The night was quiet.
Harry sat in his room at Number 4 Privet Drive, arms crossed, his mind far away. The letters from Dumbledore, Hermione, and Ron had been dealt with—discarded, forgotten. He had no intention of responding.
They wanted answers? Let them wonder.
They wanted to dictate his actions? Let them try.
He wasn't just going to dance to the tunes of an old man who keeps saying he's doing these to protect him, yet has never been there even once.
He was done playing this game.
The distant chime of the grandfather clock downstairs told him it was just past midnight. The Dursleys had long since gone to bed, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence anymore. It was just as well. He preferred it that way.
Then, he felt it.
A shift in the air. A pulse of magic, subtle but unmistakable. Someone was approaching.
Harry exhaled through his nose. So, they finally came.
A knock at the door.
Harry didn't move at first. He had sensed them long before they reached the house. Their magic, their footsteps, their very intentions were clear to him now in ways they could never understand.
He took a deep breath.
He could feel them, smell them, practically taste the magic in the air.
He guessed he got a little more than just the Authorities from Fenrir. He knew that one could get some traits from your first Hectic god sometimes, and he knew he got some. The eyes that glowed a little brighter, the fangs, claws, and sense of smell.
Another knock, this time louder.
"Harry," came a voice. Familiar. Lupin. "It's us. We're here to take you to safety."
Harry's lips twitched, but he said nothing. What were these guys doing coming in the middle of the night like thieves.
The locks on the door clicked open without his help, and the door swung inward. Standing there, illuminated by the dim hallway light, was Remus Lupin, dressed in dark traveling robes. Behind him stood Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, their expressions unreadable.
Moody's electric-blue magical eye whirled in its socket, scanning the room, Harry, and likely the entire house beyond. "No sign of hostiles," he muttered gruffly. "But the wards here are barely holding."
Lupin stepped forward cautiously. "Harry, we need to leave. It's not safe here."
Harry tilted his head. "Is that so?"
Lupin hesitated. "You don't understand. There have been attacks. The Dementors—"
"I read the letters," Harry cut in smoothly. "And I understand just fine."
Tonks, shifting on her feet, gave him a nervous grin. "Well, that saves us the trouble of explaining, yeah?"
Kingsley, always composed, observed him carefully. "You don't seem surprised to see us."
Harry leaned back against the desk, arms still crossed. "I expected you days ago."
That made them pause.
Moody narrowed his good eye. "That so? And how'd you figure that?"
Harry just deadpanned. Was he serious? There was an attack that involved magical creatures and Voldemort out there, if they didn't come to pick him up after that, then they would have been more foolish.
Lupin exhaled, stepping closer. "Harry… We have to go. We're taking you somewhere safe. There's no need to make this difficult."
Something flickered in Harry's gaze. He uncrossed his arms slowly. "And where exactly is safe, Remus?"
His eyes pinned the werewolf in place. He could see the way it affected the poor man.
He froze like a deer in headlights, his body shaking a little and his eyes refusing to meet his gaze. 'Guess he knew who the Alpha was' he snorted inward.
Lupin hesitated. "You know we can't say yet."
Harry gave a short, humorless laugh. "Right. Because keeping me in the dark has worked so well before."
Tonks flinched. Kingsley's lips pressed into a firm line. Even Moody's usual gruff demeanor softened—just a fraction.
Lupin sighed. "Harry… please. We're on your side."
Harry's expression turned unreadable. "Are you?"
Silence.
Lupin swallowed. "We—"
"You left me alone after Cedric's death," Harry interrupted, voice calm but sharp. "You left me alone in this house, with no word, no explanation. For weeks, I waited. For weeks, I grieved. And now, you suddenly care?"
"Harry, it wasn't like that—"
Harry stood, and they all felt it.
The very air shifted, heavy with unseen weight. The dim light flickered, shadows deepening unnaturally. Power stirred in the room, ancient and untamed.
Moody's wand was in his hand in an instant.
Lupin inhaled sharply. Kingsley's posture tensed.
Tonks' eyes widened. "What the hell…?"
Harry stepped forward, each movement precise, deliberate. "You didn't check on me when I was drowning in grief." His voice was soft, yet it rang through the room. "But now that you need me, now that things have gone wrong—now you come?"
Lupin's face twisted with guilt. "We didn't have a choice—"
"There's always a choice."
Silence.
Moody's magical eye locked onto him. "You've changed, Potter."
Harry simply looked at the man.
Kingsley cleared his throat. "Harry, we aren't your enemies. Dumbledore—"
Harry frowned.
"Dumbledore." He tasted the name like venom on his tongue. "Tell me, Kingsley—where was Dumbledore when I needed him?"
Kingsley had no answer.
Lupin rubbed his face, looking suddenly far older. "Harry… we made mistakes."
Harry's gaze didn't soften. "Yes. You did."
Another silence stretched between them.
Finally, Moody grunted. "We don't have time for this. We're on a schedule. Boy comes with us, whether he wants to or not."
Tonks shot him a glare. "Mad-Eye—"
Harry chuckled darkly. "That's cute. You think you can make me?"
Moody scowled, but before he could respond, Harry vanished.
Not Disapparation. Not a spell.
One moment he was standing there, the next—gone.
The Order members froze, wands raised, eyes darting around.
Then—
"I told you."
Harry's voice came from behind them.
They spun around.
He was standing by the door, perfectly calm, perfectly untouched.
Lupin paled. "What…?"
Kingsley inhaled slowly. "How did you—"
Harry tilted his head. "I suggest you stop thinking you can control me. You came here thinking I was the same as before. That was your first mistake."
Moody's grip tightened on his wand.
Harry smiled, slow and sharp.
The room was silent.
Lupin swallowed. Tonks shifted nervously. Kingsley looked at him with new eyes. Even Moody, for all his paranoia, seemed unsettled.
Harry turned toward the door, grabbing his coat. "We're wasting time. Let's go."
They stared at him for a moment before Lupin finally nodded, voice hesitant. "Right… let's go."
But as they left the house, as the night swallowed them whole, none of them could shake the feeling.
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