hi this is a story about the other residents of privet drive noticing the dursleys treatment of harry and doing something about it, it is pre-hogwarts and complete AU. hope you like it and please READ AND REVIEW!

Privet Drive Summer Farewell

Summer sun once again shone down on the immaculately kept houses and lawns of Privet Drive, Surrey. The sun particularly bright and strong over Number Four, home of the Dursleys, Vernon, Petunia and their son Dudley.

To the average passer-by their home could be considered normal, if perhaps overly clean with a rather large obsession to their son, with pictures of him at various ages in his young life covering all of the worktops and walls of the house, especially the wall leading upstairs. They could be seen as doting loving parents of a single child which is how they acted, giving their son all that he desired in the way of toys, games, clothes and so forth.

To the average passer-by they could be seen as a 'normal' average suburban family. They had a nice house, a well-managed garden, a good car a gift from Vernon's work. Petunia was a stay at home house-wife and mother, she was a part of the neighbourhood car-pool, she managed the house and picked up the groceries and every morning she saw her husband off to work and kissed him on the cheek and waved lovingly from the doorstep of their two-story four bedroom home. Vernon himself worked and bought a decent paycheck home each week from Grunnings Drill Company had a company car as well as a benefits and retirement package with a good number of holidays a year. Their son was fussed over, doted on and spoilt as the single son that he was, he had all the latest gadgets put and loads of new toys a week as well as anything else he wanted.

To the average passer-by they were a loving caring family of three living in a nice suburban neighbourhood.

However the people who live on the street of Privet Drive with them could tell an entirely different story about the Dursleys and knew all to well that they were not as kind as they appeared to be. In fact those who shared the street with tem knew all too well how horrid and cruel they really were and their main source of proof to this was the fourth member of the Dursley household, Petunia's nephew Harry Potter, orphaned since he was one he had lived with his only relatives ever since.

But if you looked inside the Dursley home you would see no sign whatsoever to their being a fourth member to the house, no pictures littering the walls, no clothes, no food for four, no place setting at the dinner table, no shoes for another boy at the front door or coat hanging up beside their sons, no fourth toothbrush in the bathroom, no nothing to indicate a fourth member. Indeed in the house their were four bedrooms, one was done up as a nice guest room for when Vernon's sister Marge came to say, the other was the master bedroom and the second largest room belonged to Dudley. The last bedroom was no bedroom but rather a storage room for all of Dudley's old and broken toys.

To any who saw their home there was no Harry Potter there was no fourth member permanently living in the house but to those of Privet Drive there was indeed such a boy who lived there, though they rarely did see him and when they did they did not speak to him, nor did the Dursley speak of him or even act if he existed even though he lived with them.

But the fact remained which none on the street could ignore, Harry Potter did indeed exist and live with the Dursleys and the Dursleys in turn were obviously abusing the boy.

For the people who lived at Number Three and Number Five either side of the Dursleys at Number Four could look over at Number Four in the high noon summer sun, when the sun was at its strongest and their children would be inside out of it could see a small child with unruly black hair in the back lawn weeding diligently. This childs neck would be badly exposed and burnt by the end of the day, as would his arms, from lack of sunscreen. Not that that mattered for the next day he would be out there again in the high sun weeding or cutting the grass, but in some way he would be there tending to the garden and if he were lucky he would get a small drink and not be yelled at for bringing dirt from the garden into the kitchen.

Those who live across from Number Four if they awoke early enough they would see this small dark haired figure tending to the front lawn in the pre-dawn light, they supposed he was made to get up early to tend to the front lawn so that none of them would see him doing it during proper daylight hours.

Most if not all of them were disgusted by this labour and treatment of the small boy, who in summer always looked red from the sun before going quite tanned which at least made him look less small than he was.

Those who lived at the end of the street could look out their windows on School days at just before four and see a black haired small boy running past for all that he was worth to get home before Petunia came back in the car from picking Dudley up from school, the same school which the small boy attended. If they saw him come past at anytime after four then they could only smile and shake their heads sadly knowing that it would not end well for the small child for being late, at least not with Vernon's wild temper. If the child was late then those closest to Number Four could be sure to hear yelling coming from the house once Vernon arrived home followed by a Whoosh noise and sometime a cry or yelp of pain. No matter what the weather or time or year those at the end of the street could be sure to see the small boy running home in his overly large and faded clothes which they could see from a far were threadbare and no use to keep the cold at bay in winter or to keep him dry in the heavy rain, for he never had a coat with him only faded jeans, holed sneakers and a way too large for him t-shirt which would always fall off one shoulder.

