Harry Potter : In the shadow of divinity41.67%

Chapter - 35 : The Associates' Whisperings

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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"She's had enough!" Vernon shouted "She's learned her lesson, she won't say another word against you or your parents, just stop before you kill her!"

Harry looked to up at his uncle with glacial emerald eyes. "I expect you to keep your word, Uncle," he said coldly as the flow of snails halted and Marge was able to gasp in several shuddering breaths, "or next time, we'll see just how blue her face can turn."

Calmly he stood from the table. "I trust that you all are aware that if any of you speak a word of tonight's events to anyone the consequences," Marge burped up another slug, "will be dire to say the least."

The moment Harry was out of the dining room and up the stairs, he stumbled into the bathroom and leaned heavily on the countertop. That was the first time he had ever lost control of his emotions and his magic and it wasn't a pleasant feeling, just thinking about what he'd almost done to Marge made him feel dirty.

Quickly, he stripped down and stepped into the shower, but the moment the hot water came into contact with his skin he hissed and turned the water as cold as it could go. The heat hadn't been painful per se, but it was horribly uncomfortable. As the water cooled, Harry's muscles relaxed and the ice surging in his veins calmed. He found himself doing this a lot lately, especially this summer, whenever he was upset or tense he got into the shower and ran the water as cold as it would get. It was odd, but he just passed it off as one of his many abnormalities, there was no cause for worry. At least, that was what he had been trying to tell himself.

"Harry! Harry, could I have a second?"

The thirteen year old wizard paused in the act of hefting his trunk onto the train and turned to find Arthur Weasley waving to him over the crowd. Harry had first met Ron's father here at King's Cross at the end of his first year, and since then he found he liked the eccentric man.

"Of course, Mr. Weasley," he said moving to stand beside the man. "You can have all the seconds you need."

The Weasley patriarch smiled down at him. "I appreciate that, but I won't take up too much of your time. I need to speak with you about Sirius Black, you have heard the hubbub surrounding him, correct?"

"Of course," Harry nodded, the Daily Prophet was delivered to his room in Privet Drive every morning. He would have been hard pressed to miss all of the news surrounding the first man to ever break out of Azkaban.

"Yes well, we, we being the Ministry of Magic and I, have a reason to believe that Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban for you."

"What? Why would you think that?"

"I can't say, this is all very hush hush, I've broken a million rules just to tell you this. But I wanted to warn you to be careful this year. Do you plan on going to Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, my uncle signed my form the moment I got it."

"Okay, well when you go, make sure to stay where people can see you, don't go wandering off and stay with your friends. Can you do that for me?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, I think I can manage that."

Mr. Weasley clapped him on the shoulder. "Good lad. Now go on, don't want to miss the train, have a good term."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

Once the elder Weasley wandered off, Harry boarded the train and, after poking his head into several compartments, a few of which held a group of giggling first years, a snogging couple, and oddly enough, a sleeping man who looked old enough to be his father, found Ron and Neville sitting in an otherwise empty compartment.

They exchanged quick greetings and settled down to play a game of exploding snap. "So what did my dad say to you, Harry?" Ron asked when they were well into the game.

"Hmmm?" the Slytherin said absently. "Oh, he just warned me to be careful this year because he and the Ministry think Sirius Black is after me."

Neville didn't throw his card down in time, which resulted in a small explosion, but neither he nor Ron seemed to care as they were too busy gaping at Harry. "What?" they exclaimed in unison.

Harry shrugged. "He didn't give me any more than that, he said he was breaking rules just by telling me that much."

"Blimey!" Ron cried "So he just dropped it on you and then just said 'Sorry can't tell you any more than that?'"

"Any more than what?" Draco asked, sauntering into the compartment with Hermione and Blaise close behind.

"Talking about anything off interest?" Blaise asked, plopping down in the seat beside Harry.

"Yeah, apparently Sirius Black is after Harry," Ron said, "but my dad didn't have the decency to tell him why."

"He probably wants to prove his innocence to you before going trying to prove it to the rest of the world," Draco said faux-casually, his pointed face had suddenly taken on a rather shifty expression.

"What? Why?"

"Well, if I had a godson who'd spent the last twelve years thinking I'd betrayed his parents, my best friends, to You-Know-Who, I'd want to clear the air with him before I tried to find a way to prove my innocence in regards to the murder of twelve muggles and my other best friend."

Harry stared blankly at Draco. "All right, I'm pretty sure I'm missing some important details here," he said weakly.

"A few days ago my father had a few…associates over to discuss Black's escape," Draco said. "They foolishly forgot to close the door to my father's study and I was able to catch a word or two of what they were saying."