I do not own Harry Potter and I have no financial gain from this story.

Chapter 2

Summer's End

Harry didn't tell his relatives about the reply he received from Dumbledore. The Dursleys never believed in the efficiency of owl post so they wouldn't inquire about a letter from his headmaster for at least a week yet. There was no real reason to tell them beforehand that Headmaster Dumbledore did not, in fact, intend to present them with a huge pile of gold.

Harry smiled, the Weasley twins would most probably procure some leprechauns from somewhere and give their gold to their friend's relatives. Fred and George still acutely remembered the time they had to practically break Harry out of his room. And in the beginning of summer he gave them the money he won in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He had priceless allies. The thought made his smile grow. The twins were such an amusing pair! Although he really hoped they got Ron a normal robe for the more formal gatherings.

Aunt Petunia chose this moment to enter the kitchen, scrutinizing the already prepared parts of the breakfast with a pinch on her face. Harry only had to finish the bacon and then their breakfast would be ready.

"Your owl..."

Harry started badly at her voice and some oil splashed out from the pan. Aunt Petunia scrunched up her face at the mess. The green eyed boy frantically thought of what to say if his Aunt asked him if Hedwig had brought back a reply. How the hell did she even notice it that the bird had returned? Hedwig had been sleeping since that morning and Harry had told her to be especially careful not to be seen or heard by the Dursleys!

"Yes, Aunt Petunia?" he tried to make his tone as normal as humanly possible.

"Yes, your owl," she started again "When will it be back with the reply from that Headmaster of yours?" she asked.

"It will take her approximately two weeks," Harry said with an imperceptible sigh of relief "Scotland is far away."

His Aunt seemed to fold in on herself at his answer, her eyes becoming glazed, her expression closed off.

"Maybe you should've used normal post!" she suddenly cried "That wouldn't take so long! Blasted bird, who would even think of using animals for delivering post?"

Harry was startled by the intensity behind her words. However he didn't dare ask why had the letter became so urgent. He slowly turned to serve the bacon and while doing this took a longer look at his Aunt. She had the post clutched in her white, bony hands. Staring fixedly at the one on the top. Uncle Vernon came into the kitchen too, looking for Petunia, followed by Dudley who was only there for the food. His Uncle took in his wife's tense form and expression then rounded on Harry.

"What have you done now, freak?"

However Aunt Petunia surprised Harry by lifting her head and taking her husband's attention from their nephew.

"Vernon, we've gotten a letter from the mortgage company."

Uncle Vernon blanched but then tried to reassure Petunia.

"Don't worry, pet," he said "I'll just write them a letter asking for extension..."

"No, Vernon," Aunt Petunia interrupted him, once again close to crying "We asked for an extension last month! Remember? Because Dudley needed new boxing equipment and they said that they'd put last month's and this month's payments together for us! They're giving us a week to pay!" she cried at last.

Vernon blanched even further.

"But they cannot do that! We are supposed to get more time to pay!"

Aunt Petunia just tossed him the letter to read and fell into a kitchen chair.

"They're ta...talking about s...some de...delays we've already had with pa...payment in the past!" she sobbed "Hyenas!"

Dudley was looking back and forth between his parents, who were, for the first time ever, breaking down in front of him. He had never faced such a situation before. Never even knew they had to pay for their house still. His father's salary always seemed infinite, after all he always got what he wanted. He never thought that they ever had money problems. His face became drawn and stuttered not knowing how to deal, he turned desperate eyes to his hated cousin.

However Harry was just as dumbstruck as Dudley and could not even relish in the hilarious thought that DUDLEY was seeking HIM to HELP him. Though the feeling was not long lived and he saw the exact moment his cousin decided that somehow this was also Harry's fault.

"What about the freak's headmaster?" he called to his parents.

Harry tensed when his Uncle's eyes focused on him.

"Yeah, you said you sent an... "owl" to him!" he cried with sudden enthusiasm and hope colouring his voice.

Harry felt sick. They were actually expecting him to help them as he could, and do it quickly and gratefully too! AS IF they ever cared about him! It had been just two days ago that his "dear" Uncle Vernon nearly beat him to death! And he dared to look at him like that?

Harry's body tensed further and he had almost blown his cover, but thankfully Aunt Petunia intervened.

