#dudders the cat

[cruciferous-spatula]

And we're back with the Tuarua household :) which is much smaller now that Aroha and Oraora have moved out. Pouri and Maru are getting fish and fresh herbs for dinner. Papa Puawai helps too

The animals are only just barely getting along..

Sometimes the family goes to the beach. Pouri get a sweet tan

Puawai, on the other hand, got heatstroke and burnt :(

Friggin cats. Ok so fights between sims are deadly in this challenge. Should fights between pets be deadly? wtf hell no wtf is wrong with you how could you even think it

After a long life of fishing, Pua masters the craft. Or skill I guess. Is fishing a craft?

Also Teina grew up! And is now a Teinager hoh hoh hoooo

In less nice news, Vang makes his exit :(

I promise they're not eating the cat, also how dare you suggest such a thing

Teina works on her cooking skill

And I gave Maru a slightly different haircut. I had to! I kept mixing her up with Roimata Keji because they looked too similar.

And that's it! Another household I speed x3'd basically all the round through lol sry

[endinsosuddenly]

understanding

Ohhh yeah bby lets go chapter 3 - shorter chapter but oh well

-

Sirius had been walking forever. Well, Padfoot had been. It’d been a couple of days since he set off to find Harry. He’d had to stay as Padfoot, to not alert any wizards that were roaming muggle London. Sirius had to ditch the flannel, running from muggle dog catchers, the flannel tied around his collar had gotten stuck and ripped on a fence Padfoot squeezed through. Though it was no issue, he was close enough to Surrey to know where he was going. 

Padfoot wasn’t wet from the sea or the rain anymore but he was still ungodly dirty. Sirius liked to stay clean, for the most part, so this was irking him more than anything. He had to put that in the back of his mind though because he was getting close to Surrey and to Harry. Closer than he thought. 

Roaming through the woods as a shortcut, Padfoot caught onto a familiar smell. A familiar smell that sent him running, trying to get to the edge of the forest, and when he saw Harry, it was like seeing him when James placed the adorable baby boy in his hands for the first time. Nostalgia had hit him like the waves until a voice that irked Padfoot so badly rang out, “Mummy look!” A voice very much not Harry, but still, Harry and a woman Padfoot clearly knew as Petunia ran towards the voice. It wasn’t until Harry looked at Sirius that he really felt the weight of it hit him, he was here. He was here and he’d found Harry! But he didn’t have a plan. Didn’t really know where to go from here. 

But he trotted over anyway, acting as gentle as he could. Though, he couldn’t take his eyes off Harry.

Sirius thought he’d look like James. And he did! But that’s where the resemblance stopped as of right now. Sirius could see in his eyes, Lily’s eyes, that there was no trace of James in this little boy. There was a little of James, of course, as Harry was his son, but only tiny seeds. Tiny seeds that hadn’t gotten the chance to grow because of the environment they’d been stuck in. Everytime those seeds would grow, there would be an invisible force stomping them back into the dirt. 

It took Sirius by surprise, seeing the same boy that he saw in Grimmauld’s mirror all those years ago in the one child he’d never wish any kind of harm. Lily was in there too though, kind and caring, but could snap back like a firecracker. Kind and caring when the only thing this child has ever known is misery. 

It was a blur of color, voices, and being prodded at, Padfoot having to stop himself short of maiming the child he’d guessed Petunia’s. But it was worth it, because he’d finally gotten to Harry. 

The car ride was peaceful, after being prodded at the Vet’s, being able to lay his head on Harry’s lap. Though, he couldn’t help what the boy was thinking. Was he wary of the dog? Lucky for him, the answer was no. Harry was happy the dog was there, he thought maybe if Dudley was preoccupied with Padfoot he wouldn’t bother Harry. 

It was silent, going back to 4 Privet Drive until Petunia interrupted the silence.  “When we get home, I expect you to finish up the yard, Harry. Maybe even take the dog out, so my Dudders won’t have to deal with it.” She said cooing at her son, clearly still taking in the idea of even having a dog. Harry suspected she only said yes because Dudley was so precious! ‘Yes’, Harry thought, ‘so precious.’ He wondered what she’d think of her darling Duddy when she found out he was as bright as a broken bulb and as nice as his father, so not at all. Considering his all F’s, and Petunia never saying anything, Harry didn’t think she’d care. “Yeah! And take the dog out too, I don’t wanna deal with all the yucky stuff!” Dudley, loud as ever, ordered Harry. Of course, Harry suspected he’d have to deal with all the actual parts that come with having a dog so this wasn’t very shocking. 

Harry thought the dog was weird. Weird but comforting. He’d always liked animals, snakes, dogs, and cats the most. Though birds were nice too, he’d always wondered what it'd be like to fly, he always imagined he’d like it, especially if the dreams he had were anything to base it off of. But Padfoot was soft, and he seemed to like Harry, which is what took him by surprise the most. No one liked Harry. 

