10. Flight and Revenge

Dear Harry,

How are you? I'm okay, not too good. My parents do not want me to go back to Hogwarts after what happened last term. I told them that it was not an everyday scenario and tried to convince them that being an untrained witch will be hazardous form me and everyone around me. They asked me about other magical schools. Though Durmstrang wouldn't accept me because of me being a muggleborn, Beauxbatons should be nice, I think. Anyways, I am really worried that they might send me to France or America, or anywhere other than Hogwarts.

Are you still visiting Susan again this summer? Do you think she would mind if I came too? My parents have a series of seminar and other stuffs all summer, so it would be good to spend some time with you people.

Have you finished the Charms essay? I think I'll have to add a few lines now I've revised it. And what about the polyjuice potion essay? Reading about it, I am glad Susan talked you out of brewing it. It can go horribly wrong. And how do you think our new Defence teacher this year might be? Considering the last two, I wouldn't be surprised if this one is less intelligent than Crabbe or Ronald Weasley. Though I hope we will have a good teacher for a change.

Speaking of Weasleys, are you going to visit them? They invited you, didn't they? And I feel bad for the Ginevra girl. She had to have such an ordeal in her very first year; poor girl.

You didn't tell me what electives you chose yet. I have signed up for Arithmancy, Runes, Muggle Studies, Divination and Care for Magical Creatures. I know it's quite a lot of subjects, but there is nothing called too much knowledge, right? Besides, I find the subjects quite fascinating. Of course I know all about muggles, but it will be exciting to read it from a wizard's point of view. And I have read all about the magical creatures in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. If you want, I can lend it to you, it's a nice read.

Did you hear about the escaped convict Sirius Black? He is even in the muggle news .It was supposed to be impossible to break out of Azkaban, but this Black guy somehow managed it. We should be careful.

Anyhow, hope to hear from you soon. Take care.

Love,

Hermione

Harry folded the piece of parchment and placed it on top of his desk. The letter bothered him a lot. The first thing that came to his mind was Sirius Black. He heard the name somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. And Andromeda said it was impossible to break out of Azkaban because most prisoners lose their minds after a few months. Maybe this Black guy was a fresh prisoner, or maybe he is really powerful.

He put the thoughts aside and considered Hermione's parents. He admitted they had a fair point. No one likes to see their daughter being petrified by a basilisk. But that didn't mean he would like to see his friend taken away from Hogwarts. He wondered if Dumbledore could pursue them. He had learnt not to expect Dumbledore to do something that ended well, but it was an option that wouldn't hurt to explore.

He was torn at the idea of visiting the Weasleys. At one hand, Mr and Mrs Weasley, the twins and even Ron requested him over and over to come. But he was worried about Ginny. He had no idea of how she was doing and restrained himself from writing to her. He was afraid that seeing or even hearing from him might bring out bad memories from the Chamber. He would take Andromeda's opinion before he decided.

He smiled as he read about the polyjuice potion again. He wanted to know if Draco Malfoy was the real Heir of Slytherin and polyjuice was the first thing that came to his mind. Hermione said it was very difficult to brew and Hannah added that it would be very difficult to get all the ingredients. Harry didn't pay them much heed, but then Susan pointed out that he could simply follow a Slytherin under his Invisibility Cloak. Tonks said that she would morph into Pansy Parkinson and accompany him in case he needed backup. After their adventure, Tonks gave out candies to them, and when asked, she said it was because she finished visiting all common rooms in Hogwarts.

He didn't realize that he didn't tell Hermione about his electives. He took Runes, Arithmancy and Care for Magical Creatures. He wanted to take Divination instead of Arithmancy, mainly because he heard Ron telling Neville that Divination was easy, but Andromeda said that Divination was useless because if you didn't have the talent, there was no point in studying it. He wondered how messed up Hermione's timetable would be with all the electives along with core subjects.

Picking up a quill, he dipped it in a pot of ink. Sometimes he wondered why wizards didn't use muggle pen. Was it because they were too proud to admit that muggles had a more efficient way of writing than theirs? Tonks explained that parchments were magically enhanced objects that could endure quite a few charms. Ink from a pen would be simply absorbed by it, leaving no trace of any writings. Muggle papers couldn't be used because adding even a simple concealment charm would blotch the writings on it. But the most important reason for parchment and quills to be still around was convention. They have been in the wizarding world for a long time and most wizards (most purebloods, who took the decisions, anyway) didn't like a change.

Dear Hermione,

I am doing fine, thanks. I am sorry to hear about your parents' thoughts. Of course, they want you to be safe, but I would be very upset if I was taken out of Hogwarts, whatever the reason. Have you considered writing to the Headmaster? He might not-

"BOY! COME DOWN HERE!"

