Harry Potter and the Heir of Gryffindor(01) - Sahits

Harry slammed the lid to the rubbish bin closed and scowled at Dudley as he waddled away.If there was one thing that bothered Harry more than anything about the Dursleys, it whenthey called his school a 'freak place.' Anything that Harry liked the Dursleys made a specificpoint of stepping all over: Hogwarts, his friends-his parents, even.In years past, Dudley would have been a bit more vicious in his taunting of Harry, but thingshad changed recently: one, because Harry's godfather Sirius Black was known in both muggleand wizarding worlds alike as a vicious serial killer, so Dudley was more than careful not toreally tick Harry off. And the second reason was because within the past few months, Harryhad grown a good four inches at least. So even though Dudley outweighed Harry by a greatmargin, Harry was now a good deal taller than Dudley. Dudley, of course, would never admitit openly, but the fact that he now had to look up at his cousin was most unnerving.Harry, meanwhile, was more than annoyed that all of his clothes no longer fit him: quitefrankly, he looked silly with his trousers up to his shins and shirt sleeves nearly at his elbow.Aunt Petunia, however, was in no such disposition to buy him more clothes and since all ofDudley's old clothes were too large and too short for him, he simply had to make do.At dinner, he was vaguely aware of the conversation between his Aunt and Uncle ("Not sure Ilike the look of them, if you know what I mean. Haven't even popped by to introducethemselves. . ."). He was occupied with staring at the unappetizing cold plate of left-overspaghetti Aunt Petunia had pulled out from the refrigerator-- the rest of them dined on chickenand mashed potatoes-- and letting his mind fall on the only things that kept his spirits fromdying out completely: Ron and Hermione.His two best friends in the world. And the only two things that he missed so much that hisheart literally ached in their absence. Well . . . them and Quidditch. His sleek, trusty Fireboltwas hidden beneath a slat in his bedroom at that very moment and he would have lovednothing more than to jump on and go for a fly-- it was the only time that he felt completelysafe. Completely happy.But both the Dursley's and the Ministry of Magic wouldn't have liked that all too much.After another wordless meal -- he might as well not have even existed while he was at 4Privet Drive -- he cleared the plates, washed them in silence, wiped down the kitchen and thentrudged back upstairs for his room. He was half hoping to see Dobby the house-elf on his bed,waiting for him as he had three years ago. Or maybe his beautiful Hedwig would have apackage waiting for him from Ron or Hermione. But his bed was empty, and Hedwig wassleeping peacefully, her white feathers glowing beneath the bright moonlight.The quiet was consuming and depressing. It was rather like a Dementor being nearby, thecoldness of the moment.'The Dementors will join us, they are our natural allies. We will recall the banished giants, Ishall have all my devoted servants returned to me. . .'He shook Voldemort's cackling, high pitched wail out of his head, hoping perhaps tonight hemight get a good night's rest. And maybe, just maybe, he would wake up in the morning in hisdormitory, walk with Ron down to breakfast, laugh with Hermione and Seamus, catch aglimpse of Cho on the way down to potions, and say a brief hello to a smiling Cedric--6