Disclaimer: Do you really think I'd be here if I owned Snape? Certainly not! I mean, think of all the things I could do instead

Chpter Two: The Rescue

It was another quiet afternoon in Privet Drive. The sun was strong and bright, just as it was on many July days. No evidence was for the existence of a dark haired boy with a very thin scar that was shaped like a bolt of lightning who lived there.

Harry Potter sat on his bed, his chin resting on his knees. He's been like that for nearly five hours, and if someone entered his room, they would've thought he was one of Dudley's broken toys. Nearly two months have passed since Harry saw his godfather falling through the magical arch and disappearing behind the veil in the Department of Mysteries, and he couldn't stop thinking about what could've happened if he didn't insist on being the hero he always was. Although Dumbledore had told him it wasn't his fault, Harry knew that Sirius could've still been alive. That thought kept his mind busy for most of the time, and though he wouldn't admit it, a part of him wanted to forget all this had ever happened and look forward to his sixth year at Hogwarts.

The Dursleys of course, had no idea about what happened that made Harry feel so sad and alone. They assumed his friends had abandoned him, just like he deserved. After all, in their opinion, he was just as weird as his parents were. Dudley had often tried to bully him, in the very few times Harry had actually gone down to the kitchen in order to eat. 'Hey scar head, got any messages from your freaky friends?'

'Leave me alone,' Harry replied, but Dudley didn't seem to stop bothering him.

'Or what?' he asked in a belittled tone.

'Or I'll turn you into a flying pig,' he said calmly, and drew out his wand like a sword. 'Abra kadabra…' he started to say, but never got a chance to finish the fake spell since Dudley began running to his mum, yelling and screaming. A few seconds later, Uncle Vernon showed up in front of Harry, his face was purple like it always was when he saw him.

'Put it away! Now!' he pointed at Harry's wand. 'Didn't I tell you not to get out of your room? And don't dare to threat Dudley! His birthday will be perfect, and I won't let you ruin this day. Now go to your room, I need to lock it before we go out. Who knows what can happen to the house…'

Once more Harry had managed to forget Dudley's birthday. That morning the Dursleys haven't done anything special for Dudley, which seemed a bit suspicious to him.

'Where are you going?' he asked.

Uncle Vernon eyed Harry for a second, determined to find a reason for his sudden interest.

Finally, he said proudly, 'We're going to the finest restaurant in London of course, where Dudley will have a big Surprise! You, on the other hand, will stay in your room, so you won't have a chance to blow up the house!'

'But I won't…' Harry began to say, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to listen.

'Upstairs, now!' and with that he went back to his room as he was told.

Not wanting to sink in thoughts, he decided read about quidditch again. He took out Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland (which Hermione gave him as a Christmas present in his fourth year) and began reading. Although Harry wasn't completely concentrating in the book, it was a good distraction and that was exactly what he needed. After a while he heard Uncle Vernon locking his door, which took a while since there were a few heavy locks, but he chose to ignore it. What difference would it make if he tried to convince him he wouldn't do anything? His uncle had never listened to him before, and there was no reason for him to do so now. At this thought, Harry sighed and kept reading.

Almost two hours have passed since the Dursleys left. Harry, who couldn't read anymore was lying in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, when suddenly he heard footsteps. Those footsteps were followed by low, quiet whispers. Were the Dursleys back yet? And why were they whispering? Not wanting to be unprepared, Harry drew out his wand, ready to hex whoever was in front of his locked door. The mystery was finally solved after the door has been unlocked and in the doorstep stood none other than the same wizards and witches who came last summer: Mad-Eye Moody, Nympahdora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones. Only one person was missing.

Harry, not believing his eyes, accidentally dropped his wand.

'Professor Moody? What are you all doing here?' he asked.

'Don't you ever drop your wand like that, boy, you might want to keep it in one piece,' said Moody in his low, growling voice.

'Oh leave him alone, Mad-Eye. What would you do if someone surprised you in your own house?' asked Tonks in a reproving tone.

Harry, in the meantime, picked up his wand and made sure it was alright.

'Hi Harry" Said Tonks again.

'Umm…Hi Tonks. Don't want to sound rude or something, but…what exactly are you doing here?'

'Rescuing you of course,' she replied.

'Rescuing me? Are we going to…' he lowered his voice, 'Grimmauld Place?' he asked. 'Shhh! You're not supposed to talk about it here!' said Moody.

'Sorry," Harry replied, staring at his feet. 'So,' he continued, 'How are we going to get there? On brooms?'

'No,' said Moody, 'We're going on the Knight Bus.'

'And we better hurry up,' interfered Tonks, 'We're not supposed to be late.'

Harry couldn't be happier. He was just about to leave the Dursleys for another year, another magical year in the best school of witchcraft and wizardry, Hogwarts.

'Well? What are you waiting for, boy? Pack your things and let's get going,' said Moody. But Harry didn't move. Something or someone seemed to be missing when he looked at all those wizards and witches who came to take him away, and soon, he found out what, or who, for that matter, it was.

'Where's professor Lupin?' he asked.

'Remus…has a few matters to take of',' replied Moody.

'Don't worry Harry,' said Tonks, who in the meantime changed her hair colour ten times at least, this time from lemon green to dark brown, 'You'll see what he was talking about,' she said with a mysterious smile.

Confused a little, Harry started to pack his things. But before he even got the chance to do so, Tonks had done it for him, and this time, it was all organized.

'I managed to learn how to do it right after a while,' she said.

He picked up his broom, and a second later he realisd he had forgotten something. 'What about Hedwig? She had gone out last night and hasn't retuned yet. I'm not leaving without her,' He said.

'You have a smart bird Harry,' said Dedalus Diggle, grinning, 'She's already waiting for you there.'

As if it was the last thing he needed to hear, Harry went downstairs, followed by the rest.

He was finally free again.