Nepotis

Repertum -Harry's POV

Harry's eyes flew open to the "backfiring car" sound of apparition, a loud scolding from Mrs. Weasley ensuring he was fully conscious and alert. He blindly scrambled for his glasses and squirmed out of bed, lazily showering, dressing, and brushing his teeth before returning to his room. Ron was still struggling to get out of bed, so he left him in favor of food.

Mrs. Weasley was already bustling around the dining room when he entered. She dropped what she was doing and made a beeline for Harry before he had a chance to protest. "Harry! I was wondering when you'd be up. Come on, eat! You could use a bit of filling out."

Harry pulled away, clutching his sore ribs where she had glomped him, nodding and beaming back at her as expected. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, no trouble at all dear, no trouble at all. Here, have a seat while I get you a plate." The twins grimaced at him from their chairs as he took his, sensing his pain. It was his fifth day at Grimmauld Place, and he had gotten over some of his resentment for his friends and the order- some. He still hated them, Dumbledore especially, for leaving him alone at the Dursleys' for so long. He knew Ron had seen his bruises, and he'd told Dumbledore of his treatment there multiple times in hopes of getting to live elsewhere, but he was brushed off like it was unimportant and insignificant.

Ron wasn't the only one who'd seen them: all the boys in his dorm or on the team had at one point or another. It was nearly impossible to hide anything from them- the only privacy was the shower and bed curtains. Dean and Seamus had merely ignored them, and Oliver hadn't cared about him beyond his ability as a seeker. Neville, on the other hand, had quietly slipped him plants with healing properties and instructions on their use, even getting him a few books on how to heal himself. Fred and George had been another tremendous help, providing Potions and teaching him how to use glamours. Before, he'd had to use foundation, like his Aunt Petunia had taught him for outings back in Surrey. Unfortunately, foundation tended to smudge and washed off in the shower. He'd been wary of anyone else finding out about his weakness, or else he'd have told Hermione. That, and he was afraid of her overreacting and going to tell someone. He didn't need the type of help she normally gave for other things.

Suffice to say, he had learned that you couldn't really rely on trust, especially blind trust. Even earned trust could be betrayed. But, seeing as he valued his life, he had to stay nice and polite and act like the perfect golden boy so he wasn't crucified by the media, and subsequently, the people. If he even wavered too much they would think he was going dark...

He shook his head, clearing his mind of gloomy thoughts, and tucked into the steaming plate of eggs Mrs. Weasley had just plopped down in front of him. Thankfully, his stomach had stopped cramping whenever he ate too much food. Every year when he left the Dursleys, he would get back up to his expected appetite as quickly as possible bh always eating past his stomach cramping, but stopping before he would vomit. He had learned that lesson in his first year.

Gradually, the table filled until Lupin, Sirius, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and even Mrs. Weasley had joined Harry and the twins eating. Meaningless chatter filled the air, but Harry was content to sit in silence, as was Sirius, who sat on his right drinking black coffee. He really wasn't a morning person. Ron had taken Harry's left, but was thankfully too focused on shoving food into his mouth to bother him with Quidditch talk. On the other side of Ron's wasteland of food, Hermione was quizzing Remus on werewolves. Meanwhile, Mrs. Weasley was fussing over Ginny, Mr. Weasley fidgeting with an Ipod. How he'd gotten ahold of one was a mystery.

No one noticed or particularly cared when the fireplace was lit with wild green flames; after all, Order members often stopped by for breakfast. No one blinked when Albus Dumbledore emerged from the fire. But the grim look on his face caused all conversation to cease instantly, an apprehensive silence blanketing the room.