Chapter Three; The Leaky Cauldron
Wow I can't believe how much positive feedback that this story is getting already! Well here's the next chapter and enjoy it! Thank you for all of your support on this entire series, which somebody made me blush when they called it one of the best series on this website. Thank you so much! I really enjoy making them for your entertainment and I felt really honored by that.
Harry wheeled his luggage a crossed the ground as he escaped into the night following the light of his wand. He was cold and hungry and had no idea where he was going. He was just glad to have his dog with him and hoped and prayed that his brothers and sisters could manage things by themselves, because he couldn't face the Dursleys now after what he had just done.
He couldn't even face his own parents, for how would they feel about him being kicked out of Hogwarts when he hadn't even started his third year there yet? That's when all of a sudden Cowboy stopped beside him and started to growl. "What is it boy?" Harry asked him as he arched his back and his fur started to stand up. "Do you smell something?" he questioned him when suddenly he saw a large black dog emerging out of the bushes.
Harry gasped and fell over onto the ground when the next thing he knew he saw bright headlights headed his way and a bright purple bus pulled out to the curb in front of him. That's when a short man with long brown hair and crooked teeth stepped out of the doors. "Good evening, my name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for this evening." He said before he glanced down at Harry. "What are you doing down there?" he questioned him with uncertainty.
"I fell over." Harry told him.
"Well what did you fall over for?" he wondered.
"I didn't do it on purpose, it's just that my dog, he_" he began before Stan caught sight of Cowboy for the first time who started to sniff the air and wag his tail before starting to pant happily.
"I'm sorry but we don't allow dogs here." He told him.
"But he has to come with me, he has nowhere to go." Harry said.
"Oh." Stan began with a scratch of his head. "Well alright, I guess in this case we'll make an exception. Just as long as he's well behaved." He told him as Harry stood up and hoisted the small dog inside his arms.
"He is, trust me." He assured him.
"Alright, well you go ahead and take care of that little guy and I'll get the rest of your things." Stan told him as Harry started carrying his dog onto the bus.
"Come on Cowboy, let's go." He said when all of a sudden a rather loud voice began to speak causing the dog to let out a terrified yelp.
"Cowboy, that's a strange name for a dog isn't it Ern?" Harry quickly turned his head to look at a shrunken head who was staring back at him through the glass window. Cowboy started to whimper and tremble with fright as Harry carried him to one of the seats and sat down with him on top of his lap.
"It's alright, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He told him before planting a small kiss on the top of his head and starting to scratch him behind the ears. That's when all of a sudden the older gentleman driving the bus slammed on the accelerator.
"Take it away Ern, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" The shrunken head exclaimed with a mischievous laugh. Harry held onto Cowboy tightly while at the same time trying to hold onto his seat. He had no idea where the bus (he had seen the name The Knight Bus written on the front of it in dark bold letters) was taking him, but he figured that anything was better than the Dursleys or Azkaban.
As if being able to suddenly read his thoughts Stan sat down in the seat a crossed the aisle from them. "Don't worry Harry Potter, we're taking you to the Leaky Cauldron." He told him with a grin. Harry was about to ask him how he knew who he was until he remembered that that would be a foolish question to ask since clearly Stan was looking up at his scar.
"Actually no, I'm not Harry Potter." He said.
"Oh really? I beg your pardon because you sure look like him. You have his scar." He said.
"I meant that my last name isn't Potter anymore. It hasn't been for almost ten years now. I'm Harry Snape." He explained.
"Snape? As in the potions master and former death eater? You're his son?" he questioned him with bewilderment and disbelief.
"Yeah, he adopted me when I was a kid after he married my mother." He told him.
"Hmm, I guess that explains a lot. About Sirius Black breaking out of Azkaban and everything." He said.
"Sirius Black, where have I heard that name before?" Harry questioned.
"He's a murder, and that's why he was locked up in Azkaban for it. He's even made the muggle news you know? They say that he's been carrying a gun, which is some sort of muggle weapon used for killing." He explained.
"I know, I went to muggle school and charm school." Harry told him. "But what does his escape have to do with my dad being a death eater?" he asked him.
"Well, you see since he's escaped and all, and Black and your father being old rivals, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he was going to track him down." He said as Harry started wondering to himself if he really should have left his brothers and sisters behind at Privet Drive after all when all of a sudden the bus driver slammed on his brakes.
"Well this is it, here we are, the Leaky Cauldron." Stan said as he stood back up on his feet after the bus came to a complete stop. That's when all of a sudden the doors opened and Snape hurried up the steps.
"There you are!" he snapped angrily before grabbing ahold of Harry's collar and pulling him back down onto the curb as Cowboy dashed after them and Stan placed all of Harry's things down beside them. "Where on earth have you been!? Do you have any idea how worried your mother and I were about you!?" he scolded.
"I'm sorry but it wasn't my fault, Aunt Marge she_" Harry began.
"Yes I know, I know Tobey sent Hedwig after me and told me all about it. But that was still no excuse to run away like that!" he exclaimed. "You could have been hurt!" he snapped before Harry slowly backed away from him.
"Look, no offense or anything Dad but you've really got to stop worrying about me. I'm thirteen years old now, I'm not a little kid anymore." He told him.
"Well then act like it and start using good judgement!" Snape spat before he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Anyway, I guess you can stay here for now until I know what to do with you. Then we can go ahead and start your school shopping." He said.
"But_ I thought_ underage wizards aren't supposed to do magic outside of school." He said.
"Yes I know, but they're also not supposed to be out by themselves at night either. But I can give you one thing, at least you knew enough to bring Cowboy with you, and it wasn't really your fault about what happened to Marge. The bitch was asking for it if you ask me." He said as Harry stifled a laugh.
"Did you just swear?" he asked him.
"Yes," he began. "but if you say anything to your mother about it, I'll completely deny it." He told him as Harry laughed and even Snape grinned. "Come on son, let's get you inside." He told him as he lead him towards the doors and Harry's heart leapt with joy knowing that he wasn't going to be arrested, knowing that his father still loved him, and most of all, that he wasn't expelled and he was going to be allowed to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Things were finally starting to turn around, and for the first time ever, he was enjoying the fact that he was a teenager.