Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all these other great characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I just play with them!
4. Where to go?
He dragged the trunk down the block towards the main road. He was surprised that he didn't run into anyone, or, for that matter, than no one had come out to look at the racket. But their immediate neighbors had gone on vacation, most other people on Privet Drive would be at work, and their wives might be shopping or out running errands. When he was nearing the mouth of the alley he saw the traffic on Sunny street, a cross street of Privet Drive, and he stopped.
Harry put his trunk down, eased Hedwig's cage off his shoulder, and sat down to catch his breath. He was gone from the Dursley's, but where to go now?
His first choice would've been The Burrow. If it hadn't been for Voldemort, he might've been there already, spending his summer with Ron. And Mrs Weasley would be able to take care of his injuries. But Mr and Mrs Weasley, and their older sons Bill and Charlie, were heavily involved in the war against Voldemort, and Dumbledore had forbidden Harry to stay with them this summer. Apart from the fact that the Weasleys would be extremely busy, he had deemed it too dangerous. There would be wards on the house, of course, but even with wards it wasn't a fortress. Voldemort hated the Weasleys almost as much as he hated Harry, and the Headmaster had been afraid that with all of them in one location, the temptation to attack would be too great for the Dark Lord.
Hermione's was out, too. Her parents were Muggles, and while their house was protected like Harry's had been, they'd have to send him to either a Muggle doctor or St. Mungo's, which he didn't want. Hermione herself was good with magic, best of their class and much better than a certain former Professor he could think of, but just to be sure he wasn't going to let anyone but a fully qualified witch or wizard touch his broken bones.
Then there was Sirius, but Harry wasn't even sure his godfather was still at Professor Lupin's place. Plus they would be busy with Voldemort as well, and if he couldn't stay with them during the summer while he was still in one piece, he certainly couldn't stay there when injured. He'd only be a burden to them.
The last option was really the only obvious answer: Hogwarts. It was the safest place Harry could think of, Madam Pomfrey would easily be able to patch him up, and with luck, he'd be able to stay there afterwards. Or if he couldn't remain, certainly Dumbledore would know the best place for him to go.
Having made up his mind, Harry drew his wand out of his shirt. He knew only one way of getting there, and didn't like the risks. If the Knight Bus could see his signal, so could others. But he had to take the chance and hope it'd work. He got up, ready to jump out of the way if needed, and raised his wand.
Nothing happened.
Oh shit, of course, he had to raise his wand hand, not just his wand. He looked at his right arm, still supported by the belt, and cursed again. He took his wand into his right hand, carefully drew his arm out of the belt's loop, and with help of his good, left arm, awkwardly raised his right.
Moments later, and with a large BANG, the Knight Bus appeared out of nowhere. Harry sighed with relief and gritted his teeth as he lowered his injured arm, sticking it through the loop of the belt again.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded… Whoa, what da 'ell 'appen'd to you? Harry, isn't it, or shou' I say Neville?" Stan Shunpike, the Knight Bus' conductor, said as he jumped down.
"My uncle happened to me," Harry said. "Harry is fine. I want to go to Hogwarts."
Stan looked him over, frowning. "Are you sure you don't wanna go to St. Mungo's?" he asked. "'Choo ain't lookin' too good."
"I'm sure. Madam Pomfrey can take care of it," Harry said. He had started at Stan's reaction though –how bad did he look?
Stan nodded briskly. "Well, if y're sure, Hogwarts it is."
Harry reached for his trunk, but Stan stopped him. "'Choo git in, I'll git that."
"Thank you," Harry thanked him, and boarded the bus, sucking in his breath as his knee protested loudly at taking the steps.
Ernie Prang, the driver, reacted almost exactly like Stan had. When he heard where Harry wanted to go, and Stan had pulled the heavy trunk and Hedwig's cage safely onto the bus, he offered, "Usually we drop 'm off in the order we pick 'm up, but I reckon we'll make an exception in your case. Go have a bed, we'll be at Hogwarts in haf an hour or so."
Gratefully, and with help from Stan, Harry made his way to the nearest bed. Fortunately, there weren't many other passengers, and those who were present on this floor were asleep. Ernie waited until Harry sat down on the bed before driving off, another thing Harry was grateful for. After the jolt from the acceleration, Harry reached into his trunk to look for his money, but Stan stopped him.
"No nee' fer that, boy, no' with the way you're lookin'. If we come up short, we'll sen' the bill to yer uncle."
For the first time since the incident, Harry grinned. He was on the Knight Bus, on his way to Hogwarts, and everything would be all right.
AN: I know I'm having trouble getting Stan's accent right, and the people who sometimes beta a tricky chapter for me didn't know much about English accents either. I hope it came out kinda okay.