CHAPTER 17: A Warning, A Bet, A Wish

A/N: Hey guys, welcome back. This one's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. You'll get some backstory into the Evans family before Harry was born. Also a sneakpeek into the home life of our other main character. Not wanting to waste anymore of your time, I give you the next chapter of this epic tale (By epic I mean, the story of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and not my effort of reimagining the story. Just wanted to clear that up). Without further ado...…

Harry's eyes were bulged out of his socket as they were locked on the creature jumping gleefully on his bed. It took him a moment to realize that he had read about it, not the one before him in particular but the race he belonged to. They were called Elves.

They also worked at Hogwarts, oversaw the kitchen, he learned from Hermione, but he'd never come across one during his school year.

He'd come out of his shock a little bit for his senses to allow him to notice that the elf still hadn't seen him. It was in its on element, squealing and jumping on the bed like a 5-year-old, making all the rackety noise. No wonder his uncle was pissed.

"Who are you!" He asked again, louder this time which got the attention of the elf as it stopped bouncing and turned around.

Its already large, tennis-ball eyes turned even wider as they landed on him. It gave Harry a moment to closely examine the elf's appearance. The first thing he noticed was its gender, it was a male. Even though he had never seen an elf before, he felt absolute certain by his deduction.

He was about 3 and a half feet tall, had a pencil like nose and long, bat pointed ears. He wore a striped jumper and navy-blue shorts. His white socks covered his ankles and he had white sneakers on his feet.

"Mr. Harry Potter, Sir!"

Harry's eyes turned wide, and he backed towards the door till his back touched it as the elf jumped from the bed and landed on the floor before running towards him.

Frozen to the spot, Harry brought his hands up in defence and closed his eyes as the elf closed the space between them with his tiny steps.

The impact came, but not where he was expecting. Harry opened his eyes and inclined his head down in confusion at the elf sobbing messily on his left leg with his arms snaked around it.

Completely baffled with this reaction, Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, so he did what he thought any sane person would do in this situation. He flung his leg forward, which sent the elf flying in the air and back to the bed where he landed on his back.

"What are you doing- I mean, WHO are you?" His heart was thumping rapidly as he stared at the elf with wide eyes.

He watched the elf give him a beaming smile as he got off the bed and started walking towards him.

"NO!" Harry shouted, raising his hand. The elf stopped in its tracks. "Don't come any closer" The smile on the elf's face was replaced by a fearful expression.

"I mean no harm, Sir. My name is Dobby. I'm an elf" Dobby finished, pointing his bony fingers towards his chest.

"I figured that much" answered Harry, before he raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you from Hogwarts?"

"No, Sir. I don't work at Hogwarts. I work for-" His eyes turned wide before he regained composure and continued. "I'm a house elf" He finished with a smile, that did nothing to make Harry less suspicious and wary of him, especially after how he almost said something he shouldn't have. He was certain that the elf was lying. But he played through with it for wanting to learn more information about him and more importantly, why was he here?

"What are you doing here?"

His eyes turned narrow at seeing the elf look sideways in a nervous manner. "Umm...Dobby came to warn Harry Potter that he mustn't go back to Hogwarts this year. It's not safe. Bad things are going to happen, sir. He must promise Dobby that he will not go back to Hogwarts" He finished determinedly. He had walked towards Harry during his passionate little speech and now stood only a couple of feet away from him.

Harry, who was shocked by what he was hearing, stood rooted to his spot. His face was that of bewilderment and confusion. "What?" He rasped out.

"Harry Potter sir must not go back to Hogwarts. It is not-"

"Yeah, I got that" Harry interrupted him rudely, not caring one bit about it. "Are you mad? Of course, I'm going back. Hogwarts is my home. No one, and certainly not you is going to convince me not to go back. It's where I get to see people I care about. My friends...and if it was that dangerous, I would've gotten a letter by now" He was breathing heavily by the time he finished.

"A letter, sir" A sly smirk came over Dobby's face, that put Harry's senses into high alert. "Are you certain about that? Not even your friends, whom you care dearly about sent you letters. Maybe they've forgotten you."

"You don't know- wait, how do you know about that" Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before something clicked in his brain and his eyes turned wide. His suspicion was confirmed as Dobby nervously started twiddling with his fingers and avoided Harry's penetrating gaze. "Tell me" Growled Harry.

Dobby let out a whimper before he opened his mouth. "Harry Potter must understand. He shouldn't get angry at Dobby" Harry eyes were locked at his hands as he fished inside his jumper pocket before taking something out.

A sharp gasp escaped his lips as he saw the huge pile of letters in his hands. "Dobby did what he thought was best for Harry Potter. He thought that if Harry Potter believed that his friends had forgotten about him, then he wouldn't go back. But today, at the park, Dobby heard Harry Potter say to his new friend that he will return, so Dobby had no choice but to warn him in person" He finished with his eyes still downcast.

"Give me those letters" demanded Harry in what he believed was a restrained voice.

Dobby shook his head as he looked up at him. "Only if Harry Potter promises that he will not go back"

Harry glared down at him. Both stayed still for five seconds before Harry lunged forward and tried to grab him. But Dobby was too quick as he stepped sideways before hurling past Harry and rushing straight towards the door.

