One early morning, packing everything that he had into his trunk and rucksack, Harry snuck down to the kitchen and left a note for the Dursleys on the table. Afterwards he whispered to the owl on his shoulder, "Fly to the Leaky Cauldron, girl. I'll see you there." And Hedwig launched out of the window he had just opened.
He was leaving. He could not bear it any longer. He would stay in the pub until it was time to go to Hogwarts. Perhaps then he would also be able to find some more information about how to reach the school…
Towing the trunk (fitted with wheels and charmed to be always light) and carrying Hedwig's empty cage, he moved through his neighbourhood to the nearest bus stop. There he paid a ticket to London and climbed aboard the first bus available. His heart thumped erratically, and he could not sit still in the bus seat. It was the first time ever he boarded a vehicle with nobody he knew…
Thankfully, without any incident and too many stares from fellow passangers, he arrived at his destination and climbed down. Then he began to search for the Leaky Cauldron.
When he entered the thankfully-less-peopled pub, Tom the keeper stared at him with surprise and concern. But he obliged anyway when Harry asked for breakfast and a room to lodge for two weeks.
Harry ate his breakfast in his room; and just when he finished, Hedwig came swooping via the open window. He gave her some drink and an owl treat, before she settled completely in her cage and slept.
It felt alien to him, this sudden freedom and independence, just like what he had experienced during the bus ride. But he was determined to live the next two weeks to the fullest. – Perhaps, then, he should go to Diagon Alley now and see what he could do?
Glancing around for the last time at his slumbering owl and unpacked baggage, Harry picked up his breakfast tray and exited the room, descending to the bar. "I'm going to Diagon Alley, Tom," he informed the keeper, then went to the back of the pub. Time to explore…
He went to the bookstore first, hoping to renew his collection. There, while perusing the rows of books, he was also engaged in a lively discussion with the manager about forgotten branches of magic. (He got some great references to that topic! Sadly, most of them were located in Knocturn Alley.)
He went to the apothecary next, buying a second set of student kit for his experiments with his Potions school-book. And afterwards, thinking that he now needed a more practical container to carry his things, he went to the baggage shop to buy the bottomless backpack he had seen in his first visit.
And last, it was time for some ice cream!
Being completely alone made him feel rather vulnerable; but it also made him giddy with joy. He could do everything that he wished!