Harry spent the better part of three hours roaming the streets of London, trying to find a place to stay that wouldn't garner too much attention. It was hot and, while he had food, Aunt Petunia had failed to pack anything to drink. Eventually he stumbled upon a homeless shelter and he had never been so relieved. He was a bit nervous, he looked homeless in Dudley's cast offs, however he needed a place to stay and needed to send an owl, so Harry plucked up his Gryffindor courage and entered the building. Everyone turned to see who had entered, making Harry anxious. He made his way to the desk and the woman sitting there smiled kindly at him.
"Hello, sir. Are you looking for a place to stay?" She asked glancing at his trunk.
"Yes, ma'am. What do I need to do?" Harry responded politely.
"Oh, well if you will follow me, there is an interview process of sorts, to get your information. This way please." She stood and gestured for him to enter the room behind the desk. Harry grabbed his trunk and went in. In the room was yet another desk but in front of it were two chairs. He waited to be told to sit then waited for the woman to dig out papers.
It took her a bit, but eventually she handed Harry a stack of papers. He looked at the paperwork and was really dreading filling it out. He was required to fill out his name, age, birthdate, level of education, and the reason for being there. He filled out the sheet, but hesitated before he filled out the last one. Eventually he decided on 'ran away'. The woman noticed the hesitation and inquired as to why he ran away.
Harry smiled ruefully. "My uncle was on his way home to kill me." He answered honestly. "He always hated me and he has apparently finally snapped. My aunt, who also detests me, didn't want her husband to kill all that was left of her sister, she gave me a bag of food and sent me off. I didn't know where to go, confused from not having eaten in three days. I stumbled upon this place and I only need to stay a day or two hopefully." The air grew thick with tension at Harry's statement.
The woman stared for a moment, before shaking herself. "Defiantly not the usual circumstances... Well I am going to have to look through your trunk. I have to check for weapons." She said as a way to change the subject.
Harry gestured for her to go ahead. Severus had made him take precautions against muggles just before last summer, on the off chance someone would look in his trunk. He kept his fire bolt shrunken in a box along with his potion supplies, while his books were charmed to look like muggle books. The woman opened his trunk and sorted it into piles, books, clothes, and miscellaneous. She seemed honestly surprised by the amount of books he had. When she began to reach for the box with his magic supplies, he stopped her.
"Sorry, but I don't like people touching these." Harry said, carefully lifting the box out of the trunk and siting down with it in his lap.
"I have to look in it since the box is big enough to hold a weapon." Harry nodded and reluctantly opened the box.
Inside the box, the broom and cauldron looked like children's toys. "These are all I have left if my parents." There was a wistful quality to Harry's voice that showed his longing.
"What happened to them?" The question was almost inaudible, but Harry heard it regardless.
"They were murdered. He tried to kill me to but, he couldn't. That's the reason he was found and put away. Because he couldn't kill a toddler." The numbness if his voice and the raw power emanating from him caused the woman to drop the subject.
"Well, lets get you settled for the night. Is there anyone you want to call?" She asked, repacking his trunk.
Harry shook his head, he didn't know anyone with a phone. "Can you just show me where the room is? I don't want to sit in there. I am sick of being locked in a room."
"Sure you can be out and about until eleven. Then you have to stay in your room until seven. Breakfast is served at eight."
Harry didn't want to, but he had seen outside that there were bars and locks on all the windows except those in the main lobby area. As the two made their way across the lobby an old man shot up out of his chair.
"Harry Potter, holly and Phoenix feather, 11 inches."
Harry stopped in his tracks, that was one voice he never expected to hear in a place like this. Slowly, not knowing what to expect, he turned to face the man who had shouted. The man was making his way across the room, and when Harry looked at his face, relieved to see he looked healthy.
"Ollivander?!" Harry was stunned. The man reached him and Harry shook off his shock. "You have been missing for months! What are you doing here?"
"I will explain once you find your room and send your message." He had that misty, far away look in his near blind eyes, the look that unnerved Harry. Ollivander always knew more than he should. But Harry nodded and turned back to the woman who was looking bemusedly between the two males. He was eager to escape the curious eyes. "Lead on." He told her, and they headed up the stairs.
Harry's room was on the second. Floor. Convenient if he had to leave quickly. Harry set his trunk at the end of the bed and the woman handed him the room key. "Thank you, ma'am." She nodded and left. Trying not to think of Ollivander, he dug out some parchment to write his letter.
Perpetual Git,
There is a bit of a situation. I am in London, in a homeless shelter. I will explain when I see you. Ollivander is here. I should be relatively safe if I do not leave the building. The doors stay open until 11pm. You know how to get the location.
~The Insolent Brat
Harry signed the letter with his code name. He knew it was already a good chance that people would recognise Hedwig and he wasn't foolish enough to put their true names on an easily intercepted letter. He knew it was going to look extremely odd to the muggles when an owl flew in the window, but it had to be done. He headed back to the lobby area, and with a nod to Ollivander, headed over to the window.
He opened the window and let out a low two tone whistle. A minute later Hedwig flew in the window and landed on his shoulder. She head butted him in greeting and spoke to her in soft tones. "Hey, girl. I need you to take this to Professor Snape. Go quickly and wait for a reply." He tied the message to her leg and she shifted, about to take flight. "Fly safe, Hedwig." Then she jumped off his shoulder and glided out the window.
He watched her fly for a moment then turned to the bewildered room of muggles. The only one not staring was Ollivander, he was simply observing those around him. Harry approached the old wand maker and sat across from him. "So what are you doing here Mr. Ollivander?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Potter." The old man replied, with a grin.
"True but I haven't been missing for four months."
"Touché. I am hiding because the Death Eaters are trying to capture me. They attacked my shop and attempted to abduct me, however they believed me to be a blind and helpless old man an I escaped. So here I sit waiting for the Dark Lord's downfall." The man sat back in his chair and looked pointedly at Harry.
"Hey, I'm working on it! I have been training. Like right now I know there is a small cluster of reclining chairs behind us. I know that when I sat down here there were two people in said chairs and that the man in the blue hat that had been over by the window joined the two behind me about four minutes ago. He most likely sat on the left, my left."
Ollivander's eyebrows had reached his hairline. "That was quite impressive. With observation like that it would be hard to ambush you."
"Despite what the prophet prints, I am trying to end this as quickly as possible. It is ridiculous that everyone is putting the fate of the world into the hands of an almost 16 year old."
The two sat in silence for a while. Each wrapped in their own thoughts, although Harry's were much darker than his companions. Eventually Harry asked if the man wanted to play chess. After receiving an affirmative, he went upstairs to get his chess set.
When he entered the room he drew in a deep breath. Talking with Ollivander had caused Harry to think about all the pressure he was under, as a result he had thought of Cedric and Sirius. He thought of how he had caused their deaths. He had been becoming more and more depressed and had been trying to fight off the dark feelings. It had worked for a while but now it was coming back, probably because of the Dursleys. He shook his head, scattering the dark thoughts, and retrieved the chess set, then headed back to the lobby.