"The owl won't be back for at least two weeks yet." She was already over the moment she couldn't hold her despair, so her voice was almost normal, if a bit stuffy. However her face was still red from crying and she was blowing her nose into a tissue.

"Typical! A useless freak will have a useless postal pigeon!" raged Uncle Vernon, letting lose on his despair in the only way he was capable of "Whatever freak had even had the idea to use blasted ANIMALS to deliver letters?"

Harry bristled at his Uncle for belittling his beloved and responsible and utterly USEFUL, snowy owl. Fortunately the large man didn't see his darkening expression. However Dudley had seen it and the obese boy had already had too much stress for one morning, he needed to find a way of release. What else would have been better than Harry? His Father was still raging and his Mother was slowly folding back in on herself, only half listening to her husband's rant about useless freaks.

Dudley heaved his substantial weight from the kitchen chair, he had already finished his breakfast he wouldn't have moved otherwise, and moved towards Harry. His smaller cousin was still watching his parents with barely disguised contempt in those brilliant green eyes of his. Freakish eyes, those. However his face was a mask of careful indifference. Which infuriated Dudley, how come the freak didn't feel the same inner turmoil that he was? With his face set the teenager slammed his weight into Harry's side, sending him crashing against the cabinet.

Harry gave a loud yelp as he was sent flying into the kitchen cupboard by his cousin. The fall painfully jostling his injured ribs. His face lost its remaining colour, that was left by the rage he felt at the Dursleys antics, and he pulled in a large breath to keep his painful whimpers at bay.

It was not Dudley's intention but he successfully took his parents from their self-despair and wallowing, because the plates in the cabinet clattered loudly upon contact with Harry's lithe body.

"The china!" Aunt Petunia screamed.

"BOY!" bellowed his Uncle.

Aunt Petunia was faster than her husband and quickly grabbed Harry's arm and hauled the boy from the top of the cabinet, shoving him behind herself so that he could examine her precious tableware.

Harry yet again lost his breath as he was tossed forcefully towards Uncle Vernon, his ribs protesting loudly. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the impact with his Uncle's fat belly. It would at least be soft, he thought. However his upper-arms were grabbed by two meaty hands before he could collide with the huge man. Their hold so powerful it was painful. Harry looked up into Uncle Vernon's murderous face, then he was dropped and slapped hard on his left cheek. Harry fell on his bum in the middle of the kitchen looking up at his family with huge, intense green eyes that seemed to spat horrible curses at them.

Uncle Vernon flinched back by the inconceivable something that he saw swimming in his nephew's eyes.

Aunt Petunia was just staring at the unruly mop of black hair, feeling the air simmer around her as if something evil was building up to lash out at them. She only once had ever felt such a thing before, and she only remembered it because it was a rather memorable day. Her 13 years old nephew had blown her sister-in-law up like some balloon. She shuddered.

Dudley was just watching the scene with contempt. No one was moving and his cousin was just sitting there staring like a lunatic. Which he was of course, but still. He was about to open his mouth to bellow about the unfairness of it all when his Father spoke.

"Boy, you go upstairs and start cleaning the bathroom, NOW!" he ordered with false bravado "and don't you dare break anything else!"

For a moment Harry didn't move and Aunt Petunia didn't dare breath as she felt that something peak around her in the air. Then it started to subside and Harry slowly lifted himself into a standing position.

"Yes, sir."

He gave them one last sweeping look and left them to their despair in the kitchen.

"Vernon," he heard Aunt Petunia say "maybe it's time you called Marge."

As Harry was going up the steps he heard Dudley's furious scream and stomping, then the thud of the front door. Apparently Dudley had left in a fit of anger.

HPCW

Harry had almost finished cleaning the bathroom by the time he calmed down completely. He was already cleaning the mirrors and could hardly believe that so much had happened so early in the morning and in just a few minutes! After all the whole fiasco was over in half an hour! It was surreal.

For a moment he thought about using the small parchment and telling Dumbledore that the Dursleys were probably moving away from Little Whinging in less than two weeks. He didn't expect the mortgage company to give much more time to them.

He huffed at the thought of receiving another well-meaning letter from his Headmaster, telling him to keep his head low, make up with his relatives and don't get into any more petty squabbles with them for he was probably misunderstanding or otherwise blowing the whole issue out of proportion. He sneered at the thought.