Harry was right behind him as he followed him out of the room and down the stairs. At the moment he didn't care about anything except the letters in the elf's hand. He jumped the last couple of steps before turning and running down the small hallway towards the kitchen.

He stopped in his tracks as he saw Dobby stand at the threshold of the kitchen and look back at him.

"Harry Potter must promise that he will not go back" Dobby whispered loudly, as Harry slowly inched towards him.

"Fine!" lied Harry. He didn't care, he just wanted those letters in his hand and for him to be gone before someone caught sight of him.

Dobby narrowed his round eyes at him, staring into his eyes for a short while before speaking. "You're lying"

"Just give me those letters!" Harry whispered angrily.

Harry's expression turned hopeful at seeing Dobby's shoulder sag in defeat as he looked down at his feet before looking back up at him. "Dobby promises Harry Potter that he will punish himself daily for what he is about to do" Harry looked at him in confusion, trying to understand the meaning behind his words. "He also apologizes to Harry Potter for all the pain he is about to cause him, he only wished that Harry Potter knows that Dobby is only doing this to save his life, for he would never do this for anyone but for him because he respects no one more"

Tears leaked from Dobby's face and streamed down his cheeks as he added "I'm sorry, sir. I hoped all my life that our first meeting would be under much pleasant circumstances...I hope one day you can forgive me, when we next meet" He gave him a watery smile before turning around and walking into the kitchen.

"Oh no" gasped Harry in fear as he followed him. He stopped at the threshold and watched Dobby hiding behind the wall that blocked him from anyone's view from the living room. His eyes turned wide as he saw Dobby levitate the cake sitting on the kitchen benchtop a few feet in the air before it slowly glided towards the living room.

"No, Dobby please don't. I beg you" Harry whispered in a desperate voice.

Dobby turned his head in his direction as tears continuously streamed down his cheeks. Harry looked back at the cake to see it float past his uncle's head and towards their guest, Mrs Anderson.

Vernon's eyes turned wide as he saw the cake fly right by him. He turned to his wife, who was also staring at the cake in shock, wide-eyed. Harry left his position and walked into the kitchen. He saw his aunt turn her head in his direction and her eyes turned even wider as they caught sight of Dobby a second before he vanished into thin air.

The next second Mrs. Anderson's face was covered in chocolate lava cake before she let out a loud shriek as everyone in the house stared at her with varying degrees of worry.

…...

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T. YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS MEETING WAS FOR ME AND YET YOU STILL TAKE HIS SIDE" Harry was sitting on the sofa in the living room, listening to his aunt and uncle fight as she tried to make him understand that it wasn't Harry's fault about what happened an hour ago. Dudley had already escaped to his room a while ago.

"Stop shouting!" yelled Petunia. "For the thousandth time, I'm telling you I saw whatever that thing was, he's the one who did that, not Harry. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"Of course, you're going to take his side" Vernon waived his arm. "It's what you've been doing ever since he got back"

"I'm not taking his side. I'm telling you what I saw" seethed Petunia.

"WHICH IS A LIE! To protect him. How come no one else didn't see it. What makes you so special that only you could see it, huh? Are you certainly a freak like him too, tell me!" Harry turned his head and was not surprised to see his uncle's face turn purple in shade.

"He's not a freak" she said in a cold voice. "Maybe if you were capable of moving your head without your body, you could've seen him too" she spat venomously.

Vernon's glare turned even more menacing if that was possible. "How dare you! I bust my balls day in day out, to put food on the table, so that I can give our son the best life possible while you sit in the house THAT I BUILT, MY MONEY, of which you contributed nothing, and me being the generous and understanding man I am never forced you to work, never pressured you, yet you have the gall to MOCK ME!"

Petunia glared back at him with her jaw slacked as tears conjured up behind her eyes before she hastily wiped at them.

"I have had enough of this pony behaviour. I didn't say anything and stayed quiet when you told me to and looked what happened. This is what happens when you let the dog think he's the master." He said, pointing towards Harry. "They need to be put on a leash at all times, so they know their place"

"Vernon, please listen-"

"NO. I've had enough of this. Because of him, I won't get my promotion and I'd be damn lucky if they don't fire me first thing tomorrow. All 15 years of hard work will end up being for nothing. ALL BECAUSE OF THAT LITTLE SHIT" He took deep breaths to control his breathing.

Harry's left leg was twitching nervously in fear as he heard the heavy footsteps of his uncle get closer before he stopped in front of him. "Look at me...I said LOOK AT ME"

Harry's head whipped up of its own accord as he stared at his uncle's red face. "This is what's going to happen." He started in his normal voice, which sounded a lot calmer than it ever did, maybe because he had heard him shout all his words for the past hour. "You're grounded for the remainder of your holidays"

Harry nodded his head.

"And by grounded, I mean I don't want to see you out of your room for other than using bathroom or to take your food back to your room, where you will eat it. I'm going to block your window because I don't want to see that owl anywhere except in its cage, and if I hear it make one more sound, then so help me God...Do you understand me?"

