Title: View from the Streets
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU
Rebecca was using the excuse of cleaning the dishes from the 'table' to hide her actions from Harry as he was sitting on one of the stools at the counter. Surreptitiously, she pulled out a small package from the cold-box and unwrapped it on a plate.
"Happy Birthday, Harry." She said, turning to reveal a small chocolate cupcake.
For Rebecca and Harry, the chocolate cupcake was not a simple desert, it was a symbol. It had been so rare for them to be able to afford anything besides the bare necessities that whenever they had enough to buy a treat it was always a simple chocolate cupcake for them to share. To them it symbolised every event that was worth remembering or celebrating. The cupcake that they had eaten on the day Professor McGonagall had appeared had been their first in eighteen months, and before that it had been almost two years since they had been able to afford it.
There were no candles or presents, none of the usual trappings that most people would associate with a birthday or other celebration; it was simply Rebecca, Harry and the knowledge that this meant something to the two of them.
"Your turn to cut it." Rebecca said, handing Harry a kitchen knife.
Harry took the knife with a dash of pride. The cupcakes had always been so rare and precious that Rebecca had never before let Harry cut them. Harry always assumed it was because he might cut it wrong and waste some of the precious cake, but it had been Rebecca's way of insuring that Harry had gotten the larger share, admittedly not significantly larger given the small size of the cupcake, but still. Harry leaned over the cupcake with the knife in his hand and, as carefully as he could, sliced the small cake down the middle. The treat was slowly eaten and well savoured by the pair. Many would think it silly, the importance and reverence that they placed on one small item of food, but to Rebecca and Harry it was a reminder that even though there were bad times behind them, and potentially bad times ahead, for the moment they had enough to enjoy a treat.
Throughout August, Harry and Rebecca quickly established a routine for life around Hogsmeade Village. Harry had met a few other children who lived in the village, most were a few years older or a few years younger than him and he mostly kept to himself, but was finding some enjoyment, on occasion, in interacting with other children where they were not either looking to use him for something or a direct threat to his survival. On a few occasions Harry had spent some time at the Three Broomsticks while Rebecca worked. He knew enough not to disturb her or expect her to pay much attention to him, instead he busied himself with either learning to play the few board games that the pub maintained or reading the catalogue of back issues of the Magical Newspaper called the Daily Prophet to try and get a feel for the Magical World.
Rebecca, on the other hand, had been embraced by the other staff at the Three Broomsticks. As she had promised Madam Rosmerta, she was a hard worker and never complained about her workload. Wilhelm, the day cook, had taken it upon himself to look out for her, not that she really needed it, and on a few occasions she had spent some 'down time' with a few of the other girls, who occasionally grumbled that she was too damn good at cleaning by hand but were generally friendly. Mostly though, Rebecca did her job and spent her down time with Harry rather than socialising. August was almost over when Rebecca, for the first time in the just over a month she had been there, approached Madam Rosmerta.
"Boss, can I have a word?" Rebecca asked the owner.
Lunch service had long since finish and the area of the pub that was Rebecca's responsibility was immaculately clean.
"Of course." Rosmerta said, leading Rebecca into a small office the own kept for doing the books. "What did you need to talk about?"
"I was wondering if, on the first, I could take my lunch break from ten-thirty to eleven-thirty, instead of after the lunch service?" Rebecca asked with some trepidation. "I would like to be able to see Harry onto the Hogwarts Express."
A few weeks earlier, Professor McGonagall had explained about the tradition of students coming to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express, and how it was a kind of right of passage for the first years. There had been some discussion on how Harry would get to the train which left from London, and they had discussed Portkeys and Floo Powder. After some testing, it was revealed that Rebecca was able to use the Floo network and so the plan was for them to Floo directly to platform 9 ¾ and then for Rebecca to Floo back to Hogsmeade. This method was the safest option and would mean that Rebecca was not affected by the Anti-Muggle wards on the village or on the entrance to the platform itself, which acted like a fence to keep Muggles out, but did not affect any Muggle inside the Wards themselves.
"Rebecca, my dear, I did not have you scheduled to work at all on the First. Every parent who has a child going to Hogwarts is always given the first as paid day off." Madam Rosmerta replied.
This floored Rebecca. Sure, Madam Rosmerta had been good to her, but from her experience she was expecting to have to work at least one extra shift for no pay in order to get her lunch hour moved, or it being flat out refused.
"I appreciate that, boss." Rebecca replied. "But if it's all the same to you, I will still come in for the afternoon, once I get back from London."
"Rebecca, I am still going to pay you, so why not take the whole day off?" Rosmerta asked.
"It's going to be hard enough without Harry there in the evenings, I don't fancy sitting around the apartment by myself all afternoon." Rebecca replied.
"If that's what you want." Rosmerta replied. "You know I appreciate how hard you work."
"I better get back to it, boss." Rebecca said.
Rosmerta watched Rebecca walk back out to her section of the floor and, grabbing some supplies from the cleaning cabinet, began to polish the legs of one of the tables. Rosmerta wished her other employees were half as dedicated as Rebecca was. On one occasion two of the other girls had called in sick and Rebecca had been forced to cover the entire lunch time service with just Rosmerta helping. The young woman had been run off her feet and Rosmerta had sent her home at the end of her shift with an ointment to deal with the swelling from the twisted ankle the young woman had received when a thoughtless patron had slammed his chair back as she passed. Rebecca had not only kept the large tray of dirty plates she had been carrying from crashing to the floor but had limped through the remaining hour of service without complaint.
Rosmerta was calculating in her mind just how big to make the Christmas bonus that Rebecca was going to receive.
Professor McGonagall looked over the three other Heads of House as they sat in the staff room. Professor Sprout, a short and dumpy witch, had her usual friendly disposition. Diminutive Professor Flitwick had a slight smile on his face as he sat in his chair, which he had charmed to float a few inches of the floor so that he could look his colleagues in the eye. Professor Snape had his usual sullen expression.
"Alright, let's get started." McGonagall said.
"Should we not wait for the Headmaster?" Snape asked.
"Albus will not be coming." McGonagall replied. "An in a moment you will find out why. I called this meeting to discuss how we are going to deal with Mister Potter when he arrives."
"Why is the pampered little celebrity getting special treatment?" Snape sneered.
"I assume all of you, like myself, have been told by the Headmaster that Mister Potter has been happily and comfortably living with his relatives at a secure location?" Minerva asked, getting nods from the other Professors. "This is a lie."
"Surely the Headmaster would not lie to us." Professor Sprout said.
"I'm sure the Headmaster assumed that events with Mister Potter were going as he envisioned them, thus he never bothered to check." Minerva replied. "The truth is far worse, I am afraid. The morning after Albus left young Harry at the doorstep of his relatives, his Uncle decided that they would not keep him and threw him out with the trash. If it was not for the actions of one remarkable young girl, Harry Potter would have died that day."
Minerva spent the next hour and a half outlining the broad strokes of the life that Harry had lived. By the end even Snape was outraged at Professor Dumbledore. The Potions Master would not have wished such a life on his bitterest enemies, James Potter and Sirius Black included, but to have the son of his beloved Lily treated in such a way was simply… intolerable.
TBC…