Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2

"Why should we have to leave the house?" Uncle Vernon mumbled to himself as he carried another box down the stairs. "It's our house!"

"We've already explained – " I started.

"I don't want to hear it!" my uncle said irritably.

Tonight was the last day we would be seeing the Dursleys. They already had their things packed and ready to go, but they were not at all pleased by it. This past week, while getting their things together, Uncle Vernon had done nothing but complain. Time and time again, he made the claim that he was going nowhere and would start to unpack his things again. Of course, after our consistent reminders that he had no choice if he planned on living, Vernon Dursley finally realized that he had to leave Privet Drive.

Harry and I didn't take nearly as long to pack in comparison to everyone else. Then again, we didn't have very many possessions and we hardly unpacked our things over the summer and didn't have much repacking to do.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Aunt Petunia complained as she stared out of the window.

As my aunt stared toward the road, I felt like telling her how unlikely it would be that they would be arriving by car, but I knew it would be a waste of breath. Besides, it probably would have just angered Uncle Vernon to hear that they would be Apparating here anyway.

"Late," Uncle Vernon huffed. "Just as I expected."

"It's only two minutes after they said they would be here," Harry commented as he looked at his watch.

The two of them continued to pace around the room while completely ignored what Harry just said to them. The only person who seemed even slightly sane, other than us of course, was Dudley. Sitting next to his various suitcases, our cousin seemed to be sulking in silence as he stared at the ground. It probably had to do with be forced to move away from everything that he ever knew. Part of me felt bad, but it was for their own good – they couldn't stay here.

"Let's go get our things down here," Harry told me.

Happy to not have to stick around and listen to our aunt and uncle complain, I quickly began moving up the stairs to grab my one suitcase and Hoot's cage to bring to the first floor. Seeing as we were in no rush to get into conversation with the Dursleys downstairs, both of us took our time picking up our things.

"You don't think they're going to expect some drawn out farewell, do you?" Harry asked me as he gave Hedwig some treats.

"I seriously doubt it," I said while petting my own owl. "I can't really see them being that upset about leaving us."

"I'm sure they're thrilled that this will be the last they see of us," Harry said with a short laugh.

That's when it suddenly hit me. After all of these years that I lived in this hellhole of a house, I would finally be leaving tonight. Never again would we walk through the threshold of 4 Privet Drive to be ignored by the Dursleys and never again would we have to hide the fact we were different from others.

"Do you really think that we'll never see them again?" I asked. "If we don't get killed, I mean."

Harry just sat there for a moment and pet Hedwig while he thought to himself. Maybe he hadn't considered this before.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. "I couldn't imagine they would be too heartbroken if they never saw our faces. I know that I'm not really going to mind so much."

I nodded, but then thought about what Dudley told us the week before about being sorry for the way that they treated us. Maybe we were leaving just when things were starting to change. It wasn't that I wanted to stick around here and be as miserable as I've always been, but I began to wonder what would become of Dudley. Would he finally become accepting of the Wizarding World? Would he be able to convince his parents of how wrong they had been with their prejudices?

Or would our cousin simply forget about us and move on with his life?

"It's about time they get here!" I heard Uncle Vernon say from the floor below as he stomped toward the door.

Harry and I looked at each other and then went directly down the stairs to meet with the people that would be taking the Dursleys away from Privet Drive. Even though we wouldn't be going until Mad-Eye came to meet with us, both Harry and I brought our things down in preparation.

When we got there, Dedalus and Hestia were already through the door talking to the Dursleys about what the plan was going to be. They just finished going over it and Uncle Vernon was just about to start complaining about it when they noticed us walking down the stairs.

"Ah, the Potters!" Hestia said. "It's nice to see the two of you here."

"Hello," Harry smiled. "You're here to take our…relatives?"

"That's right!" Dedalus answered. "I was told that you two have separate arrangements that you've been informed of, but I also need to tell you that there has been a change in those plans."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"It will be explained when they get here, don't worry," he said.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"It would be much easier if you let Mad-Eye explain it," he repeated.

