Harry woke slowly. It had been some time since he hadn't been woken by Daniel throwing something at him. Getting up, he went to brush his teeth before his mum yelled at him.
It was oddly quiet in the house. After using the bathroom, Harry circled the house. It was empty. His wish had come true! He was home alone without his family picking at him! This was amazing.
"I made my family disappear," Harry said to himself. There was no one else around.
He ran around the house doing all the things he had always wanted to do. There were no rules!
However, Harry quickly realized there was no more food in the house. His parents must have cleared the house of food to prepare for the trip before his wish was granted last night.
Well, Harry was a capable ten-year-old. He may not have been in Hogwarts yet, but he'd be on his way next year. He was practically an adult.
He'd gone with his father a million times to the market, he could do it alone. Besides, he was already home alone - what's a little market trip?
The biggest issue was money. Harry knew where his family kept the extra galleons, but the market his family frequented was a muggle market. He'd have to go digging for muggle money.
Pulling up the couch cushions did nothing, flipping over the swear jar revealed more wizarding money, and searching his parents' bedroom revealed nothing.
But, Daniel at sixteen had claimed that he needed muggle money for his muggle "girlfriend" over the summer. Yeah, right, Daniel couldn't secure a girlfriend any more than Harry could secure an apparition license to go to Diagon Alley.
As Harry crept through Daniel's room, he found some muggle money. Eureka! There was plenty here. Daniel must have forgotten about it after begging their dad for weeks. Harry may not have been careful in his search — or made any attempt to clean up after himself in Daniel's room.
Harry didn't feel guilty at all for taking the five £20 notes he'd found. Okay, now he wouldn't be able to drive and transport the groceries easily. But, he could hope that his accidental magic held out - it made his whole family disappear after all.
Grabbing the reusable grocery bags and the beach cart, Harry felt well-prepared to make the kilometer trek to the muggle market.
As soon as the family landed, Lily and James each put a hand on one of their four that had made the trip. Steering the family away from the chaotic reception area, they stood to the side to determine their next steps. Lily noticed a witch watching them closely. She didn't like the look in the other woman's eyes.
"James, we have to go back," Lily said, her panicked eyes meeting his eyes.
'I know! Okay, let's stay calm. Just because our portkey office closed after sending us out does not mean that the one we've arrived at will be closed." James thought through.
Lily and James herded the family back to the counter.
"We need a portkey back to Godric's Hollow right away," James stated.
"I'm sorry sir, there are no more portkeys in or out of Godric's Hollow for the next two days. There was a wild storm that kicked up the fae's nerves in the area. They're blocking all portkey magic." The young man stuck behind the portkey office counter said.
"What! But our son isn't with us. We need to get home immediately." James said. His stress levels were off the chart.
"I'm sorry sir. There's no way to get back to Godric's Hollow via portkey." The man said. "If you'll please go to the main travel counter, they may be able to help you closer."
Lily and James locked eyes over their children's heads. Though, with Arthur's height spurt, it might be one of the last times they're able to do it. They both understood this man wouldn't be able to get them any closer to home.
There was also a queue quickly forming behind them of irritated travelers.