The Knight Bus
Harry was several streets away before he collapsed onto a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging his trunk.
"I'm surprised you managed several streets with the weight of that thing," Fred teased. "You are only little after all." Harry stuck his tongue out.
"His trunk had wheels, or he wouldn't have made it out of the garden," Ron smirked.
"Be fair, he would have at least got to the end of his own street on pure rage," Neville joined in.
"Nev!" Harry shot his dorm mate a betrayed look that made people laugh.
He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart. After ten minutes sitting on the wall his anger turned to panic. Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix.
"Seriously?" Sirius demanded. "Never? Not even when a basilisk had its fang in your arm?" Harry shrugged. He didn't know how to answer that without reminding Sirius that he hadn't minded the prospect of dying. Being potentially expelled from Hogwarts and forced back to the Dursleys forever seemed much worse of a fix than dying did to him, but he didn't think his godfather would appreciate the explanation.
"You know teenagers are overly dramatic," Bill put in to cover the awkwardness of Harry's silence.
"It's not just teenagers. So is Sirius," Remus said dryly making a few people chuckle.
"And several other adults who should know better," Minerva added, glancing at Severus who sneered.
"Like you're any better on occasion," he retorted.
He was stranded by himself in the dark Muggle world, with absolutely nowhere to go. Additionally, he had just done serious magic, which meant that he was almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts.
"Ok, when we give out those letters, someone needs to explain to the muggle born and raised that accidental magic isn't punished," Amelia sighed.
"Harry was sent a warning for a house-elf doing magic. He'd still assume he'd be in trouble, accidental magic or not," Percy pointed out grimly.
"But Amelia isn't entirely wrong. It's still something we should make sure they know, to prevent further situations like this," Minerva said.
"'Like this' meaning being dumped with abusive relatives who hate magic?" Fred asked.
"Well, yes," she said slowly. "But also just for their peace of mind, even those not in as severe a situation as Mr. Potter may get stressed about performing accidental magic and being punished for it."
"We need to add a basic wizarding knowledge class for first-year muggleborns anyway, for things that purebloods and magically raised students have grown up knowing. We can simply add this to the syllabus," Pomona stated.
He had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping down on him where he sat.
"If you don't do any more magic, they won't be able to track you," Fred told him with a grin.
Harry shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent, wondering what was going to happen to him. He wondered if he would be arrested, or simply be outlawed from the wizarding world.
"And the severely overthinking his punishment is back," George noted.
"It's not exactly overthinking his punishment. I mean, it is because accidental magic isn't punishable, but given the warning he got for Dobby's actions, if Harry were blamed for this then he isn't wrong. If he had performed the magic on purpose in front of a muggle who didn't already know about magic, he would be expelled. Especially for a second offence. And as he hasn't taken his OWLs, his wand would be snapped," Kingsley said.
"They wouldn't snap the Boy-Who-Lived's wand," Tonks scoffed.
"Harry wouldn't know that," her father reminded her. "So far, all his fame has brought him are extremes, where he is either a hero or vilified far more than anyone else would be. So, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine this falling on the vilified end of the spectrum."
He thought of Ron and Hermione, and his heart sank even lower. Harry was sure that, criminal or not, Ron and Hermione would want to help him now.
"Of course," they said in unison.
"We wouldn't let you go back to those people," Ron continued.
However, they were both abroad, and with Hedwig gone, he had no means of contacting them.
"Yeah, that's not good. But Hedwig is incredibly smart and seems pretty attuned to what you need considering she went to France to fetch you a birthday present. She'll probably turn up soon enough," Charlie said with a smile.
He didn't have any Muggle money, either.
Everyone grimaced at that.
"Even if you're going to be taken away from those people, it's a good idea to get some money exchanged at Gringotts and always carry a little bit of magical and muggle money just for emergencies," Bill advised. Several people nodded in agreement with that advice.
"Especially given how danger-prone you are," Fred grinned. Harry stuck his tongue out at him.
He had a little wizard gold in the moneybag at the bottom of his trunk, but the rest of the fortune his parents had left him was stored in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London.
"You could take the Knight Bus, but I guess you don't know about that," Tonks sighed.
"I do now," Harry grimaced.
"You've been on the Knight Bus?" Remus looked surprised.
"Yeah. I accidentally summoned it. I hate it almost as much as floo powder," Harry grumbled.
"You summoned it accidentally?" Percy frowned. "How?"
"Tripped over my trunk and flung out my right hand to get my balance."
"Well, it's a good thing, at least this time. You'll be safer on there than in the middle of a muggle street by yourself," Amelia said.
He thought he'd never be able to drag his trunk all the way to London. Then he had an idea. He looked down at his wand, which was still in his hand.
Moody nodded approvingly.
He thought that if he was already expelled, a bit more magic couldn't hurt.
"But you're not expelled, so wouldn't that be an issue?" Hermione wondered.
"There were likely already Ministry workers at Privet Drive and the proximity would mean it would be impossible to detect Harry's magic while they were there using magic in the vicinity," Amelia explained. "Once it was established that it was just a bout of accidental magic the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched."
"Harry's house was tagged as a high priority for any magic happening due to Sirius' escape and lack of known whereabouts," Kingsley added. "So, the response would have been faster than usual."
"But Sirius didn't have a wand?" Harry pointed out.
"He could have stolen one along the way. Or you might have used magic in self-defence. Either way, we would rather be prepared. Not that it helped in any way," Amelia sighed.
