Haley James Potter was seven when she finally decided to leave her abusive relatives. She probably wouldn't have ever built up the courage to actually do it if she hadn't met Joey. Joey was a boy that recently moved to town. Everyone wanted to be his friend. They all thought he was so cool and liked him immediately. He could have been friends with anyone yet he chose the shy girl that no one wanted to be around. He didn't even care when Dudley threatened him to stay away from her. On the contrary actually, Joey punched him in the face.

Haley could tell Joey anything. Joey confided in her that his parents ignored him. He often needed to fend for himself because they forgot to. He told her that he was going to run away and invited her to come. She didn't want to be there without Joey so she agreed immediately.

Haley stole the large amount of bills out of her uncle's wallet and some food. She shoved it all in her backpack and ran to meet Joey at the spot they had picked out. He was already there when she arrived.

"You came," he smiled.

"Of course I did," Haley told him. "Without me you wouldn't make it two days."

He laughed and the pair began to walk, "I have a plan."

Haley looked at him, "Well would you care to tell it to me?"

He smiled, "You know the forest?"

"Yeah."

"Well my plan is to walk along the edge of it until we hit the next village. I used my mum's phone and credit card to order to child passes. I made this hilarious excuse about her being disabled and the woman totally bought it. We should be able to make it there by morning if we walk all night. The passes will allow us to go to London. Remember how I used to live there?"

Haley nodded.

"Well I know the city like the back of my hand. I also know where an old abandoned library and a closed down hotel are. We can stay in one of them."

"Are you sure this is safe?" Haley questioned.

"Nope, but it's better than staying some place that definitely isn't safe for you. I'm willing to take the chance. Are you?"

Haley didn't even need to think about it, "Yes. I wouldn't be able to live here without you anyways."

They walked along the woods. They arrived sooner than Joey had assumed. They told the lady their fake names – Keith and Alice Dickens – and were given the passes.

"Idiot," Joey whispered as they sat on the bus.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Haley told him.

"People that dumb shouldn't have any power at all," Joey said causing Haley to giggle. "What?"

"That just made me wonder how my uncle got so high up at work. He's even stupider than her."

They had a peaceful bus ride. When they got off they stayed close to a family so no one would realize they were out of place. Then they made a break for it.

Haley quickly learned that Joey did know the city very well. He knew the best ways to avoid too many people and where all the police stations were so they could avoid them. It was about three hours later when they arrived at the old hotel. They found a small opening that they could just squeeze through. The hotel was huge and old. It was covered in dust. The pair explored all the rooms. The kitchen was huge and had a lot of plates, pots, and utensils. That would come in very handy. Each of the bedrooms still had beds in them. Some had large wardrobes. The clothing was large for them but Haley found a sewing room. She had learned to sew a long time ago for the Dursleys. She planned on fixing the clothing for them. The pair found the cleanest room there was and started making it livable. Joey took the sheets outside and shook them out while Haley took a piece of cloth and dusted the room. When they were comfortable enough in it they crawled into the large bed and fell asleep together.

The next day they spent going through their supplies. They had $457.90 (most was from her uncle's wallet), four bananas, two bags of crisps, four cans of soup, and an apple. They had enough for the moment but they were thinking about long term. The pair would stay put for a few days but they would need to leave soon if they wanted to keep their supplies up.

Haley got to work on the clothes. She turned out to be better than she thought because by the end of the day they both had three lovely outfits that fit them pretty well.

A few days later they got dressed in the nicest clothes they had and went for a walk. Haley spotted an old lady trying to carry large bags of groceries to her car. She rushed to her side and said, "Would like some help with those, ma'am?"

The lady gave her a large smile and said, "I would love that."

She handed Haley two bags and Joey said, "Here ma'am. I can take some of those."

The woman smiled again and handed Joey two bags. There carried them for her and set them in her trunk when she opened it. When she closed the trunk she said, "You two are the sweetest little things. What are your names?"

"She's Lily and I'm James," Joey blurted out.

"Ah, well Lily and James, I have never met such polite young people. Thank you," she then pulled out her wallet and said, "Here, treat yourselves." She pulled out a couple of bills and tried handing them over.

"That's really not necessary…" Haley began.

"No, Lily, I insist." She places the bills into Haley's hand and said, "You two have a good day."

"Thank you ma'am!"

