A/N: So, it seems like people enjoyed my most recent story, Harry, Hermione and the Cauldron of Love. Thanks to everyone who reviewed it. It's going to stay as a one-shot though, because I can't be bothered to write grumpy/jealous Ron's reaction to finding out, or Slughorn's party. So instead, I offer up this! (PS: I'm not JK Rowling.) It's a little two-shot, following Harry after he repels the Dementors in fifth-year.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled the incantation, focusing on his memories of his friends. The glowing silver stag leapt from his wand and charged at the Dementor looming over him, bashing it away angrily. He yelled, "Over there!" pointing his wand towards the other Dementor, which was over Dudley's prone body, and Prongs understood, charging it and impaling the foul beast on its antlers. As it shrieked and flew away, Harry climbed onto his feet, panicking. He'd just used underage magic, and he knew that this time he was done for. He'd been reading the Daily Prophet, and knew that if the Ministry caught him, they'd expel him and snap his Holly and Phoenix feather wand. Ron and Hermione couldn't help him, they hadn't been there for him since he returned from Hogwarts, and he didn't want them to get in trouble for helping a fugitive. Maybe Sirius could help him, but he had no way of getting in contact with his godfather apart from Hedwig, who was currently locked up in Number 4 Privet Drive, which would be the Ministry's first stop to find him. Dumbledore ... Dumbledore probably couldn't either; the Prophet had been treating him in exactly the same way, he probably had enough on his chest without having to deal with a runaway teenager fugitive.
There was only one question for Harry now: where to go? He had to return to Privet Drive to get his trunk, Invisibility Cloak, money and Firebolt, but he had to get in and out before the Ministry arrived. Dudley would probably have to be dragged back too, if he wanted to be able to get into the house without Uncle Vernon attacking him. Although, since he was no longer a student, he probably could finally hex the bastard into oblivion. Maybe he could hex Aunt Petunia too, and lock them both in the cupboard under the stairs, see how they liked it. No, that would be going a bit too far. Still, it was something to think about.
He struggled to lift Dudley, carrying his bullying cousin in a fashion reminiscent of a three-legged race, holding his wand at the ready in his other hand. Fortunately for him, it was late at night so very few people would be around, and it looked like they were simply two lads who snuck out to head down to the pub to get drunk. He was also lucky that the Dementors had attacked them at the park that was just down the road from Privet Drive, and not somewhere further away.
"Ah Dudders, how was tea?" Petunia called out a greeting to her son when she heard the door opening, but then she turned to see an incredibly pale and sweaty Dudley being supported by an exhausted Harry. Naturally, she screamed to see him in such a state. "VERNON!"
Vernon walked into the living room, a tub of ice-cream in his hand, to see Harry struggling to place Dudley on the couch, and grabbed his nephew by the scruff of his collar. "What have you done to my boy, freak?"
Harry pointed his wand calmly at Vernon's face. "Let go of me, or I'll hex you."
The fat man dropped Harry, fear flickering across his face before being replaced by joy. "You'll be expelled from your freaky school for this, boy."
"Shut up and get out of my way." Harry's voice was calm, but he knew Vernon was right. It was a miracle no owls had arrived yet, as the last time underage magic had been used at Privet Drive, the owl had arrived almost straightaway.
"You've nowhere to go." Vernon gloated, before yelping in pain. Harry had cast a non-verbal Stinging Jinx at him, hitting him in the gut.
Harry brought his wand to bear on Petunia next. "Try anything, and I'll do the same to you. Let me get my stuff, and I'll leave and never come back. That way, we're all happy." Petunia didn't say anything, she just nodded.
Harry jogged up the stairs to his room, grabbing his trunk and throwing his spare clothes and books into it. He threw his robes – save for one set of robes as a reminder – onto the bed, to leave them behind. He wasn't going to wear his school robes or his Quidditch robes, so he may as well leave them behind to save space. Some of his textbooks – Astronomy, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination – were also thrown onto the bed, while the useful ones went into his trunk. He left the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map out, and let Hedwig out of his cage, throwing the cage on the bed. Half of the food he'd hidden in his room went into the trunk, and the other half went into his backpack with his Cloak and his wand. Pulling out a spare piece of paper and a pen, he began to write a note to Ron and Hermione. They'd hinted that they were hanging out at the same place this holiday, so he didn't have to write two difficult messages.
