I do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters

I slammed my quill down on the desk in frustration as the raised voice outside my office broke my concentration.

Did nobody have any kind of respect for the people working around here? I thought to myself angrily as I got up and wrenched the door open.

I managed to stop myself from crashing right into the Minister's back as he was shouting at a calm and collected Dumbledore. Fudge had blotchy red patches all over his face as he turned to me.

"Ah Madam Megera" he said as I snapped my eyes from Dumbledore to his.

"Yes Minister?" I asked, suspicion lacing my voice.

"Harry Potter has just been accused of using underage magic in front of a muggle" he blurted out "And as a result he has been expelled from Hogwarts. I need someone to go and destroy his wand"

I glanced at Dumbledore whose face stayed serene but his eyes glittered.

"Minister, forgive me, but doesn't the accused have a right to stand trial?" I said looking back at fudge.

"This isn't the first time he's been accused of underage magic Meghana!" Fudge said loudly, breathing heavily.

"Be that as it may, I think you'll find the Wizengamot charter of rights states that -" I started politely.

"Fine! Fine!" Fudge shouted "he is suspended until his trial" Fudge turned from me to Dumbledore "happy now Dumbledore?!"

"Yes, that's an excellent result," Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together.

Fudge turned back to me.

"You will attend the muggle residence and confiscate the boy's wand"

I knew I needed to stay on Fudge's good side but I also knew the law.

"Minister-" I started again dispite myself but was cut off immediately by Fudge.

"That is a direct order from the Minister for Magic Meghana!" He snapped.

I glanced again at Dumbledore whose eyes were still glittering.

"Of course, Minister," I said, inclining my head at him.

Fudge surveyed me for a beat before storming off.

I looked at Dumbledore and opened my mouth to ask what the hell I should do now, but Dumbledore spoke over me "You'll think of something" he said smiling at me "give Harry my regards" and he too spun around and strode off.

I watched him leave until he was out of sight and I sighed.

It has been a long time since I had been at Privet Drive and I did not exactly think I would ever have to go there again. Regardless of my feelings, ten minutes later, I appeared at the end of the front garden path at 4 Privet Drive. I opened the gate, walked slowly up the path and knocked on the front door. As I waited, I turned around to observe my surroundings. It appeared to look exactly the same as it had 14 years ago.

Except maybe the flowers were different but, I wondered if muggles relished in the consistency of things staying the same.

The front door opened and I spun around to face Petunia. She had the same thin face and piercing stare she did when I had last seen her. With a jolt in my heart I realised the last time I would have seen her was at Lily's funeral.

"Petunia!" I said securing a warm smile on my face at my best friend's sister "I don't know if you remember me -"

Petunia gasped, her eyes wide as she looked me up and down before she screeched "- but you haven't aged one bit!"

"That's very kind of you to say, but I have - a lot" I said still smiling "May I come in?"

Petunia continued to stare at me but stepped back slightly to let me inside.

I walked down the small hallway to the kitchen where she could hear Harry's voice and pushed the glass door open.

Harry stopped talking immediately and looked at me as I stepped inside.

"Professor!" He said "What are you doing here?"

"Yes what exactly-" Petunia started behind me but her voice was abruptly lost in her husband's.

"Who the blazes are you?" shouted Vernon, he looked exactly the same as he did when I last saw him, which admittedly was the only time I had ever met him. Maybe he was slightly bigger now but nether-the-less I smiled and tried my hardest to sound genuine.

"Vernon … it's lovely to see you again." I said politely.

"You!" His face contorted into a look of mingled disgust and surprise as it dawned on him. "Y-you're one of them -" he pointed at Petunia and back at me "you were with th-that dirty criminal" he spluttered.

I was more than amused at this situation than worried, so I continued to smile as the memory of the only time she had met Vernon came flooding back into my mind. Lily had asked me to be at a dinner she had planned with her sister which ended not so well.

"Well, believe it or not I'm not here to talk about myself." I said after a beat "I'm here as a representative of the Ministry of Magic, on orders by the Minister himself"

Vernon spluttered again before shouting "Ministry of Magic? People like you in government? Oh, this explains everything, everything, no wonder the country's going to the dogs."

I wasn't sure what to make of this statement and looked at Harry, my mouth slightly open. He shook his head slightly with an exasperated expression on his face so I decided to ignore Vernon.

"Anyway" I continued slowly "I'm here to confiscate your wand Harry" I turned to Harry who looked horrified.

"P-professor - you can't!"

I gave Harry a small smile "Harry, please, do you really think I'm going to take it? Just hand it over and you can have it back in a second"

Harry took his wand from the belt of his jeans and handed it over apprehensively. I took out my own wand and pointed it at Harry's which jumped slightly as though it had had a fright and it duplicated itself.

