Chapter Text
“Aww, Cedric! No, don't go, Cedric! Who’s Cedric? Your boyfriend?” Dudley crooned, pouting his lip and tilting his head mockingly. His gaggle of horrid friends behind him all guffawed.
Harry’s face burned despite the growing chill in the air, and he yanked his wand out of his pocket and stalked from where he was sitting to jab his wand under Dudley’s chin.
The gang of bullies around the two let out confused chuckles and a few began to mock Harry for his “scary stick”, but all Harry focused on was the absolute terror in Dudley’s eyes. How dare he mock his pain. Remind him of his daily recurring nightmares. Hatred made his face harden.
He was pulled from his dark satisfaction of the fear in Dudley's expression by the now too-present-for-August chill in the air. The wind whipped too unnaturally to be normal. Dudley swallowed thickly. “Stop that,” he whispered, staring at Harry.
“I’m not doing anything,” Harry said, stepping back and watching as Dudley’s friends shared scared looks and ran away.The sky darkened dramatically, a deep sadness infecting the air. A deep sadness that could only mean one thing.
“Run!” Harry thundered, taking off at a sprint away from the open field. Dudley didn’t have to be told twice, stumbling along after him.
They both ran as two cloaked figures chased them, running blocks and blocks away from the playground on Privet Drive. Harry dove into a dimly lit tunnel under some train tracks and was nearly ran into by Dudley when he stopped at the sight of one of the dementors coming in through the other side.
He tried to back peddle but was quickly picked up by the dementor and shoved against the wall as the second demon attacked Dudley.
Fear and dread quickly became all that pierced his mind as the dementor fed on his happiness. He could feel himself slipping away and becoming a submissive to the nothingness. His wand was in his pocket—all he had to do was reach for it.
He commanded his arm to move and his hand to grip the wand in his trouser pocket. But his hand wouldn’t move.
‘Why would you even try?’ His brain screamed at him. Desperation clawed at his skin.
‘Move!’ He wailed to himself. ‘Move, move, move!’
Faintly, he could see Dudley being sucked dry by the second dementor. Dudley, who couldn’t even see his attacker.
His aunt and uncle would kill his emaciated, soulless body if anything happened to their precious Dudley. Strangely, that was what gave him the strength.
His cold fingers, slick with sweat and cramped from clenching yanked the wand from his pocket. He stabbed it in the face of the creature holding him up and bellowed, “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”
The dementor dropped Harry immediately and he fell to his knees as the cloaked figure scattered. His chest heaved as he staggered to his feet and threw his patronus in the other direction to save his cousin from a life worse than death.
His cousin’s still body groaned and Harry sighed in relief. At least he was kind of conscious.
Slowly, Harry risked a step forward and when his ankle only protested slightly, he moved over to Dudley and bent down to help him up. He managed to get an arm thrown around his shoulder and both of them semi-vertical.
“Harry!” A voice beckoned from the other end of the tunnel. Spooked, Harry twisted around so quickly that he nearly dropped Dudley. The larger boy merely moaned.
***
Mrs. Figg being a squib was a surprise to Harry, but he had much more important things to worry about.
The elderly woman dropped them both off at the front door of Number 4 with only a “Be safe!” Harry took in a deep breath and opened the flood gates (the front door).
***
“What did you do to our Duddykins!? Oh, poor Duddy-wuddy! You don’t have to worry anymore, sweet baby. Mummy’s right here!” Aunt Petunia cried as she pulled the boy who still had a vacant look in his eyes toward her.
Uncle Vernon was an imposing sight. “What have you done, boy?” His face was cherry red and all Harry could focus on was the spittle flying from his mouth.
He was sure the magical letter that spoke from the Ministry of Magic didn’t quite help their mood. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a little surprised when they threw him on the street with his belongings.
“Go to your kind! We don’t want you hear anymore!”
At least they had given him his things, he supposed. They could have thrown him out and then burned everything.