Dear Ron and Hermione,
I messed up. I used the Patronus Charm to save myself from Dementors earlier today, and the Ministry's going to expel me if they catch me, so I'm leaving the country. Good luck to both of you with the rest of your life, because I probably won't see either of you again. I'm not saying where I'm going, so you won't be lying when you say you don't know where I am. Can you explain things to Sirius and everyone else for me please?
I'm also sending you the Marauders' Map, because I'm not going back to Hogwarts. You guys are my best friends, and you'll be able to use it much better than I could. Hermione, I also give you Hedwig, because you don't have an owl of your own. Please, just don't send Hedwig after me, because I don't want to get caught by anyone.
Thank you both for being there for me throughout my life, when I needed you the most.
I love you guys.
Harry Potter.
He folded up the paper and the Marauders' Map, putting them both in an envelope and sealing it, putting it in Hedwig's mouth. "Go on, Hedwig. You're Hermione's now." A tear rolled down Harry's cheek as he watched his oldest friend fly away with a parting message for his two best friends.
As the owl bearing the Ministry seal swept into the Dursleys' front room, Harry cast two more spells: a Featherweight Charm and a Shrinking Charm, both on the trunk, before pocketing it. He tucked the Invisibility Cloak into a pocket, slung his backpack on his back, and grabbed his Firebolt, before walking down the stairs for the last time. He stopped in the front room, to leave one last message.
"Aunt Petunia, I'm never going to see you again, but odds are that my friends Ron and Hermione are going to stop by in the hopes I haven't left yet. When they do, can you give them the things I've left behind? I know they'll appreciate it much more than Uncle Vernon will." Harry was still incredibly miserable, but he knew that his friends would be feeling just as bad when the letter arrived.
Petunia nodded. "Lily would want you to be safe, wherever you go. Good luck, Harry." With that final moment of politeness, Harry left Privet Drive for good, mounting his Firebolt and flying away.
-.-
Hermione Granger was relaxing in her room at 12 Grimmauld Place, in her favourite way: by reading one of her fifth-year textbooks. Hearing a familiar rat-tat-tat, she turned to see a magnificent snowy owl outside the window, so she opened it to let Hedwig in. "Ron, Harry's written!" she called down the stairs.
Ron and Sirius both ran up to Hermione's room, where she took the letter from Hedwig and opened it. They all knew Harry had used underage magic again, so this was probably a letter asking them for help. When Hermione opened the envelope and began to read, she shrieked in horror, and began to cry.
"What does it say?" Ron and Sirius both asked the same question, but Hermione didn't answer. Instead, she pushed the letter into Ron's outstretched hands, and the other piece of parchment into Sirius'. Sirius recognised it as the Marauders' Map, which made him worry. He knew Harry had it, and wondered why he'd be sending it to his friends. Unless ... no, Harry wouldn't.
Ron began to swear, handing Sirius the letter. As he read it, he swore too, loudly, before leaping to his feet. "I'll find him and bring him back here, guys." What the hell was Harry thinking, to go running away in the middle of the night? He began to run down the stairs, calling for Remus Lupin and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, telling them that Harry had gone. As soon as he got out of the door, Lupin on his heels, Sirius Apparated to Privet Drive.
-.-
"HARRY!" Sirius yelled out for his godson the moment he arrived, wand drawn. He kicked the door of Number 4 Privet Drive open, pointing his wand at the Dursleys, who were cowering by their couch. "Where's my godson, you bastards?"
"He left!" Petunia was scared for her family, so she told the truth. "Some of his magic stuff is upstairs, but he ran away!"
"Did he say where?" Sirius nodded for Remus to run upstairs and pick up all of Harry's things that he left behind.
Vernon shook his head. "The freak's gone for good now, and I hope your freak police catch him." As soon as he finished the sentence, Sirius grabbed him by the collar, and slammed his fist into Vernon's gut. As he doubled over, Sirius kicked him in the crotch, before punching him in the face and breaking his nose.
As Vernon fell to the floor, Sirius scowled. "If I wasn't trying to get rid of my mass-murderer reputation, I'd kill all three of you for how you've treated my godson. As it is, he was the only thing that protected you from the Wizarding World, and you drove him out. I hope the Death Eaters find you and kill you all, because you deserve it. Pray I never return."
Sirius stormed out of the house, feeling more disgusted than he'd ever felt at Azkaban. How could they mistreat Harry, who was one of the nicest people Sirius had ever met, and was willing to risk his life for people he'd hardly known? Come to think of it, Harry had agreed to live with a man he'd only known about for a year, and had believed to be the killer of his parents for most of that time. Harry had only known Sirius personally for half an hour, and only had one conversation with him, yet he'd been willing to move away from the Dursleys for Sirius.
