Chapter 3 - In which Harry makes a cake, and packs his things

[McGonagall] paused, and looked thoughtful. After a moment, she nodded, and announced that she would be accompanying Harry back to his relatives' home, and having a talk with them.

Harry's time at the Dursleys' following Professor McGonagall's (Aunt Minerva, he thought with a quiet smile) visit had been quite peaceful, from a relative standpoint. The Scotswoman had rather sharply informed Petunia and Vernon that she had placed a health-monitoring charm on Harry, and that she would know if he were to become hurt, or overworked in any way. The air then became thick with a feeling of dread, and the shadows in the corners of the room seemed to grow larger. She had directed the Dursleys to "install Harry in a bedroom, as befitting his status as a human being" before the shadows returned to normal. Harry had never been more scared in his life, and had not referred to Petunia or Vernon as "Aunt" or "Uncle" since his new Aunt Minerva (the memory still gave him a strange, warm tingly feeling inside) had offered to become part of his family. He supposed that a small family, even a family of one, that cared about him was much better than what he had experienced at No. 4.

Harry still had to do chores, no doubt about it, but he now got to eat his fair share, and had moved in to Dudley's second bedroom - the room that had previously housed all of the large boy's broken toys and belongings. He honestly wondered when the other shoe would drop, so to speak. Certainly he did not expect this remarkably good fortune to last.

He was right. Within a few days of Harry's entrance into the world of magic, the Dursleys, clearly believing that McGonagall's health-monitoring charm was just a clever bluff, began to ignore and isolate Harry once more. Barely a week later, it was his birthday. As Harry lay in bed counting down the minutes to midnight using Dudley's old clock-radio, he wondered if Professor McGonagall's spell really worked, or if she was too busy to come rescue him. With these thoughts running through his mind, he began to draw a picture of a birthday cake in the dust on the floor - the Dursleys refused to have Harry clean the room. Filth, apparently, was all he was fit to live in. As Harry finished his drawing, the clock beeped, indicating that it was now July 31. Harry blew the dust candles off of his dust cake. "Happy birthday to me..." He rolled over, hoping that this year would be better than the last. He wasn't optimistic, and slowly drifted off to a fitful sleep.

Harry awoke to a gentle tapping on the door of his newly acquired room. Sitting up in his bed and taking stock, he found that the lumpy, used bed was still a great improvement over the cot in the cupboard. "Coming, Petunia," he sighed, preparing for yet another day of hard work in the heat. As the young boy stepped out of his room, however, he noticed that instead of Petunia Dursley, there was stood Profess - "Aunt Minerva!" Harry was sure to be quiet, but couldn't quite swallow his happy exclamation at seeing what he now considered to be his only family. "What are you doing here?"

The professor knelt down in front of him. "I am here to ask you if you'd rather live here, with your relatives, or perhaps with me." Her voice was soft, and hesitant. "I can't promise to be perfect, but I can say with certainty that you will be cared for."

Harry gaped at her, hardly daring to believe that he might have a chance to leave Privet Drive. Slowly, his lips curled into a small smile. "I think I'd like to go with you, Aunt Minerva, if that's OK." He glanced down shyly. Then he grimaced, as a thought occurred to him. "Are we going to have to do that appearing thing again?"

The elder scotswoman's mouth twitched. "Apparating, Harry, and to answer your question, yes. It isn't the most amusing way to travel, I know, but it does have its uses."

Harry grimaced. "Like what?"

Minerva's face broke into a small, tight-lipped smile. Harry could see that his Aunt Minerva didn't smile often, and he began to think of ways to make the woman who had rescued him from the Dursleys happy, but was jolted back to Earth as she continued to speak. "For one thing, it takes no time at all, Harry. Wizards and witches can appear in one place having left another with not a second in between." Harry's eyes widened, and McGonagall nodded. "I will admit that I had some trouble with that concept when I was learning apparition myself." The tall woman held her hand out for Harry to take. Once the young boy had firmly grasped her elbow, the professor twisted, taking them both to the space between spaces. Harry's last thought before leaving Number 4 was one of incredible gratitude that he had an aunt that cared for him now, at least.

Harry and Professor McGonagall appeared, with a soft pop, in front of a rather impressive set of wrought-iron gates. As Harry looked around, he noticed that he was no longer in the South of England, where he had grown up. He shivered as a brisk breeze slipped through his worn clothing, and turned to regard the professor. "Professor -" She turned a pointed gaze his way. "Sorry. Aunt Minerva, where are we?"

The Scot took a deep breath, and turned towards him, looking much more at home here, in the wilderness with her path barred by a rather impressive-looking gate set in an equally impressive wall, than she ever had in London. "Harry, we are very near Hogwarts. This, in fact, is the gate to the grounds. If you look closely, you can see the astronomy tower over the rise." Harry peered through the gate, his eyes straining against his glasses. It was as she said: peeking over the top of the hill was what he could only describe as the tower of a castle. Minerva continued. "The castle of Hogwarts has stood for many an age, and has taught countless bairns how to harness their power. It is a rather impressive school, if I do say so myself, and certainly warmer inside than it is outside." She passed a warm glance over Harry's shivering form, and gestured to the gate, which opened, as if it had been waiting all along for just this movement from her. "Shall we?" Harry nodded, and followed her up the path, sparing a glance for the winged boars atop the pillars of the wall as he passed.

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Note: Wow, it's been a while. I got so stuck on what is going to happen next that I had to leave the whole story alone while my mind wrapped itself around how to write it. In any case, it's a short chapter because it is the logical place to stop - at this point, if I were to continue, things would go on for another good length of time before I got around to posting. As a full-time student, time to write recreationally is limited, but the holidays are coming!

Happylady - Thank you so much for your consistent reviews, and also for identifying with my version of Harry.

Man of Constant Sorrow - This scenario was one that I often imagined too. I'm not going to give anything significant away (on purpose), but "Aunt Minerva" alone could influence Harry in a better direction. A family, even of one, could be the stabilizing agent Harry seems to need. The abuse in this story, physical or otherwise, will be implied for the most part - I can't write it without feeling sick any more than I can read it. Thank you for the most in-depth and also the longest review I have yet received.

Myra the Dovahkiin - Thank you for your encouragement! I will update when I can do so in good conscience, not wanting to tease any of my readers with super short chapters.

RangerManaInSnuggieWar - Thank you! I really do try to stay in character as much as possible, and just let them react organically to the outside stimulus of my pulling the strings of their world.

AFleetingPhantom - Your wish is my command!

Contramancer - Glad to know the marsupial population has been satisfied.

Moon fire 96 - I mention in the last chapter that Harry didn't feel he could bring a pet home to the Dursleys'. As to your first question, I'm not sure Harry has it in him to be super smart, but I do believe that his experience with the Dursleys left him short-changed in the academics area. We'll see how a better relationship with Minerva will affect that.

LunarMist1113 - Thanks for the encouragement!

Edmond O'Donald - Thank you, sir. I look forward to running with this one.