Okay so I've previously published this story under the same username. Not sure how often the updates for this story will be, I know I'm in it for the long haul but at the moment doing all the adult stuff has to come first because apparently that's how the real world works. Comments would be very appreciated as I need all the input I can get to help me write a better story, but there also just lovely to get!

FYI the original character mentioned in the tags is the older squib sister to Harry Potter: Augusta Potter other wise known as Gus. Just to clear some things up as its been mentioned by some people as confusing.

Minor swearing but nothing to intense.

4/8/15

I'm going on an editing spree of this story in a severe moment of procrastination of writing the next chapter of the story, which is me procrastinating revision for my final projects. The edits are in spots that I thought were necessary because I wrote these chapters originally around a year ago and I want to have the best stuff out there. The other chapters will be edited within the next few days as I continue to avoid doing real work.

Also, I'm not JK Rowling, I own nothing but my own OCs and the plots that you do not recognize from the original series.

Please enjoy,
Meg

They had been preparing for the visit a week in advanced. For when Aunt Marge arrived it meant that there was going to be new linens, extra brandy, and enough food that would rival the needs of an entire African village for a month. And now she was only minutes away.

This caused the girl sitting on the stairs of Number 4 Privet Drive to shift with apprehension, her hands twining themselves in her dark red hair to stop them from picking at the recently hovered carpet. Her memory of Marge's last visit was not a pleasant one; Ripper, Marge's favorite bull dog, had bitten her arm so severely that she had needed to have stitches for several weeks. Ripper of course had been given a full pardon and her dinner after the incident.

Harry was upstairs trying to avoid Marge for as long as he could; he and Uncle Vernon had already had a discussion in which Harry ransomed Uncle Vernon's respectability in exchange for him signing some sort of permission paper. But unlike her brother, Gus Potter didn't really have any secret she could hold over her Aunt and Uncle's heads to get what she wanted. Unlike Harry she didn't go to a magical school, own a pet owl or have the ability to trap her cousin Dudley in a zoo exhibit. So she was stuck wishing that maybe as a reward for her good behaviour she'd finally get a new pair of shoes.

Instead of focusing on her worry over the next week of hell she began to watch Aunt Petunia go over the entrance halls picture frames again, checking for any sign of dust that she might have missed. When promptly finishing her last photo of Dudley in his school uniform, which consisted of a hilarious straw hat and knickerbockers, she turned to look at Gus between the stair banisters.

Gus didn't understand her Aunt Petunia. She wanted normal, she wanted everything to be perfectly normal and in its place. The doilies dotted around the sitting room surfaces were a pristine white. The flowers in the front garden were perfectly cared for. The curtains were at the perfect height and angle to allow for maximum snooping during the day, making Petunia the king pin of the Privet Drive gossip ring. But for all the perfection that Petunia seeked she continued to have Harry and Gus dress in shabby hand me downs and charity shop buys.

It seemed that Petunia was openly stating that the Potters were not a part of her perfect world. And for most of Gus's life she believed that she was from another world. The story that Harry and she had been told whenever they asked about their parents when they were younger was that their "drunk of a father" had crashed the family car, killing their parents and leaving the two children to ungratefully mooch off of their aunt and uncle until they were 18. But once Harry and her had been told the truth about their origins, that their parents had been a witch and a wizard, and that Harry was one as well, Gus didn't know what world she belonged in. She herself wasn't a witch, but she also wasn't apart of Petunia's perfect world. The limbo she had found herself in was incredibly lonely. Sometimes she greatly desired for Petunia to be hit on the head by some hanging plant holder she put up in the spring and to suddenly want to pull Gus into her perfect world-

"Do you really have to wear those shoes?" Gus jumped; Aunt Petunia was looking down at her as she reached over the railing of the stairs to pick a piece of lint off of Gus's shoulder.

Looking over at the assaulted shoulder she looked up at her Aunt, "They're the only shoes I have."

Apparently there was more lint on Gus, and Petunia began to aggressively pick and pinch at different parts of her dress. "No they're not, you have your school ones."

Rolling her eyes Gus shifted away from Petunia's hand, "I told you they're too small for me last Christmas."

Petunia gave Gus a sharp look and with an equally sharp tone said, "That's not my problem."

Gus matched her Aunt's look, "It should be, they kept sending me home all the last month of school to change."

Pulling back from her assault Petunia, crossed her arms and gave a quick glance over the rest of Gus's appearance, "They should keep for a few more months."

"Aunt Petunia-"

"Stop arguing with me." Petunia cleared her throat waiting for Gus.

"Sorry Aunt Petunia."