Accepting that this was the best answer we were going to get at the moment, we put the topic to rest. My best assumption was that our plans somehow got out and we were going to have to travel by an alternative means in order to avoid trouble. It was what made sense anyway.

"Do you three have your things packed?" Hestia asked the Dursleys.

"We've been packed for a while," Uncle Vernon said with a hint of irritation in his tone.

"Wonderful!" Hestia said, apparently not picking up on our uncle's attitude.

"I guess that we just need to give you some time to say your farewells," Dedalus said.

My stomach dropped when he said this. That meant that we were going to be forced to say something to the Dursleys about our departure and at least attempt to act like we care about each other.

Instead of leaving the room to give us privacy like I hoped for, the two stood off to the side and stared at us all expectedly. I guess that it wasn't that obvious to a newcomer that we didn't get along with each other and had no interest in trying to be sentimental.

Luckily it wasn't up to me to speak up first and I was relieved that Uncle Vernon was the one to first break the silence.

"So I guess this is goodbye," Uncle Vernon said awkwardly.

"I guess so," Harry said.

All five of us just stared at each other for a moment without knowing what to say to one another. After all, what was there to say? It wasn't as if all of us had grown incredibly fond of one another and were deeply upset about leaving each other – in fact, it was a rare occasion when we had a conversation that didn't end badly.

"Well, bye," Uncle Vernon said with a forced smile.

He grabbed the final suitcase and began walking to the door, but was stopped when Hestia opened their mouth.

"That's it?" she said in disbelief. "You might never see them again and all you have to say is 'well, bye?'"

Our uncle looked toward his wife and they both looked slightly embarrassed that they had been addressed in such a matter over something like this. Either that or they were trying to find a way that they could actually make it seem like they cared about us in words.

"It's not a problem," I said.

"It really isn't," Harry added. "It doesn't bother us."

"It doesn't bother you?" Dedalus asked. "Do they realize the danger that you two are in? You two could be killed and they have nothing to say to you?"

"Wow, thanks for sounding so hopeful for us," I muttered sarcastically.

"What do you mean they could die?" Dudley asked. "Emily said there would be protection for them – I thought they were going to be safe!"

Harry looked at me curiously – probably wondering what all I told Dudley this summer. While I had been somewhat honest with our cousin in how we were in trouble with Voldemort, I might not have been so honest with other parts of my explanation.

"They will be guarded, but we aren't facing any ordinary man," Dedalus explained. "You-Know-Who is a very powerful wizard – we're all in danger."

"Okay, that's enough of that talk," Uncle Vernon said. "We might want to get on the road if we want to get out of here in time, isn't that right?"

Our uncle was now turning to us for support because he knew that we wouldn't hold him up with leaving us. It was almost sad how desperate he looked to get out of the situation we were all putting him in.

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's probably for the best that they get out of here as soon as possible."

"Right, that's what I meant," Uncle Vernon said.

Dudley continued to look at us and toward the door as his father stepped out and walked toward the car. Aunt Petunia, who hadn't uttered a word since we came downstairs, seemed confused about the entire situation and just stood in the frame of the door without knowing what to do.

"We'll see you later, Dudley," I said with a smile.

"Will you?" he asked in a small voice.

"I hope so," I said honestly.

For the first time in my life, I wish that I would be able to see Dudley Dursley again. It was difficult to say about our aunt and uncle, but it would be nice to live long enough to have that opportunity…not that I would want to see the two though.

Just when I thought he was moving towards the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin when Dudley stepped toward me and put his arms around me. It took me a moment to realize that he was trying to hug me before I responded and hugged him back. It felt unnatural and uncomfortable, but I appreciated the notion behind it. As I recovered from my surprise, he gave Harry a handshake and then looked at us one more time before he walked toward the door to follow his father to the car.

"I'll see you around," Dudley said.

"Yeah, see you later," Harry said while still sounding surprised.