Harry nodded his head as tears gathered behind his eyes. "Yes sir" he choked out.

"Good. Now get out of my sight"

Harry got up from his seat before running out of the living room and the kitchen. His vision was getting blurry by tears streaming down his cheeks as he climbed the stairs.

He closed the door behind him before dumping himself on the bed as his body shook with silent sobs.

…...

Harry let out a sleepy groan as he shrugged the hand of the person trying to wake him. "Go away" He mumbled.

"Harry, wake up"

He let out another groan, this time louder, as the hand along with the person's voice kept assaulting his senses.

"mmmmm"

"Harry!"

That got his attention, he slowly opened his eyes and turned his body around. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before squinting them to look at the wiry frame of his aunt holding a tray in her hands.

He fetched for his glasses on the bed. "Here" He felt the circular frame being put on his face by a pair of warm hands.

He turned his fully gained vision back to his aunt who placed the tray on his lap as he shifted into a sitting position.

"Thank you" he murmured, staring down at the tray as the vision of what took place a few hours ago flashed through his mind.

She didn't say anything as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Not eaten anything since afternoon, Harry voraciously dug into his pasta. He barely restrained the pleasurable groan from escaping his mouth.

All the while he ate his dinner, his aunt said nothing but kept fiddling with the bedsheet. He leaned over to place the tray on the bedside table but stopped when Petunia got up and took it from his hands.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked in a soft voice.

He shook his head in response.

Petunia gave him a nod. "Good night"

"Good night"

Petunia turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving Harry to his despairing thoughts.

…...

Harry stopped his scribbling as he heard noises coming from the hallway. He tried to listen what was being said but couldn't understand anything except muffled voices. He put the parchment aside and got off the bed before tip toing to his door. He put his left ear to the door.

The voices became loud and clear even though he could tell that they were trying to keep it down. Or at least one of them was.

"Duddlekins, please honey. I'll sleep on the floor. You know the heater downstairs is not working otherwise I would've slept on the sofa. The repairman will be here next week, c'mon don't be mean to mummy. You don't want me to get sick, do you?" He heard his aunt plead to what he presumed was Dudley.

"No!" Well, he wasn't trying to be quiet, thought Harry. "Dad's right. You've been taking his side ever since he came back. I liked how things were before. You didn't even say anything to him when I told you how he embarrassed me in the park. I don't even know what's wrong with you. Plus, you know my room is off limits to everyone" He heard the loud noise of a door shut before all noise stopped.

Harry debated heavily with himself for what he was about to do and came to a conclusion 10 seconds later. He unlocked the door before opening it.

He stuck his head into the hallway and saw the gloomy figure of his aunt heading towards the stairs.

Not sure what do now, Harry did what he thought any sane person would do in a situation like this.

He cleared his throat and waited for her to turn around. She didn't and kept on walking. He did it again, a bit louder this time. It had the same effect as she approached the staircase. She was about to disappear out of view when he tried it one last time.

He coughed, really loudly, really badly. But that didn't matter as it finally got her attention as she stopped and turned her head in his direction.

Her eyes turned wide before she gave him a questioning look.

Harry motioned her towards him with his hand before disappearing into his room but left the door open.

He walked over to his bed and picked up a pillow before heading towards the window. He laid the pillow on the ground, next to the wall as Petunia entered the room and looked at what he was doing.

She closed the door behind her and locked it.

"No" He looked up as she walked over to him. "No need for that" She lifted her finger at seeing him open his mouth. "I'm not going to repeat myself" He shut his mouth and stood up. She pointed towards the bed as she continued. "Pick up the pillow and go to the bed."

Harry did as he was told. He watched her walk over to the cupboard standing at the opposite corner of the table before opening it. He never opened it since all his luggage was still stored in his suitcase.

She took out a cozy looking blanket before closing the cupboard and walked over to the table. He caught on to what she was doing as she pulled the chair away from the table before taking a seat and draping the blanket over her body.

"You'll hurt your neck" he said.

She turned her head towards him as a small smile tugged at her lips. "Trust me, this seems familiar even though I haven't slept like this since university. Back then, my chair was my bed most of the time."

Harry nodded his head before replying. "Should I close the curtains?" He motioned towards the window behind her.

"No, No. I like it this way."

"Me too"

Harry got on the bed and shifted till his back touched the headboard. He picked up the parchment and the quill sitting atop it.

For the next 30 minutes he tried to finish his Potions homework but couldn't ever fully concentrate because a single thought kept swirling around his head. He heaved a frustrated sigh and dropped the quill before looking up in his aunt's direction.

Her eyes were closed but he wasn't sure if she were asleep. Knowing this question would be bugging him all night long, he called out to her.

"Aunt Petunia"

"Hmm" She responded with her eyes closed.

Harry hesitated, unsure if he should continue. He just hoped that she didn't get offended by what he was going to ask.

"Why did you not work after finishing university?"

He watched her eyes snap open at once, before she slowly turned her head in his direction. Harry gulped, figuring there was no way to back down now, he marched ahead.