When the four of them arrived at Number 4 Privet Dr. Sirius was .. unimpressed. It was bland, and boring. The yard was the only good thing about it. Petunia got Dudley out of the car first before walking straight to the door, not bothering with Harry. Sirius tucked that interaction into a little corner in the back of his mind for later. Harry gently lifted Padfoot’s head off his lap, “C’mon, Padfoot. Let’s go inside.” 

Harry opened the door, getting himself out (with a little struggle) before grabbing onto Padfoot’s leash and beckoning him to get out of the car. Padfoot, ever obedient, followed and walked next to Harry while he led both to the door. The door was black and opened wide so Padfoot could see the interior.

‘As bland as the outside,’ Sirius grumbled in his head. Harry led him inside, letting Padfoot go in first then closing the door behind them softly. Padfoot could hear voices coming from the kitchen, all sounding prideful and irritating. 

“Here, Padfoot,” Harry led him deeper in the hallway, no longer holding onto the leash (which Sirius was thankful for,) and simply just beckoning him with hand motions. “Let’s go meet Uncle Vernon,” Harry rolled his eyes at Padfoot and when Padfoot let out a laugh like huff Harry looked at him with shock, “Can yo-?” 

“And here it is!” A big bulk of a man came bulldozing from the kitchen into the small hallway, rushing to Padfoot and all but pushing Harry into the wall. Padfoot slightly growled at the motion, looking at Harry first to see if he was alright before directing his glare to who he knows as Uncle Vernon. Of course, they’d met at Lily’s and James’ wedding. It hadn’t been pleasant. 

Sirius had prepared himself to see things that would disturb him, but he promised himself to only intervene as human if it was something serious . He would be no good to Harry if he was locked back in Azkaban. Sirius would never forgive himself if he let Harry, and by proxy, James and Lily, down again. Of course, Padfoot would intervene but Sirius wouldn’t. 

“Look at him! My Dudley sure knows how to pick em’, aye Petunia?” Vernon’s loud voice boomed, beaming with pride that his son found such a fine dog. “I tried to tell him no, but well, he’s very persuasive, I think your advice is working, Vernon!” Petunia grinned at her husband. Vernon had been giving Dudley lessons all about being persuasive and getting a yes when someone says no. Harry thought it was plain bullshit. “That’s my boy! Never take no for an answer!” Vernon playfully wiggled his finger at Dudley, while his son beamed with pride. 

But of course, Harry had to ruin everything.. By existing. “And what are you doing? Just standing there? I believe your gracious Aunt gave you instructions.” Vernon raised his eyebrow at his nephew, “Sorry, Uncle.” Harry grumbled and made his way back outside to finish mowing the yard like Petunia requested. 

The family went back into the kitchen, paying less attention to Padfoot and more to the fact Dudley had ‘persuaded’ his mother. Padfoot rolled his eyes more than one listening to the idiocy spewing from the mouths. He kept his eyes on Harry for the most part, looking at him mowing the lawn, it was a bit difficult since Vernon had got the best mower known to man. It was tall and Harry was not. Padfoot guessed it had something to do with his ‘mistreatment’ because James had always been fairly tall and Lily was above average height as well. 

Though eventually, Dudley wanted to play with Padfoot in the living room. Sirius knew he had to play along for now, even though he really didn’t want to, so he barked and did what he thought Dudley would like before Harry came in and started to cook dinner. 

Sirius was concerned it looked like a habit. 

Harry cooked pork chops with peas and tater tots on the side, Vernon’s favorite on Fridays. He started cooking and Padfoot abandoned Dudley, who whined for a minute before turning on the TV and watching some show Padfoot couldn’t stand. He made his way towards Harry, putting his paws on the counter and helping as much as he could, nudging items, moving the pan with his paws so the pork chops wouldn’t cook too much on one side when Harry was preoccupied with the other ingredients. 

Whenever he would do something like that, Harry would look at him with an incredulous look. More surprised someone would help him, rather than it was a dog helping him. “Can you understand me?” Harry brought up his question from earlier, “It’s okay if you can. I won’t tell anyone. No one would believe me, if I did.” He whispered to Padfoot. Ducking his head down in secrecy,

Sirius thought for a minute. Would it be wise to tell him yes? He thought for a minute and considered Harry knowing he had someone who understood him and loved him was a greater need than Sirius’ own secrecy. Plus, why even be secretive? All Harry had to know was he understood, not the whole situation. 

Padfoot nodded, Harry looked at him in shock. 

Padfoot looked at the stove and whined to Harry, reminding him of his task. “Oh! Right,” Harry scolded himself, quickly focusing back on the food, not wanting to burn it. Not wanting to make that mistake again. “So.. are you.. Like- Like, are you-” Harry sighed in frustration, before putting his hand up in a ‘forget it’ motion. 