He was surprised. After the encounter with Andromeda, his uncle hardly spoke to him, let alone yell. Hedwig was out, so there wasn't any point in finishing the letter right away. Putting the parchment aside, he went down to meet his uncle, who was scowling at him.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"Don't you dare to take that tone with me you freak." Vernon hissed. It was sort of amusing to see that the man still thought he could boss him around.

"Yeah fine, I'll let Andromeda know your thoughts have changed."

Vernon's face went red and he growled, "I could kill you and make it look like an accident."

"And you think they'll buy it? We are wizards, uncle. Now what do you want?"

Vernon flinched horribly at the mention of 'wizards' but he admitted he couldn't win. Oh, only if that woman wasn't a freak, he could've beaten her to a pulp.

"Marge will be leaving tomorrow and you have to be there at tonight's dinner. Remember you go to St Brutus' and I don't want to see any funny business or any ruddy owls."

Harry could protest if he wanted, but he didn't. He just nodded and went back to his room, hoping Aunt Marge wouldn't be too difficult to endure.

Harry was shaking in fury as Marge was saying how Lily Evans was a 'bad egg' and how she ended up with a scoundrel.

"Just like I expected, a homeless drunk and a tramp-"

"SHUT UP BITCH!" Harry bellowed. Marge swelled in anger and become redder than anyone though could be possible. Trouble was, she kept swelling.

"COME BACK YOU SON OF A BITCH AND FIX HER BACK!" Vernon yelled after Harry, who was now in his room, packing everything on his trunk. He had enough. Screw Dumbledore's wards and screw the Dursleys.

"Shut up. She had it coming. Don't test me, uncle." He pointed his wand between his sweaty eyebrows and went out to catch the Knight Bus. Thanks Merlin Andromeda taught him how to summon it in an emergency. His trunk was quite light as most of his clothes were at Tonks' place.

As he was about to raise his wand, he spotted a large pair of grey eyes looking at him. It was a giant dog.

"Bloody brilliant, Harry! Show them who's the boss." Tonks praised him, but Andromeda was already thinking. Harry couldn't avoid the letter this time, but would they press further charges? Underage magic was one thing, but she never knew anyone who did accidental underage magic, which made her believe that Harry was either unstable or really powerful. But that was not something that mattered right away. Dumbledore had to know about how his pet muggles wouldn't want Harry anymore. She was sure the old bummer would eventually convince those- for the lack of a better word- filth to take him back again, but she was interested in how Harry would react. Andromeda knew if Lily was here, she would probably want to hex Dumbledore to next year. Would Harry protest to the old man or would he go quietly?

Within an hour, Andromeda was smirking to herself. Seems like Harry's inner Lily is here, after all, she thought. He was downright refusing to go back and though Dumbledore had looked at her multiple times, silently seeking help, she deliberately ignored him.

Dumbledore was trying his hardest to pursue Harry. "It is your home, Harry. You have to get back for your own safety and I promise your uncle and-"

"I don't give a damn! I don't care if I am unsafe because that is not my home. This is my home." Harry almost growled the last words, and as if in cue, a fireball appeared in front of Dumbledore and disappeared instantly, leaving a piece of paper behind. Dumbledore snatched it out of the air and read it. His face fell and he looked resigned.

"Okay Harry, you win. You don't have to go back to Privet Drive."

"What?" Andromeda shouted disbelievingly. "Are you serious? He doesn't have to go back?"

The headmaster sighed and nodded. "No point in going back there. The wards are broken. The wards were to hold as long as Harry still called that place home and stayed there at least three weeks, till he was seventeen. Now he declared somewhere else to be his home, the wards are no more there. I didn't warn this before because you could have just said the words to not return there. I understand that your time there was not pleasant, but please understand that it was all for the greater-"

"Dumbledore, you do realize that whatever you say won't make any difference? Now excuse us, Harry needs to have a proper dinner." Andromeda said, already pilling Harry towards the kitchen. Dumbledore sighed and said, "I hope you can forgive this old man for his mistakes. Believe me, I wish things were different in your childhood, but I did what I thought was best. I am sorry Harry. I will take my leave now Andromeda. Goodbye Nymphadora." with that, he turned and disappeared.

"His heart is in the right place, but his head isn't. Come on Harry, sit down. Soup?" Harry nodded and Andromeda poured him a large bowl of steaming soup.

"Harry?" Tonks asked from the door, where she was standing still for the last three minutes. Harry looked at her questioningly, blowing at the hot soup. Suddenly she screamed.

"YOU'RE GONNA LIVE HERE FROM NOW ON! WOOOHOOOOOO!"

Choking violently on the accidentally swallowed soup, he glared at her, but seeing her face stretching grin, he grinned back after a second, and soon she was hugging him to death.

"Let him go, Dora. I don't want him to suffocate in his home." Andromeda said, smiling widely.