"But accidental magic isn't tracked the same way as wand magic. Why would it have registered?" Percy frowned.
"Because an outburst of magic that big in a muggle area, will register with the Ministry anyway, regardless of being wandless," Kingsley told him.
He had the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father. He wondered if he could bewitch his trunk to make it feather-light and flew to London under the cloak.
"That's…reckless," Tonks grinned. "I like it."
"Flying under the cloak would be almost impossible. Too much wind," Sirius told him.
"But it is exactly the sort of thing Sirius and your dad would have done," Remus shook his head, looking amused.
"You'd have been right behind us," Sirius shot back. Remus couldn't deny that.
"But only to stop you two from doing something completely stupid. You know I don't like flying much."
Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and begin his life as an outcast. It was a horrible prospect, but he couldn't sit on this wall forever or he'd find himself trying to explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with a trunkful of spellbooks and a broomstick.
"Definitely not a good situation to be in," Bill grimaced.
Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside, looking for the Invisibility Cloak – but before he had found it, he straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more. He felt a prickling on the back of his neck like he was being watched. Looking around, he saw the street appeared to be deserted.
"Good awareness," Sirius smiled. "Sorry I freaked you out."
"You were there?" Kingsley raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah. I didn't intend to be seen, but I wanted to see my godson at least once before I set off to make sure Pettigrew couldn't hurt him."
"Barely even a handful of streets away and you found him already," Amelia shook her head. "If you'd been intending to kill him nobody could possibly have gotten there in time."
A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted. No lights were on in nearby houses. He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up once more, his hand clenched on his wand.
"Good instincts," Moody nodded approvingly.
"Why didn't you show yourself and say something?" Harry asked in an undertone.
"Because I didn't know what to say. I figured I'd probably scare you and honestly, even as a dog the rush of emotions at seeing you again after so long was overwhelming," admitted Sirius quietly. Harry nodded.
He had sensed rather than heard that someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. He wished it would move, so he'd know whether it was just a stray cat or – something else.
"Stray cat?" Sirius spluttered, trying to sound offended and inject some lightness into the mood.
"Well, you were kind of a stray," Remus pointed out with a grin.
"Is there something wrong with cats, Mr. Black?" Minerva asked archly. He grimaced.
"Er, of course not. Cats are great," he muttered as a few people chuckled.
Harry cast Lumos and a light appeared at the end of his wand, almost dazzling him.
"Almost blinded me there too," Sirius grumbled, but he was grinning.
He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them, Harry spotted the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.
Ron grimaced. Sirius had apologised and he understood why he'd done it, but he still shuddered at the image of a large dog eyeing up his best friend. The same dog that looked like the Grim that had charged right at him and dragged him away from his friends, breaking his leg.
Harry stepped backwards. His legs hit his trunk and he tripped. His wand flew out of his hand as he flung out an arm to break his fall, and he landed, hard, in the gutter. There was a deafening BANG and Harry threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light. With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time.
"What?" Sirius yelped. "I didn't realise you almost got run over!"
"It was fine. I got out of the way," Harry assured him.
"Even with that, it's still actually a good job Sirius was there. If he hadn't caused Harry to accidentally summon the Knight Bus, who knows what would have happened," Ted pointed out.
"We know. Harry would have tried his ridiculous plan of flying to London under his cloak. Which absolutely wouldn't cover his broom and his trunk as well as himself," Hermione said.
"Leaving the muggles to spot a flying broom and trunk with no rider," George chuckled. Harry winced; he hadn't thought about that.
A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights had screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying.
Sirius cringed at how close it had been. "Sorry!"
"It's fine. No harm done," Harry assured him.
They belonged to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windscreen spelled The Knight Bus. For a split second, Harry wondered if he had been knocked silly by his fall.
A few people chuckled. "The Knight Bus does have that effect on people who've never seen it before," Ted grinned.
Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night. He gave a speech, welcoming him to the Knight Bus, saying it was emergency transport for a stranded witch or wizard. He introduced himself as Stan Shunpike who would be the conductor, before cutting himself off.
"Really? Shunpike became the conductor for the Knight Bus?" Charlie asked interestedly.
"You knew him?" Harry wondered.
"Yeah. Vaguely. He was a Hufflepuff a couple of years below us," Tonks explained. "He'd have been in his sixth year when you started Hogwarts, I think. So, he probably hadn't been working with the Knight Bus for long. Massive gossip."
The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of Harry, who was still sitting on the ground. Harry snatched up his wand again and scrambled to his feet. Close to, he saw that Stan Shunpike was only a few years older than he was, with large, protruding ears and a fair few pimples.
"He hasn't changed then," Tonks grinned.
He asked what Harry was doing down there. Harry told him he fell over and Stan asked what he did that for.
Several people sniggered, while others rolled their eyes.
"Definitely hasn't changed," Percy agreed. Shunpike had been a year above him at Hogwarts, but was well known amongst the prefects for being out after curfew, just wandering around the castle.
Annoyed, Harry stated he didn't do it on purpose. One of the knees in his jeans was torn, and the hand he had thrown out to break his fall was bleeding.
Sirius winced guiltily.
He suddenly remembered why he had fallen over, and turned around quickly to stare at the alleyway between the garage and fence. The Knight Bus's headlamps were flooding it with light, and it was empty.