After she had driven off Haley looked at Joey and said, "Lily and James?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind!" he defended.

"How did my parents come to mind?" He just shrugged.

"How much did she give us anyway?"

"Twenty dollars!"

Joey looked impressed, "Wow generous lady."

"I think we should have a lemonade stand," Haley told him.

"Yeah! We could ask the manager if she would allow us to have it here. We can save up. We'll need to figure something else when it gets to cold but it works for now."

The pair spent the next three years living in the hotel and doing odd jobs for money. In winter they shoveled snow for the elderly. In fall they raked leaves. In summer Haley often helped people in their flower beds. They had several lemonade stands. The hotel didn't have power but it had a fireplace they would use it to try to heat the house and used several blankets. The hotel had plenty of them. They hung them on their bedrooms wall as insulation. They would go to the abandoned library often and get new books to teach themselves. The water had been turned off but Joey was able to turn it on. They had everything they needed. They were happy.

888

"What do you mean she's gone?!" a tall thin old man with a long silver beard yelled at Haley's uncle.

"Look! The ungrateful little freak stole my money and ran off three years ago. Either that or a robber kidnapped her. Either way I don't care! That freak leaving was the best thing to ever happen to us. Now I want you to leave!" Vernon snapped before slamming the front door in their face.

He turned to the lady that was with him and she said, "I told you she was gone! Her letter doesn't even have an address on it! It just says homeless!"

"It said she was in London, correct?" Albus asked.

"Yes but that's a large area."

"I'll call Amelia Bones. We'll set up search parties. We'll find her."

888

Haley was in the store when she heard someone say, "Did you hear about the girl that was living with her aunt and uncle?"

"The one that disappeared three years ago?"

"Yeah! I can't believe it took them three years to finally report her missing! She's probably dead!"

"I heard that they wouldn't have reported it at all except for the fact that a friend of her parents went to check on her and she was gone."

"That poor girl. What was her name?"

"Porter? No. Potter! Haley Potter!"

Haley stopped in her tracks. 'Shit!' She walked to the pharmacy nearby and purchased hair dye, make up, and snacks.

"Aren't you a little young to dye your hair?" the lady asked.

"Yes, yes I am. It's for my mother. She gets the same colour every time and trusted me to get it for her."

The lady seemed to accept this answer and rang her through.

Haley ran home after that. "Joey!" she called as she entered the hotel.

"Yeah?" Joey asked coming out of the kitchen.

"I overheard people talking at the store. Apparently I'm a famous missing case now because my relatives just reported me missing. Everyone's looking for me!"

"Shit! What's the plan?"

"I bought hair dye. How do you like I'll look as a blond?"

"Hilarious. Come on we'll do it right now."

She followed him to the bathroom and said, "I also brought make up to cover my stupid scar."

"Good idea. It's too recognizable."

When she was done bleaching her hair she tried styling it so she looked pretty and normal but still covered enough of her face so her scar wasn't visible. She put on a new dress that she had just made. With all of the make up on she barely looked recognizable.

"How do I look?" she asked when she exited the bathroom.

Joey smiled and said, "You can't even tell you're homeless!"

"Haha," Haley said.

"You know I think it's about time we came up with permanent fake names," Joey told her smiling.

"What, you didn't like the last ones I gave us?"

"I'd prefer not being called Blink. I think you should be Lily."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's your mother's name."

"Well then your name should be Stacy."

"I'm not being called by a girl's name!" Haley laughed. "Fine if you're not Lily who are you?"

Haley thought for a minute. "I don't know. I've had so many fake ones that I liked."

"Alice?"

"No."

"Ava?"

"No."

"Tiffany?"

"Eww, no!"

"Gale?"

Haley thought for a minute. "Yeah! I like that one!"

"Okay name me."

"Bill?"

"No!"

"Darren?"

"No."

"Dave?"

"Never."

"Alex?"

"Yes!"

Haley smiled, "Alright in public we are now Gale and Alex!"

"Relationship?"

"Second cousins. We look even less alike now that I'm blond."

"True. Living arrangements?"

"I'm an orphan so I live with you and your parents. They are thinking of adoption but think it might be too soon considering they died only a few months ago."

"Nice! Did you by food?"

"Do you always think of your stomach Joey?"

"Yes."

