Foundations

Votes:

A and C with B as a backup if the Dursleys seem not-fine.

(a) hide until they go away.

(b) Run. Maybe they have some way of detecting him.

(c) try to sneak around and get into his house. It probably had some wards or something, right? No wizard had ever attacked there before anyway.

(d) Attack them with the knife! ...or just threaten. This option seemed a bit suicidal, but maybe if he took them by surprise and got their wand first? It was dark and he was small, this was a possibility. And if they were out to kill his family and wait for him to come home so they could kill him too, maybe he didn't have any other options.

And names Remus Lupin and Tonks dropped, so since I was leaning Remus anyway, that's who I went with, although I had contemplated a dark wizard it's just a liiittle too soon for Harry to be facing something like that!

The long hiatus is because at first nobody picked any options and I didn't have muse otherwise, I rechecked and noticed two people finally had, so, okay, might as well make people happy and to not leave it on a cliff-hanger. And yes, this is little ficlets with frequent stops when Harry makes choices, that's sort of the point; at least it makes it quick to write, aye?

Harry decided to creep closer to his house, and hide, so if there were wards or some protection there he could benefit from it, and so he could watch what the wizard did or didn't do to the Dursleys. If the wizard hurt them, he'd run. His choices were a mix of prudent caution and to a lesser degree non-suicidal bravery: it would have been easier to just run away, after all, and he didn't love the Dursleys enough to fight for them nor did he think he stood a chance against a full grown wizard. It was also clever to get more information on just what was going on and what he might be up against.

The wizard was pretty darn scruffy looking, a man with hair that looked like it had prematurely grayed a bit on him, and a few scars marking his body where the skin was visible. Life clearly hadn't been kind to the man, and it made Harry wonder if this was some sort of thug, although they looked a little frail and unhealthy for that. In fact, Harry found himself wondering if the man was homeless, he got the impression from the tattered state of the robes that he didn't have many other articles of clothing or he'd have chosen those instead.

Harry took it a little tentatively as a good sign when the man knocked on the door with no wand in his hand.

"'ello?" asked Vernon, opening the door and looking disgruntled. "No solicitors, and we don't do charity for hobos either!" He started to close the door again.

"My name is Remus Lupin, and I'm here on behalf of Dumbledore. You are not keeping your end of the bargain; Harry Potter does not appear to be dwelling here."

Vernon paled. "You're one of those freaks! Petunia!" he yelled. "You deal with this! It's your sister's folks!"

There was a noise like footsteps coming down the stairs.

There was that mysterious deal again! Harry burned with curiosity, but decided to hide a little longer just in case the wizard did suddenly turn dangerous, and because he doubted the Dursleys would willingly tell him anything, but they would certainly have to talk to this wizard, with any luck.

Petunia stuck out her giraffe-like neck, and looked down her nose at the scruffy wizard that had dared to set foot upon her doorstep. "The boy ran away of his own volition. He heads out sometimes because he doesn't like it here any more than we like having him." That was a painful truth to hear spoken aloud, and it was far more blunt than Petunia usually was about him with strangers, as they usually liked to pretend he didn't even exist. "He'll probably wander back eventually."

"Petunia, is it really safe for any child to wander unsupervised for so long? The boy skipped meals, that doesn't seem normal to me. Does he at least have some sort of friends' place he might be visiting, or did he mention where he was headed?"

Petunia laughed. "Him, friends with someone? Hardly. And no, he doesn't speak much, certainly not to me. Were you lot expecting some kind of cozy reception when you dropped him off on our doorsteps, potentially endangering my family from the same bastards that killed my sister? Because if that's the case, you were sorely mistaken. He's a menace and can't be bothered to act normally at all." Hey! It wasn't his fault strange things sometimes happened around him! Bunch of gits, the lot of them.

"But she was your sister," Remus breathed out, shaken. "I know you didn't get along, but surely you must at least care if he gets hurt... He could be lost, or kidnapped."

"I don't want him dead," snapped Petunia, "But if he got lost, it would be the best thing that ever happened since that ruddy day!"

Harry's heart thudded and he closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to feel pained. Why the heck should he care what that harpy thought? It just... it sucked, was all.

"What about you?" Petunia interrogated. "You were her bloody friend! You could take him, if you care so much!"

And at that, Harry's heart leaped up into his throat with hopefulness. He nearly raced out on the spot. Oh! Could he? It was everything he'd ever dreamed of, to be taken away! The only thing better were if his parents had somehow come back from the dead and turned the Dursleys into teapots.

"I can't," Remus said with a croak, lowering his head and looking ashamed. "I'm practically destitute. I struggle to get enough money to pay for my medicine or food, let alone take care of a boy, and I'm often between jobs and a house. There's no way I could take care of a child."

Harry's heart sank. His gut felt like a stone. But this meant at least one person cared about him! It wasn't all bad. If only there was some way to impress upon the man that Harry didn't need much, really... why, he often went without eating!

"I suspected as much," Petunia sniffed at him. "It just figures those good for nothings would have a good for nothing friend as well."

Remus's eyes narrowed. "I would politely ask you not to speak of Lily and James that way. They were not penniless even if there were wealthier souls, they at least had a house before it burned down, and there was a very good reason they weren't eager to run out and get jobs and you know it. Now, if that is really all the information you have to offer, I bid you good day, ma'am," Remus said with far, far more politeness than Petunia deserved, and he turned to walk away.

Now was Harry's opportunity to do something.

a) Stand up and declare he has no intention of going back to the Dursleys, because they're terrible, and if he really cares about him he'll find him other arrangements.

b) Run up to him, but after he's gone enough distance the Dursleys can't overhear, and ask about his parents not being penniless. If they had money and that was the only problem with Harry not being able to be taken in, Harry would be more than happy to share in return for Remus raising him instead of the Dursleys. Tell him how awful the Dursleys are and beg that if he really was his parents' friend to not let them treat him like this!

c) Follow him discreetly. Maybe he'll reveal more of the Wizarding World, and time could make him more worried and desperate about Harry. Maybe the Dursleys will even suffer some sort of punishment if nobody can find him.

d) break down and cry because fuck it, he just had his life's dream dangled in front of his face and ripped away!

e) Run away for awhile and read his books, try to find more of the wizarding world on his own.

a/n: No super wealthiest!wizard!ever fanon vault in this, although Harry is still decently off. We continue to have a nice Slytherin/Gryffindor dichotomy.

And yeah, I used to be more anti-Dumbledore 5-6 years ago (Christ has it really been that long?), but you still have to admit even in the more generous interpretations that Dumbledore can be manipulative. The books literately compare Harry to a 'pig being raised to slaughter', that's canon. I like flawed characters, it doesn't mean I hate the dude.

Anyway, I know some fics bash Remus for not taking Harry in, but I don't blame the dude for not doing it at all when you consider how hard it must be to get a job as a werewolf and the fact he'd be risking biting/murdering a child once a month, wolfsbane ain't cheap. That's gotta be pretty psychologically devastating. Then there's the question of whether society would even let him do it. He's not Harry's godfather, Sirius was, and he's a werewolf - that's even 'worse' than a muggle.