Disclaimer: I don't own the world of HP, I'm just here to play.

Chapter 1: A Stray, Dementors and Escaping Privet Drive

Wednesday 2nd August, 1995, 1800,

Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey

HJP's POV:

Sneaking the newspaper from the coffee table (which is risking having a meeting with Uncle Vernon's dearly beloved studded belt), Harry headed outside and to the usually deserted park on Mongolia Road. Not many people go there, so it is the one place he can think, where he can be alone.

Alone. Summer was more like house arrest than a holiday. The only comforts are the letters from Hermione. She's his only true company, apart from Hedwig, of course. Even when she went to Australia for a week, she gave him the address and phone number to where she was staying so they could keep in contact via Muggle mail and telephone connection. She's kept him updated with all she knew and heard about in regards to both the Wizarding and Muggle world. The only one who even tries to tell him what's going on. 'What has Ron been doing all summer to not put anything interesting or informative in his letters? Sirius, well he's on the run, so he's excused, but not Ron,' he thought.

He glanced around and the park is empty as usual. Sitting on the vacant swing, absentmindedly rocking back and forth, the haunting memory of the Final Task filling the vision of his mind's eye.

'One-'

'Two-'

'Three!' They both grabbed hold of the Cup and all of a sudden, there was an all-too familiar tug from the naval and they are immersed in a whirl of colour before slamming into cold, hard ground, pain shooting up Harry's injured leg.

'Where are we?' Cedric merely shook his head and helped him up. It was easy to say they were not at Hogwarts any more. They were in what looked like a graveyard; dark headstones litter the grounds, a large yew tree to the right and Harry could just make out an old house on the hillside.

'Did anyone tell you the Cup was a Portkey?' Cedric asked.

'Nope,' he replied. As Cedric observed his surroundings, Harry asked, 'Is this supposed to be part of the task?'

'I dunno,' he said, he seemed nervous. 'Wands out, d'you reckon?'

'Yeah.' The whole time he had an instinctive feeling that they were being watched. Hearing Cedric say 'Someone's coming' only made his bad feeling about the whole situation increase. Merely a few seconds later did he make out a short, hunched over, hooded figure, carrying a bundle of something. Harry shot his fellow champion a look that he hoped conveyed his confusion about their predicament. It stopped at a marble headstone that towered over it, just about 6 feet away from them. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the volcano called chaos erupted. Harry's scar suddenly flared with a colossal amount of pain that made his knees buckle, his wand fall and his hands grasped his head, desperately trying to stop the intense sensation that he was unable to throw off.

Harry only just managed to hear "Kill the spare" and "Avada Kedavra" but it was as if everything went into slow motion as he saw the jet of green light that his nightmares constantly feature. It hit Cedric, and he flew back and collapsed in a spread-eagle position, his cold lifeless eyes staring towards the heavens. From there, everything was as if someone pressed a fast-forward button, creating a blur of images; the 'Tom Riddle' headstone, held by ropes, Wormtail, bundle tossed into the caldron, bone of the father, flesh of the servant, blood of the enemy, pain, Voldemort resurrected, Death Eaters, Voldemort's long speech, 'Crucio', fire-like pain coursing through his blood and in his bones, duel, golden hemisphere, ghost-like images of mum, dad, Cedric, grabbing Cedric and the portkey , Hogwarts, Moody, Barty Crouch Jn.

'Thank Merlin that Hermione came back to the Hospital Wing after hours to sit by me,' he thought. 'The after-effects of the Cruciatis curse became unbearable during the night. She's in for a great big birthday present, a present so great even I don't know what it is. Unfortunately.' Harry glanced at his watch and then at his - now dark - surroundings. 'Nine o'clock? Damn, I better get back.'

The ringing of bells, approaching silhouettes on bicycles, a loud voice singing a crude song and the accompanying bellowing laughter could only mean one thing. Dudley's gang.

Harry decided to use the best tactic for these situations - ignore and it will go away. 'If I don't make any sudden movements, I should be able to go unnoticed without the use of notice-me-not charms.' As carefully as he could, he stood up from his seated position on the swing and started making his way out of the park. He heard 'See ya, Big D!' and 'Bye Big D!' as he walked among the shadows, away from the ambient glow of the street lights and headed to Privet Drive. He was so close to the alley between Mongolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. Unfortunately, the baby whale just spotted him and waddled towards him. 'I hate my luck.'

'Think you're tough, don't you, keeping that… that thing with you all the time.' Dudley said, gesturing at the wand in Harry's pocket.

Any other day, Harry would probably have made some kind of snarky comment but he decided didn't want to have another meeting with Uncle Vernon's beloved studded belt and diet of no food for a week. It wasn't worth it. He gently rest his hand on the outside of the pocket, hardly noticing Dudley flinch.

'No, I don't,' he sighed, looking up and staring at Dudley for a brief moment, before letting his arm fall by his side, ignoring his cousin's sigh of relief. 'My life has been under threat more times than I can count and this has been one of the only things keeping me alive.' Dudley rolled his eyes and scoffed.

