Harry tried not to let the wizard situation bother him, but it was just pretend. With Mitchell running about, craning his neck on the look out for anything tall and blonde; Harry couldn't find peace at work. Back at his place it wasn't any better, his thoughts wandered to 'what if' scenarios of what the wizards wanted. Ian, who Harry told everything, was no help either. He kept speculating and reminding Harry to try to stay away from the wizards.

It's not like Harry needed reminding really. Ian was just being obnoxious about it, because he was worried about the younger man. Harry understood and respected that, but it was annoying.

At least he hasn't seen the Malfoys since. It's been just over three weeks and Harry was slowly starting to relax about it. Hopefully they gave up and left him be.

Naturally, that was not the case. The world seemed to have a personal vendetta against Harry Potter and eventually, it showed.

Harry left the local Greggs with his lunch in hand when he felt a presence next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man that accompanied Lucius Malfoy three weeks ago. The man fell into place, walking side by side with Harry. The latter wanted to be doing anything but that.

Neither spoke, but the man followed when Harry took a sharp turn towards the local park rather than straight back to the flower shop. He picked up the pace, but the man had no trouble keeping up to speed with him. After a rather long and brisk walk along the paths of the park, Harry thought that since blatantly ignoring the man wouldn't work, he'd have to confront him.

Harry stopped abruptly, turning on his heel to face the other man. The latter was smiling politely.

"Look, I don't know what you want from me, but I'd appreciate it if you could just leave me alone." Harry said.

"I only wish to talk." The man replied evenly.

"That's all nice and everything, but the thing is, I don't believe you." Harry sneered. "You have given me no reason to trust you."

The wizard seemed to consider this. "Is there anyway I can gain your trust enough for us to speak?"

"No." The younger man said bluntly. "I'd appreciate it if you could actually listen to what I'm saying though and leave me alone."

"Unfortunately I cannot do that, Mr Potter." The wizard laughed, taking a step towards him. Harry backed away, not taking his eyes off the man. "I assure you I only have... good intentions."

"Everyone has good intentions, doesn't mean what they're doing is good in itself."

"Those are some wise words, Mr Potter. I see you haven't corrected me that time."

"Clearly I can't get through that thick skull of yours so I didn't bother trying." The unnamed wizard narrowed his eyes, clearly irritated. Harry knew that things were going to get ugly soon if he didn't get out – and fast.

"I don't appreciate your cheek." The wizard hissed. His wand appeared in his hand suddenly. Harry thought it was just the right time to start panicking. "You will be coming with me and we will talk. One way or another."

Harry squeaked when the wand was raised against him, but he would never admit to making such a noise. When a curse came flying at him, he fell to the ground and rolled away. Not his proudest moment, however it got him out of the line of fire for a moment.

He jumped up to his feet again and ran for cover. His back was pressed against a tree as he saw a ray of angry red light shoot just by his right shoulder. His lunch was dropped and left forgotten on the path, which Harry would only realise hours later when his adrenaline levels dropped and his body demanded nutrition again.

"Potter I'm warning you, you're just making this more difficult for yourself." He heard the wizard call out, his voice coming closer. Panicked, Harry made a decision of running left. Right was where the spell came from and in front of him was a rather tall fence he couldn't climb fast enough to get away.

It was a wrong decision.

He only made it a few yards before the man literally appeared in front of him, wand pointed at his neck. Harry suppressed a scream as he was backed into the tree trunk. The wizard slammed one hand into the tree, trapping Harry from one side. He didn't pay much attention to that though, he was more interested in the stick that was pushing against his throat.

"This would've been a lot easier if you haven't been so stubborn."

Harry bit back a response, being almost too aware of the wood pressed against his throat. He'd have to think fast, there had to be a way of escaping the situation. It wasn't like he was magicless, as if he lost his wand. He never had one in the first place.

"Are you, or are you not Harry Potter?"

"Oh, now you're asking?" Harry's head was racing, he never paid attention to the battle magic side of things. However, he didn't need battle magic, just a way of escaping –

"Humour me," The wizard drawled, a hint of irritation and amusement clear on his face.

"I don't suppose I will."

Harry apparated.

…

The sad truth about wandless magic was that some of it was weaker to some extent. It required more precision, concentration and sheer magical power to complete to the same standard as its wand counterpart. Whilst that wasn't too difficult to complete with the more common spells, the more old and complex spells had a mind of their own and didn't follow the rules like a common housekeeping charm would.

Unfortunately, strong protection spells and wards belonged in that category.

Anything small, like a muggle repelling charm or something to keep creatures away wouldn't be a problem. However, wards to keep wizards away? Those were another story. They were difficult to cast even with a wand, which annoyed Harry greatly.

He prided himself in being good with magic. He never had a wand and wasn't planning on getting one, just because there was a certain satisfaction in being able to do everything with his sheer force of will rather than relying on a medium. Harry was also the first to admit that although he was good, he wasn't amazing.

He had no interest in battle magic nor the arcane spells that were almost rituals. Harry never had a need for wards and from what he read once, the best ones were goblin ones and charmed rune stones – both of which were near impossible for him to get a hold of.

Which was why he was grudgingly pouring over books he took from Ian's house moments after he calmed down from his narrow escape. While a few weeks ago he'd want nothing to do with battle magic or warding – Harry fancied himself a pacifist, which Ian all but laughed at in the privacy of his own thoughts – now he devoured the information like his life depended on it.

When you thought about though, it really did.

Wards were difficult and Harry was worried that he wouldn't be able cast one strong enough. Sure enough, he was confident in actually performing the spell correctly after a few tries, but the strength of it was a mystery. All books spoke of casting it with a wand and Harry had to spend some time to translate it into a wandless casting. Which meant he needed time, he didn't have.