"I was still there; I'd just moved which is why I missed you almost getting run over. I didn't leave until you were safely on the bus," Sirius told him.
Stan asked what he was looking at. Harry explained there had been a big black thing, possibly a dog. He looked around at Stan, whose mouth was slightly open. With a feeling of unease, Harry saw Stan's eyes move to the scar on Harry's forehead. Stan asked him what was on his head.
"Wow. That has all the tact of Ron," Fred snorted.
"Oi!" Ron complained.
"He's not wrong," George grinned. Ron glared at him.
Harry quickly said it was nothing, flattening his hair over his scar. If the Ministry of Magic was looking for him, he didn't want to make it too easy for them.
"It's impossible to track the Knight Bus properly anyway because it moves around too quickly," Kingsley told him. "And even if it was trackable, nobody could get there in time before it moved off again."
Stan asked for his name and Harry gave him Neville's.
"Really? Me?" Neville asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Sorry, Nev. I couldn't exactly give Ron or Hermione's. You were the first person I thought of."
"That would be a nice thought if you weren't doing it while hiding from the law," Neville grinned.
He tried to distract Stan by asking if he'd said the bus can go anywhere. Stan answered that it could, as long as it was on land. They didn't go underwater.
"Do you reckon someone has actually asked to go to an underwater location?" Fred wondered.
"Probably. It wouldn't surprise me," Bill laughed.
Stan was looking suspicious again as he asked if Harry had flagged them down. Harry quickly agreed and asked for the price to get to London. Stan told him, including the prices for extras such as hot chocolate, hot water bottles and toothbrushes.
"Don't get the hot chocolate," Tonks suggested.
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "Found that out the hard way."
"They usually put an anti-spill charm on their drinks, don't they?" Sirius frowned, trying to remember.
"Yeah, but I know Stan," Tonks told him. "And he'll probably forget."
"Even with anti-spill charms, it's still almost impossible to drink anything on that bus," Emmeline said.
Harry rummaged once more in his trunk, extracted his money bag and shoved some silver into Stan's hand. He and Stan then lifted his trunk, with Hedwig's cage balanced on top, up the steps of the bus. There were no seats; instead, half-a-dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-panelled walls. A tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus muttered about pickling slugs before rolling over.
People chuckled.
"How is he sleeping on that thing?" Charlie wondered.
"Sleeping Draught probably," guessed Ted.
"But then won't he miss his stop?" Harry frowned.
"A small dose should be enough to let him sleep through the trip, along with a silencing charm for the noise, but would wear off after a few hours," Andromeda stated.
Stan shoved his trunk under the bed right behind the driver, introducing him to the driver, Ernie Prang, who was an elderly wizard with thick glasses who nodded to Harry as he sat down.
"Nice bloke, Ernie," Arthur smiled.
There was another tremendous 'bang', and Harry found himself flat on his bed having been thrown backwards by the speed of the Knight Bus. He pulled himself up and stared out of the dark window and saw that they were now bowling along a completely different street. Stan was watching Harry's stunned face with great enjoyment.
"It can be fun watching muggle born or raised people experience things like that," Tonks nodded, grinning.
I love finding out about new things magic is capable of, but I keep getting tangled up in other stuff instead of enjoying it properly," Harry sighed.
"We'll make sure to show you plenty of cool stuff over the rest of summer," Sirius promised.
Stan told him they were back where they'd been before they picked Harry up. He asked Ernie if they were somewhere in Wales and Ernie agreed. Harry asked how the muggles didn't hear the bus and Stan contemptuously told him they don't listen properly, or look properly.
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, looking affronted.
"Stan's an idiot," Charlie rolled his eyes.
"It's a mixture of complex silencing charms that only affect muggles and muggle-repelling charms on the bus itself," Filius informed them.
Ernie told Stan to wake Madam Marsh as they would be in Abergavenny in a minute.
"If the bus can appear like it did right in front of me then why can't it appear right in Abergavenny, or wherever it needs to be?" Harry asked curiously.
"When the bus is summoned, the person holds out their wand arm and the bus can pinpoint the coordinates to apparate close to the magical person in question. If there is no magical signature to use then it can only make small jumps, no more than a hundred miles at a time, or use designated apparition points that have been set up by the Ministry and then it drives from there," Arthur explained.
Stan passed Harry's bed and disappeared up a narrow wooden staircase. Harry was still looking out of the window, feeling increasingly nervous. Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel.
"In truth, it would probably be better if there wasn't a driver and they let the bus drive itself," Emmeline shook her head.
"It still needs direction to the apparition points even if it can drive itself for the majority of the time," Kingsley reminded her.
The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lamp posts, letter boxes and bins jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed.
"Handy piece of magic, that," Fred noted.
Stan came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch wrapped in a travelling cloak. Ernie stamped on the brake, causing the beds to slide forward. Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered down the steps.
"The Knight Bus is usually taken by those that can't apparate, or people who get too sick to apparate or use the floo, but honestly a moment of sickness has got to be better than prolonged sickness of riding that thing," Amelia said, shaking her head.
"Why does magical travel have to be so awful?" Harry complained. "I've never apparated, but it sounds awful, floo is terrible and the Bus really wasn't much fun. Brooms are the only nice mode of transport I've found so far. Or those Ministry cars." Several people chuckled.
"A mystery nobody has managed to solve," Remus told him, looking amused.
Stan threw her bag out after her and rammed the doors shut.
"Rude," Draco commented.