I pocketed the duplicate in my robes and gave the original wand back to Harry.

"That should do for now." I said more to myself than anyone else. If they questioned the fact that magic had been performed at this premises I'd think up an excuse then.

I turned back to Harry, I spotted the official Ministry of Magic letter laying on the kitchen table and looked at him seriously. "The Minister said you performed underaged magic."

Harry nodded at me but remained silent. I raised an eyebrow and asked "So, what exactly happened?"

"Yes!" bellowed Vernon, making me jump. "What did you do to Dudley?"

"Nothing," said Harry calmly. "That wasn't me -"

"Was" muttered Dudley unexpectedly, I frowned and looked over at Dudley, whilst Vernon and Petunia instantly made flapping gestures at Harry to quieten him while they both bent low over Dudley.

"Go on, son," said Vernon, "what did he do?"

"Tell us, darling," whispered Petunia.

Dudley mumbled a garbled story of Harry pointing his wand at him, and I started to bite my lower lip. This did not look great for Harry.

But then Dudley spoke again "All went dark," he said hoarsely, shuddering. "Everything dark. And then I h-heard … things. Inside m-my head."

I had started to listen intently as I watched Vernon and Petunia exchange looks of utter horror.

"What sort of things did you hear, Popkin?" breathed Petunia, very white-faced and with tears in her eyes.

But Dudley seemed incapable of saying. He shuddered again and shook his large blond head. He gestured at his massive chest.

"Horrible," croaked Dudley. "Cold. Really cold."

"OK," said Vernon, in a voice of forced calm, while Petunia laid an anxious hand on Dudley's forehead to feel his temperature. "What happened then, Dudders?"

"Felt … felt … felt … as if … as if …"

"As if you'd never be happy again," Harry supplied tonelessly. I glanced at Harry who was staring at his cousin.

"Yes," Dudley whispered, still trembling.

"So!" said Vernon, voice restored to full and considerable volume as he straightened up. "You put some crackpot spell on my son so he'd hear voices and believe he was - was doomed to misery, or something, did you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" said Harry, his voice also rising. "It wasn't me! It was a couple of Dementors!"

But what were dementors doing in this muggle town? I thought to myself, frowning.

"A couple of - what's this codswallop?"

"De - men - tors," said Harry slowly and clearly. "Two of them."

"And what the ruddy hell are Dementors?"

"They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban," said Petunia. I stared at her as a ringing silence followed her words. She suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth.

"How d'you know that?" Harry asked her, astonished.

Petunia looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Vernon in fearful apology, then lowered her hand slightly.

"I heard - that awful boy - telling her about them - years ago," she said jerkily.

I frowned at Petunia, still amazed that she'd remember something like that all these years later.

"If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Harry loudly, but Petunia ignored him. She seemed horribly flustered.

Vernon opened his mouth, closed it again, opened it once more, shut it, then, apparently struggling to remember how to talk, opened it for a third time and croaked, "So - so - they - er - they - er - they actually exist, do they - er - Dementy-whatsits?" Petunia nodded.

Vernon looked from Petunia to Dudley to Harry to me as if hoping somebody was going to tell him it was a joke. When nobody did, he opened his mouth yet again, but an owl zoomed through the open window and landed with a clatter on the kitchen table, causing all three of the Dursleys to jump with fright.

I could tell from the look of the envelope that it was from the Ministry and watched as Harry tore it from the owl's beak and ripped it open as the owl swooped back out into the night.

"Enough - effing - owls," muttered Vernon distractedly, stomping over to the window and slamming it shut.

Harry read this letter in quick succession and then handed it to me and I skimmed it before smiling slightly. I glanced at Harry who was looking slightly less tense than when I had arrived.

"Well?" said Vernon, recalling me to my surroundings. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything? Do your lot have the death penalty?" he added as a hopeful afterthought.

I scoffed but said nothing as Harry said "I've got to go to a hearing."

"And they'll sentence you there?"

"I suppose so."

"I won't give up hope, then," said Vernon nastily.

"Uh ha - well, now that that's sorted" I addressed Vernon and Petunia as Harry got to his feet.

"NO, IT RUDDY WELL IS NOT ALL!" bellowed Vernon.

"What isn't?" I said impatiently, raising my eyebrows and turning back to the muggle family.

"DUDLEY!" roared Vernon at me.

"What about him?" I asked, glancing round Vernon to look at Dudley.

"I want to know exactly what happened to my son!"

"FINE!" Harry yelled as his temper got the better of him, red and gold sparks shot out of the end of his wand, still clutched in his hand.

