Harry Potter and the Desideratum Crusade [Harmione]

2. Invitation to Fear

Harry returned to the Dursley's just as quietly as he left. He tiptoed upstairs, making sure that he missed the creaky spots again. He figured he had time for a quick shower before he had to make breakfast, and since Aunt Petunia hated sweaty, smelly bodies in her kitchen, he didn't want to get on her bad side. He stood under the hot water and let it run down his broad back, loosening his tense and tired muscles. It felt good just to stand there and not think. He didn't stay that was for too long however, because he knew Uncle Vernon would berate him for using all of the hot water. He quickly finished, turning the water off and grabbed a towel to dry himself. He picked up his glasses and put them on as he wiped the mirror with his towel. He stared at the reflection in the mirror and a green-eyed stranger stared back. The eyes were sunken from lack of sleep, and the face was haggard. He hadn't really looked at himself in a long time.

'You look like your father, but you have your mother's eyes...'

He had heard that so often that it was annoying. Now though, he stared at those eyes, not really recognizing them for his own. They had seen too many deaths, mirrored too much pain. Is that what his mother's eyes looked like before she died? The eyes that looked back at him seemed dull, without any life or answers to his question.

'You look like your father...'

He looked intently at the dark-haired young man in the mirror, trying to see what everyone else had seen. When had he stopped being a little boy? Tonk's words came back to him as he looked at his broad chest and washboard stomach.

"You're fairly handsome," she had said.

Was he? His hair was still as unruly as ever and he shrugged as he thought that it would never be tamed. He noticed that he had a little hair on his chest now, and...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Hurry up! I need to get in there!" yelled Dudley, bringing him out of his reverie with a start.

Harry let out a huff of annoyance, hastily threw his pants on and grabbed the rest of his stuff while Dudley continued to bang on the door. He opened the door quickly, almost getting knocked in the face, as Dudley was about to bang on the door again. Dudley shoved him aside and pushed his way into the bathroom. He slammed the door in Harry's face without saying a word to him. Harry felt his temper starting to rise and he took a moment to push it back down. He sighed and went to his bedroom to find some clean clothes.

Harry headed down stairs to the kitchen and started to pull out the things he needed to make breakfast. He got the eggs and bacon going, and began to set the table while the bread toasted.

Well, he thought grimly, at least one good thing has come out of being a 'slave' to the Dursleys; he could look after himself.

He still didn't know what he wanted to do. Should he get a flat somewhere? He thought about it and realized he didn't know if he wanted to be alone. He thought about Hogwarts and felt a pang of sadness. It was his real home, not the Dursleys. Even with Dumbledore gone...

He heard the crackle of the bacon and quickly turned back to cooking breakfast. Uncle Vernon would kill him if he burned the first meal of the day.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia came down a few minutes later, followed by Dudley. They didn't even acknowledge him as they sat down in front of the food at the table. Harry didn't care. He didn't want to talk to them anyway. He put his food on a plate and turned to put the pans in the sink to soak, while lost in his thoughts about what he wanted to do today. He returned to the table to have his breakfast, and it was gone. He looked over at Dudley as he finished wolfing down the last of Harry's breakfast. Harry narrowed his eyes and Dudley grinned at him.