Dinner as usual involved polite conversation that exclusively left out the Potter children. Though it was nice to not have to comment on Dudley's activities or Vernon's going ons at works. And now as per usual Gus and Harry were clearing away the dinner plates, Marge alone was still piling on the remains of dinner to hers.

"Now what's going on with you girl?" Gus jumped at Marge's voice; Marge never usually addressed Harry or her directly, but insulted them by making snide comments to Vernon or Petunia.

Before answering she looked between Vernon and Petunia for permission, both who nodded at her with a suspicious eye, "I'm at the local school."

Marge gave a barking laugh, "Haven't kicked you out yet have they? Only a matter of time, you're probably causing all sorts of problems up there."

Turning back to Harry who was loading the dishwasher,r she rolled her eyes and gave in to a small act of defiance and stood up a bit taller as she grabbed an empty bowl of mashed potatoes and the gravy pot, "Actually I'll be taking my GCSE's this year, the only problem I've really caused is with class sizes."

Marge gave an evaluating look over as she paused in her eating, as if she couldn't believe this stick of a girl before her actually had potential.

"You've finally started to respond to discipline, I remember all the trouble you used to give Vernon here when you just would walk around at all hours of the night." Gus returned to handing the empty plates to Harry at the counter, it was usually horrible enough watching Dudley shove food down his throat but combined with Marge's ferocity she wanted to gag. "Now Vernon, where is it that you send him, again?"

Uncle Vernon started off in proud voice, "St. Brutus's, it's a first rate institution for hopeless cases." Even when insulting his nephew he had to brag about how well he ill-treated him. Both Harry and Gus began to snicker, if only Marge knew…

"Do they use the cane at St. Brutus's, boy?"

Gus looked up at Harry who was clearing off a dish; she really had no idea what they did for punishment at Hogwarts. While Harry had mentioned a massive amount of detentions spent with a debutant teacher this past year at school, she never really heard anything else about discipline. And from the stories she had been told he definitely deserved a few more detentions, "Oh, they beat us all the time."

"Good, these you need to get some real punishment." Again Gus rolled her eyes at the statement, besides for the sarcasm that dripped from almost every word Harry said there really wasn't any reason for 'real' punishment, well at least from what Gus knew.

"It's always like this with trouble makers. What did their father do again Petunia?" Gus paused in her walk from the dining table back to Harry at the dishwasher.

Simultaneously both Potter siblings tightened their grip on their respective plates.

Petunia ignored their reactions at the mention of her brother-in-law, and provided the answer that started off the evening's events, "Nothing, he was unemployed."

"Ah yes, probably a drunk."

"My father wasn't a drunk!" Gus jumped at Harry's shout. It had been going kind of well so far. With white knuckles from her grip on the plate in her hands, Gus watched Marge and Harry's glares look onto each others.

In her usual way Marge gave Harry an assessing look over before continuing on with her attack, "But it does seem that it's always the mother's fault. You see it in dogs all the time, if there is something wrong with the bitch there's something wrong with the pups."

After stuffing a sausage into her mouth she talked through the meat, pointing her knife in Gus's direction, "Look at the girl; she'll probably pop out a few freaks in her time!"

"Shut up! Don't you dear talk about my family like that!"

Gus didn't give a damn about the Dursley's respectability at the moment, they already had a floating balloon women fly out of their back garden this evening, what more damage could some shouting do. Following Harry who was awkwardly attempting a determined march away from the house she called out to him "Harry you just can't leave!"

He turned in the gravel drive causing a few pebbles to fly around, "Yes I can. I'm not staying with them anymore!" he looked angrily at the house and then back at her, "It's not fair what they do to us! How can you let yourself be talked to like that...?"

Calming her voice she tried to sound reasonable even though she knew Harry was right, it wasn't fair how they treated them, "Harry, just come back it'll blow over..."

He pointed to the sky and shouted, "I blew up Marge! That won't blow over!" He began his march again, creating a wave of gravel underneath his chest, Hedwig's cage precariously bumping on top.

She ran to catch up with him, before rounding and glaring directly into his eyes, "Harry James Potter!" Huffing she paused before she continued on, "You can't just leave me. You talk about things not being fair, and you just leave me every year!"

"Gus you..." Harry began some rebuttal but she wouldn't let him finish,

"Just go!" He jumped at her voice, she'd never yelled like this before.

"Gus-"

"Go!"

Harry James Potter had done some dumb things in his time. Before they had any idea that Harry was magical he had always tested his limits, talking back sometimes to Uncle Vernon or the bullies that used to haunt them around the school yard. But this took the cake. Maybe it didn't beat out battling a giant snake that could freeze you with its eyes, or a three headed dog, or giant spiders in a forest full of wolves, but this was up there.