He was getting really tired. He had not eaten since the day before, when Aunt Petunia had given him the bread, cheese and that glorious piece of bacon. And because owl post was as it appeared prohibited by Dumbledore he didn't receive any of his usual care packages from the Weasley matriarch. His growling stomach made Harry doubly realize just how much he relied on the weekly shipments of delicious cakes, and fruit breads.

It was nearly lunch when Dudley came back. He looked hatefully at Harry, who was preparing lunch.

"Welcome back Duddykins!" greeted him Aunt Petunia.

Dudley just gave her a baleful look and went up to his room.

Petunia's face became one of grief, for she knew that Dudley was sulking because of the prospect of moving away from Little Whinging, and that was not something she could change to accommodate her little boy.

Harry looked at the expression contemplatively, he had never seen such an emotion on her face. He could kind of understand her after all, although they had no love for him, they, especially Aunt Petunia, doted on Dudley. She could not imagine her son lacking anything. It was probably a hard blow for her that now, she didn't have the resources to make her baby son "all better".

The raven haired boy quietly snorted. Then immediately felt bad for his behaviour. They were still his family! Even if he considered his newly found godfather more of a "family" than them, they were still blood related. He should feel sorry for them! Or feel something beside the guilt of not feeling anything, when looking at his Aunt's worried face...Harry let out a loud sigh, his whole body sagging with it as he chopped carrots on the kitchen counter.

Petunia who was too engrossed in her grief over her son's behaviour didn't notice the snort, but lifted her head at the whole body sigh his nephew produced. She realized that since cleaning the bathroom the boy held himself differently. That morning he was obviously still in pain, especially his chest area, it clearly showed in his movements. But now, he moved around much quicker and in a more fluid way. However he seemed tired, she furrowed her brows in thought. Then she heard Vernon arrive from grocery shopping and a made a snap decision.

Harry felt drained to the bone. He tried healing his ribs after he had calmed down and thought that he had been successful. But he just felt so tired! He really wanted to go to sleep. His hands and legs felt like they weighted at least a ton and he had trouble focusing his eyes. He felt as if he was swimming through the air, from one location to the other. If self-healing took so much out of a person then no surprise that no one he knew was using it. Asking for or buying a potion was so much more easy! There even was a spell to heal broken bones. This thought brought back the rather unpleasant memory of Gilderoy Lockhart so Harry immediately curbed it.

A hand suddenly entered his line of vision and he quickly turned to see Aunt Petunia handing him a piece of bread with the usual cheese and another piece of bacon. He stared at her with wide eyes. He just couldn't understand her anymore!

"You go up to your room and eat it there. I don't want to see you until its time to make dinner." she ordered "And don't you make a sound!"

Harry was not one to question his luck so he quickly left the kitchen. He wolfed down the food and told Hedwig to wake him in a few hours before settling down for a quick nap.

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Back in the kitchen Petunia nervously waited for Vernon to appear.

"Pet, I'm back." greeted her Uncle Vernon "Where is that good for nothing whelp?"

The woman smiled tightly at him and took a deep breath reminding his husband of the morning might not be such a good idea after all.

"Vernon," she said " did you consider what Marge told you on the phone this morning?"

"Yeah...I guess it would be for the best. But what to do about the boy?"

"We could leave him with Mrs. Figg. Like we always do when we go on a holiday." answered Aunt Petunia.

"Yeah, you go ask the batty woman." Vernon said "but before that we should tell Dudley."

His wife sighed and her face became sorrowful.

"He is still sulking in his room."

Seeing Petunia's face, Vernon went to fetch his son himself for the conversation.

Dudley entered the kitchen behind his father, eyes sweeping the kitchen table for food. When he realized that lunch was not served yet his expression turned back to its original sulking state.

"Yes?" he asked rather uninterestedly.

"Son, we're talking about going to Aunt Marge's place for a few weeks. She told me this morning that there were a few job offers she knew about, but it'd be best if I were there to apply personally and not just go there for the interviews." said Uncle Vernon.

"Yes, and while we're there, we could look at a few houses that are on sale." his wife took over, but seeing Dudley's thunderous expression and mouth opening in protest she quickly continued "We were thinking of making it a kind of holiday and you'd have a huge say in what we decided of course."

Dudley brightened a bit.

"I'd get to choose the house?" he asked.

"We wouldn't buy one that you didn't like, son." assured him his Father.

"But if we have money to buy a new house then why are we moving, at all?" he whined.

