Harry and Isaac's memories of that day were mixed together and started out in the Dursley's front yard. A bunch of Dudley's friends and children who were so scared of Dudley they just acted like they were happy (as far away from Dudley as they could get) ran around in a game of tag. A few, however, broke away for juice and a few bites of cake. Vernon filmed the event. Dudley, who was chubby, but not morbidly obese yet, was "it". Petunia stood beside Vernon, jumping up and down, clapping wildly for her son. The sprinkler was set up and the kids played around it, leaping back and forth. It was beautiful, if you didn't know the people, all the children so happy, the way the strands of cold water glistened in the sun.
Harry felt a stinging sensation on the back of his eyes and looked down at the grass, as he shared, "That blonde boy, the chubby one, he's my cousin, Dudley. Those are his parents, Vernon and Petunia."
Lupin and Isaac squinted at Petunia, as if it would help them figure out how this woman could be so devoted to her own son and then hate her sister's child. Dumbledore wondered the same thing and felt shame seep into him, dig into in to his insides like hooks, along with flashes of the night he had to lay Harry on her door step. Natalie had the same thought on her mind, as she tried to register that this woman, and her husband, so devoted to her son, had kept Harry malnourished, according to her Uncle Severus, for years.
"This was his birthday party. It was my birthday too." Harry smiled a little, when Natalie touched his arm, but he couldn't look her in the eyes and just looked over at his five year old self.
Everyone else followed his path of vision to the front steps, where five year old Harry sat, on the shaded side, with a longing expression on his face, as he watched the others. Dumbledore, Lupin, Isaac, and Natalie froze, barely breathing, like it hurt to inhale, horrified to learn how malnourished Harry had been, although it wasn't as bad as it was going to get, and with broken glasses! Tears glistened in their eyes and their jaws quivered on account of their attempt to hold back sobbing.
It was an oddly cool day, for July, so five year old Harry kept his long sleeved, plaid shirt on over his short sleeved one. He drank the last of the water he had in his cup and frowned at it. Then, he looked up at his aunt and uncle, in a way that made Dumbledore, Lupin, and Natalie wonder about the bruise that was on his right shin. Isaac eyed Harry, but he still refused to look at anyone.
Five year old Harry got up and a grimace slipped on his face, as his stomach rumbled. Harry rested his hand on his stomach, suddenly aware of how well fed he was now. He remembered, as he saw his younger self walk over to Vernon and Petunia, nights full of a rumbling stomach, especially as he got older and teachers and other adults felt more inclined to deny what was right in front of them or, in Mrs. Figg's case, just have to ignore it, for his sake, Harry figured, now.
Five year old Harry stood, hesitantly, by Petunia, but he mustered up the courage to tap her on the arm, only to be given a sneer, "What did we tell you? Bad boys stay on the front steps!"
Dumbledore, Isaac, and Lupin felt rage crawl up their skin, while Natalie hugged Harry, her teary eyes on the five year old one and Petunia. Harry focused on his memory, as he slipped his arms around her shoulders.
Five year old Harry showed Petunia his cup and said, "I know, but I need more water-"
"Well, go inside and get some and then sit back on the front steps!" she barked, before she went back to cheering on Dudley.
Five year old Harry just frowned, followed her path of vision to well fed, happy Dudley, surrounded by friends and "friends", then looked back at her. He stared at her for a moment, while Lupin felt like someone had punched a hollow spot into his stomach, Isaac was thankful for later events, Dumbledore felt like a knife was lodged in his chest and twisted around, and Natalie thought about how unfair Fudge's decision had been.
Five year old Harry left his aunt's side to go into the house. Everyone cringed at the way Harry pulled off his shoes, his feet left in Dudley's old socks, which had holes in them, back and front, and sighed in relief. Harry flexed his toes, as he recalled how dents in his shoes use to dig into his feet, how worn the bottom used to feel.
"Harry."
Five year old Harry looked up at a girl in a denim dress, over a short sleeved white shirt, and white sandals. She had the bluest eyes anyone had ever seen, long, pale blonde hair, with bangs that were being grown out, and she was holding a plate with a big piece of cake on it.
A fond, hopeful smile slipped on to Harry's face, "That's Maddy. Madison Lake."
Madison explained, as she came down stairs, "I was trying to figure out which bedroom is yours, but I couldn't." She showed him the piece of cake and added, "I wanted to leave this for you, because you're so hungry all the time." She pointed at his stomach, which growled.
Five year old Harry looked down at it and lied, "I'm not really hungry."
"Yeah, you are. I saw you, when your aunt cut the cake."
"I just thought it looked nice."
Madison eyed the holes in his socks and his raggedy shoes. Then, she looked at the way he avoided her eyes, "Are you trying not to cry?"
