Chapter 1
Harry jumped, quickly casting a grappling charm on the wall. From there he pushed off over the heads of his attackers, casting stunners as he went. Three of the four attackers went down at once. The fourth had managed to erect a shield in time to deflect the stunners. He missed Harry's sticking charm however, being far too focused on the stunners. Harry cast a grapple for the light pole and stuck his feet so he hung upside down from the light arm. Luck was with him as the light itself was broken. The final assailant was just discovering his inability to move his feet when Harry banished a trash can into the man's mid-section. The attacker's wand was knocked from his hand and Harry took the opportunity to stun him. Harry released the charm holding his feet to the pole and cushioned his landing.
"Accio Trench!" Harry shouted, grabbing the coat from the air as it flew towards him. Donning the trench, he bound the four men with ropes from his wand. He thought for a second about what to do with them and then a slightly sadistic smile formed on his face. He had discovered, his first week back at 4 Privet Drive, that the emergency portkey the order had given him to ensure his safety, was also functioning as some sort of tracking beacon. He tied the four attackers together and then affixed the portkey to the bindings, ensuring all a one-way trip to the Order evacuation point. Harry amused himself with the thought of the reactions the Death Eater's arrival would have on the rest of the Order. Securing his wand in it's fore-arm holster and pocketing the DE's wands, strolled out of the alley a few blocks away from Privet Drive and prepared to leave Little Whinging forever.
Meanwhile somewhere in London...
Tonks landed flat on her backside as the portkey delivered the Death Eaters Harry encountered to the evac point. She got up quickly, drawing her wand as she did. She approached the unconscious Death Eaters with the cautious gait of one who is quite thoroughly confused. As she inspected the Death Eaters she caught sight of the Order's emergency portkey attached to their bindings. She was about to contact Dumbledore when something else caught her eye. There, on the left claw of the phoenix was the miniscule variation that set this particular portkey apart from the standard issue ones. That variation held the tracking charm which was given to Harry Potter, to aide the guards on Privet Drive in keeping track of him. She immediately pulled out the small compact Dumbledore had charmed as two way communication devices.
"Dumbledore!" she shouted into the mirror with all the urgency she could manage. The mirror occluded for a moment and when it cleared, Dumbledore's face was pictured.
"Tonks, what is it I can do for you today?"
"Albus, I'm the guard at the evac point currently and four DE's, bound and stunned, were just portkeyed in."
"While alarming in and of itself, I get the feeling that is not what has you most worried."
"No Albus, the worst part is that I'm fairly sure they were portkeyed in with Harry's emergency key."
"Are you sure?!?" Dumbledore's face had gone a very pale white.
"It has the variation, unless you made another and didn't tell us."
"There is no other!" His voice hardened suddenly. "Stay there. Severus and myself will join you shortly."
The communication was ended suddenly and Tonks stowed the compact. After about 15 minutes, there were two pops signaling apparition. Dumbledore strode over to the four DE's and immediately examined the portkey.
"It is, without a doubt, Harry's key. Nymphadora please turn the Death Eaters over to Kingsley at the ministry and proceed to Grimmauld place as quickly as possible. Severus before she leaves please identify the four Death Eaters so that she can pass that information on. I will proceed to Headquarters immediately and call an emergency meeting."
Snape strode over to the DE's and identified the four of them, giving their names to Tonks and remarking that they had all been low ranking, being recruited only two months before. While they were doing that, Dumbledore had contacted Mundungus and recalled him to guard the evacuation point. He then created a portkey and set it to the MLE holding cells in the Ministry. With that, Tonks was gone and Dumbledore and Severus both apparated to Order Headquarters.
Meanwhile back in Surrey for a bit...