Petunia made a surprised face.

"Well, of course, we wouldn't buy it immediately." she said "We'd have to stay with Aunt Marge for a while."

Dudley felt the emotions war inside him. For one he loved his Aunt, if it was at all possible then she spoiled him more than his Mother, but he could absolutely NOT stand the dogs. They were everywhere. And though he was absolutely her favourite, she still loved the damned animals more. And there were a lot of them. A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"What of the freak? He's not coming right?"

His parents exchanged a look and it was his Father who answered him.

"Of course, not. This is going to be a family only trip." he said then turned to Petunia "Would you go and ask her right now, Pet? Then we should be able to leave at the end of the week. That way I'll still have ample time to talk with that damned mortgage company."

"Yes, dear." she said "It should only take a few minutes. Then we can have lunch. Dudley, dear please wash your hands okay?"

HPCW

A huge black grim-like dog padded through the streets of Southampton. He received word from Albus Dumbledore asking him to open his family house in London for the Order of the Phoenix. So now he was going to London, Thankfully no auror knew of his animagus form, but that was sadly not true for Death Eaters. So Sirius Black was not ecstatic at the prospect of going back to the capital which was brimming with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers. However he hoped that he would be able to have his godson come over and live with him for the rest of the holiday once he opened the house again.

If it was habitable and of course if Harry still wanted to live with his slightly crazy godfather; he was improving, but 12 years in Azkaban was a long time, or in a home that reeked of dark magic.

He suddenly stopped, snout lifted to the sky. He felt something with huge magical power pass above him. He thought that it was maybe a wizard but tossed the thought. The power felt more wild and unrestrained than any trained wizard's should, and no wizard of that power level would travel with a broom, long-distance. He lifted his lips, showing his canines and growled softly when he saw a falcon sized animal travelling through the sky. It was far up, much further than any falcon would go. He watched it till it disappeared across the horizon moving towards the North. Then he continued his journey to London, thoughts filled with his ancestral home and Harry.

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Arabella Doreen Figg was just putting away the brush he used to set Mr. Tibbles fur to rights when he received a call from Windsor Regional Hospital that they received his estranged husband the night before with a several inflamed injuries. He didn't have any other contact information with him, his condition was deteriorating and they asked her to allow a life saving but rather risky operation. She would have to go there in person and sign the documents as soon as possible.

She didn't waste a moment. Quickly put out enough food and water for her cats to last at least a week and ran to the street. She lifted the smart little device she received from Dumbledore for cases of great urgency to call the Knight Bus.

Stan Shunpike opened the doors with a big smile and Mrs. Figg gratefully accepted the hand extended to help her board the bus. She absent-mindedly paid the 11 sickles for the ride and refused the offer of hot chocolate, her mind already making up tales about an exceptionally fast cab, to explain her swift arrival at the hospital.

She had already signed the documents when she remembered Harry, and not seeing the boy for the last few days. She wasn't too concerned though as she remembered that Mundungus Fletcher was still there to look out for the Boy-Who-Lived. That thought wasn't as comforting as she wished so she was almost ready to send an owl to Dumbledore when some nervous nurse asked her to follow. The black haired hope of the wizarding world and the letter to Dumbledore was forgotten in her haste to the doctor's office.

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Petunia was unaware of Mrs. Figg's so she stood in front of Mrs. Figg's house on Wisteria Walk for a good ten minutes before she concluded, that the old woman wasn't at home.

She sighed and went home, intent on trying again the next day. They would not bring the boy with them to Marge's place.

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Harry slept half the afternoon away and when Hedwig woke him he felt less tired but still drained. He would have to cut back on the self-healing. Thank God he had no serious injuries left un-treated. He yawned and stretched, then moved to go downstairs and start making dinner for his relatives.

When he arrived he noticed that they were in slightly better spirits, even Aunt Petunia, than when he last left them. He felt that that was a good sign for him. Maybe, if they stayed that way he could get dinner too!

HPCW

The following days passed quickly. Harry tried to stay out of his relatives' way and they didn't seek him. He still had his daily chore list, but no more beatings and he got fed more often too. He believed that his Uncle had gotten the accumulated rage and sorrow out of his system when he beat him a few days back. He felt better too. The bruises were now dirty yellow in colour rather than purple or green. The constant tiredness had faded too. So, all in all, life was pretty good.

