Harry looked anxious as he starred at the clock in his room. The countdown had begun and it was only an hour away from his birthday. He had looked forward to this occasion for sometime, but since he was becoming of age, he knew that his protection would expire at the Dursley’s house at the stroke of midnight.
It was only a matter of time before the first volley of attacks would begin and Harry felt concerned that Voldemort would want to start as soon as the clock struck twelve. He looked around the room and gathered as many of his things as he could before his time ran out. He hated that he procrastinated this long to get this done, but lately he had so much on his mind.
“Master?” came a small squeaky voice. Harry turned and saw the large friendly eyes of Dobby the house-elf. He still had the various socks and hats that Hermione planted around the school a few years back in an attempt to free some the elves there.
“Dobby wants to wish you an early happy birthday, Sir, and to give you this.” Dobby gave Harry a box with some crumbled paper tied around it. Harry gave a little laugh as he looked at it since he knew that Dobby had trouble wrapping items.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it Dobby, but I’ll have to open it at a later time. I’m trying to get out of here before midnight. Don’t want to be around after the charm wears off.” Dobby understood what Harry meant. He assisted Harry in packing up his things.
Harry came across the different spells books and rolls of parchment that he accumulated at school. Dobby stopped and stood with Harry as he looked over the different assignments he had.
“Would Harry Potter, Sir, like these packed up too?” Dobby asked. Harry thought about it for a moment. He intended on leaving Privet Drive and head to the Burrow for Bill and Fleur’s wedding. If it weren’t for a promise he made to Mrs. Wesley, he would not go at all, but for her sake, he said that he would. So much tragedy had occurred over the last year that he decided it was best to put up a brave front for the sake of family by showing solidarity. But after the festivities he, Ron and Hermione were going to start their quest to find the Horcruxes.
School had been the last thing on his mind, despite how it held happy memories for him. Hogwarts had been a place that he could call home. Every year, since he started there, he looked forward to getting on the Hogwarts Express to make his journey back to school. But after witnessing Dumbledore’s death, the place held little comfort or security for him within its mighty walls. The Ministry still hadn’t decided on whether to open the school after the attack, but even if they did, Harry had already made up his mind.
“Yes Dobby. Go ahead and pack them,” he told the elf. He wouldn’t take the books on his other trip, but he didn’t want them left behind either. Magic could be dangerous in the wrong hands and spells could be very harmful if not done properly. There would no telling what could happen if the Dursley’s got a hold of them. Even though they were Muggles, Harry did not want to take that risk.
“We’ll take these to the Burrow and dispose of them later.” Harry made another quick glance at the clock.
11:45 pm
He and Dobby packed mostly everything. Then suddenly, his bedroom door flew open and his Uncle Vernon stood at the entrance. He expected to see the man red in the face, screaming at the top of his lungs. But this time Uncle Vernon looked very pale and nervous. His eyes scurried around the barren room and then back at Harry. “Where-where are you g-go-going, boy?” he stammered out.
Harry was surprised at Uncle Vernon’s timid demeanor. For a moment he thought the attack had begun and they were using the man as some kind of decoy or something. But he looked at the clock and realised that it wasn’t twelve just yet, so it wouldn’t have been possible for the Death Eaters to get into the house before then. Yet still, the man’s appearance had thrown him off, so he kept one hand on his wand.
“I’m leaving. I’m of age now and I can come and go as I please. So right now I’m going. And I’m not coming back.”
“Surely you don’t mean that, boy,” his Uncle said, showing an incredible amount of kindness to his nephew. “We are your family! The only blood family you have left. We cared for you from the moment you were laid on our doorsteps. We clothed you and fed you as a baby and when you grew, we kept a place for you here while you were away at Hogwarts studying magic.”
Now Harry was really worried. His Uncle never discussed magic in the house, let alone allow Harry to practice it. In the past, Harry could barely do his assignments over the summer, for fear that Uncle Vernon would burn his papers or lock away his study materials. So for him to have uttered the word or even to have said the name of his school started to send Harry into a panic.
Dobby flashed Harry a concerned look. Harry saw that he sensed the odd behavior too. Harry kept a firm hand on his wand in case he needed to gear up for something. “Dobby, go ahead with my things and meet me at the Burrow.”
“B-b-but what about you, Sir?” the elf asked with a worried look.
“I’ll be along shortly,” Harry said. Reluctantly, Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared with Harry’s things. Uncle Vernon tried to take a step forward, but Harry raised his wand in his direction before his feet left the ground. Harry looked around the room trying to see something, anything that was out of the ordinary. But all he could see was Vernon’s face - Vernon’s compassionate face.
“Look, I know we have been at odd at times. I know you have been though a lot with the loss of your parents, your friend Cedric and your godfather Sirius,” Vernon started. It stunned Harry that his Uncle could repeat these names. He knew his Uncle could care less for his parents since he never met them before. But to offer his condolences on Cedric Diggory and Sirius’ deaths was a bit more than Harry could swallow. He knew he didn’t have any conversation with his Uncle over the two men. He was sure he didn’t. Harry figured he must have heard about them from his cousin, Dudley, when he overheard one of his nightmares a couple of summers ago.