"You said you finished your degree, from Cambridge" He emphasized on the last word before continuing. "I mean you could've gotten any job you wanted, so...why didn't you...what I mean is..." He trailed off, not able to say what he wanted because he felt it would be too rude.

She didn't speak for a while but simply stared at him with an unwavering stare. "You remind me so much of her" she finally said after what felt like an hour to him.

He was surprised by her response, not expecting that to be her answer. He kept quiet and waited for her to continue.

"During my last year of degree, dad had an accident. He was paralyzed from the waist down. I moved back to my parents' house and moved half of my classes to next year, so it took me a year longer to finish my degree. I would only get to see Vernon on weekends, we had only been married for a few months. He lived in an apartment we rented in London. I had to commute 4 hours 3 days a week for university." She paused and let out a long sigh.

"The day before I had to take my final exam..." He noticed a lone tear roll down her cheek. "Dad...passed away" Her voice croaked. She wiped at her eyes with the blanket and sniffled.

"What happened?" He could imagine how hard it must be for her, going through the memories once again. "It's okay if you don't want to tell" he added.

She shook her head. "I'm okay. I just...haven't talked about these things with anyone before." She said before continuing. "He fell from his chair in his sleep and hit his head on the edge of the kitchen top"

Harry nodded his head. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay" she replied.

Silence enveloped them for a while before Petunia spoke again. "A month later, mum was diagnosed with cancer." She let out a humourless chuckle before continuing. "Could you believe that?" She turned to him with a sad smile. "I didn't...That year was the hardest in my life, but...that was also the year Dudley was born. Most of my time was spent in the hospital, either taking care of mum, or myself.

Vernon quit his job and moved in with us. We were living off our savings by the end. Mum passed away right after you were born." A ghost of a smile came over her lips as she turned to him once more. "She only got to see you once, but I would never forget the words she said when she laid her eyes on you" She paused for a dramatic effect. "She let out a huge groan and said 'He's going to be a huge pain in the arse'"

Harry's eyes turned wide in shock, that was not something he expected to hear from his belated grandmother. "Why?" he gasped.

"I don't know" she shrugged her shoulders. "She never told us. I just remember us all laughing"

They both shared a smile before Harry looked down at the bed, waiting for her to continue.

"I couldn't go back to my parents' house after mum's passing, so we bought this house from the money they left me. A year later your parents died. We were almost broke, luckily Vernon got a job, but I stayed home. For one because we couldn't afford a nanny for Dudley...but mainly because I lost all my passion for writing, and that's the only thing I was good at, or I believed I was. I didn't know anything else...once you've experienced nothing but tragedy in that short amount of time, even though at the time it feels like forever, it breaks your soul."

Harry didn't know what to say, if he should say anything at all. He now realized what Dumbledore meant when he said that there are always two sides to a story. "What about mum?" She looked up at him from staring at the floor. "Wasn't she around to help?"

Petunia stared at him for a moment before replying. "She had her own war to fight. Of all the contempt I held against her for various reasons, this was not of them. I knew what she was going through, I understood the magnitude of the situation in her world.

Everyday there was news of killings all around the country. 20, 30, 50. And nobody could discern who was behind them. Not the authorities that's for sure. Your father's parents were victims of those killings"

Harry's eyes turned wide; Voldemort killed his grandparents too. "It was the main reason Lily only visited on rare occasions. She even mentioned moving mum and dad to another location, another country...but they were in no condition to go the bathroom on their own let alone another country. Among other things we fought about that as well" She let out a long sigh as she stared into his eyes. "I think she would agree with me that losing a loved one is far more heart-breaking than the massacre happening around you. I know it's not the right thing to say but it's true. Botom line is it was not a pleasant time to live through, Harry."

They didn't speak for the rest of the night but, both contemplated about the past and the people they lost well into the night.

…...

Hampstead, North London, Night

A 12-year-old, bushy haired witch was hastily scribbling down a note on her desk in her room. Her room was hugely spacious despite every side of the wall except the one with a queen size bed in front of it, was filled with bookshelves, that were over 6 feet tall.

The walls were painted in navy blue, the ceiling in black. The solar system was painted on the ceiling in orange.

She finished signing off the letter before folding it inside the envelope. She got up from her leather chair and walked over to her bed where a large grey owl was nibbling on what appeared to be crisps from a bowl.

"Thanks for waiting, Errol" said Hermione, gaining the attention of the withered old owl. "She tied the envelope to its leg with a strange looking ribbon. it was translucent in material. She patted his head affectionately before Erroll took off and flew towards the open window and hit the wall head on.

"Ouch" grimaced Hermione, watching Erroll eventually fly through the window that was more than a meter wide.

She closed the window as the cool air coming in sent shivers down her body. She walked over to her desk and neatly stacked everything that she felt was out of place before walking towards the bedroom door. She closed the light before stepping out of the room.

She closed the door behind her before walking down the corridor. She reached the spiral staircase before hurrying down it with quick steps.

"Hermione!"

Hermione stopped and cringed at the sound of her mother's voice, knowing she was about to get a full bollocking for her carelessness.

"How many times have I told you to not run down the stairs?"