He had finished mowing the lawn again and was wondering about what had happened to Mrs. Figg. The old woman would show up everyday with Mr. Tibbles in tow at least once a day before. Though admittedly he had not been around for the last few days so he didn't know if it was only that day that Mrs. Figg decided to stay home with her army of cats.

He felt a little guilty too. Voldemort had been back for almost two months and he din't make any real effort to know anything about the happenings in the wizarding world. He still didn't get over Cedric's death. He was quite used to his own life being targeted. He wasn't really concerned about his fight with Voldemort in the graveyard. Shit like that happened every year. He was not about to be intimidated by a few killing curses aimed his way. Or the Cruciatus. Though that thing had hurt like hell! However until the graveyard he had never seen anyone die. Ginny got close to it in second year but she seemed more like someone sleeping. Down in that chamber with Tom. And he didn't remember his parent's death. He remembered her Mother's scream and a green light on the wall, then a brighter light of the same colour, probably aimed at him, but nothing else.

Since Third year Harry came to the conclusion that his crib must have had a blanket or something thrown across its side, blocking his view. Most Muggles did this to get their offspring to sleep sooner. Either way, Harry was happy for the small reprieve. Her scream was enough, he did not want to remember the death of her Mother too.

Cedric was the first he actually saw die. He did not wish to experience anything like it again. So he didn't try to sneak away Uncle Vernon's morning paper looking for clues on the wizarding world. He thought about it, but the resurfacing face of Cedric with his dead eyes made him decide against it. So now he was blissfully unaware of the things happening in his chosen home. Snape would no doubt sneer at him disdainfully for thinking like this. The bastard.

He sighed and walked inside just to find the whole Dursley family in the kitchen apparently waiting for him. He stood and looked at them enquiringly.

Petunia was nervous. She really was. But Vernon had her convinced that the boy couldn't use magic outside of school so it was fine. Still! They were about to leave the boy alone in their home! Well not in, but with his magic...!

"So boy," started Uncle Vernon undisturbed by the brilliant green eyes focusing on him "we decided to go and visit Marge for a few weeks. We most probably won't be back till your..." he paused "freakish, school starts, so you'll have to get to the station on your own."

Harry blinked.

Dudley misunderstood the stunned blink so he quickly sneered Harry's way.

"What you thought you were coming with us?"

Harry blinked again but no emotion appeared on his face. He did not dare celebrate too soon...

"So I'm to stay with Mrs. Figg?" he tentatively asked. He remembered that Yvonne had not moved back to England from Majorca yet.

"No." Aunt Petunia said and Harry started cheering inside, NOW it was time to start celebrating.

"You are going to stay in the shed!" Dudley gleefully screamed and laughed as if he had just told the joke of the century.

However Harry saw on his relatives' faces that it was, in fact, not a joke. He felt cold again. They were going to leave him in the bloody shed for weeks? What about his school stuff? What about food? He was about to hyperventilate.

"When are you leaving?" he croaked. In a few days he could maybe sneak his trunk out and get enough food together...

"Tomorrow morning."

Harry felt his world tilt. This couldn't be true! They could not mean to abandon him in the garden shed! He heard his Uncle's order to help his Aunt pack as if it was said through water. He followed her Aunt in a daze.

HPCW

The next day Harry dazedly sat in the shade of the rosebushes near the shed. His new "home". It was bloody ridiculous. At least they had left him food. Not a lot, mind you. But they left some. And when he had no food left he would use Dumbledore's parchment. The headmaster wouldn't be able to tell him to "make up with his relatives" again, he hoped.

He groaned and laid down in the grass. He might as well sleep a little bit. He was still feeling kind of tired after all.

His breath soon evened out and he found himself in a dream of long corridors and many doors.

HPCW

Harry spent that night in the shed. He happily noted that the Dursleys had not only left him food but had brought his school trunk out of the house too. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on the situation, they didn't know about the loose floorboard so Harry's most treasured items were still in the house.

But he could start on homework! He was gleeful at the prospect of actually being able to write his essays without blotching ink all over his bed linens and the parchment. He could always come back for the other things with Sirius or Mr. Weasley. He smiled and scooped up some parchment and an ink bottle with his eagle feather quill and set them down on the grass outside the shed. He went back in and picked up his Charms and Transfiguration textbooks and the one on History. He lay down in the sunny grass, put the History book under the parchment and started on his essay, for Professor McGonagall, on the Difference Between Transfiguring In-Animate and Animate Objects.