"No." five year old Harry's voice and the tear that dripped out of his eye, on to the floor, gave him way.
Madison widened her eyes, her mouth shaped like a tiny "o", and put her plate on the third to last step. Then, she went over and hugged Harry.
Harry grimaced at his own awkwardness at hugging her back and over the way he relished it. Natalie cried silently, Dumbledore closed his eyes to keep from crying, hot pressure on his eyes, and Isaac kind of retreated inward, wrapped up in his own guilt about not having been able to save the day four years prior to the memory.
Lupin turned to Harry, teary eyed, and sob-gasped, "Harry…"
Harry locked eyes with him and was hit hard by the look Lupin gave him. Lupin looked aged by the pain of not having been eligible to raise Harry gave him. Harry could see how it drilled into his soul, ripping it apart. He looked more worn out than his clothes.
Harry confirmed, regretfully, "I think that was the first hug I ever got."
Lupin clenched his jaw, to keep from sobbing, and nodded. Harry gave him a It's not your fault. look.
They all resumed watching the memory and saw Maddy let go of Harry and then give him the cake, "You should eat this now, before your aunt and uncle see."
"I really don't want it." five year old Harry told her, as he, reluctantly, pushed the plate back to her.
She gave him a sad look and promised, "I won't tell." She raised her pinky, "I swear."
Five year old Harry stared into her eyes and Harry recalled how he registered, in that moment, true kindness, like the kindness he read about in books, heard about in church. It was amazing, just being given a piece of cake, without being accompanied by a slap or insult.
Five year old Harry took the cake and startled Maddy a little by taking a vigorous bite out of it, then another and another until it was gone.
He locked eyes with Maddy, afterwards, who suggested, "You should run away."
Five year old Harry used his shiert to wipe his mouth and shook his head, nervously, as if his aunt and uncle had just come in the room, "I wouldn't make it my own-"
"Did your aunt and uncle tell you that?" Maddy demanded to know.
Five year old Harry nodded, "They said I should be happy they take care of me-"
Maddy stomped her foot, witch her fists clenched, "They don't take care of you!" She gestured to Harry, "Your clothes don't fit! My mommy buys me knew clothes and she feeds me!"
"I don't have anywhere else to go." five year old Harry pointed out.
"You could go to another town and say you have no family and you need a new one." Maddy suggested. "They won't know you and they have to give you a family, because you're little."
"Really?" five year old Harry asked, his eyes lit up by the sudden discovery of hope.
"Mm hmm." Maddy nodded. "I saw it on TV. You go to this kid store and a really nice family buys you, because they want kids."
"Where is it?"
"I'm not sure." she admitted. "But if you go find a policeman or girl, they'll take you there."
Five year old Harry lost all hope all of sudden. His face sunk into a frown, "I couldn't even get out of the house-"
"Yeah, you could." Maddy assured him. "You'll go out the back and I'll tell your aunt and uncle, if they ask, that I hear you having a hard time in the bathroom."
"Ew." five year old Harry said, which she agreed to. Then, he added, "That could work, but I don't have any money for food and my clothes are in…"
He looked down, uncomfortably, like his throat was tight. Maddy began to get worried, like a snake had coiled itself around her arm.
"Harry, where do you keep your stuff?"
"I,er—Under the stairs." he confessed, full of shame, as if it were his fault.
Maddy trembled, her eyes widened, about ready to cry, "Isn't it dark?"
He nodded and her little heart fell, as the reality of abuse shocked her, like a zap of electricity. She thought of her own caring mother, the one who did everything by herself, and then of Harry's aunt and uncle. Child abuse had always been just some story, like what she heard of those far away countries who lived without a lot of TV. Now, here she was on her own to handle it for real.
Maddy took five year old Harry by the hand, like the way her mother did for her, and guided him into the kitchen. She let go of him and grabbed a beige canvas bag that, thankfully, happened to be around. It gave her a boost, like, she supposed, coffee gave her mom.
"I watch my mommy pack my lunch all the time." she explained, to the confused five year old Harry, as she opened the bag and moved her hand around to unflatten it. "So I'm going to help pack yours."
"I can't take my aunt and uncle's food. It's not mine."
"You live here. It's yours. That's what my mommy tells me. You're not supposed to not feed kids. That's bad. You can go to jail for that."
"But they do feed me," he pointed out, weakly.
"Not enough." she decided, after a deep breath. Then, she cheered up a little, "Your new family will feed you better."
Five year old Harry brightened up too, "You think someone else would really take me?" He drifted into despair, suddenly, "My aunt and uncle said no one else would take care of me. My aunt Marge said the same thing."
