The Dursleys celebrated when Harry departed to stay with a 'friend' before returning to his freak school. They were very unhappy the next evening when a trio of red-headed hooligans from the freak world appeared in their backyard to 'rescue' Harry.
"The boy's not here. He left yesterday to stay with some friend," Vernon shouted at the three boys seated in an antique automobile. "How did you get a car in my backyard? Get out of here before I start shooting!"
"What you gonna do muggle? That stick can't hurt anyone," snarled Ron.
At the end of his patience, Vernon pointed the shotgun at the car engine and fired both barrels into the side of Mr. Weasley's car. The explosion rocked the Dursley home, threw Ron onto the roof of the house, tossed Fred and George into the trees, and knocked Vernon back into the kitchen. The local fire department arrived, put out the fire, and dragged the ruins of the car from the backyard through the gate after pulling down another panel of fencing. The three hooligans were arrested and because they were underage, they were taken to a juvenile centre. Vernon was treated for shock and bruising but none of his bones were broken.
Before an insurance adjustor could arrive on scene, three wizards from the Ministry Obliviaters appeared, repaired all damage and obliviated the memory of what happened from the neighbours and fire department personnel.
The last week of August, Petunia and Vernon Dursley quietly packed their bags and took their son to Australia as part of a job transfer. Vernon's company arranged the sale of the house at No.4 Privett Drive after the Dursley family had touched down in faraway Australia where they never encountered another 'freak'.
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Amelia Bones was made aware of the problem with the Weasleys and the muggles on 27 August after the three boys were removed from the juvenile detention centre and into DMLE custody. In a loud interview with Molly and Arthur Weasley, Director Bones learned that Headmaster Dumbledore had encouraged the parents to send their three boys to 'rescue' Harry Potter from his relatives.
"And these people–the Dursleys–are the relatives who raised Harry Potter?" she asked the Weasley parents. Arthur and Molly were reluctant to answer any questions about Harry Potter until Director Bones ordered the Aurors to confine the three boys in one of the holding cells.
"My babies have been contaminated by the muggles for three days and nights!" screamed Molly. "You can't do this! Let them go!"
Unimpressed with the volume available to Molly Weasley when she shouted, Director Bones simply shook her head and said, "Not until I have the answers I want."
"You can't do this! Dumbledore told us to send the boys to rescue Harry from his prison! The muggles don't feed him! They treat him like a house elf!" Molly screamed. "We're supposed to rescue him!"
Arthur looked down and refused to dig the hole any deeper but Molly believed that if she kept screaming, eventually, she would win her argument and get her way.
"Really? A house elf? What jobs did Harry Potter have to do for his relatives?" asked Amelia Bones in her most innocent voice. Arthur visibly winced as his wife detailed all the tasks that Dumbledore told her were required by the boy-who-lived to earn a crust of bread and a glass of water.
"We knew last summer and that's why we met him outside the secret entrance to platform 9¾ to introduce Potter to Ron. Our youngest boy is his best friend."
Blinking with surprize as she remembered the Potter boy at Neville Longbottom's birthday party. When questioned about Potter and his friends the same night as the party, Susan never mentioned Ron Weasley from Gryffindor except to say the boy did play chess well but otherwise was a spoiled potion. Director Bones sat back for a moment before she asked, "You believe that Ron is the best friend of Harry Potter?"
"Yes!" insisted Molly.
The director glanced at Arthur before asking, "How did you know that Mr. Potter needed rescue from the muggles?"
Rather than allowing Arthur to say anything, Molly replied, "Dumbledore called me on the floo and told me to send the boys. I didn't know they would take the car…"
"You sent your sons instead of going yourselves?" asked Director Bones. "Rather than calling for Aurors."
"Dumbledore said the muggles didn't like wizards. He said the children would be safe."
Shaking her head, Bones informed the Weasleys, "Mr. Potter's uncle discharged a muggle weapon called a shotgun into the engine of your car, Mr. Weasley. The magical car was destroyed and consumed in magical fire to make certain none of the muggles would see it. Your youngest son landed on the roof of the house and had to be rescued by muggles from a fire station. The twins were lodged between limbs of an apple tree and also had to be rescued."
Her glare pinned the parents to their chairs when she said, "You're lucky they were not killed."
"Fires! Shotguns!" screamed Molly, turning on her husband and beating him blue in less than two minutes. "I told you that muggle car was a trap to kill our children! But do you ever listen to me? No!"
