Risen from the Ashes (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 23

"Thank you, Molly, dinner was delicious."

She smiled at Remus, "Oh it was no trouble dear, besides, Lily was a great help."

She waved her off, "Oh I didn't do that much."

"So," Fred stared at Lily and James, "What's it like being dead?"

"Fred Weasley that is a very rude think to ask!" his mother yelled.

"Sorry mum..." he hung his head.

"Oh, it's alright!" James quickly added, "Honestly, I don't really remember it. I remember Voldemort coming to our house, but then everything else is a blank."

Lily nodded, "It just felt like... we were asleep for a little while. Then woke up..."

"Well, we are very happy you are back." Arthur said with a smile.

"And we're happy to be back." Harry leaned his head against his father's shoulder, and James began to absentmindedly play with his hair.

"So how long are they going to be staying with you, Professor Lupin?" Ginny asked.

"You can call me Remus, my dear." He smiled at her. "And that is entirely up to you all."

"I think we'll probably wait at least a couple more weeks." Lily responded. "Once we have gone public with our return, we'll probably find a house of our own. But for right now, its just nice being able to relax."

"I bet your happy to be out of your aunt and uncle's house." Ron joked and looked at Harry.

He visibly stiffened and looked up at his dad.

Hermione, squinted her eyes at him, "Is there something you're not telling us Harry?"

He bit his lip, and looked up at all his friends, "The um... recently... the Dursley's... they haven't been treating me too well..."

"What do you mean?" Arthur looked at him with concern.

"Nothing too bad..." when both his parents, Sirius, and Remus glared at him, he continued, "Well... maybe it was a little bad... but nothing I couldn't handle!"

Sirius put his head in his hands, "This is like pulling teeth... just spit it out already!"

"They hit me..." He said it so quickly, he wasn't even sure if anyone had heard him. However, based on the looks on their faces, he was pretty sure the message had gotten across.

"What...?" George asked in shock.

"They... they hit me..." he repeated. "Uncle Vernon did at least. Aunt Petunia would too but not nearly as much. At the time I thought it was all my fault, but I've recently started to realize that maybe it wasn't? Not all of it at least. I'm honestly not quite sure yet. This is all still a work in progress..." he was rambling by the end, but they all hung onto his every word.

As soon as he had finished talking, Ron and Hermione jumped from their seats and grabbed him in a bone crushing hug.

"I... I can't believe it..." they looked over at Molly who was sobbing. "You boys were telling the truth... when you stole the car... I thought you were exaggerating..."

Sirius looked at her in confusion, "What car?"

"A couple years back, the boys went to fetch Harry so he could stay with us over the summer." Arthur wiped a tear from his eyes, "They said that he had been locked in his room and was being fed through a cat flap. They even said that they had put bars on his window. We thought they were making it up..."

"We wouldn't lie about something like that..." Fred said solemnly.

"I'm so sorry..." Ron had tears pouring down his face. "I... I should have noticed..."

Harry smiled up at him, "It's alright. I didn't want anyone to know..."

"But I should have." He insisted. "You're my best mate. I should have known..."

"Me too..." Hermione wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I should have realized..."

"It's alright..." he assured, "I'm ok now..."

"This has been a long day for everyone." Remus stood up. "Why don't you kids go relax in the living room, while we all clean up."

They all nodded, and everyone formed a dog pile of limbs and blankets, with Harry in the middle.

"I'm so sorry..." Molly sobbed, "If we had known that he was being abused... we never would have let him stay there..." Remus and Sirius hung their heads as well.

"We know..." Lily gave her a reassuring smile. "And Harry knows that too. You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'll kill that Dursley." Arthur said angrily. "Does Dumbledore know? Is he having him arrested?"

Sirius shook his head bitterly, "Yes, Dumbledore knows, but Harry doesn't want to press charges. He wants to just let them go on wither their lives."

Molly gave a small chuckle, "That's so like him... he's so sweet for his age..."

Arthur stared bitterly down at the table, "I still wish that something could be done. A man like that doesn't deserve to walk free."

"Don't worry," Remus looked at him with a twinkle in his eye, "Dumbledore informed me that he had something... special. Planned for the Dursley's. So, I don't believe they will be getting off completely Scott free."

"That's good." James let out a sigh of relief. "If he hadn't done something, I was likely to have turned him into a toad myself."

Lily shook her head. "It wouldn't have worked." They looked at her with confusion. "He already was a toad." They all laughed and began cleaning up the dishes. Once they had finished, they walked into the sitting room to find all of the kids passed out on the floor. It was good being able to see them all together. James and Lily knew one thing, Harry had the kind of friends that were never going to let him down. No matter what...

(A/N - Thanks for reading!)