He had finally left the safety of Gus's watchful eye. When he was away at school she could always count that some adult supervision was being provided to him, but with the last year's events she really didn't know if she could fully trust Hogwarts with her little brother. Without her around he said things, did things, things that were usually dumb and landed him in trouble. And without her around there was no making sure what level of stupidity his bad decisions would reach this year.

But it wasn't even the worry and anxiety about Harry's safety that was worming its way all around her body. It was the loneliness that hurt the most. She only got to keep her little brother for a summer and even then he was usually distracted with day dreams or school work. But now, he was gone and she wasn't really sure if he would or could come back. There was no doubt that Uncle Vernon would throttle him to death if he came back, and then Aunt Petunia would clean up the crime scene so that no one besides the strange red headed clan of wizards that Harry was friends with would notice him missing.

That wizard family had taken in Harry last summer, and would most likely take him in again now that he would refuse to ever come back. He told her over and over about all of the wonderful things that went on in their cottage. The proper food, the laughter, the pranks, the happy shouts and the bickering between siblings. But Gus didn't belong there, she didn't belong her back with the Dursleys and she didn't belong where Harry did. It didn't even feel like she was stuck between the two, it was like she was in a completely separate universe. Not wizard. Not muggle. Not anything.

Before it had always been her and Harry against the world, them huddled together under their staircase. Telling each other stories about their days at school. Whispering about something stupid Dudley did, or how funny Vernon looked about the results of the last elections. But that had all just disappeared over night. Ever since September 1st, 1991 Harry had been growing farther and farther away from her. Gus was almost convinced that she could see the distance between them growing; there was nothing in common between them anymore. He had that stupid broom game- quidpitch or something of the sort, he had his friends at school, and he had people and a place he belonged to. Augusta Eliana Potter had no one but Harry. And for most of the year she didn't have him.

"Excuse me Miss." Gus jumped at the raspy voice. She was sure that she was alone in the side alley after she had walked away from Harry. Standing from her spot on the curb she had been on for a few minutes she saw a willowy, tangled hair man at the entrance of the alley.

She really didn't want to deal with any one right now.

Standing Gus faced the man who was standing at the entrance of the alley, "What do you want?"

He stumbled forward a bit, Gus took a few steps back; he was probably off his face on some sort of booze.

Taking a deep breath he rasped out, "I was wondering if you were alright."

"I'm fine."

He looked back from where he had entered the alley and then to her, "Was that your brother?"

She didn't like where this was going, she took a few more steps back, "Why do you care?"

"No reason."

"Everyone has a reason," she bit out, "So why'd you ask?"

"Just curious." He shrugged his shoulders, but the movements made him cough and heave for a minute. Gus's desire to bolt at the first chance she got was being pushed down by her concern for the fact that the man sounded like he was hacking up his own lungs.

"Why?" Her voice had lost the harshness she had put on before. It now just revealed her fatigue.

In the dim street light she could see the man smile; his teeth were disgusting as if they hadn't been brushed in years, "Just am is all." He began to chuckle, though it was interrupted with a deep cough, "Used to yell at my brother that way all the time."

"I've- I've got to go."

Gus backed her out of the alley before turning and running once she reached the top of Privet Drive. The man's eyes followed her sadly before he entered into another coughing fit.

"Yes, yes, of course."

Gus had only just opened the front door before Aunt Petunia descended onto her.

"Where have you been?" Aunt Petunia stood up, her arms crossed stiffly in front of her chest and her neck stretching so that it started to appear as if she were a giraffe.

Swallowing she watched Uncle Vernon enter the hallway, the purple colour his face took on when he was very, very angry had yet to recede, "I went after Harry."

"Where is the little..."

"He went to Diagon Alley," Gus blurted, she had no idea if that's where he was going but it was the best bet she could make at the moment, after receiving blank looks she expanded on her answer, "The wizard marketplace in London." Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exchanged looks before a new voice broke the tense silence.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Dursley, is this Miss Potter?" A woman with long curly blonde hair had walked into the already cramped hallway; she looked between Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia before she turned an examining gaze onto Gus.

"Yes it is."

With her answer she took a confident step forward and presented Gus with a badge, "Hello Miss Potter, I'm Scotty Croope, I work with the Auror's Office in the Ministry of Magic." Gus took the badge she had presented.

Gus just blinked at the title the woman had given herself; it took her a minute before she made the wizard to muggle translation, "Aurors, like the wizarding police, right?"

Scotty gave a curt nod of confirmation as she flipped through some papers had, "Yes, a bit like that."

