"So, who are we going to see again?" Percy asked. They were in London, Sally for a writing convention and Percy for a vacation. Sally glanced over at Percy, concerned. It had been a nerve wracking flight the day before, as usual, and he was still trying to recover.

"It's just my cousin and her family."

Percy glanced at his mom. "I didn't know you still had family."

"Well, my mom used to live in London, but she moved to New York when she met my dad and her sister stayed here. So it's just my cousin Petunia, her husband, their son, and Harry."

"Harry?"

"My cousin Lily's son. She and her husband died when he was a baby, so Petunia has him."

Sally frowned. "If I remember correctly, Petunia never really liked Lily. I don't know why; I think there's just some bad history between them."

Percy smirked. "Right. Bad history. That's a completely new experience for me."

Sally tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "Now Percy, I want you to be on your best behavior.

"Ah, mom, when am I never on my best behaviour?"

"Oh, I can think of a few times," Sally responded darkly.

They pulled up in front of a trim-looking house. "Well, here we are!" Sally said cheerfully.

Percy stepped out of the car. "It'll be nice to meet family who isn't trying to kill me. But it does seem weird to think that I actually have normal relatives."

"So, this is pleasant." Petunia smiled awkwardly. It looked more like a grimace to Percy.

"How are you doing in school, Dudley?" Sally smiled pityingly at her cousin's child. Dudley glanced at Petunia, uncertain. Percy smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Dudley is doing wonderful at school!" Petunia warbles. "At the top of his class, and so popular!"

"And Harry? How is he doing?" Sally looked closely at the Dursleys. They had claimed that Harry wasn't feeling well, so the Jacksons hadn't met him yet, but something seemed off to Sally's mothering instincts.

"Oh, Harry, well he goes to St Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. His truancy officer says that he's improved since last year. He hasn't attacked anyone in months!" Petunia turned to Vernon, smiling tremulously. "Isn't that good?"

Sally frowned. Something was definitely wrong. "So where is he right now?"

"He's in his room. He's not really fit for company. Can be dangerous to strangers, you know," Vernon said ominously.

"Oh, well, then some experience socializing could be beneficial," Sally said brightly with a cheerful smile on her face. "Could we meet him?"

"Well, I don't think you'd like that," Vernon blustered. "He's . . . "

"Dear," Petunia said hesitantly. Vernon looked over to her as she nodded at him, Sally watching the entire exchange like a hawk.

"Boy!" Vernon bellowed, "Come down here!" He frowned, his face red. There was the sound of a door opening and closing, then footsteps on the stairs. Sally looked up as Harry entered the room, looking closely at him.

Vernon glared at Harry. "This is Sally Jackson, Petunia's cousin."

Sally looked at Harry. She saw a boy with dark, untidy hair. His eyes were a bright vibrant green, his clothes were old and baggy. But what struck her was the expression in his eyes. He looked lost, a bit like Percy did after he had a nightmare about Tartarus. This boy had seen things he shouldn't have.

Harry nodded at her, his eyes on the floor. "Hi," he muttered, barely even looking at her. "Hello Harry," she said kindly. He glanced up at her, looking closely before shifting his gaze back down to the floor.

"Make yourself useful, boy. Go get our guests some refreshments." Vernon gestured angrily towards the kitchen.

Sally glanced over to Percy and nodded over to Harry.

"That sounds like a good idea," Percy said cheerfully as he jumped up and started walking over to the kitchen. "I'll go help you."

Vernon's eyes narrowed.

"No, that's fine, I can handle it," Harry said nervously, glancing over to Vernon.

"No, no, I like food, I can help," Percy said, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him towards the kitchen. Harry let himself be pulled, his gaze flicking over his shoulder to Vernon as Sally distracted him with conversation.

In the kitchen, as he pulled out some glasses from a cabinet, Harry looked Percy over. Percy looked like a more confident version of Harry. He had a tan, and his hair managed to look windblown instead of just messy. His eyes weren't as bright, but were a softer green that somehow managed to look reassuring. Then Harry frowned. There was something about Percy that reminded him of Sirius.

Percy glanced over at Harry. "So, I hear you have problems at school."

Harry shut the cabinet door sharply, turning away. "Yeah, something like that."

Percy smiled. "Hey, don't worry, man. I've been expelled from almost every school I've been to."

Harry looked sharply at Percy. "Every school? What did you do?"

Percy shrugged. "It wasn't every school, just most of them. And it was mostly because of. . . accidents." He smiled. "But the school I'm going to now, we're hoping will be different. My stepdad is a teacher there, so mom thinks it'll be better. What about you?"

Harry stared at the countertop. "I just mostly get a lot of detentions. And there's this teacher that really hates me."

Percy nodded. "You don't really to go St. Brute's center for whatevers, do you."

Harry laughed. "No, I don't."

Later in the day, as the Dursleys were in the sitting room and the Jacksons and Harry were in the kitchen, Sally pulled Harry aside.

"Harry, are you happy here?"

"Um, what do you mean?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I mean, do you want to come live with us? I can probably get custody of you. You'd have to come live with us in New York, but . . . " She trailed off.

Harry glanced at her in bemusement. Was she actually offering to let him live with her? That was what he had always wanted, what he'd always dreamed of when he was a child. A family that cared. But there was a large problem with that. If he went to go live with the Jacksons, he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts. And Voldemort might attack them. "No, thank you, but I'm fine."

"Harry," Sally said, concerned. "This is not a good place for you to live.

Harry shrugged. "I don't really live here. Most of the year I'm away at school, and I'm going to go stay with one of my friends from school for the rest of the summer in a few days. I'll be fine."

Sally bit her lip. "Ok, then, if you're sure." She looked at him, deep in thought. Seeming to reach a decision, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pad of paper and pen. "Do you have an address where I can send things to you?"

Harry looked at her, confused. Why would she want to send him things? "Well," he began, hesitantly," if you send things to one of my friends house, she'll be able to get them to me." He thought quickly. Sally would probably send things the muggle way, which meant that having her send things to the Grangers would be the best option. He gave her Hermione's address and her parents phone number. Sally wrote down the Granger's contact information, then flipped to another page in her notebook and started writing something.

"Ok, this is my address and my phone number. If you don't contact me every Christmas and tell me that you're fine, then I will fly back here and chase you down. You can write or call, it doesn't matter which just as long as I hear from you. Do you understand?" She looked him in the eyes as she ripped out the page and handed him the paper.

Harry folded the paper and put it in his pocket as Sally wrote on a another piece of paper. When she finished, she folded it and gave it to Harry as well. "Can you give this to your friend's mom? The one you're going to live with soon." Harry nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Sally smiled. "Thanks." She pulled him into a hug. "Remember, call me if you ever need anything." Harry nodded, his eyes starting to tear up. So this was what if felt like to have family that cared for you. Sally pulled back, and Percy offered Harry his hand. Harry smiled and shook it. "Nice to meet you, mate." Percy smiled. "Good luck with school." Harry laughed. "Same to you."

Harry watched from the kitchen as Sally and Percy said goodbye to the Dursley's in the other room. He smiled. He had been upset about what had happened the year before in the graveyard with Voldemort, but it was reassuring to know that he had family who cared about him.

As the Jacksons were leaving, Harry saw Percy wink at him. He smiled back. Finally, things were starting to look better.