They were joined by Ted a few minutes later and Harry remembered something he wanted to ask.

"Hey Dora, who is Sirius Black?"

All three of them stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him. He felt terribly awkward as three pair of eyes stared at him for three seconds. Finally, Dora broke the silence.

"Ah."

"What do you mean by 'ah'? And did I ask something wrong?" He asked tentatively.

Andromeda sighed and sat down beside him, waved her wand and a moment later something zoomed at her.

"Hey that's my photo album." He said, recognizing the leather album that Andromeda gave him last Christmas. Without looking at him, she turned a few pages of the album and finally pointed to one of his favourite photos: his parents' wedding.

"There, the tall man beside James. That's Sirius Black." She said without emotion.

"Wait, you mean a mass murderer was at my parents' wedding? And they had him?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"He was the best man. And of course they had him. He was your father's best friend." Ted answered him. Seeing his dumbstruck look, Andromeda took a long breath and started explaining. She didn't keep any secrets from him, telling him everything she knew.

"So he was the reason they died, wasn't he?" Harry whispered to Andromeda and out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Dora shift uncomfortably.

"Dora, are you not telling me something?" he asked her sharply and she jumped a bit.

"I used to be Andromeda Black."

He turned to look at a cloudy faced Andromeda looking at a spot over his head. The words took a few moments to register. "You are his sister?" he blurted out.

"Cousin. He was my favourite cousin. After I ran away, he was the only one of the family who had any contact with me. If anyone told me that Sirius would betray James, I'd ask them to check their sanity, but who knew…" she trailed off, her eyes moistening. Harry understood that he struck a weakness in her. Scooting closer, he squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry Andromeda. I didn't mean to make you upset. Can I do anything to make you feel better?" he asked sincerely. He didn't expect her to ask something, of course, but-

"Tell me about the Dursleys?" she asked him. He looked alarmed for a moment. He didn't want to relieve all the bad memories of that place, but then he realized it was only fair, as he made her relieve her bad memories. And besides, he considered them family, and who else would he share these if not with family?

So he told them. He told them everything. He told them how he was beaten till he begged for it to stop for no good reason, how he was punished for talking with the girl next door, or for doing better than Dudley in tests. How Dudley's gang broke his arm and he was taken to hospital after three days, when he couldn't stop screaming however hard Vernon slapped him. He told them how Petunia starved him for four days because he dropped her favourite mug when Dudley hit him from behind. He told them about how he was bitten by Marge's dog multiple times and they left him in his cupboard to 'let it heal naturally'. He relieved his nightmares and fears and told them how he wished he was dead with his parents and how happy he felt when he knew he was going to go to Hogwarts. He told them that he could never thank them enough for taking him in and for being them for him.

Dora was crying for the last five minutes and so was Andromeda. Ted looked terribly sad. They all had the same thing in mind. He had to go through all these and he was still sane and such a sweetheart. They couldn't have blamed him if he had turned bitter, rude or evil. Yet, here he was, a guy as nice as they came, and thanking them for what they did. He had every right to hate wizards for not saving him from those monsters, but he didn't. They all wondered what Harry Potter was made of.

Dora softly held him while Andromeda was trying her best to not explode. Only if she could have them in front of her wand! Then, something clicked in her mind. Harry was going living with her for as long as he wanted. And he had no apparent desire to go back there.

Perfect. She thought.

Two days later, the Dursleys of Number Four, Privet Drive, had a series of terrible accidents. A drill firm, Grunnings, was burned to ash in a supposed gas leak, and the new whale-like owner Vernon Dursley, had twenty seven broken bones in a car accident. Petunia Dursley had caught up a strange disease that caused painful boils to erupt on her face and her rear. Dudley Dursley had crashed his bicycle to a truck that got away, leaving him on the street with multiple cuts, bruises and some fractures.

Ted heard about the firm burning at the ministry. The DMLE suspected it was fiendfire, but there weren't a lot of people who could contain fiendfire in a single building. When he told Andromeda about it, she looked mildly curious, and then asked him if he was hungry. Without waiting for a reply, she started peeling potatoes and put a large slice of beef in the oven, humming to herself.

Outside the kitchen window, a great black dog looked sadly at the beef and the potatoes and at the woman cooking them.

A/N: Thanks to Paige for reminding that Americans call it soccer. I'm neither American nor British, so mistakes like these might come quite often. I'll be grateful to everyone who points these things out to me.

So how did you like Harry being free of Dursleys at last? Was it too sudden or unreal? Please let me know what you think. A review would be great! Oh, Vernon just bought Grunnings. Convenient, won't you say? ;)

Thanks to all the guest reviewers.

Thanks again to Fulgrim for pointing out the mistakes. You review came just as I posted the new chapter in a cyber cafe and I didn't have the chance to correct them. I'm on it now!