"What are you doing here Harry?"

Harry jumped and the book he was holding went flying. He was perched in Ian's apartment still, using his living room as a study area. Books were everywhere. He didn't bother going back to work, only texting Mitchell that he was attacked and that he went to hide.

"Oh God, Ian it's only you." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, scrambling to his feet and picking up the fallen book.

"Right, what got your knickers in a twist?" Ian said slowly, worry washing over him. It wasn't like Harry to be so nervous.

"That wizard that was with Malfoy found me, he attacked me." Harry said quickly. "I escaped, but I had to reveal that I can do magic."

"Damn Harry, you fucked up. None of the spells hit you did they?"

"No, I apparated away." Harry bit his lip. "I need protection now though. I've been looking at wards, but it will take me days if not weeks to get one strong enough to keep them away."

"There's very little in this world that could keep a wizard like Lucius Malfoy away. I assume his associate would be the same." Ian said darkly. "Your best bet would be –"

"-Runes and Goblin wards, I know. I can't get them though, can I? I'd need to go to Diagon Alley, plus they're expensive. Even more so when cast on just an apartment, it's tricky."

Ian sighed and slumped into the sofa, picking up one of the books. "Don't know what to tell you kid. I'll try and help you find something, but chances are it won't be strong enough."

"What would happen if we weaved multiple wards together?"

Ian furrowed his brow. "That's really common, most people have multiple wards on their home if they have any at all."

"No," Harry shook his head. "I didn't mean that. I mean, what if we weaved them together – into one spell? Like I don't know, mix them together? Not just overlay them like you usually would."

"I haven't heard of that before. There's a huge possibility it would blow up, but in theory it might work. Then again, a lot of experimental spells worked in theory, but could never truly happen."

"Do you think it would make it stronger?"

"It certainly would be more difficult to break, if only because it would be a completely new spell. Whoever was to break them would not be able to fall back on the usual patterns – so maybe it would be stronger." Ian said slowly.

Harry nodded. That was probably his best chance. Although just like everything else, it would take time to figure out and he was once again reminded he didn't have that time.

"We're going to have to set up some basic wards for now, anything that doesn't necessarily hide you, but warn you against intruders. It will give us time to find something more concrete."

Harry's stomach turned in worry. He never thought he'd ever be on the run. He was betting on spending his life living normally, finding a boyfriend and working in the flower shop. Only ever using magic to make his life a little more comfortable. Now, it was becoming his protection and also the thing he needed protecting from.

"I wish I could just call the police on them." Harry sighed.

"Sorry kid, but men like Malfoy are above the muggle law." Ian laughed.

…

Voldemort was angry, which wasn't exactly breaking news. However, the subject of his anger was someone he hasn't even thought of for many years. Harry Potter has left his attention soon after Voldemort learnt that the boy never returned to the Wizarding World. He searched for him for a while, however there wasn't much to go on and he had much bigger plans than looking for the Boy Who Lived as if he was a needle in a haystack.

Now he saw him in the flesh, years after he foolishly thought the boy – man now – was a problem solved and better left forgotten. Voldemort saw the similarities in the man compared to the mere babe that, he regrettably admitted, defeated him all those years ago. There were even more similarities between him and James Potter, who Voldemort remembered more vividly – he was once one of the Dumbledore's strongest supporters. Harry must be round about the same age as James was when he died.

Voldemort admitted that when Lucius approached him, he was doubtful. He trusted Lucius and his family well enough, however Draco Malfoy was young and easily fooled. It came as a surprise to see he was telling the truth and he must remember to reward both Malfoys for their help. When he first saw the boy, he knew immediately that it was him. The scar almost called him, sang to him. It was a most disturbing feeling that he needed to investigate, as he wasn't aware that it could even do that.

It was dangerous to just leave it alone like that, especially if someone discovered it and used it against him. He needed to bring Potter back to him, if only to get rid of the weakness. Voldemort remembered vaguely one other thing that called to him like that and it was a worrying prospect if his suspicions came true.

Voldemort and Lucius only left so quickly because they got what they wanted – a confirmation of what Draco said. They needed nothing more at that moment and the push to make Potter talk was a little half-hearted, if anything. His second attempt was a little too forceful though, although he rarely cared if he did that.

His second meeting with Potter left him much the same, with the scar calling out to him and only making his temper shorter. It was surprising to see Potter evade him so skilfully though and apparate away – he wasn't aware that the man was schooled in magic. Voldemort wasn't even aware that the boy had a wand and a knowledge of the wizarding world besides the basic knowledge that it existed.

Potter was a mystery and a puzzle, which Voldemort greatly enjoyed. After the two attempts at approaching Potter though, he knew he had to be careful when contacting him again. Clearly Potter had at least a little bit of self preservation in him that screamed warning signs when he and Lucius came near.

Voldemort needed to plan his next steps and something told him he'd need another point of view when it came to it.

He pulled out new parchment, penning a letter to someone he trusted even more than he did Lucius.

…

A/N: A bit shorter than I wanted to make this, but I have a 3000 word essay to write and I've just started writing an original novel as well (let's all hope I actually finish this one) so I'd rather post something short, but faster, rather than make you wait for a 5k monstrosity for weeks. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review! Your opinions mean a lot to me.

Thank you to all who favourited, subscribed and reviewed. I'm a little shocked at how big the view count is as well as the number of people on the alerts – I did not expect so many! Thank you everyone :)

Still looking for a BETA, anyone up for it? x