888

Albus and Amelia have been working together on finding Haley Potter for a month with no avail. It was July 30th and the both took to the streets for the shift of looking for her.

"Why do you think she left?" Albus asked.

"I'm not sure," Amelia admitted. "The most common reason is abuse. From what I've heard of the Dursley's I am assuming that was the driving force but something gave her that exact push to actually leave."

"Are you making the case against the Dursleys?"

"Yes. At the very least we have them for child neglect not reporting her missing for three years," Amelia growled. "I hope we can send them away for a long time."

"Would you like some lemonade?" Albus said pointing to two kids at a stand.

Amelia chuckled but said, "Aren't we supposed to be looking for someone?"

"Yes but Haley is a child. If she were to talk to anyone it would probably be another child. They look about her age." Amelia nodded and followed him towards the stand. "Two please," Albus smiled at the children. They each poured a glass and Albus put a twenty dollar bill down. "Keep the change," he told them with a smile.

"Thank you sir," the blond girl said shyly.

"What are your names?" Amelia asked before taking a spit of her lemonade.

"I'm Alex and she's Gale," the boy told them.

"Are you here alone? Where are your parents?"

"My mum and dad drop us off here every couple of days. They will pick us up in a few hours or if we call them," the boy told them.

Albus thought that it sounded somewhat rehearsed. "What about your parents?" he asked the girl.

"They died a few years ago. I live with Alex. His mum is my cousin but I call her my aunt."

"Oh I'm very sorry," Albus told her.

She shrugged and said, "I don't remember them very well anyways."

"Actually we were wondering if you could help us," Amelia told them.

"With what exactly, ma'am?" the boy asked.

"Well, we are looking for someone," Albus explained.

"Who?"

"A little girl around your age. She has black hair and a lightning scar on her forehead," Albus explained.

'Shit!' Haley thought to herself.

'What if he recognizes her?' Joey thought.

"And her eyes are bright gr…" Albus stopped talking.

"Albus?" Amelia questioned.

"She has her mother's bright green eyes. Just like yours."

The girl became visibly uncomfortable.

"Haley?" Amelia asked.

"I'm Gale. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid you have the wrong girl."

Albus kneeled in front of her and pushed her bangs aside revealing a lightning shaped scar. Haley closed her eyes trying to block out the world.

"It is you," he whispered.

Haley backed into Joey. Joey snapped, "What do you want with her?"

"We've been looking for her for about a month. We want to take her to a new home," Amelia told him.

"No! The last home she was in was horrible. She's safe and happy here!"

"We won't take her back to her relatives but we can't allow her to live on the streets," Albus told him.

"She's staying with me!"

"What's your name, son?"

"Alex."

"Your real name?"

He sighed, "Joey. Joey Straight."

"Straight," Amelia gasped. "You both went missing around the same time."

"I'm guessing exactly the same time," Albus told her. "You said that something probably gave her an extra push to leave. How about the influence of a friend?"

"They have been together the whole time," Amelia gasped.

"We are doing fine on our own!" Joey shouted.

"We can't leave you here alone," Amelia told him.

"Why not? You couldn't tell we were on our own. No one can. We can take care of ourselves! We have for three years!"

"I'm sorry Joey but your parents have been looking for you for three years. You need to go back home."

"I don't want to go back there! They ignored me for most of my life! Why would I want to live with them?"

"That's not true," Amelia told him. "I visited them to see if your cases may have been related. They were overjoyed to learn that people were still looking for you. They have missed you so much!"

"I can't leave Haley!"

"We will take good care of Haley," Albus told him.

"No she needs me! I'm the only person she trusts!"

"She will be just fine," Amelia told him. "She will be going to stay with some very nice people. Then she will be going to a boarding school her parents paid for. It's a beautiful place. She will love it."

They decided they didn't have a choice in the matter. They packed up their stand and took their stuff back to the hotel. They crawled through the hole that they had made bigger over the years. Albus and Amelia followed them in. The place was amazing. The walls were covered in murals that the children had done. They were very good. They had bought bean bag chairs and used tiles to make a kind of dance floor. There were several games and a large variety of snacks on a long table. It was a child's paradise. "Wow," Amelia whispered.

"They did all this," Albus said stunned. The two put their supplies in the corner and returned to the pair waiting for them. "You've been here the whole time?"

They nodded.