Harry was puzzled as to why he brought this up now. He kept his wand trained on his Uncle as he made his way out of his room and into the hallway. His Uncle followed behind at a distance. The man continued to rant about family, trust and unity. But Harry was so confused that he could barely keep up with what his uncle was saying. The polite attitude from his uncle had thrown Harry through a loop.
“I know we’ve had our hard times and I want you to know that we are here for you, Harry. We’re always here for you. I know that we haven’t been the best guardians for you. But we’d like to make amends for that, Harry. We can start fresh tomorrow –“
The clock chimed…it was now midnight.
Harry didn’t know if it was the effects of charm wearing off or maybe the stress he had been under, but all of a sudden it was like a heavy weight has somehow settled onto the house. It was as if all the world’s fears and been poured into Number Four, Privet Drive.
The clock still rang to signify the hour. As it rang, Harry could hear the screams of his Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley from their rooms. They both rushed into the hallway and fell in line right behind Uncle Vernon. They all had this terrified look on their faces as the last bell rung.
Then, lights went out.
All of them, including Harry, shrieked out in fright. Harry made his way downstairs but he could feel the hands of his relatives holding him back.
“GET OFF ME!” Harry screamed.
“YOU CAN’T LEAVE US! THEY’LL KILL US IF YOU DO! SAVE US!” they yelled, terrified of what could happen.
“THEY’LL KILL YOU FOR SURE IF I STAY! NOW LET ME GO!” Harry ripped free of their grip and darted downstairs. As soon as he opened the front door, he felt a powerful force blow him back to the floor. Shadowy figures passed through the entrance, into the foyer and surrounded Harry. Harry quickly rose to his feet with his wand at the ready.
‘Lumos.’ he cast the spell mentally and looked up. To his relief, he saw the familiar faces of the Advance Guard. Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Shacklebolt looked at Harry with smiles on their faces.
“Wotcher, Harry!” said Tonks. Her hair was the nice bubblegum pink that he remembered seeing when they first met.
“You could poke an eye out with that thing,” Moody said in a serious voice, though as he pointed to his own magical eye, Harry could tell he was joking.
A wave of relief hit Harry so hard that felt as though he could pass out. The tension was very overwhelming. He thought for sure that the house would explode as soon as it struck twelve. He was so sure of it that he would have bet a number of Galleons on it. But to have seen his friends standing with him, gave Harry a great sense of security. It looked as though it gave the Dursley’s that same secure feeling too.
“I was just leaving,” Harry said.
“We figured you were. We saw Dobby a few minutes ago at the Burrow with your things. He said that you may need help getting the rest of your stuff,” said Lupin as his eyes motioned over to Harry’s Uncle. Harry looked around nervously but then remembered.
“Oh no. I think Dobby got everything. I’m good to go if you are.” Harry could hear the small protest of his uncle and aunt in the background.
“You’re concern for Harry’s safety is most kind, but I assure you he will be fine,” said Lupin to Vernon and Petunia. “Everything will be fine.”
The group started to leave. But just as they passed the sitting room, something caught Harry’s eye. He looked over and saw a large bouquet of red roses sitting in a vase on the coffee table. He rarely noticed anything in that room since he mostly stayed to himself in his bedroom during the summer. Yet the floral arrangement stood out to him so much that Harry stopped in his tracks before he reached the door. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon saw it too. Then everyone else was looking at the pretty flowers.
“Did you get these for me?” Petunia asked her husband.
“No, Dear. But I can buy you some more after work if you like,” Vernon said, looking very nervous. Petunia walked over to the table and pulled out the card that was standing out from the bunch. As she read it, a fearful expression crept on her face. She handed the card to Harry.
“They’re for you…” Petunia whispered, barely able get words out as she handed the card to Harry.
Harry looked at it and immediately went pale. He passed it over to Lupin who muttered some curse underneath his breath as he read it. Tonks let out shudder quietly. Shacklebolt looked positively stupefied after examining the note.
The card finally reached Moody who read it aloud:
Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Harry Potter.
From all Death Eaters and me.
Can’t wait to see you!
Yours truly,
Lord Voldemort.
P.S. Your Mother was always a fan of red roses.
The group stood there, stunned.
“I didn’t know Lily liked red roses,” Petunia spoke.
“Those aren’t red roses,” Moody grumbled as his eye swirled around in his head.
“Are you daft? Of course they’re red roses, just look at them!” Uncle Vernon angrily pointed out.
Moody took a deep breath to reassert himself. Uncle Vernon shrank in his placed as he eyed him and said, “Let me re-phrase myself then. Theses aren’t naturally red roses. Not ones that naturally grow red in a garden.”
“What?” Tonks said in amazement.
“What are you saying?” Lupin asked.
“Those are roses…dipped in blood - human blood from what I can see,” Moody said.
There was a long moment of silence as everyone took in what Moody said.
“Why would someone do that?” asked Dudley. But no one answered.
The Dursley’s turned around to see that Harry and the others were gone.
