Chapter Text
Kingsley looked around, frowning. Every instinct he had as an experienced Auror was telling him that something wasn't right here. For one thing, this place was unnaturally clean.
For another...
"- telling your aunt and uncle not to worry-" He heard Remus saying to Potter, but wasn't paying attention.
"They won't." He frowned, paying more attention.
"That you're safe-"
"That'll just depress them." He looked at Harry, hoping that he was just joking.
"- and that you'll see them next summer." Remus finished.
"Do I have to?" Harry almost pleaded .
Kingsley's frown deepened when he looked closer at the Boy-Who-Lived, Heir Black, and Heir Potter.
Dark circles under his eyes (easily explained by a lack of sleep caused by stress and worry over everything going on with the Dementor attack) baggy and threadbare clothes (not so easily explained considering the obvious luxury the Dursley's lived in), messy hair (Potter family 'curse'), gaunt face (could also be explained by stress... he'd been told that the boy tended to stop eating if he was stressed enough) and bruises around his neck and on his face.
Wait.
What ?
Frown deepening, he reached over and pulled the rest of the shirt further off the boys neck area, causing him to flinch back in surprise, and the others to freeze when the movement directed their attention to what Kingsley had seen.
In the harsh kitchen lights, the bruising was highly visible.
"Cub?" Remus asked, visibly trying to stay calm despite the deepening amber in his eyes. "What is that?"
Harry's hand flew up to his neck and he flushed for a moment in realization. "Its nothing." He shrugged away Kingsley's hand and readjusted his shirt to hide the bruises. He could not hide the one on his face, though.
"Cub, who put those bruises on you?" Remus tried again.
"Nobody!" Harry defended.
"It was that uncle of yours, wasn't it?" Remus asked after studying Harry for a moment. The way Harry stilled and then swallowed told them all they needed to know.
"Remus, we don't have time for this, we need to go." Tonks cut in when it looked like Remus was going to hunt said uncle down then and there.
"Alright, we'll discuss this more later, cub. With Sirius." He gave the teen a look, and any possible protest died on Harry's lips.
"That's the signal!" Moody stepped in a moment later, although Kingsley noticed his fake eye was actually fixed on a point upstairs. When they passed the cupboard, nobody noticed his eye swivel to focus on the cupboard itself.
In the air, Tonks and Remus laughed when Harry cheered in glee before starting to do some (rather impressive) aerial acrobatics in celebration of his new freedom.
Moody let it continue for a bit (surprisingly) before he barked at Harry to calm down and get back in the middle of the formation.
Kingsley frowned again when the boy didn't display any typical teenage petulance over the order, and instead simply fell back in with the formation.
"Whoa." Harry muttered when the house came into view. Remus chuckled at the typical reaction. He was pretty sure he reacted the same way the first and only time Sirius invited the other Marauder's to his house for the day when they were younger (needless to say, that hadn't ended well, despite Sirius' best efforts). The house was pretty run-down looking these days, but its glory days were still visible.
He was pretty sure that the most fascinating part, though, was in how it appeared to grow out of the other houses.
"Come on, lets get inside." Moody stomped forward.
Harry followed them up the worn steps, staring at the door in fascination. It was shabby, and needed a new coat of paint. He idly wondered why it was in such horrible condition when they could fix it with magic, but the thoughts were thrown out of his head when the door opened and he saw the inside.
It was almost completely dark inside. The gas lamps along the ceiling were dirty, blackened with age and use, and covered in cobwebs, while the place itself smelled musty and damp, he could practically feel the rot in the air. People lived here? Even when the lamps were turned on, it didn't provide much more light, the lamp glass was too dirty. He could hear bugs and things in the walls and under the floor, and was really starting to wonder why they were whispering.
"Harry! It's wonderful to see you!" Molly whispered, lighting up at the sight of him, when she entered the hall. He grinned, happy to see her too, although she was thinner and looked more stressed than the last time he saw her. Her hug was still as rib-cracking as ever, though, despite that. "You're looking peaky, you need feeding up. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until dinner, though..." Neither Harry nor Molly noticed the looks exchanged by Harry's escort. "The meeting's started." She said to them, before starting to lead Harry up the stairs.
"Alright, now, you're sharing a room with Ron. Once the meeting is over, I will have dinner ready. And try to keep your voice down in the hall." She whispered.
"Why?" Harry asked, confused.
"We don't want to wake anything up." She grimaced, thinking about Sirius' wonderful mother.
Harry was more and more confused the deeper they went into the house. The snakes everywhere, the shrunken elf heads on the wall, the severed troll leg for an umbrella stand... Why were they here? This house clearly belonged to the darkest of wizards, so why was a family like the Weasley's here? Why weren't they at the Burrow? "Why are...?" He started to ask.
"Ron and Hermione will explain, dear. I must get back to the meeting." She whispered apologetically. She could see his confusion, and had an idea of what was most confusing right now. She really wished she could get rid of those elf heads at least... "Door on the right. I'll call you all down for dinner in a bit." She said, and hurried off down the stairs.