Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket.
A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid.
Chapter 3: Harry 2 Voldemort 0 Vernon -1
I don't own the Harry Potter verse. Just playing.
Summary: A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. As they approach the Leaky Cauldron to leave Diagon Alley, Hagrid decides to present Harry with his gold ticket to the Hogwarts Express, while Harry was really expecting to go directly to Hogwarts with Hagrid now. Harry asks a different question.
And that changes everything. HHr NLLL T for Characters deaths.
24/12/21 Beta by alix33. Thank you.
- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -
Previously, in the smallest bedroom at Number Four Privet Drive.
….Harry said in a loud clear confident voice.
"FINITE INCANTATEM!"
Harry watched his first attempt of real magic as a bright white light came out of the ancient wand and hit the mirror. Then to his surprise the white light was reflected directly back at him and he dropped the ancient wand as he whispered.
"Oh! Bloody! Hell!"
The white light engulfed him and fed off his magic as it became exceedingly bright and filled the room. Harry flinched in enormous pain as the light reached his scar.
And everything went black!
Again!
Hedwig and Louis hid their heads under their wings as they watched in fearfulness as the house shook and their wizard was lifted up as he was engulfed in the bright white light. The very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning, popped open and this black mist came out as the white light travel down over Harry's body and magical charms and transfigurations to make him appear short and skinny and the image of his father, failed, and the outer layer of bindings on his mind, magical core and abilities were shattered. His hair changed colour to dark with red highlights and settled in waves and not the traditional Potter rats nest as before. His face changed shape, and his vision blurred until his glasses dissolved into nothing, for he would never need them again.
Harry floated down as magic continued to zap over him like lightning as numerous tracking, listening, and mood altering animosity hexes popped as much the magic cast by a certain manipulative headmaster dissipated. As the light faded, Harry no longer looked the poorly dressed undersized, undernourished identical image of his father. But rather a mixture of both the best and brilliance of his father and mother, Lily. What had not changed were his mother's brilliant emerald green eyes that were no longer hidden behind those ugly broken black spectacles.
And Harry was six inches taller as he leant against his tiny desk for balance while he tried to come to terms with what had just happened.
While Louis looked at Hedwig and barked. (Which translate to, 'Bloody Hell, Mum!')
Hedwig replied with a shake of her head and a cuff of her wing. (Which translate to, 'Language! Louis!')
The black mist slowly formed into shape of someone, as Harry vaguely remembered those evil red eyes, and then it gave off this blood-curdling scream.
The Dursleys had felt the house move and then heard the blood-curdling scream. They rushed up the stairs to Harry's new bedroom ready to stamp out any more freakishness, and stood outside the open door. Dudley wet his pants and Vernon opened his bowels as they heard the black mist painfully say in a slow high-pitched evil voice.
"Harry Potter! We meet again!"
Aunt Petunia screamed and Wraithmort turned to her as he raised his black mist hand as if he held a wand and sneered. "Avada Kedavra!"
Nothing came out of the black mist hand, no green light, nothing.
But Harry remembered what those terrible words did. He didn't know another spell and he had already dropped the ancient wand. So he moved to save his aunt and tried to tackle the black mist evil wizard to the floor. But when Harry's hands touched the black mist, it screamed and exploded in a shower of sparks as he fell through it to the floor.
There was a moment of silence before Vernon found his voice and roared.
"What freakishness is this, Boy?"
"Silence, Vernon!" Petunia hissed. "That was him! Voldemort!"
"What? Pet?" Vernon questioned, surprised at Petunia's tone.
Petunia hissed. "That was him! Vernon! That was Voldemort! The evil monster who murdered my sister and just tried to murder me! The Bo.. Harry just saved our lives."
In fear, Vernon and Dudley looked at aunt Petunia and then Harry.
Harry got up off the floor. "I am so sorry, Aunt Petunia, I just thought if I could remove the magical tail from Dudley, you wouldn't punish me for the tail and all those letters."
"The letters are all gone and strangely I don't feel the need to punish or yell at you." Petunia replied as she felt different.
"Oh. Er, just don't open the cupboard under the stairs." Harry warned.
"Duly noted. What did you do to your face? Your scar? Harry?" Petunia asked as Vernon and Dudley looked closely at the boy and didn't feel the animosity they usually felt.
"Oh, it was a counterspell to undo or cancel other magical spells and transfigurations." Harry explained. "I was practicing in front of the mirror when the white light reflected back and hit me"
Hedwig barked.
"Hedwig said that thing came out of my scar."
Aunt Petunia moved to see past Harry and saw the beautiful snowy owl that looked like Lily's owl, Horatio. She turned to Harry.