After gathering his belongings from the curb where he had been contemplating his next move, he thought back to the Daily Prophet article which had lead him to this point. Apparently the minister had decided to pull his head out of the dark place he'd been keeping it and proceeded to make some changes related to the safety of witches and wizards affected by Voldemort's return. One of those changes was the rescinding of the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Magic. So long as a witch or wizard had completed at least one year of magical education, they were allowed to accomplish magic within the confines of the standard restrictions applicable to all. It did however mention that the penalties for misuse of magic and violation of muggle secrecy laws would be much more severe for those still underage. Harry had relished holding that over the Dursley's heads for several days. His relatives then took to taunting Harry for his Godfather's death and Harry, being unsure of the specifics of the misuse of magic clause, did not risk hexing them for it. It finally came to a head tonight when Harry had decided that if he was to stay safe from himself, he would have to leave the protection provided by his relatives and risk Dumbledore's ire.
Shaking his head free of the past, he contemplated his next move. He knew he was going to the burrow, he just wasn't sure how. He wasn't at all sure where Ottery St. Catchpole was in relation to Surrey or even London. He was, however, fairly sure that if he could get to the Leaky Cauldron, he could floo to the Weasley's. Remembering his third year, he took out his wand and raised it above his head. BANG! As it happened last time, the Knight Bus appeared at the curb where he was waiting.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transportation for the stranded witch or wizard."
"Good Evening Stan." Harry said as he placed a galleon in Stan's hand and said "Leaky Cauldron please and hot chocolate as well if it's not too much trouble."
"Of course Neville." Stan said with a wink. "Take any bed you please. We're near empty tonight and the Cauldron was our next stop anyways."
Harry thanked Stan and moved towards the rear of the bus, choosing a bed and setting Hedwig's cage on the floor next to it. Harry laid his head down on the pillow, cast a sticking charm so that he would remain on the bed during the undoubtedly bumpy ride and fell asleep.
Meanwhile on Grimmauld Place...(sounds like a soap opera doesn't it)
Dumbledore sat at the head of the table in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld place, silently contemplating what had driven Harry to leave the protection of his relatives. He was fully aware of Harry's dislike for his relatives and assumed as well that Sirius' death was weighing heavily upon the boy not to mention the prophecy, but surely his relatives were providing some sense of comfort or support. Come to think of it, he was starting to gain some insight into why Harry might have left.
He watched as Order members came in and slowly took seats around the table or stood against the wall. When everyone had arrived who had been available to come, Dumbledore stood up and silence fell around the room.
"Harry Potter has left his relatives. Roughly Forty-five minutes ago, four Death Eater's were portkeyed in with Harry's emergency key. All were bound and unconscious, having been rather effectively stunned." Molly Weasley gasped at this and then much to everyone's surprise, "Good for you Harry! Give 'em what for."
"Yes well, as much as I agree that Harry did rather well for himself there and then, we still have no idea where he is now."
Everyone in the room turned to Dumbledore with mixed emotions, fear for Harry's safety, uncertainty as to how to proceed. Even Snape looked masked as opposed to the outright sneer he was accustomed to wearing. The meeting continued on as possibilities were discussed and dismissed or tabled for later.
Meanwhile Somewhere in London...
A particularly large bump woke Harry sometime later and he raised his head slowly, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes and mind. Harry looked at his watch and realized it had only been about a half an hour from the time he boarded. He thought it would be about 20 more minutes before they arrived at the Cauldron. He was about lay his head back down when he noticed something under one of the beds near the front of the bus. As he looked closer, he realized it was a rat. The rat turned and looked at him then and squeaked in surprise, if you can imagine that on a rodent. Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously and he drew his wand and cancelled the sticking charm. As he alighted from the bed, he crouched low as the rat cowered slowly into the corner.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted as he took careful aim at the "rat". The rodent immediately scurried to the other side of the bus as Harry's spell struck the empty space previously occupied by the much hated animal.
"PETER YOU WILL SHOW YOURSELF NOW!!!" roared Harry as he levitated the bed out of the way.
