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Harry is in 4th year

At the motel

August 11th 1994

Harry pushed open the door. Unsurprisingly, he was met with the face of a seething Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon who looked ready to blow up from how red his face was with anger. They had been surprised at first, wondering who was at the door, yet when they saw the familiar face of the freak, they instantly saw red. Harry gulped and looked around, Dudley was gloating in the corner, anticipating the Freak to get yelled at and punished.

Aunt Petunia was ready to start yelling how the Freak dared to make a fool of her yesterday night, when Uncle Vernon, grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in. He glared at Harry and harshly whispered," Freak, you're very lucky that the walls are thin here. You just wait until we get back to Privet Drive. You won't be eating. For. A. Very. Long. Time."

Harry was a bit shaken as Uncle Vernon had just behaved in a very un-Vernon way, he had expected him to blow his top off and start yelling. Harry gulped slightly. Uncle Vernon finally let go of his shoulder and escorted his wife and son out,before closing the door and leaving however, he gave Harry a long hard stare that promised pain ,"You better not leave this room or don't be expecting to be coming back to Surrey with us. And absolutely nothing freakish is to come out of you." Having said that, he slammed the door and Harry was left alone, surrounded by the worn-down wallpaper of the motel.

Harry brought a hand to his shoulder, that would most leave a bruise. Uncle Vernon was really angered. The Dursleys had been in America for three days already, today was their last day. Harry had snuck a peek at their itinerary when Aunt Petunia wasn't looking. It was currently about 10.15, which meant that the Dursleys would be out until 12. Then, they would return to the motel for their baggage and they were off, headed for the airport which was a 40 min trip. Harry inhaled deeply, he probably wouldn't be getting any food until the airplane flight.

With a sigh, Harry plopped himself on the bed. He caressed his poor stomach. Thankfully, he had eaten his fill at the Jacksons' apartment. Just thinking about them brought a smile to his face, Sally and Perseus had a certain aura around them that was just strangely warm. Harry resolved to get them gifts as thanks for caring for him. And if those gift had a little...magical kick to them, they wouldn't realise.

With a goofy smile on his face, Harry leaned out the window and soon fell asleep. Somehow, he was oddly assured that he would see both Sally and Perseus again.

Sometime later, Harry was violently shaken awake by Dudley. He turned around and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were scowling at him. Aunt Petunia sneered at him," Boy! If you want to be eating until you go off to your freakish little school, you'd better start moving our bags onto the cab downstairs!" Uncle Vernon brutally shoved their baggage at him, expecting him to carry it downstairs in one trip. Harry hung the fat bags on his arms and gathered the overstuffed suitcases in the other hand. Harry couldn't even see the steps in front of him as he descended down cautiously. Each step was accompanied by a groan in the wood.

"And if anything breaks, boy, you'll be sorry." Aunt Petunia's voice called from above. The cab driver took notice of the moving stack of baggage wandering towards him and was kind enough to help him place the bags carefully into the trunk. Harry cupped his cramping arms and waited for the Dursleys to get into the car.

Harry quietly sat in his corner of the car. Uncle Vernon had decided to sit in the front, thank Merlin for that. Harry could not have imagined sitting in the cramped car with Uncle Vernon breathing down his neck. Dudley had taken the other window seat and was making comments about everything the car was driving by. Aunt Petunia sat in the middle, trying to keep up with her son's enthusiasm. The exasperated look on her face actually made Harry quirk his lip upward but aside from that Harry was bored as ever. And the only other thing he could do aside from stare blankly at the back part of the cab driver's headrest, was stare out the window, so he did.

The sights of Manhattan were zooming by his little window and everything was a blur but it was mostly normal. Buildings towered over imposingly. Pigeons fluttered by and gathered together on windowsills. That was, until the taxi stopped in front of a traffic light and Harry's eyes fell onto a shadowed alley.

Inside that alley were a couple of trash cans, some fallen clothing and two teenagers holding… swords?! And they were being cornered by a huge snarling dog?! The dog was slobbering all over the floor and was already crouching, ready to pounce on the two teens. Merlin, what was going on? Harry did an obvious double take and pressed his face against the window, trying to get a better look.

Hermione had said once that other magical communities had their own peculiar traits, but this? This was ridiculous! Fortunately, Harry's sudden fascination with the window went unnoticed by everyone in the car. Dudley was still yelling at his own window and Petunia was trying to pacify him. Vernon was boasting about his various business ventures to the cab driver.

The car began picking up speed again and Harry got a second look at the alley. Instead of the previous scene,now, it was just a labrador preparing to pounce on the two teenagers. But instead of swords, one of them was holding a bat and the other was holding a piece of wood. Was there something wrong with him? He knew for a fact that other magical communities still used wands, aside from some but those communities were located in Asia, so was it just him that was seeing things? Before the car sped off, Harry managed to catch a glimpse of one of the boys getting a good swing in at the dog with his bat. Harry had seen lifeless petrified bodies before but he still instinctively averted his eyes at this.

