Disclaimer: As mentioned before, I don't own the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling is the rightful owner. I just own this fanfic and OCs. The OC Xander Scamander belongs to Supernova2015. No copyright intended!

Ch. 14

Harry Meets Xander

Later that afternoon, Vernon came home from work. He called out to Petunia and Dudley, but neither one arrived to greet him. In fact, the house was way too quiet. Vernon searched the house and couldn't find Petunia, nor his precious Dudders. He did get a call from Petunia earlier, where she mentioned that they spotted 'the freak' at St. James Park, and that they would make sure they got him back, and this time he wouldn't escape ever again. Something just didn't seem right, they should've been back with 'the freak' by now, probably earlier. Though, maybe Petunia decided to stop somewhere and get Dudders and his friends a treat for helping to capture 'the freak,' and rub it in his face.

(Line break)

The next morning, Harry got up, ate breakfast, took a shower and walked back to the living room. He was thinking about researching different potions, to invent some stronger ones, and maybe some cures for various ailments and diseases, too. After all, Harry did decide to continue that work for his mother in her honour.

"Master Harry!" called Tilly.

"Yes, Tilly?" said Harry.

"There's a strange owl, tapping it's beak on the windows!" said Tilly.

"Thank you, Tilly!" said Harry.

So he went to the window to open it, and the strange owl flew in and dropped a letter on the coffee table. Harry grabbed the letter, opened it and read it, which said:

Harry,

I've heard about your problems with the Dursleys. I'd like you to meet me at The Leaky Cauldron around noon today, so we can discuss some possible solutions. I received a letter from Minerva McGonagall the other day, explaining how she tried to help you out several times in the past. Albus had suspended her unjustly for 'interfering with his plans.' Hope all is well!

From,

Xander Scamander

'Wow,' Harry thought. 'I didn't know that this Xander has been helping out.'

Harry remembered seeing the name, Minerva McGonagall on his parents' will, mentioned to be his dad's godmother. He did wonder what kind of solutions this Xander had in mind. Intrigued and curious, Harry wrote a reply to Xander, assuring him that they can meet at The Leaky Cauldron around noon, tied it to the owl that presumably belonged to Xander, gave it some owl treats, then the owl flew away. Harry went into the potions lab to do some research in the meantime.

(Line break)

It was a quarter till noon and Harry decided to make his way to The Leaky Cauldron, so he could get a table ready. At 12:00 noon, on the dot, a strange wizard with brown hair and blues eyes (who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s) walked in through the front door of The Leaky Cauldron and upon spotting Harry, he approached the raven-haired boy with emerald-green eyes.

"Hello, Harry," the strange man said, shaking Harry's hand. "I'm Xander Scamander, descendant of Theseus Scamander!"

"It's nice to meet you, Xander," said Harry as he finished shaking hands with Xander. "What kinds of solutions do you have in mind?"

"I've got one going already," said Xander. "But first, let's sit at our table and I'll put up some privacy wards, just so the wrong person doesn't eavesdrop in on our discussions!"

Once they sat down at their table, Xander did just that, set up privacy wards. Then he and Harry proceeded to talk to Harry on how to deal with his so-called relatives.

"Now, as mentioned before, I thought of some possible solutions," Xander continued. "One of them is already in effect!"

"Which one would that be?" asked Harry.

"I'm currently working undercover at Grunnings," stated Xander. "I've been doing that for the past five years or so. Your uncle is under the impression that he'll be getting a pretty big deal, one that could boost his career."

"Ooh, that'll be interesting," said Harry, intrigued. "To see that it was all a ruse and my uncle won't see that coming until it's too late!"

"Indeed, Harry," said Xander. "Another good solution could be setting up a 'party,' to 'celebrate' Vernon's biggest deal. He'll be so over the moon, to the point where he'll just start bragging about how he, Petunia, and their son, Dudley and his gang would just treat you with such contempt. He'll even be unaware of doing that in front of everybody at Grunnings, and they'll all be watching the confession from behind a one-way window!"

"Oh boy," said Harry with fascination in his voice. "I can just picture the look on Uncle Vernon's face once he realizes that he just sold himself out and it'll be too good to miss!"

"Indeed, it will," agreed Xander. "It will also please Queen Elizabeth II!"

"Her majesty has been helping out, too?" asked Harry.

"She has," said Xander. "Some of her magical relatives have contacted me and told me about how she and Madam Amelia Bones have been searching for you ever since the night you got your scar."

"I do remember Amelia telling me about how she was investigating the Dursleys committing crimes against me," said Harry. "But I never realized how long she'd been searching."

"Dumbledore, he must've used the fidelius charm on the Dursleys' house," Xander deduced. "Amelia did mention something about you meeting and making friends out in Muggle London between mid to late June."

"Yeah, that day was Dudley's tenth birthday," stated Harry. "My plan to keep my distance from the Dursleys and Piers, Dudley's best friend, worked a little too well. That was when I ran into Karley for the first time and not long after that, her sister, Katie showed up as well."

"I see," said Xander. "Did you tell them your relatives address?"

"Yeah," said Harry sheepishly. "I was so caught up with explaining what my life was really like that I unwittingly revealed the address of my relatives house to Katie and Karley. They were shedding tears as I told them the story."

"That could've had a role in Amelia going over to Privet Drive," said Xander. "She did mention that their parents were notified and they went to tell her about it!"

Then, Xander checked his watch and realized that his lunch period was coming to an end.

"Sorry Harry," Xander apologized. "My lunch period ends in seven minutes, so I need to leave!"

"Okay," said Harry. "Thank you for helping out!"