After an hour of scribbling and re-reading the material Harry's mind started to wander. He thought about the corridor he had seen last night in his dream and had half a mind already of going and fetching his Divination book to look up what it might mean. Then he snorted. He was not that desperate quite yet to read about Divination of all things. The book would most probably say that it meant his imminent death, just like the crazy Professor.

He stretched and rolled onto his back intent on having a nap. The sun had moved while he was writing his essay so now the rosebushes gave him a bit of a shade.

He was about to close his eyes and let himself be lulled to sleep by the warmth of the day when he heard furious hissing and scratching.

He sat up and looked towards the noise. His eyes widened and he quickly got to his feet rushing to separate the fighting animals. It was most probably one of Mrs. Figg's cat and a small snake. His movement chased the cat away but the snake was now suspiciously watching him, its body tense and littered with small scratches.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked.

The snake flinched in surprise and lifted its head.

"You sspeak?" hissed the sneak, looking him in the face.

"Yeah" he answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head "Are you all right?"

"Yes, human child, I had just been surprissed, I have never met a speaker among humanss yet. How did you come to possess the ability?"

"Umm, I'd rather not talk about that."

"All right, human child."

"My name's Harry" the black haired boy said.

"Name?" the snake queried.

"Yeah, it's what my friendss call me. Don't you have a name too?"

"No, we do not have namess."

Harry nodded pensively.

"Would you like to ssunbath with me? Or you were going ssomewhere?" he asked.

"I would gladly share the ssun with you, will you protect me from the cat again?"

"Of coursse." Harry promised.

He went back to his spot by the rosebushes but a little more in the sun and laid back down. The snake slid onto his stomach and they enjoyed the sun on their skin for a few moments.

"Do you live around here?" Harry asked at last.

"Yeah, I live near the wallss of the big human nest under a sstone." the snake said "Where are the other big humanss? They do not like me."

"They left." the lying boy assured his new friend.

"Good." he felt the small reptile nod against his chest "Have you talked to other snakess too?"

"Yeah, the firsst one was thiss huge boa consstrictor, in a zoo, when I was 10. It's a really funny sstory." if one forgot about the part where he was tossed into his cupboard and locked up for almost a week.

"Would you tell me?"

"If you'd like me to." he felt the snake nod again so he startedthe tale of making the glass wall of the cage disappear and setting a huge snake free.

"It even said 'Thankss, amigo. Brazil, here I come.' It was fabulous." Harry smiled.

"Yess."

They laid in silence for a few more minutes then the snake raised its head.

"It wass good talking with you, Harry. But I musst go and hunt now."

"All right. Will you come out again tomorrow?"

"Yess."

The snake slithered away and Harry watched its tail disappear in the grass. He realized that he should finish his Transfiguration essay, which only needed a few more inches and start on Charms. That one seemed a little harder than what McGonagall assigned them for the summer. Then he would have most of the next day to do his Potions essay...or maybe he would do that a day later.

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When the day was nearing twilight Harry lifted himself off the grass and collected his school materials. He ate a few bits again and came to the painful realization that his food would not last till the end of summer, which was still four weeks away. With a jolt he realized that he would turn fifteen that night. He smiled ruefully and went to fill up his stomach with water from the garden tap.

When the watch on his wrist showed 12:00 he softly wished himself a happy birthday and wondered if Dumbledore would allow his friends to send him cards or presents. He was always alone on his birthday but these last few years he had come to expect the well-wishes and presents of his friends. They made him feel special and not quite so alone. Hedwig softly hooted at him and he smiled.

"Thank you, Hedwig. You're still the best present I've ever had."

The snowy owl proudly puffed her breast, ruffling her feathers and with another soft hoot flew soundlessly into the night.

Harry watched the small white dot of his bird disappear among the many stars upon the night sky. He was about to move to the shed and go to sleep when he felt a powerful presence above himself. He lifted his head to stare at the dotty blackness trying to spot anything moving or not belonging there. Most of the time he had trust in the wards around the house to keep him safe, but Aunt Petunia was not there anymore, and with his limited knowledge about the blood wards, the absence of his Aunt made him uneasy in the presence of the unseen power.

