Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters or any part of this world. Harry Potter and all the surrounding belong to JK Rowling and company.
Chapter 1- Only the Beginning
Harry bolts upright, a cold sweat on his forehead. He keeps having the same dream. The maze. The cup. Cedric. Before he can comprehend what's happening his door flies open. Uncle Vernon so angry that his face is turning purple, he must have been yelling in his sleep again. "One more time, I said. If you woke this house up one more time with your bloody screaming, then you are out of this house."
Only just understanding the words his uncle said, Harry tries to explain himself. "I can't help—" But before Harry can finish Vernon is already throwing Harry's clothes from his drawers. "Uncle Vernon, I can't—" Harry tries once more.
"I am not your bloody uncle and you do not live here anymore." He snarled, "If I wake up and you're still here, you will regret ever disobeying me." With that he turned, walking out of the room mumbling about how disrespectful and ungrateful children can be. After the door slams closed, Harry gets up, silently he begins packing the things that aren't already in his trunk. He gathers some old school books, Hedwig's empty cage and the photograph of his parents brought to life by magic. Harry slips out of his room, holding his breath and never daring to make a sound. He reaches the front door and pauses, he never really thought of this place as his home, Merlin knows the Dursleys were never his family.
Harry had longed for the day when he would never have to come back here. He thought after his first year at Hogwarts, the headmaster would have found better living arrangements for him, but he never did. Besides occasionally being a guest at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Harry always had to come back here. This place in itself is cause for nightmares. Lost in thoughts of the past summers, Harry hadn't noticed he was already turning off Privet Drive. He wondered where he would go from here. The Burrow was an option, but Harry didn't want to bother anyone at this time of night. Suddenly, he remembered when he ran away 2 summers ago, the knight bus. 'Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go.' Harry smiled to himself remembering how long ago that felt.
Figuring it would be easiest to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a while, Harry stuck out his wand hand. Within the same instant, the Knight Bus pulled up in front of Harry. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency— 'Arry! 'Arry Potter, on the bus again. Look at choo." Stan the conductor was beaming at Harry like he was a lost treasure. Harry greeted Stan with a slight nod, giving him 11 Sickles and asking to go to Diagon Alley. Stan opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, he then told Ern they were ready to go. Harry found a bed at the back of the bus and decided to close his eyes for a bit until they got there.
Harry woke up to Stan shaking his shoulder, "'Arry, choo gotta get off." Looking outside, Harry could see the sky on the verge of dawn and a familiar and shabby old building with a sign saying Leaky Cauldron. Nodding his head in a wordless thank you, Harry got off the bus, his things already waiting for him.
Harry wasn't really sure why he hadn't talked to Stan, after all, it was nice to see a familiar face. With the events of the morning still fresh in his mind, Harry realized that he wasn't in the mood for much conversation. Deciding that Stan's company had been enough, Harry walked toward the drab entrance. Making his way inside, Harry was immediately recognized and tended to. Less than 10 minutes later, Harry was laying down in a decent size room and thinking about the events of the night. Still tired from the long night, Harry soon drifted to sleep; not having a clue that his time in the Leaky Cauldron might change his life forever.
A/N- Hello! This is my very first story and my very first chapter! I'm excited to continue with this story but it would help me out a lot if you guys told me what you think of it along the way, I don't mind suggestions at all. Thank you for reading and I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I do!