Chapter Eight

It had been a tense couple of weeks since the incident with his Uncle Vernon but, the courts told Vernon that if he came within 500 feet of Petunia, Harry, or Dudley, he would be arrested. Harry noticed that sometimes his Aunt petunia would start crying and then catch herself if him or Dudley was around. Whenever he asked her if she was okay, she would just give him a watery smile and tell him she would be in time.

Things had been going really good with him and Hermione. They spent a lot of time together, mostly reading through his mom's old books, but also playing. As great as his mom's books were, he wished at times that he had something of his dad's. His Aunt told him what she knew about him, but sadly, it wasn't much.

~somewhere in Scotland~

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk deep in thought. He had been looking for young Harry Potter for a few weeks now and hadn't had anyluck finding him. When he went to number 4 Privet Dr. he was shocked to see that it was empty, and after asking around the neighborhood he found out that the Dursleys had moved out weeks ago. He had went to talk to Arabella Figg, a Squib that he had posted near number 4 to keep an eye on Harry, but she had no new information for him. She told him that they were still there when she went to the doctor, but they were gone when she returned.

He picked his head up when his fireplace roared up in green flames and Severus Snape stepped into his office. He dusted the soot off of his robes and sat down in a chair across from the headmaster.

"Have you found anything Severus," Albus asked.

"I haven't as of yet headmaster," Severus replied, "none of my contacts have seen or heard anything."

Albus sighed. Although he was glad that nobody knew anything, he was also frustrated that he couldn't find anything.

"Maybe it is about time you contacted the DMLE," Severus said.

"You know that I can't do that," Albus told him, "I broke quite a few laws when I placed Harry with his Aunt and Uncle and I can't afford anyone looking too closely into this."

Severus rolled his eyes at the expected repsonse.

"If there is nothing else then, I have potions to brew in preperation of the upcoming school year," he said as he rose from his chair.

Albus said nothing just waved him on. After Severus left Albus again drifetd off into his thoughts about where young Harry could be.

~Back in Crawley~

Things had become tense in the Granger house as Emma talked to Petunia and learned as musch as possible about the magical world, sadly there wasn't much to learn from her as she was not a witch and for most of her life wanted nothing to do with it at all. Just the other night Emma and Dan got into a really bad argument when she tried to tell him the things she had learned. He hadn't responded how she had hoped.

~flashback~

"Have you lost your mind," he shouted at her.

"I haven't but it seems like you have," she responded, "i thought you would be happy to learn that there is nothing wrong with our daughter."

When she said that to him the look he gave her sent chills up her spine. She had never had reason to be frightened of her husband, but for some reason that look scared her.

"If what you say is true then she obviously is not my daughter," came his scathing reply.

She stepped back as if she had been physically slapped.

"Of course she is your daughter," she said, why would you say such a thing?"

"No abomination of nature would have come from me," he said.

After that statement he grabbed his keys and walked out the front door slamming it behind him. She was so shocked that it didn't even register at first that he had left. As soon as she relized it she broke down in body-wracking sobs mentally being thankful that Hermione was staying overnight at Harry's.

~present~

That had been three days ago and he hadn't come home or had been heard from since. When she had went to work she had been told that he had called and told them that he would be taking some vaction but didn't say for how long.

She hadn't told Hermione anything for two reson. First, she wasn't all too sure herself what was going on so what could she tell her daughter, and second: if it's what she fears, just how does she explain it without the young girl blaming herself and completely shutting down. she eventually decide to talk to Petunia about it.

The next day after breakfast she took Hermione and went next door. After sending the kids out back to play, Emma explained the situation to her friend.

"I just don't know what to do," she said

"I am not sure what advice I can give for you except that Hermione's needs come before all else," Petunia told her, "that's how i was able to make the choice I made, a choice i should have made years ago."

Emma silently agreed with her friend as she had been told about the way she had acted towards Harry for the first few years he was with them.

"You can't change the past Petunia," she said, "you are doing what's right now and that is all that matters."

They talked for a couple more hours before calling the kids in for lunch and after eating lunch Emma and Hermione went home with different things on their minds.

A few days later it was time to get the kids registered for school and Dan still had not turned up nor had been heard from. Emma was running out of distractions and excuses to tell Hermione about her father's absence. That choice was taken away from her when they returned home and retrieved the mail.