Chapter Text
Harry lay unmoving on his mattress. It had been moved to the floor because Dudley had broken his bedframe and needed Harry’s, while the Dursley’s waited for the new one to arrive.
Hedwig hooted softly in her cage and Harry turned to look sadly at her.
“I know girl, 2 more weeks and we’ll be out of here... the Weasley’s will come for us, I’m sure of it.”
She buried her head under her wing without another sound.
Harry sighed and was about to roll back over when he heard the doorbell. He frowned, no-one ever came around unexpectedly and if the Dursley’s were to have company, he would have known – they would have had him scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush beforehand.
He strained his ears to hear anything that would tell him who it was – he was so incredibly bored that this was exciting for him.
He heard the door open, immediately followed by Aunt Petunia's scream. Harry jumped off the bed and banged on the door of his room. Fuck these bloody locks!
“Let me out! What’s going on?!”
Then he heard heavy footsteps running up the stairs. He stepped back away from the door quickly – he didn’t recognise the steps. He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, they’d locked his wand up in the cupboard, so he was defenceless.
The locks on the outside of his room were ripped from the door. No magic – okay good. He held his fists up in front of him, he’d had years of practice attempting to protect himself from his cousin, he might have a chance.
But then the door opened.
Harry couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Sirius!” Harry yelled and threw himself into his Godfather’s arms.
“Hey Pup! Are you okay?” Sirius held Harry out at arm’s length and looked over the skinny boy in front of him.
“Don’t answer that. Come here.” He pulled Harry into another bone crushing hug.
Without loosening his grip, he said, “get your things. We’re getting you out of here.”
Harry grinned so wide he thought his face would split open.
“Who’s we?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”
Harry frowned but he didn’t have it in him to care at the moment. Sirius was here and he was getting him away from this awful place.
“Pack your stuff and let’s go.”
“It’s all downstairs.”
Sirius looked around the sparse bedroom for the first time and Harry could see the moment it clicked. He hadn’t realised just how bad Harry’s life at the Dursley’s was. His jaw tightened and he nodded.
“Right, let’s get everything together. You’re never coming back.”
“But – “ Harry started, but he was cut off.
“I don’t care what Dumbledore says. I’m your godfather and your parents wanted me to look after you if something happened to them. I’ve missed the last 12 years, and I can’t really make up for that, but you can bet I’m going to try my bloody best.”
Harry was not going to cry. All he’d ever wanted was for someone better to come and take him away from the nightmare that was the Dursley’s.
Sirius grabbed him by one hand, reached over for Hedwig’s cage, and dragged Harry out of the room and down the stairs. At the foot of the staircase Harry came to a screeching halt and his eyes blew wide.
Standing there, like she owned the place, with her wand pointed at Aunt Petunia, was Narcissa fucking Malfoy.
“Told you that you wouldn’t believe me.” Sirius laughed.
Harry seriously couldn’t even move. He just stared at Mrs Malfoy as his confusion grew. What the actual bloody fuck was going on.
Sirius pulled on his hand again, “where’s your stuff, Pup. I’ll explain when we’re gone.”
Harry refocused, yes gone. He wanted to be gone. He stepped down the last stair and pointed, “it’s in my cupboard.”
Sirius eyes narrowed at the term my cupboard, but he left it alone... for now.
Mrs Malfoy smiled gently at Harry, and he felt his cheeks redden. He shouldn’t still be staring but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t sure what his face was showing but Mrs Malfoy just turned back to keep her eye on his aunt.
After gathering all of Harry’s things from the cupboard under the stairs, Sirius sent Harry to wait outside the front door with Mrs Malfoy so he could have a ‘quick little chat’ with Aunt Petunia.
Harry hid a smirk, he could imagine how that conversation might go but he willingly left Sirius to his fun.
Standing outside Number 4 with Mrs Malfoy was extremely weird. It was very hot and Harry couldn’t stop fidgeting. Mrs Malfoy looked as regal as one might expect of a Malfoy, even in the stinking heat.
“I know you must be wondering what I am doing here with your godfather.”
Harry looked up at the woman, and nodded his head, “Uh yeah, it... you were definitely not someone I’d ever think I’d have seen here.”
The corners of her mouth lifted just barely in response. As she looked at the slight boy in front of her, she suddenly realised why her cousin had been so desperate to rescue his godson. Narcissa could see that this boy needed love, because he certainly wasn’t getting it in this household. The poor dear was skinny, made even more obvious by the baggy, ripped clothing he was currently wearing. His glasses were sitting crooked on his face as if they had been broken a number of times and never quite fixed. She remembered James Potter having ridiculously unruly hair, but his sons was more than that – it was unkempt in a way that clearly hadn’t been looked after, and she suspected that that was of no fault of this young boys, but of the relatives that had been charged with his care. As a mother, it made Narcissa’s blood boil.
“Yes, well, I can’t say I would have ever thought I would find myself here either. However, it is not safe here to discuss such matters. We shall await your godfather and everything will be explained to you once we have left this horrendous place.”
Harry grinned at her, for once he agreed full heartily with Narcissa Malfoy.
“Everything?” he questioned.
Mrs Malfoy studied him silently for a small moment, then nodded slightly, “Yes, Mr Potter. We will explain everything.”
“Thank you, Mrs Malfoy.”
Before she could reply, Sirius opened the front door and stepped onto the porch with Hedwig’s cage.
“Right then, I think it’s time we were off.”
Harry glanced back at the house, before he could even voice his concerns, Sirius explained, “I shrunk your things and I’ve got them with me. We can let Hedwig out now and send her ahead – she’ll find us” without a word, Mrs Malfoy flicked her wand toward the cage and the lock clicked open. Sirius unlatched it and Hedwig immediately swooped out, she passed close enough to Harry to touch his head with a wing and then she was soaring high into the sky.
Harry watched her go, glad that she was free and could enjoy her time in the air.
“Right, now for the not so fun part, Harry.”
Out of his pants pocket, Sirius pulled a broken Frisbee. Harry looked at it – thoroughly confused.
“What’s with that?”
“That would be our portkey, Mr Potter.”
“Our what now?”
Sirius laughed, “a portkey. A simple way for us to jump large distances while staying together. It’s not going to be pleasant, I’ll warn you but it’s a lot better than side-apparation.”
Harry had no idea what that was either, but he trusted Sirius so he let him explain how to use the portkey and before he knew it, his feet landed hard on the ground, Sirius reaching out to keep him upright, in a place that was definitely not the Dursley’s front porch anymore.