"How did you get all this stuff?" Amelia questioned.

"We earn our money. We have lemonade stands, shovel snow, and rake leaves. I mow lawns and Haley works in gardens. We save our money and buy most of our things from garage sales or thrift shops so it's cheap."

"Wow," Amelia said again. "I am sorry to split you two up. You seem to work well together."

"Do you have trunks or suitcases to pack some of your things in?" Albus asked.

"Everything is on the fifth floor," Haley whispered.

"Just show us the way," Amelia told her. Joey held onto Haley's hand as the climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

"Who's room is this?" Amelia questioned as they entered.

"We both sleep here," Joey told them. They looked around and only saw one bed.

"You share a bed?" Amelia whispered.

"Yes. We have since our first night here."

Albus and Amelia did not like this but didn't say anything. Joey pulled two trunks out the closet and packed their clothes while Haley crossed the room and tugged on a blanket making it fall off the wall. She then stepped on a chair so she could reach a painting. She tugged it off the wall to reveal a safe behind it. She opened the safe and pulled out all their savings and the jewelry they had found in the hotel.

"You got all that from small jobs?" Amelia asked staring at the piles of cash.

"We found some of it in the hotel. A few people forgot empty there vaults. I managed to break into all of them and we collected everything of value. We also pawned a few antiques."

There had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. "We hardly spent any of it. We made enough money to feed ourselves and Haley made our clothes. This was just for when we got older so we could eventually move out of here and into a real home. I guess those plans are screwed up now." He turned to Haley, "Take it all. I won't need it."

"No. You worked just as hard you deserve it to!"

"I have someplace to go. You don't have anyone."

Haley was being stubborn though and put several wads of money in his trunk before putting the rest in her own. Joey just rolled his eyes. They packed the rest of their clothes and turned to Albus and Amelia.

"You're ready?" Amelia asked. They both gave sad nods. "Alright I have a car parked a few blocks away. We will take Joey back home and then take you to your new home." Amelia took Joey's trunk and Albus carried Haley's. They were once again holding hands. They held hands the entire drive. Haley sat in the far right seat and Joey sat in the middle so he could comfort her. Haley was trying not to cry but occasionally buried her face in Joey's chest. Albus and Amelia watched the interaction in the back mirrors. Joey rubbed soothing circles in Haley's back.

Far too soon they arrived at Joey's parent's house. They gave each other a one more hug. This time they were both crying. Amelia and Albus decided to give the two some privacy. Albus waited outside the car and Amelia knocked on the front door.

A lady opened the door and she said, "Oh hello, again, Madam Bones. Have you heard anything about the Potter girl? Do you still think there cases may be related?"

"Actually we have found Haley Potter…"

"Oh well, that's good news," the woman said sounding disappointed.

"And…," Amelia continued her thought, "Joey was with her the entire time."

Mrs. Straight gasped, "You found him?"

Amelia nodded. Mrs. Straight began to sob, "John!"

"Yes Stacy? Oh hello Madam Bones," John said politely.

"She found him! She found Joey!" Stacy sobbed.

"Oh god! Is he alright? Where is he?" John said trying to keep his emotions in check.

Amelia smiled at the pair, "He's in the car right now. He's saying good bye to Haley."

"Haley?" John asked. "He was with her?"

"Yes. They had been living together since they left. They apparently ran away the exact same night," Amelia explained.

Stacy ran through the door and stared at the two hugging and crying through the back window. "He's alive!" she whispered to herself. John chased after her.

When Albus saw them staring he opened the car door and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt but Joey's parents are waiting." Joey nodded and got out of the car as Albus grabbed his trunk. As soon as he got out Stacy and John ran to him and pulled him into their arms.

AN: Hey! So this was just a random idea I came up with. Let me know what you think and if I should continue. Review! Fav! Follow!

"Oh my boy!" John cried. "You're home."

Haley closed the door behind Joey and cried as she watched the seen. She was never going to have someone feel that way about her. The only person she had was Joey and they were taking him away from her.

"Oh baby! Are you alright?" Stacy sobbed.

Joey looked back at the crying Haley. He felt so bad for leaving her. He just nodded. Haley gave him a small wave before they dragged him inside. He gave a quick wave back. Minutes later Albus and Amelia came back in the vehicle. Haley tried to stop crying but couldn't. She had silent tears running down her face.