All three Dursleys flinched, looking terrified. I side glanced at Harry wondering how long it would be before he accidentally did magic again.

"Dudley and I were in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk," said Harry, speaking fast. "Dudley thought he'd be smart with me, I pulled out my wand but didn't use it. Then two Dementors turned up -"

"But what ARE Dementoids?"' asked Vernon furiously. "What do they DO?"

"I told you - they suck all the happiness out of you," said Harry, "and if they get the chance, they kiss you -"

"Kiss you?" said Vernon, his eyes popping slightly. "Kiss you?"

"It's what they call it when they suck the soul out of your mouth."

Petunia uttered a soft scream.

"His soul? They didn't take - he's still got his -"

She seized Dudley by the shoulders and shook him, as though testing to see whether she could hear his soul rattling around inside him.

"You'd know if they had taken his soul," I said gently, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Fought 'em off, did you, son?" said Vernon loudly, clearly struggling to bring the conversation back on to something he understood. "Gave 'em the old one-two, did you?"

"You can't give a Dementor the old one-two," said Harry through clenched teeth and I fought really hard not to laugh.

"Why's he all right, then?" blustered Vernon. "Why isn't he all empty, then?"

"Because I used the Patronus -"

A clatter came from the fireplace and another owl came shooting out of the kitchen fireplace and fell onto the floor at my feet.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!" roared Vernon. "I WILL NOT HAVE BIRDS HERE, I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS, I TELL YOU!"

"It's just an owl," I said, bending down to gently scoop it up.

It hooted softly as I handed it to Harry recognising Sirius' handwriting on the note attached to its leg.

Harry pulled the roll of parchment from the owl and I observed the look of disappointment on Harry's face as he read Sirius' message.

I didn't have to read the message to know what Sirius would have said. Something I'm sure Harry would find hypocritical of him like "stay where you are, don't leave".

"… a peck, I mean, pack of owls shooting in and out of my house. I won't have it, boy, I won't -"

"I can't stop the owls coming," Harry snapped, crushing Sirius' letter in his fist.

"I want the truth about what happened tonight!" barked Vernon. "If it was Demenders who hurt Dudley, how come you've been suspended? You did you-know-what, you've admitted it!"

Harry took a deep, steadying breath.

"I did the Patronus Charm to get rid of the Dementors," he said. "It's the only thing that works against them."

"But what were Dementoids doing in Little Whinging?" said Vernon in an outraged tone.

"Couldn't tell you," said Harry wearily. "No idea."

"It's exactly what I want to know as well" I pondered out loud looking at Harry.

The Dursleys were all staring at us.

"It's you," said Vernon forcefully pointing at Harry. "It's got something to do with you. Why else would they turn up here? You've got to be the only - the only - only you-know-what for miles."

I looked from Vernon to Harry mouthing the words "you-know-what" who again shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why they were here." Harry said addressing his Uncle.

"These Demembers guard some weirdo prison?" asked Vernon

"Yes," said Harry.

"Well then they were coming to arrest you!" said Vernon, with a triumphant voice. "That's it, isn't it, boy? You're on the run from the law!"

"Don't be ridiculous Vernon" I said looking at him frowning. "Dementors don't arrest people."

"Then why -?"

"He must have sent them," said Harry quietly, more to himself than to Vernon. He looked at me as my head snapped to him at his words.

"Of course" I breathed "or at least sent here on his orders" my mind started to reel with theories.

"What's that? Who must have sent them?" Vernon asked looking between us.

"Lord Voldemort," said Harry.

"Lord - hang on," said Vernon, his face screwed up, like he was trying to remember "I've heard that name … that was the one who -"

"Murdered my parents, yes," Harry said.

"But he's gone," said Vernon impatiently, "That giant bloke said so."'

"He's back," I said heavily.

"Back?" whispered Petunia.

I looked at her to see that she was looking at Harry in a very strange way, as though she knew what it meant that Voldemort was back.

"Yes," Harry said, talking directly to his Aunt now. "He came back a month ago. I saw him."

Her hands found Dudley's massive shoulders and clutched them.

"Hang on," said Vernon, looking from his wife to Harry and back again. "This Lord Voldything's back, you say."

"Yes."

"The one who murdered your parents."

"Yes."

"And now he's sending Dismembers after you?"

"Looks like it," said Harry.

"I see," said Vernon, looking from his white-faced wife to Harry "Well, that settles it," he said, his shirt front straining as he inflated himself, "you can get out of this house, boy!"

"What?" said Harry.