When he opened them again, they were already far away from that mysterious alley. Harry kept his eyes peeled for any more weird sights but there was nothing worth mentioning for the entire remainder of the trip. Harry thought back to the girl with a horse foot and a metal leg that the had seen from Sally's car, he had brushed it off at first, chalking it up to his poor vision, but after the seeing what had gone down in the alley, he couldn't have seen so many things wrongly, could he? There was definitely something going on but since it was obviously a magical issue, he would leave it to America's ministry.

Harry set aside the whirlwind of thoughts in his head and before he knew it, they were at the airport.

As the plane slowly lifted into the air, Harry sighed. His few days of freedom were soon to be over. Harry silently lamented that he couldn't see the Jacksons without an international portkey or plane ride. He had a feeling that they would be playing an important part of something bigger. He couldn't quite place a finger on it. Something from their meeting had seemed to awaken something within him.

On the car ride back to Little Whinging

He hadn't managed to catch any sleep the whole flight. Uncle Vernon was snoring away comfortably with Aunt Petunia and Dudley napping away behind him. He was subjected to a long torturous stream of snoring and bad breath. The only thing good about the whole flight was that Harry managed to convince the flight attendant to give him some extra bread rolls along with his dinner. Harry forced himself to eat as he knew that the Dursleys had not forgotten that he had "made a fool of them" and that Uncle Vernon would definitely back up his words.

Now, they were in yet another cab on the way back to 4 Privet Drive. The Dursleys continued sleeping while Harry regretted not bringing Sleeping Draught along. He was imagining how bad his punishment would be. Would they restrict his food? Or would they just lock him up in his bedroom? Harry was quite comfortable with the latter option. He could still have the company of Hedwig in the musty bedroom.

He hoped Hedwig was faring well on her own. Uncle Vernon had locked her up before leaving for the airport but Harry had sneakily set her free. Hopefully, she was able to catch some mice in the vicinity for food. Harry felt dread creeping up his spine when the cab driver stopped in front of the familiar house, shook Vernon awake and told him," We're here. That'll be 15 pounds, sir."

4 Privet Drive

19th August 1994

It seemed that Harry's prayer had gone unheard. The Dursleys had decided to give him an even worse version of what he had initially predicted. He was given a terrifyingly long list of chores by Aunt Petunia and Dudley was making it his top priority to make Harry's job harder at any given time. He had tracked mud into the house while Harry was scrubbing the floor, made even more disgusting messes at the dinner table for him to clean and Harry would bet his magic that he was the culprit who had left a knee-high pile of dirt in the bathroom for him to get rid of.

Despite this, Harry was still only given a can of soup and a slice of bread as a meal and sometimes, they didn't even bother sending anything up for him to eat. Depending on how lucky he was, the soup would occasionally differ. The occasional chicken soup actually provided some chicken bits inside for him to enjoy. Harry had managed to sneak away some leftovers after each meal to sustain himself but Aunt Petunia had put a stop to that after the first few times. His magic was constantly coursing through his body, making the hunger tolerable and keeping his body relatively healthy.

It wasn't until Harry had passed out numerous times that they started giving him more to eat. And by more he meant a few more slices of bread. Glaring at the extra slice that had been sent up to him for his meal lying innocently on the tray next to his usual can of soup and bread, he gnashed his teeth in anger. Hedwig hooted comfortingly beside him. Harry let out a weak smile and gently ran his hand through her feathers. Yet inwardly, Harry was utterly disgusted at his own powerlessness.

4 Privet Drive

22nd August 1994

Harry victoriously clutched at his new-found pouch. Aunt Petunia had confiscated it but he had discovered it in the 3rd drawer of her dresser when he was cleaning. It weighed quite a bit. Inside it was a meager 5 Galleons, 14 Sickles and a few Knuts but Harry viewed it as his ticket out of Privet Drive.

At the start of his excruciating punishment, he had entertained various thoughts of seeking asylum at the Leaky Cauldron but he had utterly no funds to even ride the Knight Bus. Aunt Petunia had picked off any wizarding currency he had cleanly off him. Yet now, with this small little pouch he could finally leave this hellish place early.

He understood that the whole reason of him staying at Privet Drive was because of the blood wards that would keep him safe from Death Eaters. But if he was already in danger of being killed due to overexhaustion by the very people who were living with him, he might as well risk it and head over to the Leaky Cauldron. It had kept him safe once, he was pretty sure that he could risk going a second time. With determined eyes, and one hand clutching the money pouch tightly, Harry drank his soup slowly whilst waiting for night to fall.

He could hear the loud snoring coming from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room. Feeling the tremors from Dudley's bedroom coming to a halt, Harry decided to make his great escape. Would the Dursleys be enraged to see that their "house elf" had left, only to return after another year at Hogwarts? Or would they actually be glad to see him gone? Well, he wouldn't be around to see their reactions.