"Sorry mum" Hermione apologized as she walked into the living room. Her mum was glaring at her from the kitchen with her hands on her hip, while her dad was busy watching a football match on the telly.

"This is your last warning, young lady" said her mother before she turned around.

"Okay" replied Hermione, as she walked over to the kitchen island and climbed on the rotating highchair. She picked up an apple from the fruit basket and took a bite. "What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti meatballs" Evelyn replied, as she took out plates from the top cupboard.

Evelyn stopped in her movement as she caught sight of her daughter staring at the half-eaten apple in her hand "Everything alright?"

Hermione blinked couple of time before looking at her mother's concern filled gaze. "Hmm?"

"You just seemed lost. Everything okay?" she repeated.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Have you still not heard back from your friend?" she asked, as she placed three plates on the granite benchtop.

"No" came Hermione's dejected response. "Nor did Ron. I got another letter from him today, asking me if Harry wrote to me yet. He said that he was thinking of flying his car to his place to check on him"

"Flying his car?" exclaimed Evelyn, shock laced in her every word.

Hermione nodded her head. "I advised him not to. His parents will get in a lot of trouble if he gets caught, never mind him." She laid her chin atop her clasped hands. "I just wish there was some other way to contact Harry. I just want to know if he's okay"

Evelyn's heart broke at seeing the mournful expression on her daughter's face. She wished that she could somehow help her in any way, but it seemed that this time things were far beyond her reach.

She caught her husband's eye who had listened to their conversation and indicated with his head towards their daughter.

She shook her head before looking back at Hermione, who by now had forgotten all about the apple still grasped in her hand.

Ethan stood up from the couch and silently sneaked up behind his daughter. Evelyn shook her head with a smile at seeing her husband's antics.

"HERMIONE!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Hermione nearly fell from her chair as she jumped in the air. Luckily, her dad snaked his arms around her waist and picked her up. Hermione tried to turn around in his hold so she could hit him, but he kept his hold firm.

He was laughing so hard that it made Hermione even angrier. "LET ME GO!" She screamed, flinging her limbs in every direction to get out of his grasp.

"Okay, okay. But you promise not to hit me" he said still laughing.

"Fine!" Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"Okay" Ethan slowly lowered her to the ground and removed his arms from around her small frame.

The moment she was free from his hold, Hermione turned around and started punching him for all she was worth. "Hey, hey, you broke your promise" Ethan tried to block her hits as his body shook with laughter.

"I don't care! You scared me!"

"Okay, I'm sorry!" She finally stopped her assault on his body and glared as he continued to laugh. "Stop laughing. It's not funny!" she glared at him.

"I'm sorry" he wheezed out. "You just look so cute, glaring at me with your pink cheeks and pouty lips. Oh man, we should do this more often"

Hermione harrumphed and turned around.

"Let's not do that" said Evelyn, as she laid the plates on the dining table. "And Hermione, you shouldn't tire yourself that much, darling, look how hard you're breathing"

"I'm fine mum!" exclaimed Hermione. "Believe me, this is nothing"

Evelyn stopped in her tracks and looked at her. "What do you mean?" she asked in a serious manner.

Hermione wished she hadn't opened her mouth. "I mean...it's not like I haven't been tired before" she hoped her answer was good enough.

"I'm not talking about being tired. What I meant was you shouldn't spend this much energy all at once. It's not good for your health"

"I have my puffer with me at all times" mumbled Hermione.

"I don't care!" bristled Evelyn in a sharp voice, that made Hermione jump in her seat once more, albeit for very different reasons.

"Alright, that's it" Her father sat on the seat next to her and covered her small hand with his. "Hermione's a smart girl" He turned to his daughter with a smile. "Aren't you honey?" She gave him a small nod. "That's my princess" Hermione couldn't stop the smile coming over her face. She always liked it when her dad called her his princess. It always made her feel special.

"There's that bucktooth smile love so much" he said, grinning.

"Hermione, honey" Hermione looked at her mother, staring at her with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry. I reacted badly. I just want you to take care of yourself. Nothing else matters to me. As Doctor Thorpe mentioned, our primary goal is to maintain your condition and not let it get worse. All we can do is tell you what to do, but in the end it's up to you, okay?" she finished, offering her a warm smile.

Hermione nodded her head. "Okay mum"

"Alright then, lets tuck in" announced Evelyn. They ate in silence for a bit before Ethan turned to Hermione with a mischievous smile.

"So princess, tell me about this Harry, is he the one we saw you saying goodbye to on the platform?"

A small blush came over Hermione's cheeks. She knew from his tone that her dad was teasing her. "Hmm" she hummed, not lifting her gaze from her half-eaten plate, as she munched on her pasta.

Ethan cleared his throat loudly before he gave his wife a cheeky wink. She gave him a warning look and shook her head. She knew where he was going with this, and she most certainly didn't support him.

"What about this other fella, Ron?" He scrunched his eyebrows at his wife, looking for confirmation. He turned back to Hermione after receiving a deathly glare from Evelyn.

"What about him?" mumbled Hermione, head still down.

"Is he your friend too?"

Hermione nodded her head.