Those on Privet Drive found themselves continuously offering up a prayer for the little boy, especially when he was late or if Vernon came home early, for they knew all too well his uncles temper. They also knew that Vernon's favourite source to direct that anger at was the little boy, in his eyes all wrong doing was the boys fault, the neighbours would wince sympathetically when they heard Vernon come home and yell "BOY", for the y knew no good would come if it. It was a wonder the child knew his own name was Harry and not "Boy" or "Freak" another favourite term of Vernon's for his nephew though if he ever called him "Freak" then it was usually doubly bad and all on the street could be certain they would not see the boy for a few days and when they did he would seem smaller and sometimes they would swear they saw him limping slightly.

Petunia was not much better, though they all knew she did not hit her nephew in fact except to give him an endless list of chore to do and to complain about the state he was in she would act as if he did not exist. Those either side of Number Four could hear he from the back door in that grating nasally voice of hers snapping at the small boy to work faster and say that "your just like your no good father, a drunk he was, a waste of space, you should be grateful I even took you in after he went and got himself and my sister killed in a car crash". They would shudder and wish with all their might that she hadn't taken him in and had just given him to an orphanage as bad as they are there was no way they were worse than the Dursleys.

As for Dudley Dursley he was in the streets opinion just like his father and a corruption upon the other boys such as Piers Polkiss not that Petunia and Vernon would ever hear a bad word against their "precious little Dudders". It did not take long for the rest to Privet Drive to realise who got the blame and trouble if they complained about the actions of Dudley and soon they all stopped complaining about Dudley for fear of getting the small black haired boy in trouble, it was a unanimous decision amongst them not to make his life any worse.

Though none of privet Drive complained or made any move to acknowledge the existence of little Harry anymore, their hearts went out to the small boy as well as twinged in guilt each time they heard raised voices at Number Four.

As for the Dursleys they felt gleeful and happy that the neighbours no longer saw the boy and believed them to be on their side, seeing him as a little troublemaker.

Oh how wrong the three Dursleys were!

This brings us to this summer where once again the sun was shining brightly and young Harry was outside gardening just as he had been doing for many summers now, not realising that this summer was going to turn out far different and far better than any other in his small seven years of life.

Because ever since the abuse, the neglect all became obvious to every member on the street they had all been working diligently to prove it all beyond a shadow f a doubt to save the small boy, to free him from it all. Many evenings after the sun had set members of the street would phone one another up and discuss what should be done, they had all been busy recording events, keeping times, and for those closest they had been capturing photos of the boy as evidence of the work he must do. Though to them it was obvious just looking at him that something was not right beginning with how small he was for his age as well as how silent and cautiously he moved. Yet nothing had been done before when Number Eight had made a phone call to Social Services, or when one of the childs Primary teachers had made enquires in fact not long afterwards that teacher had left the school for work elsewhere in South Wales. So the street and people of Privet Drive had remained quiet for two whole years now and gathered their evidence.

This time there would be no mistakes, the Dursleys would go to prison would pay for their crimes and the small little boy would no longer weed the garden in the blaring sun or run home from school in fear of being late or be yelled at, know he would play and have fun as other children do far away from Privet Drive. They all had their proof, they'd triple checked the laws and combined their money together to pay for a brilliant lawyer specialising in abuse cases, and just to make sure that their would be no weird cover ups they were each taking their evidence to all the different newspapers in the country. The press and public would hear of this first before the courts that way as the old war veteran in Number Nine has said "there will be no cover ups", his mind most of Privet Drive believed was a bit gone from the war but in this case he was absolutely right. All of the street were being cautious taking two years to gather their evidence for if they did not win the first time round then the little boy would surely end up dead at the hands of the Dursleys.

Now at the end of this summer they would act just in time they believed for the little boys birthday and what a present to give him but his freedom and a bon voyage form his relatives and Privet Drive, as they had gathered funds for him to go live in America far away from this in the land of freedom and liberty, the land of opportunities. As they had agreed with the press hearing of this story first and all that the boy had faced a new start in another country would be best for him, so money had been gathered for their country to send him over their to be with a nice foster family or better yet a real family through adoption but that they could not arrange form the little boy but would have to pray for his happiness and well being in his new life.

Soon they would act and as Number Three and Number Five watched from their homes the little boy weed the garden they could not help this time but to smile as soon he would be free of all this and their silence at the acts of his family would be well worth it.

Soon Harry Potter would be saying a farewell to Privet Drive and the Dursley as well as the kind people of the street who liberated him after years of silence, he would be saying farewell to them all under the blazing summer sun.

Perhaps for him the summer sun would not always mean endless weeding and having a forever burning red neck but laughter and fun and carefree childlike innocence and amusement.

so that is it please let me know what you thought.