him by now or muttering to herself about the latest neighbourhood gossip. Her usual neurotic behaviour was suspiciously absent.

Harry also couldn't help wonder where his cousin was. Usually when Harry arrived back at the Dursleys for the summer he was greeted with insults and taunts from his cousin while the older boy was stuffed with food by his mother. It was disconcerting for Dudley to miss a chance to tease him, and Harry felt uneasy. But the house was actually quiet for once and Harry wasn't going to argue with Dudley's absence.

Taking a quick glance around his room, Harry noted that it was exactly how he remembered it with a few exceptions. His small bed was placed in the corner as always. The small wardrobe stood beside the door and he placed Hedwig's cage on the old desk complete with lamp was near the window. He had released her on the train and had no doubt that she would enter the room at some time during the night with a small, dead animal in her clutches.

Harry unpacked his meagre amount of clothes, which consisted of either Dudley's old clothes or school robes, and put them in the bare wardrobe. There was, however a few items of clothing that Ginny had insisted Harry buy when they had made their last trip to Hogsmeade. This included two pairs of jeans, a tracksuit, three t-shirts, a pair of jogging shorts and trainers. While Ginny had been displeased about the small amount, Harry had been satisfied. He had never had this many new clothes in his life. Harry knew if he went shopping with those two again it would be his last time shopping. They were so obsessive.

However there was a few things in his bedroom that had not been there last year. A large mat, very like the conjured ones they has used for yoga this year, lay on the floor beside the bed. There was a set of different size weight on a stand in the corner, and a large metal bar hung across the doorway nearly three-quarters of the way up. Harry frowned and speculated whether this was a new hobby of his uncles before shuddering and shrugging it off. If it was Harry didn't want to know about it. The image of a sweaty, panting Uncle Vernon was fuel for nightmares and he had more than enough of them already. Either way the equipment would be useful to keep him healthy. He wondered if there were any martial arts studios nearby, after all it was a fairly popular sport with muggles.

Finished with his unpacking for now, Harry listened to the abnormally quiet house and heard only his aunt making dinner in the kitchen. Knowing that he had nothing else to do Harry listened to her for a few more minutes before deciding to go down and help. He pinned his hair back in a ponytail and relaxed as he entered the kitchen. Muggle cooking was one of the few things Harry allowed himself to enjoy even if it was something he had been forced to do from a young age.

"Can I help?" Harry asked her softly.

Petunia turned away from the carrots she was chopping for a salad. She nodded and gestured at the vegetables laid out on the counter as she began to tend to the pork chops in the frying pan. Harry washed his hands and picked up the knife his aunt had dropped, glancing at her subtly as she moved around the kitchen. She was being strangely well-mannered towards him and he pondered the cause of it while he shred the lettuce and put in the salad bowl.

"You grew you hair out," Petunia observed quietly.

Harry turned in surprise then gave her an unsure smile. "Yeah. It was a friend's idea. She insisted that it would make it more manageable."

"She was right," she muse, gazed thoughtfully at the silken, ebony curtain that tumbled to his waist. "It looks much better than that mop you used to have. It was impossible to cut." Harry grinned hesitantly and she smiled back slightly.

"It will only be us eating at the table tonight," she informed him after a few minutes of silence. "Both Dudley and Vernon won't be home until late so I'll leave their dinner in the microwave for reheating."

Harry nodded his acknowledgement of her words and tipped the remaining vegetables into the bowl. He then set the table for two and filled a glass of water for himself.

When they had both sat down to eat Harry piled as much of the salad as he could onto his plate. He didn't know what had come over his aunt but he was sure it wouldn't last so he wanted to be full of food when the time came. He also wanted to try to keep the muscles he had gained over the school year which seemed unlikely if the Dursleys started starving him again.

"You used to hate any vegetables I made," Petunia observed, referring to the food they all had to eat last summer as part of Dudley's diet. Although it obviously hadn't worked if Petunia was cooking normal food again. She was watching him curiously as he ate and Harry decided to appease her curiosity.

Harry swallowed before answering. "There was a competition at Hog-my school this year and my friend's decided that we should train together. Hermione has us all on a balanced diet and an exercise schedule. I guess its hard to get out of the routine now." Not that I want to, he added silently to himself.

Petunia gave a small nod in what he presumed was acceptance of his explanation. Recalling his fleeting thoughts from earlier Harry decided to ask his aunt while she was in this strange mood. He doubted it would last much longer.

Clearing his throat to get her attention Harry nervously asked, "Aunt Petunia, I was wondering if there's a martial arts studio in the area. Only I started it and don't really want to give up now." He glanced at her cautiously from under his long eyelashes to see her reaction and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her expression was thoughtful as she held her fork a few inches away from her face.

"There is actually," she replied, her forehead furrowed in thought. "I believe one opened up a few months ago. The reputation of the gym is very good and its supposed to be well run."

"Where is it?" Harry enquired eagerly.

"The address was in the local newspaper," she replied as she stood up and placed her dishes in the sink, then walked into the living room.

Harry washed both their dishes and dried them as he waited, and turned when he heard her re-enter the kitchen with the ruffled newspaper in her hand. She was mumbling about untidiness as she unfolded the dishevelled piece of paper.

"Yes there it is," Petunia said, pointing out a small column on the left side that was advertising a summer special on gym membership. "Its part of the local gym at the corner of Oakview Estate, a few roads down from Magnolia Crescent."

Harry quickly committed the opening times of the gym to memory and thanked his aunt. He was uneasy of her behaviour and was wary of approaching her for another request.

"Aunt Petunia," he began hesitantly, "I was hoping that I could split my chores for this summer between the afternoon and evening. That way I could go to the gym in the morning."

A flicker of emotion darted across Petunia's face, too fast for Harry to see what it was. His aunt agreed to his request abnormally fast with a quick nod of her head.

"What level of martial arts have you?" she asked. She couldn't help being curious. She didn't know her nephew at all she mused as she gazed at his high cheekbones and tall, slender figure that was so like Lily's.

"I'm a black belt in judo and a brown in jujitstu," he replied honestly, remembering how hard they had all pushed themselves in an attempt to gain any leverage they could over the Death Eaters. "And I just began learning kenpo before I left school. We also trained in kick-boxing and practiced yoga. I'll probably be able to continue with most of them in the gym."

Petunia raised her eyebrows, impressed with her nephew and inquisitive about the level of fighting skills he had at such a young age. Did he truly believe he needed them? What other reason would a fifteen year old have for pushing himself to such an extent. Knowing she had no right to pry she left her questions for another day.

With nothing else to do and feeling suddenly drained Harry opted to go to bed. Mumbling goodnight, he left the kitchen and headed upstairs. He changed into a pair Dudley's old pyjamas and quickly brushed his teeth in the bathroom. Harry collapsed on his bed and then groaned as he remembered to set an alarm for a jog the next morning. He rolled over onto his stomach to grab Dudley's dented alarm clock and set it for seven.

Satisfied, Harry left in on the ground within arm's reach and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply as he closed his mind of all thoughts. He focused his thoughts on a meadow, and only a meadow as Hermione had taught him to do when he was attempting to calm his subconscious. A In it he was alone and at peace, but even as he drifted off in an attempt to convince himself of this without even getting under the bed covers, a flash of green entered the field and Harry spent the rest of the night in a fitful sleep. He continued to toss ant turn in his bed sporadically as his unprotected mind was plagued with nightmares and memories that he couldn't control.

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In a review it was pointed out that it would be more than difficult to gain a black belt in three martial arts in such a small amount of time so I've changed it to two. Not only is this more realistic but I also know that its possible as a friend accomplished it.