There was another loud bang, and they were thundering down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way. Harry wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he had been travelling on a bus that didn't keep banging loudly and jumping a hundred miles at a time.
Harry leant closer to Sirius, knowing that his conversation with Stan was coming up. Sirius was mildly surprised, while Harry accepted physical affection it was rare he initiated it, but didn't comment, just squeezed his godson's shoulders gently.
His stomach churned as he fell back to wondering what was going to happen to him, and whether the Dursleys had managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet.
"The Dursleys, no, but the Accidental Magic Reversal Department managed it fairly simply," Kingsley said.
"Shame really, they should have just left her," Charlie snorted.
"Unfortunately, that would be a bit too hard to explain to other muggles," Bill sighed.
Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet and was now reading with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Harry from the front page. He looked strangely familiar.
Sirius tensed, understanding now why Harry had moved closer a minute ago.
Harry exclaimed that the man had been on the muggle news. Stan chuckled, saying it was Sirius Black and asking where he'd been. When Harry's expression remained blank, he gave a superior sort of chuckle before removing the front page and giving it to him. Harry read the article about Sirius.
Sirius grew grimmer and seemed to withdraw into himself as Filius read the article out. Seeing the expression on his face, nobody dared comment leaving the professor to finish the article without a single interruption.
Once he had finished, Harry looked at the picture, into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.
"Excuse me!" Sirius spluttered, forcing himself out of his stupor and latching on to any smaller detail that didn't make him want to cry or throw up.
"Good to know you did pay attention in your Defence classes," Remus grinned. Sirius made a wounded noise and glared at his best friend.
"Well, it's a good job we haven't had any garlic if Mr. Black is a vampire," Luna said, and she sounded so serious nobody could tell if she was joking or not. Sirius blinked at the young girl in mild confusion.
"Call me Sirius," he told her automatically. "And I'm not a vampire."
"Oh," she sounded surprised by this revelation. "Are you sure?"
"Yes?"
"You don't sound it, but then again, you do have a rather large number of nargles around you so it's no wonder you're confused."
"Nargles?" Sirius was completely lost. Luna opened her mouth to explain but Filius decided to keep reading and she closed her mouth, returning her attention to the book.
Stan, who'd been watching Harry read, commented that Sirius was a scary-looking thing. Harry asked if it was true he'd murdered thirteen people with one curse.
"Yet somehow only Pettigrew was blown to smithereens," Sirius scoffed. "And I don't know any curses that leave not a single trace of a being except somehow a finger."
"That is an odd occurrence," Kingsley agreed. "And should have been investigated. A single Priori Incantatem would have shown what spells you used, and as you say, no spell causes that kind of damage."
"Yeah, well, they didn't care. Crouch had been after me for ages because of my name, then he had his excuse handed to him on a platter," Sirius scoffed bitterly.
Stan agreed that he had, in broad daylight and in front of witnesses. He said it had caused a big issue and Ernie agreed. Then he looked at Harry and said Black had been a big supporter of You-Know-Who.
Sirius scoffed angrily.
Harry said Voldemort's name without thinking causing Stan to go white and Ernie to jerk the steering wheel so hard a whole farmhouse had to jump out of the way.
Several people snorted in amusement.
"Only you, Harry," Fred chortled.
Stan asked what he said his name for, and Harry apologised, saying he forgot.
"You forgot? Forgot that almost everyone in the wizarding world is scared of that name and wouldn't dream of saying it out loud?" George asked in amusement. Harry gave a sheepish shrug.
"Yes?"
"Fred's right. Only you."
"You're lucky that didn't blow your cover," Neville told him. "I'd certainly never say it."
Stan weakly repeated that he forgot, then complained his heart was beating that fast. Harry turned back to Black being a supporter of You-Know-Who.
"Really? Stan complains once and you say 'You-Know-Who, but me, your best friend, ask you not to and you ignore me?" Ron complained.
"Yes," Harry grinned.
Stan agreed, saying it was said Black was very close to You-Know-Who.
"And how would you know that?" Sirius demanded grumpily.
"He doesn't, he's just talking rubbish," Remus soothed.
"Rubbish you believed," Sirius retorted. Then he winced. "Sorry. That was unfair." Remus didn't meet his eye but waved away the apology.
Stan continued that when little Harry Potter put paid to You-Know-Who, here Harry flattened his fringe again, all of You-Know-Who's supporters were tracked down.
"Unfortunately, not all of them," Amelia sighed.
He said most of them knew it was over and came quietly but not Black.
"What? Sirius didn't even resist arrest, he was just laughing hysterically, how is that not coming quietly?" Kingsley frowned.
"Depends how loud he was laughing," Fred smirked. Several people rolled their eyes at the lame joke but Sirius gave a light chuckle, glad someone was at least attempting to make a joke of this and keep the mood light.
Apparently, Stan had heard Black thought he'd be second-in-command when You-Know-Who had taken over.
"What rubbish!" Sirius scoffed yet again.
"We know, Sirius. But you know what the rumour mill is like, and the Daily Prophet at the time didn't help," Andromeda pointed out.
Stan told Harry how they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of muggles where Sirius proceeded to take out his wand and blast half the street apart, killing a wizard and twelve muggles.
Sirius ground his teeth furiously.
"Typical Stan, he loves gossip way too much," Tonks said, shaking her head.