Once he was gone, I noticed that Aunt Petunia was still standing at the doorframe wiping tears from her eyes. I was tempted to scoff at her for even having the nerve to act like she cared that her son was making an effort to have some compassion, but I resisted. It wasn't necessary considering this was going to be the last time I saw her.

"Bye, Aunt Petunia," Harry said after a moment of awkward silence between us all.

Like she always did, our aunt looked like she wanted to say something to us. She lingered by the doorstep for a moment longer before walking off to follow her husband and son out the door. Once they were gone, Dedalus and Hestia told us goodbye and wished us the best of luck before following the Dursleys out of the door.

Once they were gone, Harry and I just stood where we were for a moment longer to soak in what just happened. Although we spent the majority of our time in this home wishing that the Dursleys would leave, it somehow felt strange and empty without them. We weren't being yelled at and we weren't being judged for our differences – it was almost like we were in an alternate universe.

"Well, I'm not sure that could have gotten more awkward," Harry said with a small laugh.

"Did you even hear Aunt Petunia speak?" I asked him.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think I did," he said. "I guess she just wanted to stay out of it."

"Can't really blame her for that," I said. "I probably wouldn't have said anything either if I could have gotten away with it."

"What is up with Dudley recently?" Harry asked. "It really seems like he's changing."

I nodded in agreement, but I stood there trying to think back to when all of this change with Dudley started. The previous summer he seemed to be more open to having actual conversations, but the time before that was not the same at all. That's when I remembered what must have changed him.

"Do you think it has to do with the dementor attack?" I asked him.

"Why would that have to do with it?" Harry asked.

"He's just been acting different ever since then," I said.

"I guess he has…" Harry agreed. "Maybe he realizes that we aren't so bad after all."

"He isn't too bad either," I said. "You know, now that he isn't terrorize us."

"Maybe he'll turn out okay," Harry shrugged. "Even with his parents being who they are."

That got me thinking about Dudley as a person. All through the years, we never once considered that it wasn't his fault that he thought the way he did about us. Then again, we didn't really have the will power to think this way while he was terrorizing us. It's sort of hard to become understanding when someone is making your life a living Hell. But maybe if his parents had been more accepting of us, things might have been very different. Maybe we could have even gotten along if his parents didn't convince him that we were the vilest piece of scum to walk the planet.

As time passed, Harry and I found ourselves sitting on the ground of the sitting room talking about anything that came to mind while we waited for night to fall. Now that the Dursleys were gone, we didn't hesitate to talk about our life outside of the house.

"How long do you think it'll take them to figure out we're not at Hogwarts?" Harry asked me.

"Who knows," I shrugged. "They might even notice when they see we aren't on the Hogwarts Express."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said. "With Dumbledore gone, they're probably willing to do anything."

"I wonder who the new headmaster will be," I said. "I feel bad for whoever it is – it'll be difficult to fill Dumbledore's shoes. Not to mention that it's going to be really dangerous this year."

"I didn't think about that," Harry said. "It'll probably be Professor McGonagall – she seems like she knows what she's doing."

"I would say so," I said. "Actually, I hope it is her – she's a great witch. I wouldn't want to cross her if I were a Death Eater."

"I just hope that she knows what she's up against," Harry said. "They know that Dumbledore isn't there to protect them anymore and it wouldn't be surprising if they tried to attack the school."

"I'm sure they've thought about it," I said. "They've probably set up precautions in case something does happen – they aren't completely stupid."

"But will it be enough to hold them all off?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," I sighed.

"I'm surprised they even opened up the school," Harry said. "Parents aren't going to want to send their children there with everything going on."

"I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them don't let their children go anyway," I said. "If it were me, I wouldn't want my child there."

"Which only makes me feel worse that we won't be there for everyone," Harry said while looking at the ground. "They're going to be looking for us. When they don't find us, they'll be furious and take it out on everyone else."

"They would have done the same if we were there," I told him. "They just would have killed us first and then moved on to everyone else who didn't want to join them."