Using her wand, Amelia Bones stupefied Molly and levitated Arthur back into his chair. She didn't offer Mr. Weasley any relief from the wounds his wife had inflicted and revived Molly but shut her up with the promise of time in a cell if she raised her hand against her husband in her presence again.
"So let me understand correctly," she said. "At the request of Albus Dumbledore, you sent three of your underage children in a magical car across southern England to rescue the boy-who-lived from his muggle captors."
"Yes," Molly agreed.
"Because the muggles treated him–have always treated him–like a house elf?"
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling suddenly as her eyes pulled to her left as though watching someone approach the director.
Turning toward Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amelia found the Auror had his wand drawn and pointed at her. When the Auror began to cast an Obliviate spell at his boss, the wards in the room smacked the Auror across the room into a wall and took his wand, backup wand, portkeys and other magical devices from his person before magically moving him into a cell that no one could open but the director herself. Arthur and Molly Weasley were both confined to ministry cells for two more days while Director Bones investigated the Dursleys (vanished), the wrecked car (totally burned out), and the three Weasley boys (hooligans taken from the care of muggle childcare services).
On 31 August Dumbledore got wind of the scandal when Shacklebolt did not make his weekly report to the headmaster on doings in the DMLE. A second Dumbledore agent in the DMLE had been transferred from London to Azkaban suddenly and without explanation so that witch she had no news. After a floo-call from Dumbledore, the recently retired Alastor Moody, tried to step into the department where he found Director Bones requesting his urgent assistance at the training academy. The recent crop of inductees were terribly physically unfit and had no idea what 'situational awareness' meant.
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At Flourish and Botts, the bookstore in Diagon Alley, Augusta Longbottom, her grandson and Harry Potter made their way through the stacks of books, with two baskets carrying the textbooks for the coming year. When they came to the stacks of books for the new DADA professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, Neville sighed seeing the number required but he stopped and noticed that Harry walked past the books and found a different book on the shelves.
"Harry, aren't you going to get these books?"
Grinning, Harry explained, "A friend that I really trust said to skip Lockhart's books. They might make good doorstops or props to use to keep a window open but otherwise they're useless."
"Even in the toilet?" asked Neville, his sense of humour changing after handing around Harry Potter for a year.
"Naw," replied Harry. "The paper is coated to prevent anything from sticking to it."
"Boys!" Augusta said half-offended and half-amused by their banter.
An unwelcome voice spoke beside the party. "Lady Longbottom, I see you with your grandson in the alley this afternoon."
Harry knew this man had to be related to Draco because they had the same hair colour and proud sneer on their faces.
"Mr. Malfoy, I am indeed," Lady Longbottom replied in her pureblood manner, signally to both Neville and Harry to adopt the same 'face'.
"I expected you to have the Boy-Who-Lived with you. Is Dumbledore going to allow the boy off his leash? Is he with his minders? I haven't seen a Weasley all week in the alley."
Neville narrowed his eyes slightly before saying, "Mr. Malfoy, it's Mr. Potter…you do mean 'Harry Potter' do you not?"
Mr. Malfoy's face grew tighter as a sudden headache gripped his brain–front, back, top and bottom–and Neville was satisfied to see the pompous wizard look away in pain.
"Harry Potter is our guest today," Lady Longbottom said to make certain Malfoy backed off as the older wizard winced and wondered who the witch meant since the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Now another voice joined them–Draco Malfoy. "Father, I have found the defence book that Professor Snape suggested. We should return to the manor now."
"Best wishes for a good day, Draco Malfoy," greeted Harry Potter said in greeting.
Surprized to hear the boy-who-lived use a proper greeting, and even more surprized to see the boy present, Draco replied, "The same to you Mr. Potter."
Hearing the name again, meant that Lucius had to sit in a nearby chair and cover his eyes.
"Young Mr. Malfoy, it appears that your father has been struck by a blinding headache," Lady Longbottom said. "Is there anyone you can summon to apparate the two of you home?"
Draco frowned but inclined his head and replied, "We have a powerful but eccentric elf I can call."
"Very well. We certainly wish you well," she replied.
Draco called, "Dobby!"
When the little elf appeared, certainly looking better than the last time Harry had seen in the greenhouse with the Breathe of Magic, Draco instructed the elf to take him home and then return to fetch his father. Draco was popped away as Lucius rose and seemed to about to apparate when he fell on to one knee just beside Neville. The two boys helped the man back into his chair and stepped away before the elf appeared and then popped away a second time with the wizard.