"Hmmm" Ethan stroked his chin, acting as if he solved another massive clue. "Interesting" he said slowly, raising an eyebrow in question.

Evelyn stared at him with a bewildered expression, utterly confounded with his childish antics. She might've found them cute if they were still in college and dating but now, she had half a mind to lean over and smack him right on the head. Maybe he's finally lost it. Watching all those detective shows. I warned him to stop wasting his time with that garbage.

She looked at her daughter's red face and could tell that she was equally embarrassed by her father.

"So, which one do you fancy?" He drummed his fingers excitedly.

Hermione whipped her head in his direction and looked at him with wide eyes. "What" she gasped in disbelief.

He moved his eyebrows up and down and had a smug look on his face. " . .fancy?" He inched his face closer with each word. His nose was now almost touching hers now.

Hermione, not knowing how to respond, looked at her mother for help. "Mum"

"Alright, that's it, Ethan" She slapped her hand on the table to make her point. "Leave her alone" She said before addressing her daughter. "You pay him no attention, honey. Your father's gone mad, that's all. Nothing a good whack on the head can't change" She glared at her husband as he gave her a cheeky smile.

"Oh c'mon, I've just having some fun" he waived his arms in the air.

"It's not funny!" Hermione shot him a nasty glare. "They're my friends."

"We'll see how long that remains" he muttered, taking a sip of his wine.

"What?" Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"I'm just saying it's impossible for a girl and a boy to just remain friends"

"Oh really?" Evelyn arched her eyebrow. "We were friends for a long time before we started dating"

"Ah ha, you see. There's my point. Plus, there was no way you could ignore my charms any longer. By the end, you practically threw yourself at me"

"Ethan!" Evelyn exclaimed, aghast. "Watch your language! And for your information, it was you who was begging me for a chance to go on a date with you. Was that part of your plan too?"

"Of course, that was my main move." he scoffed proudly.

"Well, that's not going to happen to me" interjected Hermione. Her face was set in resolute.

"Oh really.?" Ethan turned to her.

"Yup"

"How about a challenge, then?" he smirked.

Hermione paused for a moment, during which Ethan's smirk grew wider, which evidently helped her make her decision. "Fine" she hissed.

"I bet that before you finish school, you'll fall in love with one of your friends." He continued when Hermione opened her mouth. "And you can't lie. You have to tell the truth, or I would know"

"Deal" Hermione shot him a confident smile. "This is easy actually. I thought you were going to say that I would be dating one of them."

Ethan spit the small sip he took from his glass on the table before looking at her in horror. "Dating! Are you mad? You won't be dating nobody till you're..." He flung his arms about as he stuttered to finish his sentence. "30!"

"What!" Hermione yelled. She turned to her mother who was shaking her head in disbelief as she stared at Ethan. She had a look on her face of a person who was evaluating all her decisions in life.

"He's lost it" she whispered.

…...

A week later

Harry stared out of his window, through the steel bars his uncle had fitted the day after Dobby's arrival as he promised, at the street where couple of kids his age were throwing frisbees at one another. They moved out of the way to let a car pass through before continuing their game.

He turned around and walked back to his bed. It deflated his already sullen mood even further whenever he looked out. He didn't know why he kept doing it. You know why.

Said a small part of his brain. He wanted to see her. In the past week he's missed her company so much that he didn't realize how big a part of his life she'd become. Those 3 weeks had been some of the best in his life, something he would never forget.

He wondered if she missed him as well. If she went to the court in the hopes that today, she would get to see him, only to get disappointed once again.

A hooting noise made him look up at Hedwig. It had been even worse for her, locked in that cage for most of the time. He only let her out when he was sure his uncle was asleep. But he couldn't let her out the window because as much as he tried, he couldn't squeeze her through the small gap between the steel bars.

"Not much longer to go now, Hedwig. Only a week left" He said, shooting her a small smile.

She hooted again, this time a little louder.

"Good girl"

He stood up and walked over to the table. Might as well do some homework.

Once again, as it happened every time he thought of doing schoolwork, a vision of Hermione reprimanding him for leaving his homework this late flashed through his mind. A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought of his bushy haired friend before a sour expression replaced it.

If only I could read all those letters. He sighed wistfully. He remembered guilt overcoming him when he realized that his friends hadn't forgotten about him, on the contrary they were probably worried since he hadn't written back. All this time he had been waiting for them to make the first move and now when he so badly wanted to write back, the choice was taken away from him.

A knock on the front door downstairs made him snap out of his thoughts and look at his bedroom door. He didn't know anyone was coming to the house, especially since Uncle Vernon was at work, and Dudley was out playing with his friends and wouldn't be back till dark.

That left his aunt, who never invited anyone over. He didn't even know if she had any friends. He walked over to his door and opened it halfway. He could hear his aunt's voice but couldn't make what she was saying.

He heard the door being shut followed by the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs. He hastily went back inside his room and closed the door. It must be Uncle Vernon, he thought. Even though he usually wasn't home for another hour, he must have got off early.

He walked back to the table and took a seat. He was in the middle of taking his books out when he heard a knock on the door. A little confused, he stayed still for a moment before he heard his aunt's voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Harry" she called out.