"Stupefy! Immobulius! Stupefy! Impedimentia! Petrificus Totalus! STUPEFY!" Harry cursed quite fluently as he repeatedly shot at the rat on the other side of the bus. Stan was cowering in the front wondering if Harry had gone truly crazy as all the papers had reported him to be last year. Ernie had stopped the bus and was also ducking down. It appeared, however, that the last Stupefy had caught the rat square in the middle. Harry approached the rat with a rather feral smile on his face. He intoned the spell Sirius had used in his third year to turn Pettigrew back into a human. Stan gasped in surprise as Pettigrew transformed and turned to Harry.
"He's supposed to be dead. I was 6 when it happened and I remember his picture in the papers. He's supposed to be very dead."
Harry conjured some ropes from his wand that magically bound Peter tightly and then cast the additional spell on the ropes that bound Peter's magic which would include his animagus transformation. He sat quietly for a moment while Stan looked around wildly, trying to find something to give him comfort and settle him.
"Stan, Ernie, if we could get moving again I would greatly appreciate it. Stan do you have an owl or other means of communication while on the bus?"
"Sure thing 'Arry. We got this here miniature fireplace we use to keep in touch with the Ministry's Department of Magical Transporation. Obviously you can't floo through it but you can firecall to someone."
"Good, okay let me make some calls real quick." With that he threw some powder into the box-like fireplace and shouted "Rita Skeeter!".
"Who the... Harry Potter?"
"One and the same Rita. Listen I appreciate the interview last year and if you'd be willing, I'd like to give you another chance at an exclusive interview to be published in any wizarding newspaper of your choice so long as you preserve the truth. I would of course prefer the Daily Prophet be included."
"What are we talking here? Girlfriend, your political views, You-Know-Who's return?"
"Rita your going to have to leave the girlfriend topic alone, seriously it's getting ridiculous."
"Perhaps but it also sells more copies then any other story I've written in the past, last years interview excluded. So what are we talking about?"
"How about the reappearance of Peter Pettigrew and the revelation of the ministry's failure to give a proper trial to Sirius Black 15 years ago."
"Who....what......are you kidding me???"
"I'm completely serious. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in about 30 minutes and not only will you have the story, you'll have concrete proof. Bring a photographer."
"I'll be there, but Merlin's beard Mr. Potter, you had better not be having me on."
"No joke Rita just be there."
"I will, see you then Mr. Potter."
Harry turned away from the Fireplace for a second to check on the ETA to the Cauldron. Ernie told him about 25 minutes so he decided to make one more floo call. Before he did though, he retrieved his black cloak from his trunk and pulled the hood up.
"Leaky Cauldron!"
As the Cauldron appeared before him, some of the patrons looked over at the fireplace, startled at the sudden noise. It wasn't often that a floo call came into the Cauldron itself.
"Could one of you fetch Tom for me please, it's rather urgent." One of the patrons got up and went over to the bar and, after a moment or so, returned with Tom in tow.
"Thanks sir, I really appreciate it." He told the patron in a tone that was at the same time grateful and dismissive. After the patron had wandered back to his table, Harry beckoned Tom closer to the fireplace.
"Tom it's Harry Potter." He said quietly as he pushed back his cloak hood.
"Blimey, Harry what are you doing?"
"Repeat of third year Tom with a twist. I was wondering if you had a private dining area I could rent from you and if you could show Ms. Skeeter into that room once she arrives."
"You'll be arriving by Knight Bus then, how long?"
"Around 20 minutes or so. I could really use this favor Tom. Also I'd like you to sit in on the interview as a witness. I'm trying to have as many trustworthy people as possible to lend weight to this story."
"That's fine Harry, do you need me to contact Dumbledore?"
"Not yet Tom, I'll do it once I arrive and take care of a few matters."
"Alright Harry, I'll arrange the Private room and keep an eye out for Ms. Skeeter."
"Thanks Tom, I appreciate it more than you can know." And with that Harry cut the connection. He walked over to one of the beds near Pettigrew to keep an eye on him as he waited for the end of the trip.
