Yo. Hogwarts. I'm a Snek. woot

.

Hogwarts Scavenger #90: Write a fic about a Muggle or Squib

April Auction: (character) Arabella Figg - coins earned: 10

.

Warnings: mentions of bad home life

Rating: probably K+.. maybe T

Word Count (excluding a/n): 489

Under the Stairs

Arabella Figg was not a fan of the way the Dursley family treated Harry Potter. Of course, she hadn't seen anything truly awful, but even still she couldn't stand the way Vernon glared at Harry, or the way Petunia turned her nose up, or the way Dudley roughly snatched things.

It just didn't sit right with her to know that a boy was treated with such contempt by the people who were supposed to be his family. So she did the only thing she could think of to help.

She offered to take the boy off of the Dursley's hands for a week while they went on holiday.

They would have dropped him off at Vernon's sisters' place, and Arabella knew that Marge did not like Harry, so it wasn't like she was taking him away from any fun holiday. If anything, she was saving him from a week of feeding dogs and dealing with snide comments. Arabella had seen first hand that Marge could never hold herself back from making snide comments.

Vernon looked at Arabella with a suspicious glint in his eye after she offered to take Harry, but relented as soon as she explained that she would like someone to "look after the cats." It seemed that Vernon truly didn't want Harry to have a decent time at all and would rather he do some work instead of take a break.

So, after being promised that Harry would work, Vernon brought the eight-year-old over to Arabella's house, not even bothering to say goodbye after dropping him off.

Harry looked up at Arabella, chewing nervously on his lower lip and gripping his small duffle bag with his small hands. "Is there a cot under your stairs?" he asked anxiously. His eyes quickly widened before dropping to stare at Arabella's feet. "I-If not, that's fine. I can sleep anywhere."

Confusion passed through Arabella. Under the stairs? She quickly shook her confusion away and invited Harry inside. "No, Harry, I have made up the guest bedroom for you. It should be roughly the size of your own bedroom, considering your house has the same floor plan."

Harry, still gripping his duffle bag in a white-knuckled hold, finally raised his eyes. "Your guest room is under the stairs then, ma'am?"

Under the stairs. Horror washed over Arabella as it dawned on her that Harry might actually sleep under the stairs over at the Dursley household. "No, love," she said, her voice softer than before. "You get a real bedroom over here, okay?"

Harry simply nodded and allowed Arabella to show him to where he would be sleeping.

Arabella Figg was not a fan of the way the Dursley family treated Harry Potter, and Dumbledore would be getting a letter. And, no matter what anyone said, Arabella would not be letting Harry go back to the Dursleys without some major adjustments, if she even let them take him back at all.