"Oh? Well the scar is gone and you don't look the image of your father anymore, and without those horrible glasses, I can see my sister's beautiful emerald green eyes." Aunt Petunia replied.
Harry turned to look in the mirror and saw how much he had changed. "Wow!"
Aunt Petunia asked. "Can you really remove that horrible tail?"
"You're going to let me do magic?" Harry wondered at this change in attitude.
Aunt Petunia stopped and thought for a moment as she mentally shook herself. Something had changed and she didn't feel the need to punish the boy for doing magic. She didn't get angry and could think clearly.
"Yes." She said slowly.
Harry nodded as he looked at uncle Vernon and he screwed up his face painfully before he nodded yes too. It would save them a lot of money and embarrassment if the tail disappeared.
Harry turned to see Louis had already picked up the ancient wand off the floor and carefully placed it in the trunk so it wouldn't get broken. Harry nodded a thank you and then picked up his new Ollivander wand from his trunk as the other one was far too powerful and he didn't want to blow a second hole in Dudley's bum.
Aunt Petunia stood aside and Harry carefully took aim at his cousin's backside as he bent over with the tail exposed.
Harry smiled. "You know, that tail is rather cute, Dudley."
"Not cute enough!" Hissed Uncle Vernon. "Get rid of it!"
"Okay, okay." Harry quietly said as he knelt down and took aim at six inches. He didn't want to miss. "Finite Incantatem!"
Harry watched his second attempt of real magic as a pale white light came out of the wand and hit Dudley's cute little tail. It disappeared with a pop.
"Thank you, Harry." Aunt Petunia said.
"You're welcome."
Dudley felt his backside. The tail was gone. He followed his mother's example. "Thank you, Harry."
"No problems, Big D."
Aunt Petunia looked at her impotent husband and saw he was lost and out of his depth. She collected her thoughts and said. "That old fool lied. He promised us protection if we took you in, and that evil wizard was in our own home. If that monster is not completely dead, we are not safe and we can not stay here. Vernon, is that overseas posting still open?"
Vernon smiled. "No, but a better position with more money has just come up that is further away."
"Good, take it." Aunt Petunia started smiled as a way of escape from Dumbledore opened up.
"Certainly my dear." And he left to make a phone call.
She turned to her son. "Dudley, you can come with us or still go to Smeltings if you want?"
"I will go with you."
"Good, start packing." Aunt Petunia ordered and then turn to Harry. "Gather all your things, Harry. You can't stay here and we can't take you with us or that old fool will hunt us down. So I will take you to stay with an old childhood friend who is a wizard."
Harry turned to gather his things but Hedwig and Louis were already busy flying around the room and filling up his trunk with all of his things including the knick-knacks from his childhood, his wand and the small brown paper package tied up with string. The last thing they packed was the mirror that didn't break. They closed the trunk and landed on it.
"Thank you." Harry smiled and turned to his aunt. "Right, I am ready to go, Aunt Petunia."
Aunt Petunia returned from her bedroom and was carrying a beautiful jewelry box that Harry hadn't seen before and she smirked at the antics of the owls. "Lily's owl, Horatio, would pack her trunk for her too."
Hedwig barked with a smile as Harry questioned. "Horatio was your grandfather?"
"Small world, Harry." Aunt Petunia replied and checked the room. "Good, they have packed the mirror. It belonged to your mother and she took it to Hogwarts years ago. She put ancient runes on it to make it unbreakable and always spotlessly clean." For alix33.
"The mirror belonged to my mother?" Harry wondered.
"Yes, Dudley went through a phase of smashing everything but he couldn't break that, no matter how hard he tried." Aunt Petunia chuckled. "Get it checked out when you can. Lily did amazing things with ancient runes."
"Oh? Wow?" Harry wondered. "I will have to study ancient runes."
Aunt Petunia then turned to Vernon. "I will be back tomorrow, dear."
Harry followed Aunt Petunia down the stairs and noticed that she had left the front door open as she went to open the back door of the car. She turned to Harry and said. "Watch this, Harry." Then she gave a short whistle.
Dudley was standing at the bottom of the stairs checking his backside in the mirror when he heard his mother open the car door and whistle. Then he heard the rustling of wind and ducked into the living room as Harry's school trunk whoosh down the stairs carried by two owls. He thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
A moment later, Harry looked into the house as Hedwig and Louis swooped out the front door carrying his school trunk and flew straight onto the back seat of the car and made themselves comfortable. While Vernon and Dudley moved to stand at the front door and watched aunt Petunia and Harry.
Aunt Petunia smirked. "I have always wanted to do that!"
"But what about the neighbours?" Harry wondered how much his aunt had changed.
"We're leaving to get away from that old fool, so who cares what the neighbours see after all those owls flying around here before."