Maddy thought of her own life again, of her loving mother, how she always smiled at her, even when she was tired, how, even if she got angry, Maddy knew her mother loved her. She thought of the stories of children who got hope beaten out of them by their guardians and realized five year old Harry fit the profile.
Maddy confessed, "Harry, most people love their kids and their family and—and they're really nice to them." She pointed at his knee, "They don't kick them at recess. They don't feed one kid a whole lot more until he's really fat like a pig!"
The realization of this, that the love he saw other kids get could be a possibility for him, not just a dream, really sunk in, like when Maddy had hugged him.
"What are we going to pack?" five year old Harry asked, in a way that made smiles slip onto Dumbledore, Isaac, Lupin, and Natalie's face, although they knew Harry had never truly escaped, long term. That's what made the smiles slip off.
They watched the kids drag a chair over to the counter together. Maddy grabbed bananas and explained how her mother said they had "good stuff in them" and five year old Harry decided that was good because he loved bananas. They thought crackers would be good, especially since there were a lot of them, and five year old Harry would need food that didn't need to be cooked. They stuffed little chip bags into the canvas bag too and a package of cookies.
Then, Maddy gave five year old Harry an uncertain look, "You're going to need something you can drink and it can't been in a cup. It's got to be all close up, so it doesn't spill in the bag."
Five year old Harry started to give her an uncertain look back, until he remembered, as he jumped off the chair, "My aunt put some extra juice boxes in the fridge!"
Maddy, happily, followed him and they worked together to open the fridge and shared ecstatic grins, when they saw the juice boxes. Then, they pulled out as much as they could fit in the bag.
Afterwards, when they decided the bag was full, Maddy said, "I don't really think you'll need a change of clothes. It won't take you very long to get to another town and your new family can buy you new stuff anyway. They'll want to."
Harry nodded, in agreement, but then said, "I need to figure out how to get away though-"
She pointed to the glass doors, in the dining room, which was next to the kitchen, "You'll go out the back."
"No, I mean, how do I get past the neighbors?"
Maddy made a serious face, "You'll have to be quick…" Her eyes lit up, "Maybe, they won't be home. They'll be at that fair thing."
Five year old Harry mirrored her expression, "Yeah—" His face sunk, "There's still the fence. I have to get over it."
"You can climb over something or maybe one part will be loose!" Five year old Harry didn't look as hopeful as she did, so she took him by the hand again, like she knew her mother would have, "Come on. Let's go look." She looked down at his feet and pointed out, "Oh, you need your shoes!"
Five year old Harry glanced at his feet and then ran out of the room to fetch his shoes. The present day people twisted their faces, like a bad smell had slipped in the room, while they watched him force the agonizing sneakers back on his feet.
When he went back to the dining room, he and Maddy went out the glass doors and over to the white fence, which looked horrifyingly solid. Even Maddy started to get discouraged, but she told five year old Harry to check one side, while she would check the other.
They started out side by side and five year old Harry discovered that the first board he touched was actually loose. The present day people realized it was the onset of early magic and everyone was astonished to see how Maddy had looked over, with an inkling that something other than coincidence had taken place.
The present day people marveled at the fact that all she did was lead the way through the space and took a look up at the windows of the other house, "I don't think anyone's inside."
"Yeah,"
Maddy locked eyes with five year old Harry, a feeling of adventure, hope just starting to sink in, like it was the last day of school times ten. Maddy played mom again by taking five year old Harry's hand and she lead him along the side of the house. They checked all around, but Maddy insisted they also had to look normal, in case someone else spotted them in the neighbor's yard.
They crossed the street together, which was, luckily, vacant, as everyone seemed to be out or locked inside, after they remembered to look both ways. At the other side, Maddy and five year old Harry could barely believe how easy it looked to run down more streets all the way to that other town with the new family.
They looked back at the Dursley's house and then at each other. Five year old Harry opened his arms and stood, uncertainly, because he didn't know how to go in for a hug. Maddy caught on and went in for it.
Five year old Harry inquired, "Do you think my new family will let me come back and play with you?"
"Yeah, but I won't be living here." They pulled apart and she explained, "My mom got a better job, so we're moving, but I think you're new family will let you go there and then you won't have to see your aunt and uncle," her eyes lit up, suddenly, "or maybe you'll end up in the town I'm moving to!"
A smile spread on five year old Harry's face and a look of hope about a new life, with a family who at least gave their kids a birthday party. It spread to Maddy, who could imagine herself moving to that new town and ending up in class again with Harry.
Harry felt like their happiness banged into his chest. The aching spread to the others, while they watched five year old Harry wave goodbye to Maddy and then sprint down the side walk. Maddy's eyes sparkled with hope, as she watched him.