There were certain things in his life that caused instant regret. One of those things was showing Fred and George videogames. While they had been interested in the game Harry had inadvertently created, they were over the moon for the SNES. Harry had planned to take them to the cinema, maybe out for some pizza, and show them around the muggle world. Instead, the twins were hooked. They learned quickly and were trouncing Harry and Dudley in Street Fighter. Only Dobby could defend the honor of Number Four Privet Drive. George and Dobby ignited a fierce rivalry that lasted almost until dawn.
It wasn't until Arthur appeared to get the twins that they finally took a break. Arthur tried to put on a brave face, but it was clear there was something wrong. Harry told himself that he shouldn't feel guilty, that it was Molly who did this to the family. Still, it hurt to see the man in so much pain.
"We'll talk later." Arthur gave Harry a tired smile.
For once Arthur didn't want to go via muggle transportation. Dobby popped them to the Burrow. The elf was gone for a bit longer than expected. When Dobby returned, he looked worried.
"What happened?" Harry asked his friend.
"All the Weasleys are sad." Dobby trudged over to Harry and gave held his arms out for a hug.
Harry bent down and scooped the elf up, holding him tight. Dobby began to sob loudly.
"Misses Weasley isn't going to be Misses Weasley for much longer." Dobby said after a good long cry. "Arthur is sad, Harry's Ron is sad, the little Gin is sad, Frog and Ged tried to be happy for the Weasleys, but it didn't work."
Dobby began to sob once more. Harry winced as the elf used his shirt as a hanky.
"Do you want to take the day off and help around their place?" Harry asked softly.
Dobby nodded.
"That's perfectly fine." Harry rubbed the elf's back. "I'm sure they would like that. Talk to Arthur, ask if there is anything he needs. Let me know if you want to spend longer over there, ok?"
Dobby slipped out of his grip. "Thank you, boss."
The elf disappeared with a small pop.
"Was that Dobby?" Petunia asked stepping into the hallway.
"Yes, he's going to be with the Weasleys for today. Maybe a little longer." Harry explained. "Arthur wasn't in the mood to talk, but I've gathered that he's going with the divorce route."
"That poor man." She sighed. "He's a kind soul."
Harry nodded. "I'm going to give them a couple of days before I check in on them."
"That's a good idea." His aunt gave him a small smile. "It will give us time to get a gift basket together. You said he liked muggle things?"
Harry nodded once more. It was still odd to hear his aunt use words like that so casually. Petunia grabbed the keys from the hallway table.
"I'll be back in a bit." She called over her shoulder.
Harry watched her go. There was something he was missing. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but whatever it was dangled just out of reach. Petunia and Vernon had been in a lot better mood after speaking with Arthur. He hadn't hung around while the trio finished off the whiskey, so he didn't know the details of their conversation. Honestly, he had avoided getting too close. The pain hit a little too close to his previous life and led a train of thought he didn't want to explore.
His old life was still fresh in his mind, but it was disconnected. It was like watching a movie rather than actual memories. He wasn't sure if he it was a coping mechanism to distance himself, or if he was settling into this life. Small moments were starting to fade. His future after Hogwarts was a jumble of potion saturated falsehoods. The years fighting Voldemort followed by chasing down the remaining Death Eaters were the sharpest.
The timeline had already been altered to an extreme extent. Sirius was free, his relatives were actually family, Pettigrew was out of the picture, and there was only one horcrux remaining. The knowledge from his previous life wasn't going to be of use for much longer.
Unfortunately, that meant he was going to need to stop relaxing and get to work. He needed to figure out how to deal with the powerful Death Eaters. The heavy hitters in politics, finance, and battlefield specialties. Harry wanted to believe that Malfoy was out of the picture for good. With Lucius at the helm, they weren't nearly as big of a problem. Narcissa was the one that knew how to make things happen. Removing her reason to swap sides meant that she posed a very real threat. However, Lucius was a slave to his pride. Letting his wife have control was not a move he would ever willingly make.
Harry needed to decide how he was going to handle the situation. Discrediting them, exposing the corruption, and using the legal system would take a long time. They could stall the process, or make it completely disappear. The more violent and depraved of the Death Eaters targeted muggles or muggle-born which meant most of the Purebloods didn't give a rat's ass about it.
Killing them made the most sense. Going in to his fourth year put him on a time crunch. If things stayed close enough to his old life, then Riddle would regain a body at the end of term. Once that happened Harry bet that fighting the Death Eaters would be tricky. Right now, they were unprepared and there was no reason to expect an attack.
He had five days before Sirius would pick him up for the World Cup. Harry needed to get to work.
"Oh boy, here I go killing again." Harry muttered.