"Oh?" Harry said beginning to like this new Aunt Petunia and strangely he didn't feel that antagonistic towards her.
"Horatio would carry Lily's trunk to the car for her." Aunt Petunia smiled remembering happier times.
"What happened to Horatio?"
Aunt Petunia went grim. "Death eaters. Horatio took a killing curse to protect Lily's back. Lily changed after that. She didn't kill anyone but there are curses worse than death and those evil cowards didn't want to fight her anymore. She would put them down so hard, and then that damn fool Dumbledore kept on giving those evil monsters a second chance."
Harry chuckled as the owls spat on the floor. "I don't like him very much either and I have only known about him for less than one day."
"Never trust him, Harry! All the evil games that stupid old fool played got my sister and your mother and father murdered."
"Oh?"
"Now, do you begin to understand why we hated magic?" Aunt Petunia said sadly as her conscience kicked in. "But it was very wrong of us to treat you so terribly. I am so sorry, Harry. You did nothing to deserve that. I hope one day you can forgive me."
Harry was looking at his aunt in a different light and saw an opportunity. He was leaving anyway, so he went for it. While Vernon looked at his wife as she begged for forgiveness.
"I forgive you, Aunt Petunia."
And Vernon felt his heart clench as he remembered what he had done. He knew he was a bully and bullying had got him what he wanted. But the Boy had exposed him for being a coward as he froze while it was the Boy he had bullied, who didn't hesitate to risk his life, and had leapt on and destroyed his absolute worst nightmare to save his wife, himself and his son for real. He felt absolutely worthless.
While Aunt Petunia froze as she looked Harry in the eyes. "How? How can you forgive me for ten miserable years?"
Harry thought for a moment. "You obviously hate this fool Dumbledore far more than me, and I was a constant reminder of your loss. It is just I was here and he wasn't. Now you're leaving and we may never see each other again. I am starting a new life, and I don't want to be a victim. So I must to leave the past behind. I can't change the past, nor can I make you feel my pain. I just don't want it to affect the future. So I have to let it go and start each new day clean and fresh."
With tears in her eyes, aunt Petunia mumbled slowly. "Thank you. Thank you, Harry. You are so much like your mother."
"Thank you." Harry said and turned to see uncle Vernon standing at the front door with the pain of guilt on his face while Dudley didn't really understand what was happening as he was pleased that the embarrassing tail was gone.
Aunt Petunia saw the look of guilt on Vernon's face and realised Harry's act of grace had cracked Vernon's pride and had started to work on his guilty conscience but it would be a while before he would admit he was wrong and say sorry.
"Jump in the front, Harry." She said as she waved goodbye to her husband and son.
Harry turned to his uncle and cousin standing in the doorway, and saw the look of worthlessness on his uncle's face.
Hedwig barked and Harry agreed.
He needed closure.
Slowly, Harry stepped towards his cousin and hid his smirk as he saw he was now an inch taller than Big D. Magic is bloody brilliant. He held out his hand and saw the surprise Dudley's eyes. "Goodbye, Big D. I forgive you. Don't be a waste of space and try to be good or I will give a pair of ears to go with that tail."
Dudley shook his head. He didn't want that and nor did he understand the concept of Forgiveness, but his mother would drum it into him. But, he did understand the concept of big and power, so he was surprised to have to look up as Harry was now an inch taller than him, and dumbly shook his hand as he mumbled something. The look in Harry's eyes made him feel that he was the prey and he was glad to be leaving or he would be the focus of a game of Dudley Hunting.
While Vernon looked on in growing shame. Harry stood in front of him with his hand out stretched, and he remembered what those hands had just done to an evil supposedly immortal wraith.
"Goodbye, uncle Vernon. I forgive you. Be good and take care of aunt Petunia and Big D." Harry said as he looked him in the eye and saw the pain and tears of shame.
Uncle Vernon gingerly moved his arm and slowly shook Harry's hand and just nodded his head to gesture a thank you, I'm sorry and a goodbye. He couldn't speak as Harry's Act of Grace went straight through his guilty conscience and caused him immense pain. Far more painful than any Cruciatus Curse by any dark lord.
Aunt Petunia watched Harry's Act of Grace and vowed to make sure Vernon and Dudley earnt that grace each day for the rest of their lives.
Vernon and Dudley watched the car drive away and knew their life had just changed.
Hopefully for the better.
- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -
The start of their journey was quiet as aunt Petunia thought about what Harry had just done.
"You are so much like your mother, Harry. Lily would have forgiven them and I saw the effect that your Act of Grace had on them." Aunt Petunia said after a while.
Harry nodded. "Hedwig said I needed to get closure and I agreed."
Tears formed in her eyes as Aunt Petunia remembered Lily and Horatio and their one-sided conversations and barks.
