Sorry it took so long!

The next morning, he woke up to sound of sizzling. He changed clothes and went to the kitchen. Molly, Ginny, and Percy were eating breakfast. As soon as he entered, Molly handed him a bowl of porridge and sat him down at their table.

"Molly, thank you so much for your hospitality. I will be leaving as soon as I can pack up my belongings."

Molly looked shocked. "But Harry, where will you go? You have no home."

Harry was ready for this. He had been thinking about it this morning before he got up. "I was thinking I would visit Slyther. I believe my father had a good friend there. Maybe I will stop by Strawgo on the way."

Percy piped in, "I was just about to head to Strawgo myself. You see, I work for one of the king's advisors-"

"He tastes their food for poison."

"And takes their swords to get cleaned."

Fredrick and George had just entered and were now chuckling. Percy puffed out his chest and left the room indignantly. Harry stifled a laugh.

"Boys! That was rude! Anyway, Harry, you can't travel alone. I'm not sure if Percy will stay long enough to have you travel with him."

Ron stumbled in just then and said, "Morning. Heard people talking about Strawgo. Could I go? I am of age and most boys my age train for knighthood."

Molly looked as if she was going to cry. Then she ran and hugged Ron. Fredrick and George just smiled. Then they snuck off outside.

Within three hours, Percy was long gone, Harry had packed all of his things, and Ron had packed all of his things onto his horse Widgey. Fredrick and George waited outside with packages in their hands. Arthur had gone back to his printing press after saying a quick goodbye. Ginny was nowhere to be seen.

All of a sudden, Hedwig burst through the underbrush near the house. She stood next to Harry as if she'd never left. He packed his belongings on her then climbed up.

"Goodbye Ronald! Goodbye Harry! Be safe!"

They trotted off west towards Strawgo and away from the only land Harry had ever known.

A few minutes later, Harry was comfortably talking with Ronald, who it turns out, went by Ron. "…and my cousin, Dudley, is a fat lump who sits around all day eating. He carries a sword but only to threaten the servants to bring him food faster."

"You have servants?"

"Well, my parents never did, but once Vernon stole the lordship and had enough money, he bought some house-elves. When I was fourteen, I freed all of them, but they insisted on staying and working for a low wage. I think they felt bad for me. They always brought me extra food since my uncle wouldn't let me sit at the table with them."

"God, and I thought having five older brothers was bad."

"You have five? Unless, Frederick and George are actually quadruplets, I didn't count that many."

Ron laughed, "No, my oldest brother, William travels around working for Lord Grints searching old ruins for gold. The other one, Charles, works in far north Raveen with dragons."

"That sounds awesome! Hey, it's getting dark. Maybe we should set up camp for the night. I don't see any houses anywhere near here."

"Yeah sure. Our house is really secluded so there aren't any houses within a day's journey. We should be able to find a town tomorrow though."

Without much more talk, they tied up their horses, Harry didn't want Hedwig wandering off with all of his things, and went to bed.

Harry was closing his eyes and about to drift off when he heard footsteps much too light to be from a horse. While, he was a generally trusting person, the footsteps scared him a bit. However, they stopped as soon as he rolled over so he decided not to wake Ron. He was asleep in seconds.

Next chapter:

Harry's sword tip was at the man's throat, unwavering with the fear Harry felt.

"Who are you? Why were you following us?"

The mystery man took off his helmet revealing his face. Harry's sword dropped to his side in shock.