"Coming" He got up from his chair and walked towards the door before opening it. He heard his aunt standing with a smile on her face. "Someone's here to see you"

He stared at her in confusion before she moved out of the way to reveal another person standing behind her. His eyes grew wide as he looked at Olivia, looking back at him with a toothy grin.

"I thought, since you aren't going to show up, I might as well come visit you" she had her hands on her hips.

"You two let me know if you need anything," said Petunia. He faced his aunt who gave him a subtle nod before leaving them.

"So, are you going to let me in or not?" she arched an eyebrow.

Harry stuttered before opening the door wide and motioning her to come inside. "Sorry"

She walked by him before he closed the door behind him. He watched her look around before she nodded her head. "Not bad. A little different than what I was expecting, but nice." She turned towards him.

"Really?" He shuffled his feet nervously on the carpet, staring down at the ground. "What were you expecting?"

She shrugged her shoulders in response. "Oh, you know, walls filled with posters, that kind of thing"

He looked up to find her heading towards his bed and sitting on the edge. "So, why did you stopped coming, and don't lie to me"

He opened his mouth before closing it. What can I tell you if not a lie, he racked his brain for anything to say that would make her believe his story without revealing nothing.

"Umm..." He walked closer to her. "I was busy" he knew that was a pathetic answer, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"With what?" she scoffed.

He looked around the room before his eyes fell upon his school bag. "Homework" she raised an eyebrow in response. "Yeah, homework. I left it till the end, so now I'm trying to catch up before I have to go back"

She stared at him stoically, he couldn't tell what she was thinking from the neutral expression on her face. "You're lying" she paused before adding. "But I'm not mad. You'll tell me when you're ready" She looked around. "So, do you have any board games?"

He was still in shock at her casual response even when she caught his lie. "Oh my god!"

Her loud shout snapped him out and brought him back to real world. He watched as she ran over to Hedwig's cage.

"Oh my god, he's so cute" she cooed.

A smile came over his face as he walked over to her. "Her name is Hedwig"

She turned to her in surprise. "Oh, I didn't realize she was a female. I'm sorry, Hedwig" She turned back to Hedwig before bowing her head.

Harry let out a chuckle. "It's okay. Plus, I don't think she could understand you"

"Of course, she can" she scowled at him before facing Hedwig. "Can't you Hedwig" she made cute baby noises at her. Hedwig hooted in response. "See!" Olivia clapped her hands happily.

"Guess, I was wrong. She never answers me back this quickly" He mock glared at Hedwig.

"Maybe because she doesn't like you" smirked Olivia.

"Oh really" he raised an eyebrow. Olivia nodded her head. "And I suppose you're just so likable that no one could ever dislike you, correct"

"You took the words right out of my mouth" Harry stuck his tongue out childishly, sending both in a fit of giggles.

They talked for another hour before Olivia looked at her watch. "I better get going."

Harry's smile vanished instantly. "But it's only 6" He protested.

"I know, but we're going to dinner at dad's friends place. Mum told me to be back by 6."

Harry nodded solemnly.

"Hey" she put a hand on his shoulder, making him look up. "I'll come back tomorrow, I promise"

"Okay" he felt a lot better hearing her say that. Now he had something to look forward to. "Promise" he smiled, holding out his pinky finger.

Olivia stared at his finger, trying to hold in her laughter. "Promise" she laughed, unable to control it any longer as she twirled her finger around his.

…...

That Night

Harry dried his plate before stacking it with the rest on the shelf. "Good night" He said to his aunt, who was walking over to the sofa in the living room with a blanket and a book in her hand.

"Good night, Harry" she said.

He watched her dust the cushions before sitting on the plush seats. She stretched her legs out and covered her body with the blanket. The lamp on the table beside the sofa was the only source of light in the room. She put on her glasses before turning her head in his direction.

"Harry, turn off the kitchen light when you go, okay"

"Okay" He watched her open the book in her hand. Today would be the first night she would be sleeping on the couch. The repairman came and fixed it. For the past week she had been sleeping on the chair in his room.

He felt sorry for her. He didn't understand why she suffered the worst in all this when it wasn't even her fault. He got punished, he understood that, even though he didn't do anything wrong, it was related to him. So why did she had to go through all this. How come his uncle was sleeping in their room and she was sleeping on the couch. He didn't understand that.

Having made up his mind, he walked over to her. Feeling his presence, she looked up from her book. "Harry? Everything alright?"

He hesitated for a moment before words left his mouth. "I'm sorry"

She gave him a confusing look. "I don't understand" she took off her glasses.

"You don't deserve this. You didn't do anything wrong except take my side and yet you're being treated nearly as bad as I am."

He watched her eyes go wide before she gave him a warm smile. "Wow. You've grown so much." She chuckled, before taking a deep breath. "It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself for it."

"Yeah, but I don't understand why you are the one sleeping on the couch" he said in an irritated manner.

She inclined her head to the side. "One day you will. When you're married, you'll have your answer"

"I'm never getting married" he shook his head.

Petunia raised both her eyebrows. "Oh really, why's that?"