In a dramatic whisper, Stan asked Harry what he thought Black did next. Harry asked what and Stan told him Black had laughed. Even when reinforcements from the Ministry arrived, he just went with them laughing because he was mad. Ernie commented that if he wasn't mad before, he would be after being in Azkaban. Those guards gave him the collywobbles.
"Those guards are evil," Harry muttered angrily. He hated how much the dementors affected him.
Ernie said it served him right.
Sirius flinched.
"You know he doesn't mean you personally, but the person responsible for everything. And he's not wrong. If anyone deserves how horrible the dementors are, it's Pettigrew," Harry pointed out quietly. Sirius nodded.
Stan said they had a job covering it up with the whole street blown up and a dozen muggles dead. He asked Ernie what they said as a cover story and Ernie told him a gas explosion.
"The usual excuse for that kind of thing," Arthur nodded.
"It wasn't an excuse that time. Peter deliberately made the gas pipe explode, knowing how much damage it was cause and the distraction would give him time to transform and escape," Sirius growled. "He planned everything, even down to the exact location."
"Stupid rat," Harry scowled.
Stan continued that now he was out and there had never been a breakout before. Then he said he didn't fancy Black's chances against the guards.
Sirius shuddered, thinking about the incredibly close call he and Harry had had not that long ago. It still pained him that Harry had had to be the one to save him, that he'd been completely useless. Of course, he understood why, but that didn't make him feel any better about Harry almost getting kissed trying to save his useless arse.
Ernie told Stan to change the subject. Stan put the paper away reluctantly and Harry leaned against the window of the Knight Bus, feeling worse than ever. He couldn't help imagining what Stan might be telling his passengers in a few nights' time, about having Harry Potter on his bus after blowing up his aunt while making a run for it.
"You do have the most spectacular stories told about you," Fred grinned.
He, Harry, had broken wizard law just like Sirius Black.
Several people snorted.
"I don't think accidentally blowing up someone who completely deserved it is quite the same as murdering thirteen people," Bill pointed out. Harry turned slightly red.
He wondered if inflating Aunt Marge bad enough to land him in Azkaban.
"No. Not even if you'd done it on purpose. You'd get a warning or potentially be expelled, but no prison for it," Amelia assured him.
Harry didn't know anything about the wizard prison, though everyone he'd ever heard speak of it did so in the same fearful tone.
There were several nods at that.
Hagrid the Hogwarts gamekeeper had spent two months there only last year.
Harry scowled at that.
So did Amelia at the reminder of how Fudge had sent the man to prison, in a secret visit at night, without any evidence.
Harry wouldn't soon forget the look of terror on Hagrid's face when he had been told where he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry knew.
Sirius and Harry pressed closer together and Remus moved so he was right next to Sirius on his other side, thighs gently touching, offering what little comfort he could.
The Knight Bus rolled through the darkness, scattering bushes and bollards, telephone boxes and trees, and Harry lay, restless and miserable, on his feather bed. After a while, Stan remembered that Harry had paid for hot chocolate, but poured it all over Harry's pillow when the bus moved abruptly from Anglesea to Aberdeen.
There were many eye rolls at this.
"Did he at least clean it up or give you another bed?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, he cleaned it, it was fine," Harry told him.
"Did you get another one or just waste the money?" Draco wondered.
"I didn't bother getting another one, I didn't see the point and I completely forgot about it once I got off anyway."
One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked very pleased to go.
"Almost nobody actually enjoys riding that thing. I don't know how Ernie and Stan do it," Tonks said.
"I dunno, riding around all day and night gossiping with people, seems exactly like Shunpike's kind of thing," Charlie pointed out.
Finally, Harry was the only passenger left. Stan asked where in London he wanted to go and Harry directed him to the Leaky Cauldron. Soon enough they were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Harry sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way. The sky was getting a little lighter. He would lie low for a couple of hours, go to Gringotts the moment it opened, then set off, well, he wasn't sure where.
"Lie low? In one of the most popular pubs in the wizarding world where every person recognised you on your first visit?" Percy asked, frowning. Harry grimaced.
"Yeah, well, I'd gotten away with it with Stan and Ernie, so I kind of hoped I could just not be recognised for a bit."
"You know your luck isn't that good," Ron scoffed.
"Yeah," he sighed regretfully.
"Besides, even without Sirius on the loose, it would still be a big thing that you had run away from home and were missing," Kingsley pointed out. "People would be looking for you."
"I wasn't used to people actually noticing if I was missing either, so it didn't really occur to me that people would actually look for me. The only people that I thought would care weren't in the country and didn't know what had happened, as far as I knew."
Ernie slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of the Leaky Cauldron, behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry thanked Ernie. He jumped down the steps and helped Stan lower his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the pavement. He said goodbye, but Stan was busy looking at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. A voice said Harry's name and he felt a hand on his shoulder before he could turn around.
"Not even in the door and you're busted," Fred shook his head in feigned disappointment.
"Well, the arrival of the Knight Bus is hardly subtle," Bill pointed out.
"I wonder how long Fudge had been waiting," Harry mused.
"Probably most of the night. Once it was realised you were missing and untraceable, it was decided that someone should wait in locations you would be most likely to turn up," Kingsley said.
"Someone didn't have to wait at the Dursleys', did they?" Remus asked looking disgruntled.
"No. We did have someone stationed nearby, but it was made clear waiting in the muggles' house wouldn't be a good idea."