'Yeah, right. And what about that guy you moan about in your sleep every night,' Dudley taunted. 'That boyfriend of yours, Cedric?' Harry stared hard at his cousin.

'Cedric? He's not my boyfriend. He's my classmate who I witnessed being murdered a month ago.' Harry decided that being blunt about it was the best option, and judging by Dudley's disbelieving and shocked expression, it was working. 'He died and then I was tortured. I don't think you could go through something like that and not have nightmares about it, no matter how many ten year old kids you beat up just to feel stronger. So let me tell you something-' And that's when they felt a bone-chilling sensation Harry knew all too well. With eyes wide he looked back at Dudley.

'Run.'

They took off at fast as they could towards Privet Drive, Harry being a bit ahead of his cousin as it took the bully a few moments to realise they were in big trouble. Getting to the tunnel-like alleyway between Magnolia Cresent and Wisteria Walk, Harry heard Dudley calling out to slow down. Doubling back towards the boy, Harry grabbed his shirt and tugged, trying to get him to continue running.

'Dudley, we need to go - NOW!' He tugged again at the large shirt.

'Oi! You two!'

Harry turned around at the sudden sound of hurried footsteps that was coming from behind, momentarily stunned at who it was panting in front of him that he had to blink a few times just to be sure he wasn't imagining things. The person looked up to meet his gaze and said the one word that confirmed his fears.

'Dementors.'

Wednesday 2nd August, 1995, 2100,

Surrey

DLM's POV:

Shoving his map into his pocket, he looked up as he flew over streets, not noticed thanks to the enchantments his… his father put on his broom. The is sun slowly setting behind him, as he flies over rooftops and odd Muggle objects that they travel around in and the interesting sights of the Muggle world - there was this one thing that looked very exhausting, a black object which Muggles jump on. What was the point of that contraption...

He continued flying comfortably when he spotted two black figures floating in the sky. 'Darn Dementors,' he thought. He looked down into the streets below and saw two people; a blond fatty and a skinny dark-head heading into a tunnel. Looking back up at the Dementors, he noticed them heading straight for the two people. Normally he would leave people to fight their own battles, but he wished no-one to experience the Dementor's Kiss, no matter what anyone thought he was like.

He noticed the two boys starting to run as he descended into a dark alley near the tunnel the two were heading towards, dismounted and shrunk his broom, hiding it in his pocket. He ran up to them, absentmindedly noting the dislike between the boys in front of him. He suddenly felt the unusual chill signalling that Dementors were near, he estimated 500 metres away. He needed to get them away from the danger - fast.

'Oi! You two!'

The dark haired boy turned around to face him and seemed shocked, and he couldn't blame him, why would Potter see a pureblood in a Muggle area? Besides, didn't Potter live on one of the Potter estates lavishing in his wealth and fame?

'Dementors,' he panted. 'Two of them, heading this way.'

Potter still stared at him in what seemed like disbelief and suspicion. 'Malfoy? What are you doing here?'

'Really? I tell him that Dementors are after him and he asks me why I am there,' he thought. 'Merlin, are attacks on his person really that common that he would dismiss it so easily?'

'Running away from the manor. Pass me your wand.' With Potter giving him a disbelieving look, Draco elaborated. 'I know you can cast a Patronus, so I'm taking the Trace off your wand so you can cast without the Ministry sending owls.' Frowning, Potter held out his wand and said, 'Fine but I'm not letting go of it.' 'Fair enough, I wouldn't willingly give over my wand either,' he thought. Nodding, he quickly muttered the spell, and with the wand glowing blue for a second, he knew it was gone. 'The Dementors will be here soo-' His sentence was cut off as a skeletal hand suddenly grabbed his throat and pushed him right up against the wall. He felt a draining sensation pass through him and the horrific memories he had been working so hard to suppress burst into his mind's eye, all battling for his attention.

'Expecto Patronum!' A brilliant stag Patronus scared off the ghostly figure, dropping him onto the hard ground. Scrambling to his feet as Potter cast the Dementor out of the tunnel, then quickly turned the stag back their way, frightening the Dementor attacking the fat one. As soon as they were gone, Draco returned to Potter.

'I never thought I'd say this, but thanks, Potter.' Potter nodded. An apparition-like crack and the sound of a cat yowling and scurrying away caught the attention of the two wizards, alerting them to some other magical presence. Potter hurried over to help - more like haul - the fat one up, which was admittedly a surprising feat, and the three of them hurriedly left the tunnel as a shadowy humanoid figure approached, a flippity-floppity sound echoing behind them.

Hiding in nearby in a dark alley between some houses, both he and Potter carefully peered around the corner towards the tunnel, only to see a little old woman shuffle out of the tunnel in her slippers looking around as though she expected someone to be there, occasionally throwing fearful glances at the sky.

'What is Mrs Figg doing?'

'You know that woman?'