He stood on the sidewalk, honestly stunned. Harry hadn’t thought they would ever go so far as to abandon him after all the years they’d put up with his presence during the summer.Now where was he to go? He supposed he could live off his inheritance. Getting a room at The Leaky Cauldron would be fine, he pondered. Maybe a muggle job wouldn’t be so bad.
Swallowing, he listened to Hedwig hoot angrily in the direction of the Dursley’s.
“Yeah, girl,” was all he could think to say. He thought about calling for the Knight Bus when a harried owl fluttered down to him and let a small piece of paper float into his hands. A piece of paper from Sirius reassuring him that he had NOT been expelled.
“Thank God,” he said aloud. The paper also implored him to stay inside. Well, did inside a coffee shop not too far from here count? Because that seemed to be Harry’s only option at the moment.
He didn’t have the means to dig into his trunk at the moment and fetch the materials to write back a response that communicated the current state of things, and that familiar wave of anger crept over him at how suspicious and secretive they were acting towards him.The letter was short and unhelpful for the most part. He grit his teeth and let out a frustrated grunt.
How was he to carry his trunk and broom and Hedwig’s cage somewhere? And how would he do it inconspicuously? This was a nightmare.
Mostly resigned to a fate of dying right there on the pavement (because that would royally piss off his relatives), he sat down and let Hedwig out of her cage. She nipped at him affectionately and he stroked her feathers lightly.
“You’ll let Ron and Hermione know I love them, right?” He whispered to her.
She nudged him with her head in a very feline way and he chuckled.
“And Sirius and Remus. Mhm, girl. They’ll take care of you,” he said smiling. Hedwig let out a tither and seemed to roll her eyes.
“Don’t take that tone with me. I’m going to die right here on this ground and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I can’t tell if you’re suicidal or just lazy,” a soft voice sounded to his left.
Harry jumped and turned toward the noise and was met with a short figure. Not a threat as far as he could see, just one of the Dursley’s neighbors. Something was oddly familiar about the person, though. It clicked when the figure stepped closer.
“Dory?” Harry said, dumbfounded. One of his old school mates. One of the only people there Harry had even remotely considered a friend. He hadn’t seen her in years. And she appeared very different now. Her once long curls now short, and a pair of glasses over her eyes.
“I believe so,” Dory said, creeping closer. “What’s all this?” she asked, frowning at the owl perched on Harry’s shoulder.
“My relatives have.. umm.. sent me off to vacation,” he tried for a laugh, attempting a grin. It failed dismally, and Dory frowned at him, a crease forming between her eyes.
“They haven't kicked you out, have they?” she asked quietly. Harry bit his lip and closed his eyes, taking a breath.
“Perchance?”
Dory shook her head and came closer towards him, grasping his arm and helping him stand. The weight on his ankle reminded him of his earlier fall to the ground. He winced as Dory took a look at all of his strange belongings.
“I’m not even going to ask, you always were the strangest kid I ever met,” she intoned seriously. He nodded at her, grinning a bit. He marveled at her. She had changed so much, yet not at all.
“You could probably come to my house for a bit,” she offered. “I know I haven’t seen you in a while, but—…”
Well where else would he go? He hadn’t seen Dory in over 4 years, she was a virtual stranger. For a moment, the terrifying thought that this was a trick of Voldemort crossed his mind, but he quickly stamped it out. He could accept her offer, he thought, remembering how lovely she used to be when they were younger. How was she being so kind? For all she knew he could have been kicked out for doing something truly terrible. Who was he to refuse such pure kindness?
“That,” Harry interrupted, “would really be wonderful.” He looked around at all of his stuff and then back at Dory. “You really don’t have to though, I might actually put you in danger.”
“Danger?” she snorted. “I very much doubt that you put me in any danger, Harry Potter.”
“Really, are you sure?” he insisted. "What if they kicked me out for a good reason?"
“I have a sincere doubt about that. And, yes, Harry. My mum will be thrilled to see you, anyway. She still asks about you, you know?”
That amazed Harry, and he got a wowed look on his face.
“We’ll have to take a few trips with all this stuff, though,” she said lowly, frowning at his belongings.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Are you really sure about this?”
“Harry.”