Stan started shouting for Ernie to come over. Harry looked up at the owner of the hand on his shoulder and felt like a bucketful of ice had cascaded into his stomach. He had walked right into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic himself. Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them. Excitedly asking what Fudge had just called Neville. Fudge frowned, saying it was Harry not Neville. Stan shouted that he knew it.
"Seeing as Shunpike's levels of intelligence have clearly not increased, I find that difficult to believe," Severus sneered.
"We all know he didn't have the faintest idea who Harry was, or he wouldn't have been able to refrain himself from shouting it loud enough for even the sleeping passengers to hear," Tonks rolled her eyes.
Stan continued yelling for Ernie, telling him to guess who Neville was before shouting that it was Harry Potter, and he could see his scar.
"For Merlin's sake," Minerva groaned. "That boy. Shouting about Harry Potter when it was believed a mass murderer was out there trying to kill him."
"He never was the most…careful of students," Filius reminded her as delicately as he could while trying to hide his own chuckles.
Fudge testily stated he was glad the Knight Bus had picked Harry up but now they needed to go inside.
"I know he probably just wants to get Harry off of the street, but considering Harry isn't supposed to recognise him, he could do with explaining at least briefly, so Harry doesn't think someone is trying to kidnap him," Charlie said.
"If they wanted to kidnap Harry, I don't think they'd be trying to take him into the Leaky Cauldron Charlie," Bill rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Besides, Stan shouted that he was the Minister anyway, that should suffice until Fudge can get Harry somewhere safe and proper introductions are given," Percy pointed out.
Fudge increased the pressure on Harry's shoulder, and Harry found himself being steered inside the pub. A stooping figure bearing a lantern appeared through the door behind the bar. It was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord. Tom asked if they wanted anything and Fudge ordered a pot of tea, still not letting go of Harry.
"Well, he is a flight risk," Fred teased. Harry glared at him.
There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them, and Stan and Ernie appeared, carrying Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage and looking around excitedly. Stan asked Harry why he hadn't told them who he was, still calling him Neville.
"Why is he still calling you my name if he knows you're Harry?" Neville wondered in confusion.
"It's Stan, who knows," Tonks shrugged.
"What are the chances he'll call me Neville if I ever travel by Knight Bus again?"
"Probably pretty high," she grinned.
Fudge pointedly asked for a private parlour.
"I don't think he will get the hint," Draco sneered.
Harry miserable bade them goodbye and Tom beckoned them towards a passage leading away from the bar. Stan called out a goodbye to Neville.
Most of the room either chuckled or rolled their eyes at his antics.
Fudge marched Harry along the narrow passage after Tom's lantern, and then into a small parlour. Tom clicked his fingers, a fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room. He told Harry to sit down, which he did. Fudge took off his cloak, tossing it aside before sitting down opposite Harry.
"Ooh, a nice cosy chat with the Minister for Magic. Lucky you," George said sarcastically.
"Yeah, the same Minister I saw send Hagrid to Azkaban without any evidence, was specifically waiting for me, probably about to punish me for using magic outside of school. I was thrilled," Harry told him. George winced.
"Yeah. That must have been horrible," Charlie sympathised.
"Honestly, it was mostly confusing. He just seemed relieved rather than angry and I had no idea why."
Fudge introduced himself. Harry already knew this, of course, having seen Fudge once before, but as he had been wearing his father's Invisibility Cloak at the time, Fudge wasn't to know that. Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table between Fudge and Harry, and left the parlour, closing the door behind him. Fudge told Harry he'd had them in a right flap after running away like that. He'd started to think, then he cut himself off and said he was safe which is what mattered.
"Subtle," Sirius snorted.
"Like the Minister for Magic himself would be worried about a single kid running away from home. Obviously, something bigger was going on," Tonks agreed with her cousin.
"Something nobody but Mr. Weasley saw fit to tell me until much later," Harry scowled.
Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate towards Harry, telling him to eat. Then he said he would be pleased to know that they had dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Marge.
"Ha! It was hardly unfortunate," Fred scoffed.
"Unfortunate it didn't happen sooner," George agreed.
"Unfortunate she won't remember it and won't learn not to insult people's family when her own are despicable," Sirius corrected angrily.
He said that two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Marge had been punctured and her memory had been modified. She had no recollection of the incident at all.
"Shame really," Bill mused.
"Maybe there's a way to make her able to remember but never able to talk about it," Fred whispered to George.
"That would be tricky to work out, but we could give it a try. We'd have to…" he moved so he was sitting on the floor next to his twin and they began scribbling on a piece of parchment making everybody slightly nervous, even if they weren't the likely target.
Remus then moved so he was sitting next to Fred, right between Sirius' legs and occasionally offered comments on whatever they were writing. It was a sight that scared the professors more than they would ever confess. The two generations of pranksters having a pranking war was one thing, working together was quite another.
He said there was no harm done.
"There was plenty of harm done!" Sirius hissed in outrage, his momentary pleasure at the sight of Remus helping the troublesome twins plan revenge on the muggles quickly evaporating.
Fudge smiled at Harry over the rim of his teacup, rather like an uncle surveying a favourite nephew.
Sirius scowled angrily at the comparison. First Lockhart had been described as paternal, now Fudge as some kind of uncle.
"Well, I only have one uncle and he sucks, so it's hardly a favourable comparison," Harry whispered to him, clearly sensing the direction of his thoughts. Sirius offered him a weak smile, but thoughts of Harry's 'uncle' hardly helped put him in a better mood.