Harry knew that Aunt Petunia was an especially light sleeper, and the noise produced from him tiptoeing down the stairs was definitely enough to wake her up. How she could sleep through Uncle Vernon's snoring, Harry was utterly clueless. Maybe she had learned to tune him out. With a light snicker, Harry grabbed his backpack which he had packed the day before in the rare breaks he had managed to acquire. He gingerly crept to the window. Soft rays of moonlight were shining through. Hedwig was already beating her wings and hovering outside the window, waiting patiently for Harry. Harry unlatched the lock and crept out carefully.

Lifting his other leg over the window, Harry was out. Tucked safely in his backpack was Harry's Gringotts key, a water bottle and his money pouch. His wand was comfortably tucked in his jean pocket. His oversized shirt wrapped around him like a baggy sweater. Hedwig swooped down and led Harry to the sidewalk safely.

Harry plopped himself onto the kerb and lifted his right arm. In a flash, the purple silhouette of the Knight Bus was driving down the road. Just as it had the year before, Harry was slightly blown backward by the accompanying wind. The headlights illuminated the whole stretch of road and it stopped with a loud hiss in front of him. Craning his neck upward, Stan was leaning towards him, one hand on his pole and he amiably welcomed Harry onto the bus.

"Nice seeing you again, Mr Potter. Off to the Leaky Cauldron this time as well? "

Harry nodded and hopped onto the bus, he then weaved through the countless sleeping passengers. Stan yelled his destination to Ernest. Harry recounted his previous ride on the Knight Bus and clung onto one of the poles tightly. Hedwig perched herself on one of the bedposts inside the bus. The bus zoomed off and was soon dodging in between cars, switching lanes wildly. Stan handed Harry a ticket and continued to stand there nonchalantly. Harry was clinging onto the pole for dear life and Hedwig… had shut her eyes and was resting peacefully.

"Well, can I getcha anything Mr Potter? Hot chocolate? I just got my hands on a darn good recipe." Stan offered.

Harry declined politely, well, as politely as he could while being tossed side to side by the bus. Luckily, there were no abrupt stops the whole ride this time. The bus soon came to a halt with a loud shriek and Harry carefully stepped off the bus, his view a little distorted from all the prior movement. Gripping tightly onto the straps of his backpack, Harry searched for the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry eventually found the bar and pushed the doors open. He was greeted by Tom and a few of the late-night customers. Hedwig nestled herself onto a cushion that she had found while Harry walked over to the counter and pleaded with Tom to stay the night.

Tom was surprised at first, that the Boy-Who-Lived had basically begged him for asylum. Yet, he felt quite obliged to let him stay. From what he had overheard when serving his extremely chatty guests, the boy had gone through a lot in the past few years. Looking at the disheveled boy, one would never even think that this was the savior of the Wizarding World. Tom's heart slightly softened and he tossed Harry a room key.

Harry had the most grateful smile on his face as he picked up the key. Harry let out a flurry of 'thank yous' and gestured for Hedwig to follow him. As the little figure rushed up the stairs, Tom's smile soon drooped a bit, he had a nagging feeling that this year, something big was going to happen and that Harry would be in the very middle of that entire mess.

Leaky Cauldron

22nd August 1994

Harry victoriously flopped onto the bed. The room wasn't much, it was quite small in fact. Just a bed and a table. Yet, Harry revelled in the feeling of freedom that washed over him in waves. He was in such euphoria that he had tried to cuddle Hedwig, before she had wrestled herself away from him and was now across the room, on the coat rack, a little shaken. Harry muttered a soft apology and took his money pouch out. He grasped it tightly in his hand and went back down to get himself something to eat. He really wanted something that wasn't soup.

"Tom?"

"Ah, Harry, are you comfortable in your room? Anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, I was thinking of asking if you were serving any food at this time of day?"

"Well, you're in luck Harry. I still have a bit of mash and some of that roast I made this afternoon." Tom went over to his many pots and soon passed Harry a plate with food on it. It was a bit pitiful, just some cold potato with meat and a single asparagus. But to Harry who had only been fed bread and canned soup for the past week, it smelled and looked absolutely delectable.

Tom took out his wand and cast a simple Heating Charm on the food, and the plate started to heat up in Harry's hands. Harry was amazed as trails of smoke started floating up from the food, the smell wafted through the air and Harry was proud of himself for not drooling already. The wondrous look on his face was really quite cute and Tom quickly passed Harry a fork and spoon.

"You can bring the plate back tomorrow when you wake up, go get some rest soon." Tom gently told Harry. Harry marveled at Tom's kindness for a moment before placing one hand in to his money pouch which was slung around his waist securely. He reached around for a Galleon until he felt the familiar size of the gold coin. Harry pulled it out and placed it on the counter.

"Thanks for letting me stay the night Tom."

Tom was taken aback at the shiny gold coin, but soon accepted it and reminded Harry to get some rest.

Harry happily took his plate and returned to his room. Hedwig was already devouring a rat that she had caught. He sat down at the table and savored his first meal in a long time.

Author's note: Hiya! Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope that the story is progressing okay, I didn't want Harry to be horribly abused in this story so I changed it. There was also a lot of Hedwig in this chapter and it's because I absolutely adore Hedwig (don't judge me). Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!