"Sirius, we'll find him." Lupin had come out of the house, with the rest of Harry's things in a conjured trunk he had shrunk.
"Where do you think Harry would go?"
Lupin was surprised. "Why do you ask me?"
Sirius looked confused. "You taught him for a whole year, Moony. Did he ever mention anywhere he wanted to go, maybe a holiday location he liked the sound of?"
Lupin shook his head. "I don't think he ever did, but he might have mentioned something to Ron or Hermione. They're closest to him, they know how he thinks." Then Lupin held up one hand. "Wait." He sniffed. "I think I can track him, he flew from here."
Sirius nodded. "Kreacher!" The Black family house elf appeared with a crack. "Bring Buckbeak and a racing broom here now." Kreacher Disapparated, reappearing moments later with the magnificent grey Hippogriff and a Comet 260. Sirius mounted Buckbeak, while Lupin sat astride the Comet. "Can you follow him?"
Lupin nodded. "It'll be tough, I'm guessing he's on his Firebolt, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to keep up. We can try, though." Lupin flew up first, Buckbeak flying beside him.
-.-
Harry flew his Firebolt low, Cloak wrapped around him. He needed to get out of the country, where he'd be free from the Ministry's underage magic detectors. Then he could train up, and live his own life. Maybe Mexico? It sounded a bit cliché, but that's what he wanted. No Voldemort, no more dead friends, no final battle where he'd ultimately die. Seriously, why would anyone think a teenager could go up against such a powerful Dark Wizard?
Harry landed about a quarter of a mile out from Heathrow Airport, Shrinking his Firebolt and pocketing it, before he began to run. When he reached the airport, he paid for a single one-way ticket to France, where he'd board a second plane to Russia. From there, Harry would fly to India, where he'd settle down. He couldn't imagine any of his friends heading to India. In fact, he didn't really think any British wizards would ever head to India.
Someone would probably be looking for him, but Harry doubted they'd be familiar enough with Muggle systems to find out which plane he was on, and they couldn't keep up with it anyway. Hermione might be able to find out which plane he got on first, but even she couldn't follow him through three different airports in foreign countries.
-.-
Sirius saw Lupin's hand gesture, and brought Buckbeak to land next to the werewolf. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I've lost the trail."
Sirius yelled in agony, screaming at the sky. "NOOO!" Lupin leapt from the broom, hugging his best friend through the pain.
"It's alright, Padfoot. Let it out." Both men were crying, realising that Harry was gone, and they couldn't find him.
"No. We need to get out there and find him." Sirius was shaking and panicking, knowing he couldn't give up, no matter what.
"Shh, Paddy. We'll find him eventually, no matter what. I've been on a few planes before, and I know how to handle them. I'll go onboard and find him, you head back to Headquarters and tell everyone we're looking to him."
"I need to come too, Moony." Sirius began to calm down, but he was still incredibly nervous.
Lupin shook his head. "You can't. Fugitive, remember?"
-.-
Crap.
That was the only word running through Harry's head when he saw Remus Lupin board the plane to France. Obviously, Lupin had tracked him to the airport. Fortunately, Harry was near the back, and still had access to his Invisibility Cloak. He quickly unhooked his seatbelt, pulling the Cloak over himself as he stood up quietly. Shuffling down to the toilet, he unlocked the door and hid inside, locking it again behind him. Sitting on the toilet seat, Harry began to cry quietly, only half-concealed by the Cloak.
-.-
Lupin walked softly over to the bathroom door, putting his ear against the door. He knew Harry was inside, he'd smelt the boy sneak there under the Cloak. But, all he could hear was Harry crying. A tear rolled down Lupin's cheek as he heard Harry whispering to himself. "Not gonna take me back ... got to get away ... can't stay anymore ... can't lose my magic."
At that moment, Remus Lupin finally understood why Harry had run away. It was the only real option, because he was persecuted himself and knew it was almost impossible to live in such places. Harry's Boy-Who-Lived status was just as bad, if not worse, than being a werewolf. He couldn't live his own life, because everyone would always be looking for him to do everything for them. Harry deserved the freedom that a foreign country would give him, and Remus Lupin was going to allow him that freedom. The werewolf turned around and walked off the plane. Sirius wouldn't be happy, but Harry would be, and that was what mattered.
