Heritage

Chapter 3

He was in a forest. He was surrounded by beautiful trees, many of them covered in thousands of tiny blossoms. Sunlight tricked through the trees, tracing intricate patterns onto the brush and a narrow mossy path in soil. Moss and thick vines were sprinkled along the trees. He could hear the rush of water, the sounds of a river not too far off. Walking down the path through the trees, he began to hear voices, like whispers on air.air. He turned slowly in a circle. There was no one there. It was almost as if it was coming from the trees.

Strange glimmers of white shone through the trees. As he drew closer, he could see the faint outline of strange buildings. Voices sang softly, a song carried lightly on the wind. It was beautiful. It sounded like a thousand wind chimes far off in the forest, their melody dancing through the trees. Harry heard a noise behind him, softer than the drop of a pin, but he heard it. He turned swiftly…

RRRIIINNNGGG!!! Harry’s eyes flew open. Turning his body towards the sound, he saw the time on the clock. His arm reached out from under the covers and turned off the alarm before it woke the Dursleys. It was a strange dream, but a welcome change from the ones he usually had of Voldemort. It had felt so real, like a memory, like he had been there before. He snorted. Great, first he thought the trees in the yard were whispering to him, now he was dreaming it too.

“I sound nuttier than old Moody.”

He ran a hand through his thick hair and shook the nightly cobwebs from his brain. His fingers tightened in the hair above his brow and pulled it outwards. Was it his imagination, or was it longer today than yesterday?

Harry shrugged that thought away. He had more important things to do than worry about his hair. It was his birthday. He was going to stay with the Weasley’s, his real family. He leapt out of bed and got dressed. Though it took him a bit longer than usual to find clothes that fit. The most recent shirts from Dudley were ridiculously huge and hung off Harry’s taller frame like bits of elephant skin.

He couldn’t show up in clothes five sizes too big, his appearance was going to shock the Weasley’s enough. He dug through his chifroill ill he found the nicest, smallest t-shirts. He hadn’t worn these since he was eleven, but they were the closest fit he had now. Sliding on a black ohe the tried to find a decent pair of trousers. This proved a bit more difficult. They were all too wide and too short. Grumbling, He pulled on the longest pair and belted the waist. They still stopped a few centimeters above his socks.

Harry sighed, ‘I am going to have to buy some new clothn Din Diagon Alley. This is ridiculous.’ Ripping up the floorboards, Harry began his annual ritual, packing up all his belongings for Hogwarts. Usually he checked his room several times, making sure not to miss anything, not this year. His now razor sharp eyes easily picked up on every quill, book, and chocolate frog.

Eight o’clock couldn’t come soon enough and Harry quickly found himself sitting on the top of his trunk, holding Hedwig’s cage and the ticket, waiting for the portkey to activate. Suddenly, he felt the familiar tug beneath his navel. Stamping down the panic that flooded his body, Harry closed his eyes and the world around him seemed to disappear.

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Harry landed on the floor of the Weasley’s kitchen with a thump. Jolted by the sound, She turned away from the stove to face him and was taken slightly aback at the vision before her.

“Dear Lord . . .” This man couldn’t be Harry. Harry Potter was a small, skinny little boy. This beautiful creature was very much a young man. Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of such thoughts, she reminded herself who this was. Thoughts like those she was thinking were not good. Wonderful, now she was beginning to sound like... ‘Oh, never mind.’

Covering her embarrassment behind a smile, she walked over to the very handsome man and hugged him. “Harry, It’s so good to see you.” She turned around towards the stairs and called out.

“Ginny, Ron, wake up. Harry’s here.”

The thumps of several feet could be heard hitting the floors upstairs as several Weasley’s began making their way down for breakfast.

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She stood in the doorway, her bottom lip caught in her teeth as her eyes drank in the breathtaking vision before her. Delicious. That was a very good word for him. Surprising. That was another good word. Both fit him.

After the horror of the battle at the ministry, Harry had returned to Hogwarts with a weary, haunted look in his eyes. The combined shock of learning his destiny and Sirius’s death had taken a huge toll on Harry. No one really knew what to say to him or how to act. Even Ron and Hermione were at a loss as to how to deal with him. Ginny had taken this opportunity to get to know Harry. Much to her surprihe dhe didn’t mind. Ginny was right when she had told him that she knew what it was to have Voldemort inside of your mind, the only one who genuinely seemed to understand how he felt. She didn’t push or pry. She didn’t act weird around him or treat him like a house of cards, ready to tumble at the slightest bump. She listened. They had been exchanging letters all summer and had become close friends.

The muggle t-shirt tightly stretched over hard biceps and lean muscles were not what she would have expected to see on her ‘close friend’, not at all. Nor was she expecting her reaction to it. Her heart had always throbbed when he was near even after she had gotten over her crush and started dating other wizards. His very presence was like a balm to her soul. Her feelings for Harry had always been romantic, till now. She had only vaguely imagined Harry in a physical way. But now, Ginny stared, frozen. Her eyes slowly traveled down his body and back up again.

Flustered by her attention, Harry looked confused as to what he should do. Ginny continued to stare at him, blushing and he noticed a look in her eye that he hadn’t seen before. Embarrassed by his own undeniable reaction to her scrutiny, Harry blushed and ran his hand through his hair.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve grown a bit.” Harry chuckled nervously, his eyes darting to the stairs where several Weasleys stared openly at him. Their eyes were almost as wide as their breakfast plates.

\"Sweet…\" gasped George from behind Fred. “Merlin\" finished Fred.

\" Blimey Harry, What have you been eating!\" breathed Fred, looking him over.

“Fertilizer,” Harry quipped, “It’s very high in iron, you know. And all that peat moss is good for fiber.”

Fred and George looked at each other before the two burst out laughing and Fred clapped Harry on the back. “Good to see you finally put a bit of muscle on you.”

“Looks like he’s put on more than a bit Fred.”

The Weasley’s laughed as they sat down to breakfast. Clearing his throat, Harry tried to stop the blush from creeping up his face, but he could feel the heat on cheeks. After a moment, Harry joined in laughing. The sound of his laugh was like a song on an ocean breeze. Several Weasleyurneurned to stare at him, but Harry ate his breakfast unaware anything unusual had happened.

‘Mmmm’ Mrs. Weasley’s cooking always could rival that of a house elf. He almost moaned with pleasure as he bit into his fifth moist black currant muffin.

“Blimey Harry, what happened to you?” The Boy Who Lived turned to see Ron standing at the foot of the stairs, looking utterly gobsmacked.

Smirking, Harry shook his head. He had best get used to this. He had a feeling he was going to be getting this for a while.

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I am currently having a torrid love affair with black currants. I had them when I was in Ireland and DAMN are they good. I fell in love with currants while I was there and try to get them whenever I can. Sadly, currants seem to be a UK thing, and are very difficult to get in the states. (sad little sigh) :(
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