"Because all people do is fight. So why do start something when you know it's going to end" he felt justified by his reasoning.

"You don't know that"

"Of course, I do. You and Uncle Vernon fight. Half of the students in my old school had parents who were divorced"

"Everyone's different, Harry. You can't live your life by following what other people do. You'll never be happy that way"

"I don't care, I've made up my mind and nothing's going to change that" he said stubbornly.

"You say that now, wait till you meet a girl and fall in love"

He shook his head. "Nope, not happening to me"

He watched a smirk come over her face. "How about a bet, then?"

"Bet?" he looked at her in confusion.

"Hmm" she nodded. "I bet that you'll fall in love before you finish school" she challenged, holding her hand out.

Harry scoffed cockily. "Fine" He casually walked over and shook her hand. Petunia gave him a knowing smile.

"You don't know what how big a mistake you just made, mister"

"No, I didn't. I can't wait for graduation when I get to laugh at your face in front of everyone"

"Everyone" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean surely they allow family to come to graduation." He felt his cheeks grew warm when he realized what he said, a little too late perhaps. "Good night"

He turned on his heel and ran, turning off the kitchen light on his way.

If he had stayed, he would've seen Petunia wipe at her eyes before she put the book on the table and turned off the lamp.

…...

A few hours later, Past Midnight

A bright light flashing through the window and hitting his face made Harry squint his eyes. He groaned and put the pillow over his face. He continued his peaceful slumber for five seconds more before a roaring sound of engine jerked him awake.

He sat up and looked around. "What!"

Two bright lights were coming through the window.

Harry's heart was thumping wildly in his chest. What's happening.

He got off the bed and cautiously walked over to the window. He brought his hand up to stop the blinding bright light. He brought it down when the light dimmed, and he could see clearly. He walked close to the edge of the window.

He let out a huge gasp at what he saw. It was Ron, and Fred, and George. In a flying car. He saw Ron wave enthusiastically at him with a massive grin on his face.

Harry dumbly waved back, still unsure if he was dreaming or this was actually happening. He squinted his eyebrows when he saw Ron say something and point towards the window.

Understanding what he meant, Harry unlocked the window before lifting it up. He shivered as the cold wind hit his face.

"Hey, Harry!" shouted Ron, over the car engine.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted back.

"To get you, of course. Move back"

Harry moved back couple of paces when he saw Ron hook something on the steel bar. "Alright Fred, Rev it up," shouted Ron.

The entire steel bar structure was taken out by a loud bang. "Load everything up" He heard Ron shout.

Not wasting anymore time, Harry started packing everything. He knew the noise must've waken his uncle. In less than a minute he had stocked everything in the boot of the car. He went over to pick Hedwig's cage when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps thumping closer, followed by loud shouting.

"Vernon stop it!" he heard his aunt yell.

The next second his door was being knocked at with huge force. "What in the world are you up to!" yelled Vernon. "Open the door, this instant"

"I'm leaving" he shouted back.

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!"

His eyes grew wide when Vernon started kicking the door. Even though it was locked, Harry didn't know how much longer it would stay that way.

"Harry! Hurry up" yelled Ron.

Harry turned back to the window and passed Hedwig to George sitting in the back. He climbed on the windowsill as Fred tried to move the car as close to him as he could.

Harry looked back in fear at the fuming face of his uncle. He was breathing heavily through his nose. He looked down to see the door lying on the floor.

"AAH!" yelled Vernon, before he stormed towards him.

"Grab my hand, Harry!"

He turned around and grabbed George's hand, who pulled him in the car. Harry was halfway in when he felt Vernon grab his left ankle.

"Let me go!" He jerked his leg.

His eyes grew wide when he caught sight of his aunt come behind his uncle, holding a broom over her head. He watched in disbelief as she brought the stick down onto his uncle's back.

'AAH!" Vernon screamed in pain, letting go of his leg.

"Yeah!" cheered George. "Take her away, Fred"

Harry closed the door as Fred steered the car away in the air. He turned around and looked through the back window at his aunt, who was waiving at him with a smile.

He waived back at her till he couldn't see her anymore. He turned back around and sat properly. He wished that nothing bad happened to her for helping him.

"You okay, Harry!" asked Ron, looking at him with worried eyes. "I can't believe your uncle was that evil"

"I'm okay" he assured him with a smile. "Thanks for coming for me. All of you. You have no idea how much this means to me" He looked at all of them.

"You're family, Harry" started Fred.

"And we always look after family" added George.

"Always" both twins echoed in unison.

Harry chuckled before his eyes grew wide. Olivia. She was going to come see him tomorrow. What would she think? I wouldn't be able to see her for a whole year. Would she still want to be friends with me, knowing that I betrayed her trust for the third time.

As Harry stared out the window at the lights shining below, he made another wish.

I wish that our friendship survives this.

"So Harry, are you ready to go back to our world? The real world" asked Fred, staring at him through the rear-view mirror with a grin plastered on his face.

Harry looked up into the night sky as he answered. "I'm ready."

A/N: So guys, what did you think. Post your comments and let me know and I'll catch you on flip side. Take care.