Harry awoke with a start the next day. Already he could feel the anxiety building within him. He could be leaving this hellhole today. Or at the very least he could have a good laugh as Mr Nott infuriated the Dursleys. Or terrified them. Or turned them into toadstools...
Finishing his rushed breakfast of plain bread while Dudley and Vernon gorged themselves on whatever they were eating, Harry excused himself to his room. Less than an hour later he saw a man dressed in a top hat and tuxedo approach the door to Number 4, trailed by a smaller figure wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Harry crept down the stairs to stake himself a good position to observe the impending entertainment.
As the loud rapping on the door came, Harry tried his best not to grin. Within moments, Vernon appeared, waddling over to the door grumbling to himself
"Who the bloody hell could that be on a Saturday?..."
As he wrenched open the door, he called over his shoulder. "Dudley, did you expect one of your friends?"Only for his face to turn a minor shade of green as he eyed the man in front of him.
Mr. Nott was dressed like an ordinary, albeit aristocratic, muggle - from the 19th century. Vernon stood there, blinking stupidly, taking in the tuxedo, tophat, bowtie, even the fancy cane he had used to knock on Vernon's door. Before Harry's uncle could say anything however, Mr. Nott broke into a speech.
"I'm going to make this short. You don't like my kind, and I don't care for yours. Our kinds have remained separate for centuries and should stay that way. However, we protect our own and young Mr. Potter hasn't been responding to any messages from my son, and as we look after our own, as I'm sure you muggles do as well, I'm here take him off your hands so he can spend the rest of the summer vacation at my house. How does that sound, Mr. Dursley?"
Uncle Vernon stood there, spluttering, dumbfounded by the lengthy speech.
"You're one of... them?" Vernon said, his eyes bulging as he slowly backed away.
"Yes, the same as your nephew. Since you've likely been preventing him from responding to my son's correspondence I assume I have to ask him to stay the rest of the summer at our house in person, unless you've burned him at the stake?" Mr. Nott said with an odd grin, the same used by Theo whenever he made one of his dark jokes.
Uncle Vernon, turning a shade of pink, began to recoil.
"No, no, of course not! Don't talk rubbish, he's right upstairs, and keep your voice down!" Vernon said, glaring over Mr. Nott's shoulder, his eyes shifting from side to side looking for any eavesdropping neighbors.
"So do you want him gone or not?" Mr. Nott said impatiently.
"Of course I do, you can take him right away. BOY!"
Vernon shouted into the hall, only for Harry to tap him on the shoulder.
"Oh, you're right here. One of your freaky friends wants you to stay at his house for the rest of the summer, so pack your things and get out of here."
"You!" Vernon, turning to Mr. Nott, half barked, half squeaked, trying to sound intimidating. "You can stay outside while the boy gets his things."
"And here I was hoping to be invited inside for whatever riveting conversations you could muster." said Mr. Nott, bowing out of the house with the same creepy grin on his face.
Turning to Harry, his Uncle began shifting his eyes from side to side as if he was expecting imminent attack from multiple directions.
"You boy! Go get your things right now before the neighbors see you or any of your kind hanging around my house."
Not believing his luck, ten minutes later Harry was walking out the door with all his worldly possessions, free from the Dursleys for nearly another year.
"Don't come back for Christmas!" Vernon barked before slamming the door.
"I didn't plan on it." Harry said icily in reply.
"Or Easter!" his Uncle snapped, reappearing through a tiny gap from the slightly ajar door before slamming it once more.
"Well, not quite the performance I had hoped for." tutted Mr. Nott
"I had hoped there would be more adverse a reaction from that man, but apparently he has more restraint than his appearance would suggest."
"I thought it was brilliant!" Harry said, grinning.
"It's good to see you." he continued, nodding towards Nott the Younger.
"So why weren't you answering anybody's mail? Felt like being a hermit as a summer job?" Theodore demanded.
"Beats me." Harry said shrugging. "I mean, I know why, some mad elf was intercepting my letters, but I don't know why he was, for sure, at least."
"An elf?" Theodore asked skeptically. "You mean a house elf? Did you catch it's name?"
"No, sorry." Harry said, rubbing his neck and feeling nervous. He had made a deal, and he wasn't dishonorable enough to give away the elf's name.
Dobby probably *would* be punished severely if his owners found out he had left the family home without permission. While he was annoyed at Dobby, he didn't want to make life harder for the already ill-treated creature.
"Alright, boys. You know the procedure, Theodore.
Harry, grab my forearm and hold on tight. And should you feel the urge, please direct your vomit elsewhere." Mr. Nott said, peering around the small alley between two nearly identical suburban houses.
"What?" Harry asked, drawing a blank in his mind.
"Apparation." Theo said darkly.
"What's apparation? I think I've heard of it before, but I can't remember..." Harry trailed off
"A bit like what muggles call "Teleportation" You de-materialize, or, Dissaparate, from one point in the physical plain and re-materialize, or, Apparate, in another location. It's efficient but highly unpleasant. Now, grab on." Mr. Nott finished, gesturing towards the vice-like grip Theodore had on his father.
Almost as soon as Harry had a hold of Mr. Nott's forarm he felt the horrible sensation of being squeezed through a tube in the vacuum of space. He was incapable of breathing, every matter of his being was being squeezed towards who knew where.
Just as he felt his consciousness begin to fade and a wave of nausea rise, he fell flat on his face into... what felt like sand.
Getting up and spitting out what was indeed sand, Harry began looking around.
"Where are we?" Harry said, turning towards the rushing sound of waves behind him. The sea (but which sea?) lay before him.
"Welcome, Harry..." Theodore said, tapping Harry on the shoulder. "To Nott Manor." Nott the Elder finished for him, gesturing towards a large shelf of rock bout a hundred yards from the shoreline.
"W-where?" Harry said, dumbfounded. Had the lack of oxygen from the Apparation damaged his brain?"
"Right here." grinned Mr Nott, waving his wand in a wide, sweeping motion.
The very light that made up the rocks seemed to melt away, revealing two large stone doors, nearly as large as the doors that gave way to the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts. With another wave of his wand, they swung open with a ponderous noise. The interior was pitch black until, with yet another wave of Mr. Nott's wand, countless torches burnt into life.
"Welcome home. Well, not your home, at least. My home. You're welcome to stay, of course, but don't become a squatter. Or get lost inside." Theodore said as the great stone doors swung shut.
