52Chapter 1
A/N: This story is also posted on Ao3 and Tumblr. I also post updates and teasers for this story (and others) on Tumblr. Please check it out, it's under Nobodyzhuman. This story is currently over 83K and still going :). Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.
Prologue: Three Simple Words
Harry Potter sat in the smallest bedroom of the house he had lived in with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the last 15 years. He sat staring out his small bedroom window, trying to remind himself that he only had a few more days here. A few more days and he would be free of the depressing, suffocating aura that hung around the house, and of course the neglectful way his family treated him. A few more days until Professor Dumbledore would be here to pick him up. Then he would be surrounded by people that actually cared about him and wanted him around. At least until next summer.
And while this summer had been uneventful, there was this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was coming. Something bad. Of course, with Voldemort out there, the feeling didn't come as much of a surprise him. It was the sense that whatever it was that was coming had little or nothing to do with Voldemort that worried him. His nightmares seemed to center more on the unknown and less on the madman, leaving him with a foreboding feeling.
When he woke in the morning and tried to think about the details from his dreams, everything seemed fuzzy and hard to remember.
He sighed, closing his eyes.
"Three more days," he mumbled. He knew it was only a handful of days, but it felt longer. Maybe it was the loneliness that made it feel like the days just dragged on and on. He told himself to focus on the positive; Hogwarts, his friends, Remus, and the Weasleys. It took some effort, but he slowly started to feel better and a little excited about the end of summer.
A quiet tapping at his window jerked him out of his thoughts. Expecting Hedwig, he reached out to open the window, not really looking at the owl on the other side. Which left him surprised when a small brown owl flew in and landed on Hedwig's empty perch.
He reached down and picked up a small treat and while he fed it to the bird, he used his other hand to remove the small parchment attached to the bird's leg.
He was a little disappointed when he didn't recognize the owl. It meant that the letter wasn't from Ron or Hermione like he was hoping. His two best friends had been almost silent over the summer, leaving him feeling left out and forgotten. He tried to reason that it was because they were unable to write due to secrets like the year before but that didn't stop it from hurting.
'Maybe it was from Remus or Sirius,' he thought. Neither of them had an owl of their own to use.
Hope and excitement surged through him as he opened it.
His happy moment was ruined when he saw the length of the message. It was a single small piece of parchment folding in half once.
And any hope he had fled when he unfolded it and read the message.
Don't Trust Dumbledore!
Snuffles
"What?" he mumbled and read it again and then a third time just to make sure. Why would Sirius tell him not to trust the headmaster? Dumbledore was their leader, their friend. Harry had been told for years to trust and have faith in Dumbledore. And now all of a sudden Sirius was telling him otherwise- it just made no sense. He felt a rush of anger towards his godfather for not giving more information. Just a little something that gave a reason or an explanation for the man's sudden lack of trust in Dumbledore. Anything that would clarify things. He knew Sirius had to be careful in case his message was intercepted, but was three words really all he could manage? Then he was confused because what could the headmaster possible have done to cause Sirius to doubt him.
He stared at the paper, trying to understand. It wasn't until the morning light started to peek through his window that he realized he had been staring at the small note all night.
Three long days later, Dumbledore sent him an owl saying that he would have to stay with his relatives for the rest of summer, due to something happening with the Order. With any hopes for his summer ruined, Harry fell into a dark and miserable mood. Left with nothing else to think about Harry kept thinking over Sirius's warning, and the ramifications if his godfather was right and they couldn't trust Dumbledore