"You heard me - OUT!" Vernon bellowed, and even Petunia and Dudley jumped. "OUT! I should've done this years ago! You've had it! You're history! You're not staying here if some loony's after you, you're not endangering my wife and son, you're not bringing trouble down on us. If you're going the same way as your useless parents, I've had it! OUT!"

Harry stood rooted to the spot.

"Vernon he can't leave this house" I said with a warning underlying my voice. I immediately looked over Vernon to Petunia 'Tuney, you know he can't leave. You promised."

Petunia looked at me with an expression on her face that I couldn't quite decipher.

'You can get out as well Mary! You heard me!' said Vernon looking at me and I dropped my gaze to frown at him.

Mary?

He turned to Harry and bent forwards, his massive purple face coming so close to Harry's.

"Get going! Why we ever kept you in the first place, I don't know. Marge was right, it should have been the orphanage. We were too damn soft for our own good, thought we could squash it out of you, thought we could turn you normal, but you've been rotten from the beginning and I've had enough - owls!"

Another owl zoomed down the chimney so fast it actually hit the floor before zooming into the air again with a loud screech. Harry raised his hand to seize the letter, which was in a scarlet envelope, but it soared straight over his head, flying directly at Petunia, who let out a scream and ducked her arms over her face. The owl dropped the red envelope on her head, turned, and flew straight back up the chimney.

Harry darted forwards to pick up the letter, but Petunia beat him to it.

"You can open it if you like," said Harry, "but I'll hear what it says anyway. That's a Howler."

"Don't touch it, it could be dangerous!" roared Vernon.

"It's addressed to me," said Petunia in a shaking voice. "It's addressed to me, Vernon, look!"

She caught her breath, horrified. The red envelope had begun to smoke.

"Open it!" Harry urged her.

"No."

Petunia's hand was trembling. She looked wildly around the kitchen as though looking for an escape route, but too late - the envelope burst into flames. Petunia screamed and dropped it.

An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the burning letter on the table.

"Remember my last, Petunia."

Petunia looked as though she might faint. She sank into the chair beside Dudley, her face in her hands. The remains of the envelope smouldered into ash in the silence.

"What is this?" Vernon said hoarsely. "What - I don't - Petunia?"

Petunia said nothing and locked her eyes with me. I felt like I had been running as panic began to creep into my chest. . I knew that the howler was from Dumbledore. But would Petunia listen? I continued to stare at Petunia, willing her to keep her promise.

Dudley was staring stupidly at his mother, his mouth hanging open. The silence spiralled horribly. Harry was watching his aunt, utterly bewildered.

"Petunia, dear?" said Vernon timidly. "P-Petunia?"

She looked at her husband, She was still trembling. She swallowed.

"The boy - the boy will have to stay, Vernon," she said weakly.

"W-what?"

"He stays," she said. She was not looking at Harry. She quickly glanced at me and got to her feet again.

"He … but Petunia …"

"If we throw him out, the neighbours will talk," she said. She was rapidly regaining her brisk, snappish manner, though she was still very pale. "They'll ask awkward questions, they'll want to know where he's gone. We'll have to keep him."

"But Petunia, dear -" Vernon spluttered.

Petunia ignored him. She turned to Harry.

"You're to stay in your room," she said. "You're not to leave the house. Now get to bed."

Harry didn't move.

"Who was that Howler from?"

"Don't ask questions," Petunia snapped.

"Are you in touch with wizards?"

"I told you to get to bed!"

"What did it mean? Remember the last what?"

"Go to bed!"

"How come -?"

'YOU HEARD YOUR AUNT, NOW GO UP TO BED!'

"Walk me out before you go upstairs Harry" I said, trying to defuse the situation.

I took in a deep breath and turned to the Dursleys.

"It was lovely to see you again" I said, hoping the sarcasm wasn't too obvious.

They glared at me in response.

I turned and opened the kitchen door gesturing Harry into the hallway.

"Who was that Howler from?" Harry asked quietly as we walked to the front door.

"I don't know." I lied and continued quickly "Listen, I know how frustrating this is but you must stay in this house -"

"But-" Harry started.

"I'm sure they will come to collect you soon-" I continued as though Harry hadn't spoken.

"Who?" Harry snapped looking puzzled.

I smiled sadly at Harry wishing I could explain.

"You'll see soon enough," I said.

"When?" Harry asked sharply. I could tell he was beginning to lose his temper again.

"Within the next few days" I said "but promise me you'll stay here and be safe"

Harry looked like he had a million retorts lined up but after locking eyes with me he eventually nodded.

I smiled again at him "I'll see you soon" I said and I briefly brushed my fingers over his cheek affectionately.

I opened the front door and stepped into the now pitch black street and as the front door clicked closed behind me, I disapperated to Grimmauld Place.