Panic set in to Gus as she realized why the wizarding police would come looking for Harry. Harry blew Marge up. Harry blew Marge up using magic. Harry blew Marge up using magic outside of Hogwarts. Harry blew Marge up using magic outside of Hogwarts, and is going to end up like Hagrid. Gus began to sputter an explanation, "I know Harry's not supposed to use magic outside of school, but I swear this was an accident. He didn't have his wand out or anything."

"Oh, we have a different team working out what happened with-" she looked down at a clip board where several scrolls hung off of it, flipping through them she found what she was looking for, "A Miss Marge Dursley." She looked up at Gus with a serious look and tone, "I'm here to discuss with you about the escape of Sirius Black."

"That murderer from the tele?" Dudley had now jumped into the conversation; it wasn't much of a surprise that anything revolving around the tele interested Dudley who watched it almost none stop.

"That's the information that we've released to the Muggle public, yes." Scotty turned to look at Dudley who was standing in the door way to the sitting room, somehow, as almost by magic the hallway was fitting not only both Dursley boys, but three other bodies as well.

Gus stared at Scotty before recovering, "He's from your world?"

Scotty's eyebrows cocked at her question, "Don't you mean ours?"

Vernon supplied the details for Scotty this time, "She's a freak. Even for you lot, can't do magic."

"Oh you mean a squib?"

"Yeah." Gus looked down and began to shuffle her feet. Like a true bureaucrat Scotty began to shuffle through her papers looking for some sort of page, from where Gus was standing she was able to catch glimpses of pages with moving text on them.

"I didn't know that you didn't attend Hogwarts. It wasn't in your files…." Scotty said as she began to furiously scribble with a quill she procured from god knows where.

"It's fine." Gus muttered, she didn't care about that now, "What does Sirius Black have to do with Harry and me?"

In a casual manner Scotty began, "Well we believe that the escaped wizard convict Sirius Black will be attempting to contact and possibly harm you and Harry."

The murders relevance to her and Harry made her go a bit numb, she had just let her little brother wander away from her, "Oh."

Uncle Vernon had stomped his foot, causing most of the picture frames in the hall to jump against the walls, "She's not staying here if a murderer is going to be coming around."

Scotty now turned from Gus to Uncle Vernon, "That's why the Auror's office sent me out, until Sirius Black is caught and no longer a threat to Augusta and Harry Potter, they will be under the direct protection of the Ministry of Magic. She will be coming with me, and we will find Mr. Potter in Diagon Alley."

Gus couldn't comprehend the fact that she would be getting away from Privet Drive finally, there was something bigger on her mind, "What about school? I have my GCSE's this year and I need to be in class." She hadn't worked that hard her entire secondary career just to have it go down the drain because of an escaped convict.

Scotty didn't even seem to notice that Gus's voice had taken on a panicked tone; she was looking down at her watch "We'll find a solution for that problem later. Now Miss Potter I'll help you pack your things and we'll be on our way."

The Dursleys had left Gus and the strange Auror in the hallway after they had found out that they themselves were in no mortal danger.

Gus stood outside her and Harry's bedroom; it looked how it usually did. Harry's belongings, posters and general mess were missing, living a large portion of the room bare.

"I've got a lot of stuff to pack so you might want to wait downstairs."

"Actually I'll be able to help you with that, allow me." Scotty opened a small leather bag that to Gus resembled Mary Poppin's carpet bag before swishing her arm "Pack."

In a matter of seconds all of Gus's things flew in an organized matter from around the room and into the bag, which in no way seemed to appear stuffed, even though everything Gus had collected over her 14 years of life was now inside of it.

"Much quicker, we do have a schedule to be sticking to."

"Of course, yeah." Still a bit stunned at the pace that all this was taking she nodded numbly at Scotty.

Again downstairs Petunia glared at Gus, she was stuck crouched down attempting to find some salvable dishware that hadn't been smooshed by Marge when she had begun to expand. Dudley was still glued to the television screen, and Vernon was looking out the observatory door as if he would be able to catch a glimpse of Marge in the sky.

"Now would you like to say goodbye to your Aunt and Uncle." Scotty stood by the front door with her hands clasped in a business-like manner in front of her holding her carpet bag.

Gus who was standing next to her called out, "Yeah- I hope Marge gets better."

"Of course you do." Vernon yelled from the back garden.

Gus turned on her heel and walked out the front door, "We can go."

"Lovely."

Dear lord another AN:

So for Scotty I imagine Alex Kingston being her. Even though she plays River Song whos a bit of an anarchist, I feel like Scotty has that same sort of sass in her. So anything out of Scotty's mouth imagine the lovely Ms Kingston saying!
Thanks for reading!