Meanwhile at the Burrow...(these things are sort of like Batman)
Ron and Ginny were sitting in the Burrow's kitchen drinking tea and hot chocolate respectively. Ginny was working on summer homework and Ron was reading a quidditch magazine. Both were waiting for their parents to come back from the emergency order meeting in the hopes they might finally be given some information. Ron was nursing his left arm as the remaining bruises from the battle at the ministry slowly healed. Both looked up at the noise as Hedwig flew in the window.
"What's Hedwig doing here, I haven't written to him yet" Ron said curiously with a touch of concern.
"It's entirely possible he's written you, you daft twit" Ginny replied back looking amused but a bit concerned herself. Ron walked over to take a closer look at the bird and realized there was no note attached.
"She's got no note. The only time Hedwig's ever come like this without a note is when Harry's sent her ahead of him. When he's coming to stay himself."
"Did mum or Dad say anything about him coming early?" Ginny asked
"No not to me."
Ron and Ginny both stared at Hedwig for a moment longer and then looked at the clock. Their parents' hands still sat on unknown where it usually sat when they were at Order Headquarters. After thinking about it for a few more minutes, Ron suddenly got up and grabbed a handful of floo powder from the jar above the mantle.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" Ron shouted into the fire. He waited for a moment and then the kitchen of the Ancient and Noble House of Black came into view. He looked at all the faces searching for his parents when Mrs. Weasley spoke up.
"Ronald, what's wrong? Is anybody hurt? Is Ginny okay?"
"Relax mum everyone here is fine."
"What is it you called for then son?" Arthur asked?
"Hedwig just showed up here with no note and doesn't seem like she's intent to leave either. The only time that's happened is when Harry sent her ahead of him when he was coming to stay. I figured since you didn't mention anything to us about it, you might want to know in case he's gone missing for some reason."
"Thank you Mr. Weasley, that was most helpful. If you please we shall continue with the meeting now and if Harry shows up I would greatly appreciate it if you would contact us and let us know." Dumbledore's voice, sounding very relieved as he spoke quietly to Ron's head in the fire. Ron nodded and cut the connection.
As he turned around Ginny spoke up "What did they say?"
"They figure he's comin here. We're supposed to let them know if he shows up." Ron said quietly. He was looking thoughtfully at Hedwig again.
"Why would he have left with Dumbledore's approval though? He knows how dangerous it is out there."
Ron looked more thoughtful for a second and then said "I imagine he probably got real tired of the way he was being treated and decided it'd be easier to ask for forgiveness then for permission." With that, Ron went back to reading his Quidditch magazine and silently hoping Harry would be alright.
Meanwhile Somewhere in London...(hopefully much closer to the Cauldron)
Peter was on his back, magically bound to one of the beds on the while Harry waited on the bus to find its destination. When it did, Harry covered Peter with the invisibility cloak and levitated him. When he had decided all was clear, he donned his black cloak, pulled the hood up, and had Stan hold the door of the Cauldron open for him while he levitated Peter in. Stan had Ernie deliver the other passengers, who thankfully had slept through the entire ordeal on the second level. Stan waited until Harry had signaled him and walked in behind him.
Harry walked over to the bar quietly and talked to Tom, who told him Ms. Skeeter was already waiting in the private dining room. He led Harry over to the alcove near the stairs and to a door that was near hidden in the rest of the woodwork. Though most of the customers had looked at Harry suspiciously because of his dress, when Tom had not reacted negatively to his presence they had all gone back to whatever they were doing prior. Harry walked into the dining room and once he had ensured Peter and Stan were through he had silenced the room and magically locked the door. He also cast an imperturbable charm on it so that devices like Extendable Ears wouldn't work. He lowered his hood and greeted Ms. Skeeter with an amused grin.
"Rita Skeeter meet Peter Pettigrew!" and with that, Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak and Rita promptly fainted.