They're Back!

Chapter 1--The Night Search

It was dark on Cumberland street, really dark. So dark that unless you had a light of some sort, you could see absolutely nothing. The only souls who would dare to venture here were there for a reason, like finding a loved one. As a dim light shone out from in between the bushes, a black dog emerged and sniffed around, as if looking for something... or someone. When it seemed as if the dog had been sniffing around for hours, a man with messy black hair, round glasses, and a lit up wand emerged from the same place that the dog had come from just minutes before. "Found anything, Sirius?" The man asked, his voice brimmed with concern. "Not exactly, James." The dog replied, "But I can smell him." "Good," James said, his voice seeming a bit more cheerful, "Is he close?" "Sort of," Sirius said, "But something's muffling the scent." "What is it?" James asked, his voice becoming concerned again. Sirius then replied with an anxious look on his face, "It's blood James, Harry's scent is covered in blood."

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"Alright," Ginny said, "I'll climb through the car window and blast the bars off of Harry's bedroom window. Then I'll climb in, get Harry and his things, and we'll be out of here in no time!" "Right," Ron replied, "And I'll stay in the car to keep it hovering." Ginny rolled down the car window and whispered "Reducto!" which blew the bars right off of the windowsill. "We're coming Harry!" Ginny said as she climbed into Harry's room. "Who is this?" Harry asked in a really weak voice. Both siblings were now even more worried about their friend. "Harry," Ginny whispered, "It's me, Ginny, and Ron is keeping the car afloat." As Ginny walked up to the bed, she saw exactly what she and the others had feared. Harry was a twig, Ginny suspected that the Dursleys had starved him. Harry also had numerous cuts and bruises, and was chained to the bed by his feet so that any escape attempt would end up with him on the floor, unable to move, and with one more bruise on each knee. "Where are your bags?" Ginny asked. "Over in that corner." Harry replied, still donning his weak vocals, "I never got a chance to unpack them." "All right," Ginny said, "Ron! Pull up the car so that the trunk is at the window." "Okay." Ron said as he pulled the car up to the desired place. As Ginny loaded Harry's bags into the trunk, Harry told her what had happened. He had gotten home to find the Dursleys in need of help. When he told them that he knew of a maid service, however, they enslaved him. It had been 2-3 weeks since his last meal, and he claimed that it was the work of Merlin himself that he was still alive. "You are very lucky Harry." Ginny said as she picked the locks on the chains and helped him into the car. She had never realized how bony he was. As he got in, Ron couldn't help but exclaim, "Bloody Hell Harry!" which earned him a punch from Ginny for being so loud as she got in, and they were off.

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"Calm down, James!" Sirius, who was still in dog form, exclaimed, "Harry's going to be just fine!" James had been sobbing ever since Sirius had told him about the blood covering Harry's scent, that was 45 minutes ago. "No!" James cried, "I won't calm down until I know for sure that he's okay!" More sobbing followed by hyperventilating. "Relax James!" Sirius exclaimed yet again, "He's going to- WHAT, NO!" "What?!" James asked, "What is it?!" "He's moving." Sirius said, "He's in a car." "Ohmygoodnessthey'reprobablytakinghimsomewherewherenoonecanfindhim!" James sobbed even more, followed by more hyperventilating. "No James," Sirius said calmly, "He's in a flying car. And the only people I know with one of those are the Weasleys! He's going to be perfectly fine!" "Really?" James asked. "Really." Sirius replied, "So how about we go back to Grimmauld Place and we'll all go to the Burrow in the morning." "Okay," James said, his voice now fully calm, "Thanks Sirius, you're the best."

When James and Sirius entered Grimmauld Place, Lily rushed into the front hallway and started to ask, "Did you find him, did you find-" but then stopped as she saw James' red eyes, "Oh, no. Is he-" "No Lily," James interjected, "Harry's okay, he just went to the Burrow." Sirius went to sleep. "Did you see him?" Lily asked. "No," James replied, "But Sirius caught his scent. So that's how I know." "Oh" Lily said, her voice getting a bit sadder. "Don't worry," James said, enveloping her in a hug, "everything will be okay." "I know James," Lily responded, hugging her husband back, "I know."