It was the truth – we both knew it. Even if we were to show up at Hogwarts, Voldemort would have slaughtered us and moved on to the rest. If we really wanted to stop Voldemort, we had to go after these Horcruxes. They were our only chance and we were going to have to deal with that. We couldn't protect everyone at once if we wanted to end this once and for all. It wasn't like we were running away from Hogwarts because we were afraid – we were running because we had to find and destroy all of the Horcruxes Voldemort made as soon as we possibly could if we wanted any chance of defeating him.

But, for now, we couldn't do anything but wait. We had to wait until we became of age before we could even begin the search. And, even sooner than that, we were going to have to wait for Mad-Eye to get to the door so we could get out of this house and out of sight. That was the most immediate problem we could worry about, but we still had to wait.

Trying to waste time while we waited for Mad-Eye, we circled around the house several times to make sure we didn't forget to grab anything before we left. It wasn't that we expected to find any of our belongings scattered around the house, but we knew that we were going to have to pass the time somehow.

While Harry went upstairs to check around to make sure we didn't leave anything behind, I looked around the ground floor. Knowing that this was going to be the last time that I walked through the house, I couldn't help but let my mind wander to the past for a bit as I stepped into each room.

In the kitchen, the memories started to flood into my mind about the times that I spent in this room. The many mornings were Uncle Vernon shouted at us about hurrying up with the food; Dudley's birthdays were he complained about not having enough presents; and Aunt Marge flying out of the door…

Leaving there, I looked into the sitting room. Even with it vacant, every memory I had of that place seemed to flash into my mind. This room was where I went when I tried to escape Aunt Petunia when I was younger. She would call out to me and I would jump behind the chairs and not come out until she left. The strongest memory I have of this was when I was eight years old and I was in trouble for making her hair turn bright pink after she tried to force me to wear make-up to cover up the scar that Voldemort gave me. Of course, at the time, I didn't know how it got there. I just knew that I didn't want to hide it because it made me different and I liked it.

When I stepped out into the hall and saw the door to the linen closet, time seemed to stop. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I lived in this closet. Back then, everything seemed so simple. The day that I was made to move out of that room, everything in my life seemed to change. The letters came in the mail, I found out that we could use magic, and I went to Hogwarts.

What would have happened if we never found out what was in those letters? Would I still be living in that linen closet? Would Voldemort have returned? What would have become of us?

Even with all of the chaos that happened since that day, I never regretted finding out what I am. Despite all of the pain we've been through, it was better off this way knowing the truth. But I couldn't help but wonder how things would have turned out if those letters stopped coming in the mail. Everything would have been so different.

That's when I realized how much I was actually going to miss coming back to this house. It wasn't like I enjoyed my life while I was there, but it seemed strange to leave it all behind. It was my childhood, even though I don't like to admit it.

As many complaints as I have about living with the Dursleys, Privet Drive was somewhere where the expectations of us were set low. We weren't known as the Chosen Ones – we were just the children that were forced on a family. Even though they didn't like us being there and hated our existence the majority of the time, we didn't have to act like the brave people that everyone else expected us to be. We were just Harry and Emily here – no one special. In a sense, it was relaxing.

Knock, knock, knock.

I nearly jumped when the sound from the door interrupted my reminiscing. Looking at the time, I realized that it must mean that Mad-Eye was here to take us from the house. When I heard footsteps from up the stairs, I knew that Harry must have heard the knocking as well and was coming to meet up with me so we could talk to Mad-Eye about the new plan of action we were taking.

Figuring that Mad-Eye would get irritated if I waited to long to let him in, I walked up to the door myself and opened it up. Much to my shock, he was not the only one standing at the door – in fact, there were several people standing in front of 4 Privet Drive.

"Um…hello?" I said as I looked at the crowd.

"Is that Mad-Eye?" Harry asked as he stepped over to look out of the front door. "I thought he would be coming soon – oh…hello everyone."

"There's been a change of plan," Mad-Eye said. "Would you let us in the house already, or is that too much to ask?"

Thanks for reading! If you celebrate Christmas – Merry Christmas! If not, I hope you have a great day!

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