"Anytime, Harry," said Xander. "When and if I come up with something else or a breakthrough happens, I'll notify you."

"Okay, until then, good luck!" said Harry.

He and Xander shook hands again, then Xander left The Leaky Cauldron and back to Grunnings. Harry walked over to where the entrance to Diagon Alley is, then he got his wand out and tapped the bricks three up and two across.

'As long as I'm here,' thought Harry. 'I might as well go to the apothecary and get some more potion ingredients.'

So he made his way down the district of Diagon Alley. Upon making it to the front entrance of the apothecary, he walked in and searched through the various shelves. Harry was determined to help continue his mother's work, even if she still had unfinished research notes in the potions lab. Then Harry decided it was also a good idea to go to Scribbulus Writing Instruments to get some more ink, quills and parchment. He believed it was better to have alot of something than have too little of it, especially when it came to researching for more powerful potions and maybe even cures for various ailments. Upon walking in, Harry spotted two very familiar girls, knowing who they were.

"Karley, April!" Harry called out.

This got their attention, and they turned around and smiled when they saw Harry, especially Karley.

"Hi Harry!" said Karley, giving Harry a hug, with Harry returning it.

"It's good to see you again, Harry," said April, giving Harry a hug as well, with Harry returning that one as well. "Even though it's been yesterday!"

"We didn't expect to run into you today," said Karley. "Were you doing some shopping?"

"Yeah, that's part of it," said Harry. "But around noon, I met a wizard named Xander Scamander, as he was helping me out with 'the' problem!"

"Ah," said April. "How exactly is he doing that?"

"I can't tell you that here," said Harry, looking around to make sure the wrong person wasn't around. "Too risky!"

"Good point," agreed April. "I don't wanna think what could happen if somebody suspicious did find out, in some way!"

"What all were you shopping for, Harry?" asked Karley.

"I went to the apothecary to purchase some more potion ingredients," stated Harry. "But, I also came here to purchase some more parchment, quills and ink. That way, I can write notes down for research!"

"Oh okay," said Karley. "April and I were going to go to Sugarplums Sweets Shop, our respective parents gave us permission. Would you like to come along, Harry?"

"I'd love to," said Harry. "Hopefully, Ginevra isn't anywhere close by or even at the sweetshop!"

"Me, too," said Karley. "That spoiled brat has nothing better to do than to try to get a rise outta me!"

She shuddered at the past memories of the time she and Ginny would get into a fight over Harry.

"You won't have to worry about that, Karley," said April, with a smug grin. "After my dad came home from the Ministry of Magic yesterday, he told me and my mum about Mr. Weasley mentioning that he and Mrs. Weasley sent Ginevra to her great-great Aunt Muriel, Molly's great aunt."

"Ooh," said Harry, intrigued. "Something tells me that Ginevra is dreading that!"

"Indeed," said April. "Muriel is said to be an extremely rude witch, with no regards for other peoples' feelings and a bit of a loudmouth. But she seems to enjoy gossip, which is what I think Ginevra's siblings despise above all else."

"I can't feel any sympathy for Ginevra," said Karley. "It was her own behaviour toward me that got her into that predicament."

"Mr. Weasley was explaining that to my dad, while they were busy with something going on at the Misuse Of Muggle Artifacts Office," said April. "I remember Fred and George telling me once that being sent to their great-great aunt Muriel was something like a last resort punishment."

"Like Karley said, Ginevra got herself into that!" said Harry. "It seemed like squirting Karley in the face with mustard was the final straw for Mrs. Weasley on dealing with Ginevra's rambunctious behaviour."

"Yeah, my mum and dad weren't pleased when I told them," said Karley. "Molly was embarrassed and even apologized for Ginevra's behaviour. I even saw the glare Molly sent Ginevra, which implied that she was gonna be given a more suitable punishment."

"I do wonder how long Ginevra will have to stay with her great-great aunt Muriel." said Harry.

"I don't know," said April. "Probably for an indefinite period of time."

So the three friends started walking down the alley toward the direction of Sugarplums Sweets Shop. Harry also began wondering what kind of sweets were bound to be at the sweetshop.

(Line break)

Meanwhile at Privet Drive, Vernon was just coming home. He was in a foul mood because he had to bail Petunia, Dudley and his friends out of jail. He blamed 'the freak' for that mishap, as he always did, but he was more focused on his biggest deal.

"I'm so excited to be expanding Grunnings to the U.S." said Vernon with glee. "This is bound to be a major boost to my career. I'll be sure to rub it in the freak's face. There's bound to be great food, and he can't have any of that!"

"Once we get him back here," said Petunia. "We'll keep him locked in his room around the clock, no matter what and this time, he won't be able to escape from us ever, ever again!"

"Yeah," said Dudley. "He needs to be put in his place. I'll be sure my friends know about this, too. That way, they can get a share of beating the freak up!"

So the Dursleys continued with the next phase of their plan. Rather than see the error of their ways, they were more focused on revenge. Little did they know that their reign of terror, Vernon's especially was bound to come to an end, and a very humiliating one, that is.

To be continued!

Author's note: Supernova2015 came up with the idea of Harry getting a message from Xander (where Xander has an owl himself) to meet him at The Leaky Cauldron to discuss solutions on the Dursleys, and Dudley's gang getting justice, once and for all; as well as the Dursleys planning revenge on 'the freak' for getting Petunia, Dudley and Dudley's gang arrested; and even one of Xander's plans for landing Vernon in huge trouble being the arrogant Grunnings director confessing all of his crimes against Harry in a bragging manner, unaware that everybody will be watching, and listening to every word of it.