'Yeah, she's my neighbour, a Muggle.' A cat walked up to the strange woman and meowed. The lady seemed to understand the cat, causing her to huff in annoyance, turn and shuffle on back the way she came, the cat hot on her heels.

As soon as the cat lady was out of sight, Potter pushed Draco against the wall, wand tip hovering steadily under his chin.

'Potter-'

'What happened just before Buckbeak was supposed to be executed?'

'What-' Potter's wand tip dug into the pureblood's chin.

'I said: what happened just before Buckbeak was supposed to be executed?'

'I went to witness the execution so I could report back to my father when you, Granger and Weasley showed up. Granger broke my nose with her fist so I went to Un- Professor Snape to get it fixed. I never saw the execution but heard the bloody thing escaped.'

Potter pulled his wand away, stepping back as Draco massaged where the wand had dug in. 'I had to make sure it was actually you.'

'Fine.' Draco swiftly aimed his wand right between Potter's eyes. Potter barely flinched. 'Why did we share detention in first year, and who with?'

'Hagrid's dragon. We were trying to get it out of Hogwarts. You found Ron's note and tried to catch us in the act, but instead you got caught snooping. I was caught with Hermione in the Astronomy Tower, and Neville was caught trying to warn us.'

Wand lowering, the blonde smirked. 'Potter and Granger alone in the Astronomy Tower, huh?' Potter seemed bothered by his reaction so Draco decided to say nothing, returning his gaze back to where the strange cat-lady had disappeared moments ago.

'Do you have any idea why the Dementors are so far away from Azkaban?' Potter's sudden query threw Draco for a moment.

'What,' Draco snarled.

'Do you have any idea why the Dementors are all the way out here,' Potter repeated. 'Did I miss an article in the Daily Prophet - did someone else escape from Azkaban?'

Draco blinked. 'Not what I was expecting.'

'Nope, no one else has escaped yet. I have no idea why they're out here.'

'Could someone in the Ministry have-'

'My idiot father didn't send them out if that's what you're asking,' he spat out at Potter. Taken aback, the Gryffindor fell silent.

'Who's that?' Draco diverted, pointing to the ball of fat that had collapsed against the alley wall, wheezing pathetically. Potter seemed to have totally forgotten about the blob in a wig.

'Erm, right. Malfoy, this is my cousin, Dudley Dursley, Dudley, Draco Malfoy.' The lump barely registered the introduction. 'So, why are you running away, Malfoy?'

'What in Merlin's name? Is he always this damn curious? How bloody infuriating.'

'I don't want to talk about it now, it's too fresh, too horrid.' Draco cringed and shuddered almost violently as the not-so-repressed memories reappeared at the forefront of his mind. 'And it's too open to talk of such delicate matters.' His eyes shifted around, searching for the source of the apparition. Potter nodded, his eyes sweeping across the open road. A shimmer in the corner of Draco's eye brought his attention to a Disillusion Charm fading across the road to expose some bald and horridly dressed drunk guy swaying, seemingly looking for someone, before toppling over behind a bush. Potter seemed to have also spotted the inebriated wizard, and the Dursley boy jumped at the smashing sound of the beer bottle breaking. They stayed silent until they could hear the snores from the bush that was poorly hiding the now sleeping drunkard.

'So where were you headed?'

'Granger's.' Potter seemed astonished. 'What? Would my father expect me to hide with a mud- er, muggleborn and her family, especially if she was associated with you?'

'Will Potter ever stop looking surprised?'

'Okay, but how—'

'Can we go home? I'm hungry.' Dursley spoke up for the first time. Potter once again hauled his severely overweight cousin onto his feet, scanning the street with a critical eye before turning to Draco.

'Malfoy.'

'What?'

'You best come with me - if I don't think you're putting Hermione in danger, I'll take you there myself. You showing up alone would probably get your nose broken before you could even say "hello".' Draco conceded that point. 'Until then,' Potter stared pointedly at him. 'Do you promise to not be a threat to my relatives for the duration of your stay, barring self-defence?'

'Seriously, Potter?'

'I don't know about you, but I'd prefer two wands instead of one in case the Dementors come back.' Potter's gaze became hard and piercing so suddenly that Draco took an involuntary step back. 'Do you promise?'

'Yes.' Draco felt his magic thrum at the promise. Potter sighed softly.

'Good. Now I've spotted people observing the house so disillusion yourself and stay close to me if you really are running away from home.' He held up the hand not supporting his cousin to halt Draco's next question. 'They haven't done anything yet and I don't want to give away the fact I know they're there. If there's going to be a confrontation, I want it to be on my terms.' He paused, a thought seemingly occurring to him. 'Oh, and silence your shoes - bit suspicious for two people to have three sets of footsteps.'

With that, he prompted Dursley and the two of them began to walk down to the open road while keeping a watchful eye on the unconscious wizard.

'Well he has a point…'

A/N: Hi there! It's me again! I hope you like the new instalment!

Thanks to RedPhoenixDragon, who came up with the idea of Draco taking off the Trace.