Harry, who couldn't believe his ears, opened his mouth to speak, couldn't think of anything to say, and closed it again. Fudge guessed he was worrying about the reaction of his relatives and stated they were angry but were prepared to take him back the following summer as long as he stayed at Hogwarts for the other holidays.
"And that didn't raise any kind of alarm? For one incident of accidental magic, they refused to allow him back for school holidays?" Fred wondered, glaring around the room at the adults.
"Probably not. I expect they were all pleased I'd have to stay at Hogwarts, protected, rather than risk me running away again," Harry muttered.
"That doesn't make me feel any better," Fred told him. Harry shrugged.
Harry stated he always stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays anyway and he didn't want to go back to Privet Drive ever. Fudge sounded worried when he said he was sure he'd feel differently after he calmed down.
Fred wasn't the only one that scoffed angrily at that.
"You care so much about protecting him from the one who wasn't even a real threat, you don't give a damn about sending him back to the real monsters?" Ron asked. Although, a lot of his anger stemmed from the guilt he felt about his reaction to the whole fiasco.
"Does Minister Fudge know about the blood wards at the Dursleys?" Harry wondered. "Because otherwise this makes no sense. If the person after me wasn't caught, sending me back to an unprotected muggle house that I've already been angry enough to run away from once hardly seems like a good idea.
"Fudge does not know the exact nature of the protections, but he is aware some exist," Dumbledore stated.
"Why does he know that? Surely the Minister for Magic hardly involves himself in the protection of every student?" Fred asked, guessing Harry's next question.
"He was made aware after Sirius escaped Azkaban," Dumbledore stated. "He wished to know Harry was suitably protected."
"Which he clearly wasn't. Sirius found him seconds after he left, and that's without the danger he faced in what is supposed to be his own home," George pointed out.
"Something we didn't know at the time. We did not know Sirius was innocent, or that he knew or would remember where Petunia lived. It was an oversight, but one that cannot be fixed now," Dumbledore replied calmly. "We did the best with the information we had." Several of the younger generation snorted at that.
Fudge continued that they were his family after all and he was sure they were fond of each other, very deep down.
Harry snorted.
"Not even Fudge was convinced of that," Fred said angrily.
"Did he go to the Dursley's house? I thought it was the Magic Reversal Squad or something? But why else would he be so doubtful that we were fond of each other?" Harry wondered, having just noticed this.
"Yes. The Minister was one of those alerted by the magic at your house and went to determine whether it was accidental magic, or Sirius was in the vicinity," Amelia told him.
It didn't occur to Harry to put Fudge right. He was still waiting to hear what was going to happen to him now. Fudge said that all that remained was to determine where he would spend the last two weeks of his holiday.
"Two weeks?" Sirius frowned. "But that Marge woman arrived on Harry's birthday, which is the 31st of July, and stayed for a week. So, it's only around the 7th or 8th of August when he got to the Leaky. There's at least three full weeks to go before the 1st of September, plus a few days," he said, trying to do the maths out loud. Most of that time was still blurry to him and dates had meant very little to him.
"That's a weird detail to get wrong, I was definitely in Diagon Alley for three weeks," Harry said with a frown.
"So, whatever magic made these books can pull every single thought from Harry's mind, but still forces us to reread a summary that he's a wizard every single time and can't work out there are four weeks in August, not three?" Moody grunted.
"Maybe it left out a week for some strange reason. Did anything special happen during your stay, Harry?" Arthur asked. Harry shook his head.
"Nothing I can think of. The first week was exactly like the other two."
Fudge suggested he take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Another question, who paid for Harry to stay there for three weeks? Did you, Harry, or did someone else once again decide something for him and then use his own money to pay for it without telling him?" Sirius asked, glancing at Minerva who flushed.
"I didn't pay for it," Harry told him, frowning. "And they didn't mention it when I went to Gringotts."
"They wouldn't, unless you specifically ask to see a statement of your recent transactions," Bill informed him. "If the person who authorised the payment had the appropriate permission, the goblins wouldn't bother informing you."
"Another thing to get checked," Remus noted. He wondered if Fudge had used his position to get Harry the room for three weeks, but he hadn't demanded Harry stay, just suggested it. He was curious as to what the Minister would have said if Harry wanted to make other arrangements.
Harry interrupted him to ask about his punishment.
"Harry!" The twins and Sirius groaned in unison.
"If they don't bring it up, you don't ask about punishment!" Fred scolded, but he used a teasing tone.
"I didn't want it hanging over my head. It made no sense to get that letter after what happened with Dobby and then have this completely ignored. If a punishment is delayed, then it's usually worse later." That made everybody scowl at the thought of the Dursley's form of punishment.
Fudge blinked, surprised. Harry pointed out he broke the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry.
The trio of troublemakers all gave exaggerated winces that made Harry shake his head, hiding a smile at their antics. Remus was doing much the same.
Fudge cried that they weren't going to punish him for a little thing like that. They don't send people to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts. Harry felt this didn't tally with his previous dealings with the Ministry of Magic. He pointed out that he had an official warning the previous year due to a house-elf and the Ministry had said he'd be expelled if there was any more magic there.
"And of course that didn't register at all with Cornelius," Amelia groaned.
"Not surprising," Kingsley said.
Unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him, Fudge was suddenly looking awkward. He stuttered several times as he said that circumstances change, and they had to take into account the present climate. Then he said that Harry surely didn't want to be expelled.