SCENE BREAK ++***++
Once they were returned to Longbottom Manor, Augusta called for tea and then sat both boys down to discuss what they'd learned on their outing.
"Dobby is an elf for the Malfoy family," Augusta said. "And I had the impression Mr. Malfoy has been looking for the Weasley family this week in the alley."
"Do the two families dislike each other?" asked Harry.
Neville nodded and added, "Ron never said anything nice about Draco, and Draco insulted Ron with every breath."
"There is a feud that is very old but I have no knowledge of the details," Augusta admitted. "But the elf's warning has me concerned. I want the two of you to be careful at Hogwarts."
"Yes ma'am," replied both young wizards.
In their shared bedchamber, Harry and Neville sorted through their textbooks and other purchases. For the first time in his life, Harry had new shoes, boots and trainers–pants, small clothes, socks, shirts, and good quality robes that were open and would allow him to dodge and weave with ease during any spell fight.
"Neville, what did you think of Malfoy's father?"
The man appears to suffer terrible headaches," the other young wizard replied with a grin on his face. "Someone's protections are truly casting a powerful spell to reach out and smack him."
Harry nodded and the two boys compared their textbooks to ensure they had the proper ones along with plenty of muggle notebooks and brios for making notations in class and to write drafts of their assignments. Both boys knew they had to submit parchment for assignments to hand in but the cheaper ruled paper and inexpensive ink pens made things much easier.
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1 September 1992 was a fine day in London around the train station. It might rain across the city, but here weather charms protected the people on select days.
Ernie McMillian hated being wrong about anything. And he found himself wandering about Harry Potter and the questions about the Deathly Hallows several times in August. When he overheard his family's house elves singing about the 'breathe of magic restoring their power', he ignored it. However, on the Hogwarts Express, Susan and Hannah both mentioned their house elves singing now and that was unusual.
Draco Malfoy took a short tour of the train car where many other Slytherins were seated, greeted everyone properly without mentioning his father a single time, and then returned to his compartment to read in the defence book and receive a few visitors from other cars – a few Slytherins and Ravenclaws.
Hermione Granger spent most of the trip sharing magazines with girls from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. She sat with Harry, Neville and a few firsties for about an hour and verified that both boys had their summer homework complete.
Almost as soon as they had picked out a compartment, Neville and Harry were joined by Luna Lovegood and her friend, Ginny Weasley. Another firstie landed in their compartment–Colin Creevey was a muggleborn with a love for cameras and photography. After taking a few pictures of Harry and the other people in the compartment, Colin was convinced to save his film for later.
And then the strangest thing happened. Percy Weasley appeared at the door and hugged Ginny, who apparently was his youngest sibling.
"Have you heard anything Percy?" she asked as tears began to flow.
Trying to act as though everything was normal, the sixth-year prefect said, "I am certain the boys will be at Hogwarts. Don't worry Ginny, Mom, Dad and the boys will be fine."
Leaving to continue his rounds, Percy asked Harry and Neville to watch out for his sister until they got to Hogwarts.
"Percy's a good prefect," Harry told Ginny as Luna put her arm around her friend's shoulders, whispering how things would be resolved before the sorting began.
"But they've been locked away!" Ginny cried. "Aunt Muriel said I'd never see any of them again!"
"Your aunt was wrong," Luna said, sounding much older than eleven years of age.
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Narcissa Malfoy frowned as she stepped into the darkened room where her husband sat in a chair, his headache beginning to fade.
"Tell me what you did or I shall have the elves come and sing someone's name from now until dawn tomorrow," she threatened her husband. "You have behaved peculiarly all week…hunting for Arthur Weasley and his tribe of savage children for some reason."
"I… I can't…" Lucius moaned. With Draco gone to Hogwarts, if Narcissa learned the truth about that black book somewhere in the castle, his wife would kill him–slowly.
"Dobby!" Narcissa called. The little elf popped into the room and though she could not see him in the darkness of the bedchamber, she heard him humming. All the elves seemed happier in the last month.
"Dobby, sing the name of your favourite wizard for Mr. Malfoy for the next hour," she commanded before leaving the chamber, leaving the door open and light shining inside.
"Potter! Dobby loves Harry Potter!" the elf sang as Lucius Malfoy vomited and cried from the pain in his head. "Great and kind Harry Potter likes elves!"
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