Harry felt his heartbeat pounding between his ears, in the space behind his eyes, as he maneuvered his way through the crowd. Everything seemed to blur, and yet he had never been so focused on a single thing in his life. Most people just stared at him in mild confusion, but a few reacted quickly enough to begin chasing after him- enough people to make a problem. His feet slammed against the pavement, faster, faster, until he could feel the shocks reverberating through his spine.
And then he crashed, falling toward the sidewalk and taking a thin woman piled up with shopping bags down with him. Before he could even figure out the cause of his fall, thick, meaty arms were forcing his hands behind his back. With every struggle to get free, the man tightened his grip. "Let's take this kid over to the station," a voice behind Harry shouted over the rest of the commotion, then Harry spotted the uniform lurking behind him.
He whipped his head around frantically, trying to spot his partner in crime. He hadn't made it that far, Jack had to be nearby. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar dirty blond hair. "Jack!" He shouted desperately. "Jack, please!" Jack watched him with a thoroughly unreadable look on his face, and then Harry saw him give a sad shake of his head before he disappeared into what was quickly growing into a mob. "Damnit, Jack, this isn't funny!" Harry screamed, squirming in his trapped position. "Jack!"
Harry was dragged back through the gates of St. Brutus's with a sullen scowl on his face. Jack was probably counting his damn coins in the dormitory, having a good laugh at Harry's expense. Sodding bastard. But at least, only after what seemed like hours of wheedling and convincing, the police officer had agreed to take him back to the school instead of to the police station. Must have figured it was practically the same thing.
"Hullo?" The officer shouted into the empty corridor past the front door. "Anyone here? Got a boy here for you." The headmaster stormed out of his office, looking particularly unpleasant in all his stout, barrel-chested glory. "Caught him thieving around the center of town. Keep track of the lot, eh?" Just then, Harry noticed the tall, white-haired man standing in the doorway of the headmaster's office. The man had long hair and wore an old-fashioned suit, but the strangest thing about him was the strange look on his face- a gentle, amused sort of look, with a twinkle-eyed kind of mischief. Like a giant elf or something.
"Who'er you?" Harry asked bluntly. The headmaster growled.
"This gentleman has arrived to inform me that you will be attending his school next term, and perhaps permanently." He directed his attention toward the police officer. "Bit namby-pamby if you ask me. Boys like that need the paddle on occasion, keeps them honest. And this one… this one's been nothing but trouble since he got here." He turned back to Harry. "Get inside, boy!" Harry rushed toward the office.
"Thank you officer." He heard the strange man say politely. "I promise you, Mr. Potter will be dealt with accordingly."
Harry bit back a groan. What kind of new school was this anyway? Could there possibly be anything worse that St. Brutus's?