"For Merlin's sake," Amelia shook her head in disbelief. "All he had to say was that accidental magic isn't a punishable offence. Instead, he acted like a guilty student caught by Professor McGonagall." Sirius chuckled at that.
"I would have then wanted to know why Dobby's actions meant I got a letter when it wasn't even me," Harry pointed out.
"Which would have led to him stuttering like an idiot anyway, when he should have investigated a rogue house-elf performing magic at a house they don't work in. So, either way, he was going to bungle the whole thing, but this is still ridiculous."
Harry agreed that of course he didn't want to be expelled, so Fudge airily asked what all the fuss was about. He told Harry to have another crumpet and said he was going to find out if Tom had a room for Harry.
"There's a good chance he just used his sway as Minister to get Harry a room then. Not many people rent rooms in the summer so Tom would be unlikely to lose business," Kingsley stated.
Fudge strode out of the parlour and Harry stared after him. There was something extremely odd going on. Why had Fudge been waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron, if not to punish him for what he'd done? And now Harry came to think of it, surely it wasn't usual for the Minister for Magic himself to get involved in matters of underage magic?
"Things would be much easier if people just told me what was going on," Harry sighed in frustration. "It's not like I was safer not knowing a supposed mass murderer was after me."
Fudge came back, accompanied by Tom the innkeeper. He said that room eleven was free. Then Fudge told him not to wander into muggle London and to be back before dark.
"Reasonable restrictions in fairness," Remus stated. "Regardless of Sirius' movements."
"It would have been cool to explore muggle London, but there was enough to keep me busy in Diagon," Harry said.
"Diagon is a lot smaller than muggle London," Arthur pointed out kindly. "And in muggle London, nobody would be able to help you get back to the Leaky Cauldron as muggles don't even know the place exists unless they have a wizard family member." Harry conceded the point.
He added that Tom would be keeping an eye on him for Fudge. Harry agreed before asking why. Fudge said they didn't want him getting lost again. It was best they knew where he was.
"It's bad enough they let a thirteen-year-old stay in a pub alone for three weeks with no proper adult supervision. I know Diagon is safe enough generally, but there are still real Death Eaters out there who could have hurt him," Andromeda stated. "Although, sending him back to those people would be even worse."
Fudge cleared his throat loudly and picked up his pinstriped cloak. He said he had to get going as there was plenty to do. Harry asked if they'd had any luck with Black yet.
Several people snorted at the sudden question.
"Bet Fudge loved that," Sirius chuckled.
Fudge's fingers slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak.
"Idiot," Moody grumbled.
Fudge asked what and then commented that Harry had heard. He said not yet but it was only a matter of time, the Azkaban guards hadn't failed yet. They were angrier than Fudge had ever seen them.
Sirius shuddered violently at that. Remus leant back against his legs, offering his warmth and Sirius slid his fingers into his friend's hair, focusing on the feeling of the silky strands on his fingers.
He held out his hand and Harry, shaking it, had a sudden idea. Harry asked him to sign his Hogsmeade permission form which made Fudge look uncomfortable.
"You asked the Minister for Magic for permission to go to Hogsmeade?" Neville asked, stunned.
"Figured it was worth a shot," Harry shrugged.
"Unfortunately, he is neither your parent nor guardian," Pomona pointed out.
He declined, saying he wasn't his parent or guardian, but Harry pointed out that as Minister, if he said Harry could go, but Fudge cut him off saying that the rules were rules. Then suggested he might be able to visit the village the year after before saying it might be best if he didn't. He wished him a pleasant stay and with a last smile and shake of Harry's hand, Fudge left the room.
"At the rate he was going, I'm impressed he didn't just blab anyway," Tonks rolled her eyes.
Tom now moved forward, beaming at Harry. He asked Harry to follow him, saying he'd taken his things up already. They went upstairs and Tom unlocked his room for him. Inside was a very comfortable-looking bed, some highly polished oak furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire and, perched on top of the wardrobe was Hedwig. Harry called her name, and she fluttered down to his arm.
"That is one smart owl," Bill whistled.
"I'm guessing she's a familiar rather than just a post owl," Charlie mused.
"What's a familiar?" Harry asked.
"A familiar is an animal that bonds particularly closely with a human. It allows them to be more in tune with each other's emotions and needs. Only magical animals can form the bond, but it creates a connection between the two that could explain how Hedwig is so in tune with you that she flew to France to fetch a present for you. She's definitely smarter than your regular post owl." Harry smiled at the thought of having such a bond with his owl.
Tom said it was a smart owl Harry had, she'd arrived five minutes after Harry had.
Charlie, Harry and Luna all smiled at that.
Tom continued that Harry should ask if he needed anything. Then he bowed and left. Harry sat on his bed for a long time, absent-mindedly stroking Hedwig. The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from blue to grey and then, slowly, to pink shot with gold. Harry could hardly believe that he'd only left Privet Drive a few hours ago, that he wasn't expelled, and that he was now facing two completely Dursley-free weeks.
People frowned at the strange timing once more but didn't bother bringing it up again. They didn't have any more answers than before.
Harry told Hedwig it had been a very weird night. Then, without even removing his glasses, he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep.
"That's the end of the chapter," Filius stated.
"Is everyone alright to continue?" Molly asked, eyeing Harry with concern. They all assented, so Filius handed the book to Pomona.