However that something he felt was already fading indicating that, no matter what it was, it was already gone. Maybe he was hallucinating? He did tire out from studying so much after so long. Maybe the Charms text had been too much. He shook his head and went to sleep.

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The next day Harry finished his Charms essay and was stretching his legs when he saw his new friend emerging from under a rock by the house.

He took a minute to fully examine the small snake. It was brownish green in colour and had a heart shaped black patch on its head. Its body was covered in black lines too. All in all it was quite a catching little fellow.

"Hi." he greeted.

"Hi, Harry." the small snake answered "will you tell me another sstory today while I warm up before hunting?"

I"f you'd like me to." Harry said and was crouching down to lift the reptile when he saw something glinting in the grass "What iss that?"

"The fat human child hid it there a few monthss back."

Harry crouched down and took the small piece of metal into his hands. It was a little bit rusty but not much. The ground was pretty protected from rain in that part of the garden, that's why the small snake made its nest there too. The boy examined it and with widening eyes realized that it was the key to the back-door Dudley had "lost". Harry got an earful and an impossibly long list of chores for that stunt when it was discovered and Dudley obviously told it was his cousin who did it.

He looked at his new friend with a brilliant smile.

"I can get in the housse now!"

The snake cocked its head to the side.

"Why would you want to go in there, Harry?"

"I don't have much food left out here and I can't hunt like you do," he answered, still smiling "now I can go in there and get food! And I have ssome sstuff sstill in there too."

"So I can assume that you won't tell me sstories now?"

Harry looked at the snake guiltily.

"Ssorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry about it Harry, Food iss more important." the reptile nodded its head in assurance.

The black haired boy smiled and with a quick wave to the animal ran to the door to try the key. It creaked ominously but then the door opened and Harry's face stretched into an even wider grin.

He quickly made his way to the pantry and saw that food wise he was set. He felt the last of his doubts of the Dursleys not leaving any food in the house fly and took several cans of food and a few eggs from the shelves. It was time to have a huge meal!

HPCW

Harry was finished eating and was getting his stuff from under the loose floorboard when Hedwig flew in the open window.

The boy got to his feet and welcomed the bird with a smile when he noticed the letter tied to its leg. He was confused about it since Dumbledore told him that owl post was prohibited. He thought maybe Hermione and Ron finally got fed up with that restriction and sent him a missive. Not that Hermione would let Ron slip any interesting information in.

He gently untied the letter from Hedwig and felt a small zap in his hands when he touched it. Immediately alert he eyed the letter with suspicion. It lay innocently on the floor where he dropped it and Harry reckoned that maybe it was static electricity between him and his owl.

He lifted the letter and broke the unfamiliar seal on it. On the seal there were three small birds, crows maybe and a hand holding a wand above them. On the borders of it were two barely literal words 'Toujurs Pur'.

Harry,

I hope you're fine in that abysmal place with your muggle relatives. I opened my house in London and Dumbledore allowed me to invite you for the remaining days of your summer holiday.

Would you like to come? I would be really happy if you came. Ron and Hermione are here too. Dumbledore put some spell on this letter so you don't have to worry about anyone else reading it but you.

You should send your reply on the pesky parchment the Headmaster sent you, okay?

I miss you Pup.

Padfoot

Harry smiled and scrambled to find the piece of parchment in his pockets. When he found it he lifted his quill and was about to write out a quick, 'Yes I want to come!' when his hand stopped mid-air, his face frozen.

Would they come and pick him up? Sirius didn't mention anything about that, but probably yes. Then they would discover that the Dursleys were gone!

For a moment Harry felt vindictive happiness erupt in his chest at Sirius and Dumbledore finding out about his treatment but he squashed it down swiftly. They shouldn't know about it! It was none of their business. And what if they knew and still sent him back every summer? He wouldn't be able to take that.

He set his hand down and started to write his reply with a determined face.

Professor Dumbledore,

I would like to take Sirius up on his offer at staying in his London house. I'll be in the Leaky Cauldron by tomorrow morning. I hope that is acceptable and someone can come and pick me up since I don't know where the house is?

Harry

He watched the message disappear, crushing down his memories of a diary that did the same thing and in the end tried to kill him. Sending the blank paper one last look he started to pack.

Author's Note:

I would like to thank you all for reading. :) I hope you liked this chapter as well and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. :)

So please review! :D

This chapter has far more dialogue than the first one, I hope they don't feel forced?