Hedwig barked.
Harry looked forward. "The cars are stopping aunt Petunia!"
Aunt Petunia applied the brakes and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Hedwig."
Hedwig barked and Harry translated. "You're welcome."
Aunt Petunia continued. "Your Act of Grace hurt Vernon more than the Cruciatus Curse Lily told me about."
Hedwig barked and Harry translated. "Hedwig said that the Cruciatus Curse is the most excruciating painful torture curse there is and is so bad that it carries a life sentence in Azkaban. That's the terrible Wizarding prison."
Aunt Petunia looked at the owl and wondered.
Harry saw the look and replied. "Hedwig has read the textbooks. She is a Special Magical Mail Owl and was trained by a wizard to have knowledge of the Magical World to help me."
"Oh? Well she is right about that. You could see the agony in Vernon's eyes. After everything that has happened, you won in the end. You have changed them far more than they realised." Aunt Petunia finished.
"I hope they try hard to be better. They never seemed to be happy." Harry hoped.
Aunt Petunia smiled. "That was pure Lily, Harry. If not for that interfering old fool, you and I could have had this relationship from the beginning. Instead of at the end as we are preparing to turn our lives upside down and flee the country to get away from the idiot. Then again if the great Albus Dumbledore had done his job properly, and dealt with that monster, Lily wouldn't have been murdered and you would have had your own family."
"Thank you. This is all Dumbledore's fault!" Harry agreed. "He even probably taught this Voldemort at his school. So he knew him and what that monster was capable of."
"I concur, Harry." Aunt Petunia agreed. "So, who is this wizard who trained Hedwig for you?"
"Hedwig said his name was Moony."
"Moony? He was a best friend of your father. So he is still alive?"
Hedwig barked.
"Yes, he trains Magical Mail Owls and he wanted to see me." Harry explained.
"Well you can bet that Dumbledore made sure Moony could never find you. Not one of your parents' friends ever visited. We would have given you to them as you would have been safer in the Magic World with magic to protect you."
"Oh?" Harry wondered what that would have been like.
She continued. "And! Who would have been blamed if we were attacked? Certainly not the Great Albus Dumbledore. Plausible deniability. It was those useless Muggles. Damn Manipulative Old Fool!"
"Oh?" Harry wondered as the owls spat on the floor. He had suffered much due to manipulators blaming others and avoiding all responsibility. He would have to watch this Dumbledore very carefully.
They traveled in silence as Harry hesitated to ask. "Did my mother use dark magic? You know on those Death Eaters?"
"Oh, good heavens no, Harry. Lily would never use dark magic. She just used magic very creatively and embarrassed the hell out of those thugs and they weren't powerful enough to undo her spells." Aunt Petunia explained feeling better and then chuckled as she said with pride. "Lily once turned that rat, Pettigrew, into a yellow rubber duck and gave him to Padfoot to play with as a chew toy without telling him who it was. He couldn't get the taste of rat out of his mouth."
"Rat? Padfoot?"
"Pettigrew was a school friend of your father who could turn into a horrible fat rat called Wormtail. He always gave me the creeps. Padfoot was Sirius Black, your father's best friend, and he could turn into a big black wolf hound." Aunt Petunia explained as Harry slowly remembered a big black dog, a disgusting rat and a stag. "I don't know what happened to them."
"Oh? Could you tell me more about my mother?"
"Sure, Harry. But first take this." Aunt Petunia pointed to the jewelry box between them. "That is your mother's school trunk. It has all her school things."
Harry carefully opened the jewelry box and saw that it was full of tiny books, clothes and all sorts of magical things. He reached in and the tiny diary he was looking at, jumped into his hand and suddenly expanded to full size once it was out of the tiny trunk.
"Wow!" Harry said.
"Yeah, it is a lot bigger on the inside than the outside." Aunt Petunia chuckled. "Lily had gone into hiding with you and your father, but she didn't trust that old fool Dumbledore. She gave me that old school trunk to keep me safe. We could hide in the trunk and no one would find us."
"Oh? Well thank you, Aunt Petunia." Harry said as he put the book back and it shrunk down again once inside the tiny trunk.
"You're welcome, Harry. We can talk along the way to Cokeworth where Lily and I grew up."
"Is that why Uncle Vernon took us there?"
"Yes, he was familiar with the area, but we will stay somewhere better than the Railview Hotel this time."
They had a lovely trip as Aunt Petunia remembered so many good times with Lily and Harry began to understand how much it hurt her when his mother was murdered. Then she tried to explain the interesting relationship of the childhood friend they were going to, and why he would be staying with him. They stopped for fish and chips and she ordered a double serving of bacon for Hedwig and Louis.
- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -
Thank you for reading.
- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -