Harry Potter and the Power of Time

Chapter 2 – Escape on the Knight Bus

Harry woke the next morning hours before the sun would be up. Although it was rather early, Harry felt refreshed and alert after the best night's sleep since he saw Sirius die. "Today," Harry thought, "is the day it all begins." After climbing out of bed and dressing in the best clothes he had (meaning the ones that fit him the best), Harry packed up one of Dudley's old backpacks, and quietly left his room to go clean up. Luckily Hedwig was still out hunting, or she would probably have hooted an inquiry and woken up the household.

Daring not to shower for fear of waking his aunt and uncle, Harry washed his face and neck at the kitchen sink. Opening the refrigerator door only halfway; because it creaked if opened fully; Harry grabbed a carton of juice and quickly ate some cold cereal. Five minutes later, with the dirty dishes in the sink, Harry was out the back door.

The second he set foot in the yard, Harry ripped open the bag he packed and took out his father's invisibility cloak. He had no delusions about members of the Order watching over his home. And his fears were quickly verified when he crept around to the front of the house and heard a gruff voice coming from the bushes across the street. Stepping carefully so as not to make a sound, Harry leaned over a hedge of blue hydrangea to find none other than Mundungus Fletcher grumbling something about questionable potions ingredients.

'Boy,' thought Harry, 'Dung is sure going to get it when Dumbledore discovers I've disappeared on his watch again.' Harry couldn't help but inwardly laugh as he quietly started down the street. He almost made it away scott-free too, if Hedwig hadn't chosen that moment to reappear from her nightly hunting. She landed in a tree just overhead, and was about to hoot to Harry, when he parted the invisibility cloak just enough to pop his head out.

"Shhh!" Harry whispered. "Quiet girl! Follow me, but be quiet." Harry knew he was risking discovery from Dung, but luckily the seedy old man was none the wiser, still mumbling on about exchange rates and such nonsense. Harry practically ran to the end of the block, and turned a corner to get out of sight before taking down the hood of his cloak and yelling at his owl.

"Hedwig! You almost got me caught! What were you doing?" Harry really didn't mean to sound so angry with his winged friend, but it would have been very bad for the Order to catch onto his plans, at least this soon into his vacation.

Naturally, Hedwig couldn't word a response to answer Harry's questions, but she did hoot indignantly as if to say, "What was I doing? What are you doing, sneaking out so early in the morning?"

Harry quickly apologized to Hedwig, saying he didn't mean to snap. Although he never discussed it with many people, Harry was actually very close to his pet owl. Besides Hagrid, she was the first friend he'd ever had. And during each summer between school sessions, she was the only one to keep him company at the Dursleys'. Letters from Ron and Hermione were great and all, but after a whole day of being berated by his relatives, having Hedwig in the room with him to pet and stroke helped calm him down.

Harry knew that Hedwig was only looking out for him, and knew he wasn't supposed to leave Privet Drive alone, but he just had to. He tried walking further away, but she just followed. Harry pleaded with her to return back home, but she wouldn't have any of it.

"Fine girl," Harry exclaimed, "but if we get caught, no owl treats for the rest of the summer! But please, I'm trying not to be noticed, so keep it down." Hedwig, who loved her owl treats, apparently had no problem with the deal, and silently followed along, flying high in the tree tops.

About five blocks from Privet Drive, Harry reached his destination. An all night convenience store which Harry had never been inside, stood before him near the main highway. Putting his invisibility cloak back inside his backpack, Harry entered the store and began to quickly look for his needed supplies. The plan was to go to Diagon Alley today, but Harry couldn't go as he was. Being one of the most recognizable faces in the wizarding world seemed to only have its down sides in Harry's opinion. He needed a disguise, and not being allowed to use magic, as least yet, he needed a muggle disguise.

"Excuse me sir?" Harry asked the tall man sitting behind the front counter, "I'm playing a joke on my younger brother later today and need help disguising myself. I was wondering if you might be able to help me?" Harry had long ago figured out how to ask the question. Since the man had no idea who he was, and was not aware of the special circumstances surrounding his activities, Harry thought the best lie would be the closest thing he could tell to the truth.

"Sure kid, I'll help if I can, but we don't have much here. You might be better off in a department or costume store. What do you think you need?" The man replied.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly." Harry had expected this answer. "I don't have much money, but it's my brother's birthday and I wanted to play a prank on him. I was thinking about a hat or a wig, or something else to hide my face. See this scar on my forehead?" Harry actually enjoyed showing off his scar to the man. "It's pretty recognizable, and I need to hide it. Any suggestions?"

"Hmmm, well let me think a sec." Harry couldn't believe the luck he was having so far. The man seemed to buy this whole act. "We don't have any wigs or anything like that, but there's a small selection of hats back in the rear corner. You could wear a ball cap backwards and pull the front down far enough to cover up your forehead. Or, let's see....we got some cheap ski caps also. Not really the time of year for it, but it seems to be the fashion with young kids these days."

Harry thanked the man, and walked back to the section of hats that was pointed out. After he tried on a few in front of a mirror, Harry picked a simple black ski cap. It would cover up not only his scar, but he could put it over his ears to totally hide his recognizable black hair as well. Last night he had thought about using hair dye, but Harry hopefully only needed to be disguised this way just once, and dye just seemed a little overkill.

Walking up to the counter again with his purchase, Harry saw he had enough muggle money to buy a cheap pair of dark sunglasses as well. It would leave him nearly broke in the muggle world, but he could change some money once he got to Gringotts.

"Here you go sir." Harry placed the items on the counter. "Thanks for the tips. I only have to spy on my brother from a distance, and I think these will work." Harry gave the man his last twenty pound note, and only got back a few coins, but he didn't really need them. Exiting the store, Harry slipped on his purchases, put on a plain black robe and cloak from his bag, and continued to walk down the street.

The sun had just broken over the horizon when Harry reached a deserted alleyway, so the sunglasses weren't too suspicious. He quickly raised the hood of his cloak over his head, and raised his wand which he slipped out from his pant's pocket.

BANG!!!

Just a second later a large purple bus popped into existence, knocking over a trash can or two. Even though Harry expected the sound (as he'd done this before), it still startled him into jumping an inch or two off the ground.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. I'm Stan Shunpike, your conductor this morning, and this here's Ernie, the driver. He don't say much, so don't pay no attention to him." Harry was surprised to come across Stan; the same pimple faced young man he'd seen three years ago on the same bus. Harry didn't know why, but he figured Stan would have a different job by now, as conducting the stomach-churning rides of the Knight Bus couldn't be the most glamorous job in the world. Still, having been through this before, Harry knew what to say. And thankfully, he remembered Stan wasn't the brightest person in the land either.

"Hello, one to Diagon Alley please," Harry said. As he spoke, Harry also was comforted by the fact that Stan didn't recognize him as Harry Potter last time he rode the bus either. Just so Stan didn't ask or become suspicious, Harry quickly added on an introduction. "Dean Thomas's the name, please to meet you Stan." Harry didn't think Dean would mind Harry borrowing his name. Coming from a muggle background, Harry doubted he would ride the bus anytime soon. And he couldn't very well introduce himself as Neville again. That might be remembered.

"Nice to meet you Dean. Fare to Diagon Alley is two galleons and eleven sickles. An extra galleon if you plan on bringing that owl there with you, and another five sickles for hot chocolate," Stan stated.

Forgetting about the hot chocolate, Harry turned around to see Hedwig on a nearby milk crate. He'd almost forgotten the bird was with him she was so quiet. Harry turned back around to Stan and agreed to the fare. "Here you go." Harry replied as he counted out four galleons from a money bag. "Just out of curiosity, why so much? Last time I rode the Knight Bus, the fare wasn't nearly so high."

Stan looked closely at him for the first time. Harry thought he'd been recognized, but than Stan calmed him by replying. "Ain't you been reading the papers, Dean? With You-Know-Who back and everything, prices all over are going up. People are scared, but that's just because news's only a few days old. Minister Fudge says he's got everything under control and not to worry. But the bosses want to put people's minds at ease. Me and Ern here, we got these panic buttons to push if something screwy happens. Cost a shiny sickle they did, but it alerts aurors, and they come running like mad if we need 'em. That's where all the extra money goes."

"Oh, that makes sense. I just got back from school, and don't see the paper much there." Harry didn't think telling the truth could hurt. "I never thought about how the public would react. But Dumbledore told us over a year ago that Vold....You-Know-Who was back, so it's not so much of a shock to us students." Harry thanked Merlin he didn't slip up and state Voldemort's name. That would have definitely aroused suspicions, even from Stan and Ernie. Harry also didn't think it prudent to add his opinions on Fudge's statement about safety, and kept his comments to himself.

"Yeah," Stan said, "heard about them rumors Dumbledore and Harry Potter were saying. Didn't believe it till now. Hey, do you know him? Harry Potter I mean. He'd probably be about your age."

Harry got really uncomfortable, but quickly replied, "I know of him, spoken to him a few times, but he tends to keep to himself. I reckon it's because all the rumors spread about him."

"Suppose you're right." Stan seemed to think about Harry's answer. "Anyways, third bed from the back on the right is yours. You're the only passenger right now, so we'll be there soon. Let's go Ern!"

Harry barely managed to grab a hold of a seat before the bus closed its door and jumped into motion. Struggling to get back to the bed where Hedwig already rested, Harry walked the distance carefully as not to fall over. The ride was quiet in the early morning hours without anyone else to talk to, and Harry silently chuckled to himself when he thought about using Neville's, and now Dean's identity on the bus. Next time it'll be Seamus Finnegan, Harry thought with a laugh.

The ride to Diagon Alley took just a few minutes as the Knight Bus drove through incredibly small gaps between other vehicles. They arrived without incident, and Harry quickly disembarked with a quick thanks to the driver and conductor. As the bus popped away in whatever weird form of apparition it used, Harry looked at the small pub entrance in front of him, virtually unseen by the public's eyes. Only witches and wizards knew it was there, and Harry recalled the first time he stepped through those doors with Hagrid all those years ago. With a deep breath, making sure his sunglasses were securely perched on his nose (his regular glasses were in a pocket), and his hat was pulled tight over his head, Harry opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron and walked inside.

AUTHOR NOTES:

Thanks so far to those that have read. It case you haven't figured out, I'm not even attempting to put forth an effort to sound properly British, as I have better things to do with my time. I know Stan's supposed to have a horrible accent, as will other people in the future of this story, but I have little experience is trying to write accents. If people like the story and review, maybe I'll throw in a "bloody" or two.

Updated 11/18/04

I know originally my grammar and spelling could have been better, so I've gone through (I had to for the Schnoogle version anyway) and corrected all that I could find. This is the final version, folks! If you would like to reread the entire fic, there's also other stuff I changed to, besides the spelling. Nothing that will confuse a reader if they don't, but just enough to clean up some edges, and fix some mistakes in the mythology I made. Later all!

Ross