Chapter 09

Dinner at the Crawft's was much different than dinner at the Dursley's. When he ate with his relatives they were always walking on eggshells around him, especially during dinner. Conversation was sparse, with very little in the way of eye contact. Indeed, it was almost as if his relatives were afraid to look him in the eyes for fear that he might be capable of delving inside of them and learning their deepest, darkest secrets.

Which was ridiculous. Aside from his ability to discern a person's motives and personality through their facial expressions and body language, Harry had no other ability that would come close to delving into the human mind. As far as he knew, such a thing was impossible.

Not to say that there wasn't a way, just that if it existed, he did not know of it. It was something Harry planned on studying later if he got the chance.

In direct contradiction to dinner with the Durlsey's, the Crawft family was quite lively. Unlike meal times with his…relatives, dinner with Lisa's family was filled with conversation and laughter. Mrs. Crawft and Lisa would talk about anything and everything, and it was obvious to any who dined with the family that they actually cared about what the other had to say. If Harry were honest with himself, he would admit that he appreciated their antics. It was, in his opinion, how a family should act.

"Not you too!" Lisa groaned, her voice muffled as it was still buried in her hands. More laughter sprang from her mother and Lisa peeled her index and middle finger apart just enough to reveal a single eyes, which glared at the woman who gave birth to her.

"I still don't see what the problem is." Harry shook his head.

"You don't see what the—" Lisa cut herself off mid sentence and finally pried both her hands away from her face to cast Harry an incredulous look. "Harry, they have an entire wall dedicated to the pictures they took of us…of me…I mean…of you and I…" she trailed off, her face burning.

"I am well aware of that," Harry admitted, causing his friend to cast him another look. "Unlike you, I was wide awake when they took those pictures." It was a benefit to being him. Harry wasn't quite sure why, but he had a lot of energy and rarely ever got tired. Case in point, he only needed a total of four hours of sleep each night for his body to operate at maximum efficiency.

"And you didn't think to wake me whenever they were about to do this?" Lisa asked with a bit of acid in her tone. Harry didn't let that get to him, he knew she was just embarrassed. Though why she would be embarrassed he didn't know.

"You obviously don't know how hard it can sometimes be to wake you up," Harry told her dryly. "Especially late at night when you're tired." While waking the girl up during the day was relatively easy, waking her up later during the evening was not. The girl was not only incredibly stubborn in her refusal to be roused from sleep, but also incredibly clingy. Normally, when she fell asleep during the times he stayed at her house, he would simply carry her to her room and tuck her into bed, and even then, he had to pry her fingers from his clothing.

"Whatever," Lisa mumbled, turning away from the laughing Anastasia and the slightly confused Harry.

"So, Harry," Anastasia started, smoothly changing the subject after she got over her small fit of giggles. "Would you like to stay over for dinner tonight? I'm making Lasagna."

Harry tilted his head, considering the proposition. "I am not sure I should," he frowned. Dudley's birthday was today, and he had agreed with Aunt Petunia's request to clean up after the unwrapping of gifts in return for a trip to the optometrist so he could get a new prescription of contact lenses.

"Oh come on, Harry," Lisa said, grabbing her friend by the hand and beginning to pull him towards the door. "Your piggy little cousin won't be finished with his party until later. You know how fatty and his ratty friend is when it comes to pigging out."

"Lisa!" Anastasia admonished her daughter, but Lisa ignored her mother's words.

Harry frowned, his brow furrowing for a moment in thought. It cleared seconds later, and he gave a small smile. "Well," he began in a slow tone. "I suppose I could stay for a little while."

XoX

It was two hours later when Harry finally arrived at the Dursley's. The sun had almost finished its descend beyond the horizon. The sky was getting dark, with only the barest hints of dark orange and purple highlighting the atmosphere. Unlocking the door with his key, Harry silently entered the house.

Dinner with the Crawft's had been as interesting an experience as always. It seemed that every time he went there, there was something new for them to converse about. This time it was about a new movie that Lisa wanted to see, Hook, a fantasy tail about Peter Pan that apparently starred Robin Williams. His friend had asked him if he would be willing to accompany her to it. Even if the movie hadn't sounded so interesting, Harry probably would have agreed to go, if for no other reason than his friend wanted to see it.

Not that she would ever know that.

It was not a surprise to him when he saw the mess that had been made of the living room upon entering it. Wrapping paper and boxes had been tossed about with impunity. He could even see several strands of string that had been used to tie a bow for decoration hanging off the ceiling fan. It looked like Dudley had once again shown his natural propensity for creating disaster zones within the house, as well as his parent's lack discipline when it came to him.

"Oh good, you're here," Aunt Petunia sniffed. She had just come out of the kitchen. No doubt Dudley had made a mess in there as well. "Dudley has finished unwrapping his presents…"

"I can see that," Harry replied as she trailed off. He looked around the room, then back at Aunt Petunia. "Do not worry, I will clean this place up as per our agreement." Aunt Petunia opened her mouth, then closed it. She seemed to want to say something, but did not know how to say it. In the end, she simply gave him a stiff nod, then scuttled back into the kitchen, leaving Harry to the mess his cousin had made.

He smiled. His aunt had no trouble making use of his talents, but didn't want to be present for it. How amusing.

Casting one more glance around the room, Harry closed his eyes. It would take a bit more energy to clean this mess up; it was rather large, after all. Accessing the hidden well of power that had been at his disposal for as long as he could remember, the raven-haired youth prepared to commit an act that would freak out his relatives if they ever saw it.

A slow exhale of breath. Harry lids fluttered open. Green eyes glowing with power. He snapped the fingers of his left hand, and the many boxes, wrapping paper, and ribbons disappeared. Gone. As if they had never existed in the first place.

Harry breathed in deeply, regaining his breath after using so much of his power to clean the room. He still had plenty to spar, but it was always tiring to use that much in a single sitting. And disintegrating, as he called it, took quite a bit more concentration than levitation did.

With the room clean Harry made his way upstairs, entering his room and shutting the door. He took off his shoes and his shirt, and allowed them to float away. The shirt landed in his dirty bin hamper, while his shoes set themselves in a small, open space under his bed. Harry Potter moved further into the room, and sat himself down cross legged in the center.

He took a glance around the room, decently furnished, if a bit small. It was a room he had lived in for six years, and hopefully one that he would soon only come to live in during the summer. Just a few more weeks, he surmised.

Soon.

Closing his eyes, Harry began his nightly routine of clearing his mind of all thoughts.

He would stay that way until ten o'clock that night.

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