Harry knew better than to ask if Padfoot was magic. Magic wasn’t real. Magic was bad. It was a stupid thought, Harry wouldn't bring it up again. Padfoot was just smart. That's it. 

He and Padfoot finished the family's meal, making sure to leave some for himself and Padfoot, discreetly. He would have to go buy dog food the next time they sent him grocery shopping. Until then, he’d slip Padfoot food. Feeding him like he fed himself. 

The family ate, the other family cleaned up the kitchen. Padfoot helped the same way he helped with the cooking process. 

They finished cleaning fairly quickly, Harry already being fast and with Padfoot’s help it took even shorter the time it usually would. Once the family was done eating they cleaned their plates too. 

After cleaning, Harry gets sent to his cupboard. 

“Boy! Are you done cleaning?” 

“Yes, Uncle Vernon.”

“Done with the yard?”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon.”

“Good, maybe you can be good for something.” The family snickered. “Now, go to your room. And so help me boy.. If you wake me up again in the middle of the night..” 

“I won’t, Uncle Vernon, i’m sorry.” Harry clenched his fists while Padfoot growled under his breath, not liking where this was going. 

Padfoot thought he didn’t like it before. He felt disgusted, almost as if it wasn’t him watching this happen, when Harry walked over to the Cupboard Under the Stairs, pulled the door open and he saw Harry’s ‘room.’ 

Sirius stood there frozen before, “You go too, mutt. Dudley doesn't need dog hair all over his clothes. You can come out in the morning. If I catch you barking, you’re going back to the streets.” Vernon barked at Padfoot, the proud façade fading once the surprise of the dog ended. Dudley staring at the TV, braindead. Petunia reading her magazine. 

Padfoot trotted over to the Cupboard, not before 'playfully' nipping at Vernon's ankles, hopping in along with Harry before Vernon bounced over, ever so gracefully, slammed the door and locked it shut. 

Padfoot layed close to Harry, mind still reeling from where he is, the cupboard, how he got here, the cupboard, Harry, the cupboard! He’s in a cupboard. Harry’s room.. Is a cupboard! Sirius let himself think about all the ways he could really earn his murderer title. 

“It’s just you and me now, Padfoot.” Harry chuckled, grimly.

And as Harry’s hand ran through Padfoot’s fur, gently, he couldn’t help but let the anger fade away and his mind clear at his words. 

‘Yeah, Harry.’ Padfoot snuggled closer to Harry, ‘It’s just you and me now.’ 

[readingsoyoucanavoidlife]

Harry’s Firsts

~Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always told him that he was way to late having his first word, after all Dudders said his at 1year and 3 months old. He only said his 4 months after coming to them, he was about 1 year and 7months. He was an awfully slow and stupid for their liking. Little did he know, he said his first word at 9 months with his parents and it was “Pong”, baby Harry wasn’t paid much attention for them to here his calls and he soon learnt that it was a waste to speak.

~Harry thought his first steps was right after Dudley had his, because he always was a little git that stole all of his cousins special moments. He always was attention seeking and he had to be the one caught on camera. Although Remus can still remember the time where they were baby sitting Harry and he got up and moved to Sirius when he turned into a dog. He remembers the shocked faces and the understandable upset of James and Lily when they found out they missed it. 

~ Aunt Petunia said that Harry’s first tooth came through out of no where, right after they had agreed to take him in. He was very odd and he still hasn���t changed, even if they thought he would grow up semi normal. Even despite what his parents were. Actually, his first tooth came through months ago but the few days before he arrived to them Peter accidentally knocked it out in his unknown fidgety and jumpy state. It had only magically grown back when Aunt Petunia had discovered it.  

~ Harry thought his first time to the Zoo was his cousins birthday just before he himself turned 11. However all the young Order of the Phoenix members took the two little Neville and Harry around a muggle zoo. They made noises and smiled a lot, it was also there when Harry had his first ice cream. The Marauders, Longbottom's, McDonald, Prewett’s, Vance McKinnon's/Meadows all had a great time with the war pushed to the back of their head. 

~Harry thought his first time on a broom was at Hogwarts, chasing Malfoy to help one of his new friends, until he saw the picture of his happy parents and little messy haired baby zooming around and frightening a cat. 

~There are also so many firsts that the Potters and Marauders celebrated, but the Dursley’s just didn’t care enough to notice what they would have thought to be his firsts. 

[kats-fic-recs]

Harry Potter Fics that are Simply Magical

Psssst see what I did there ;)

1) he will have power the dark lord knows not Words: 11, 809 Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Gen

It was Mrs. Figg who suspected first.

She noticed many things, sitting on her side of her fence with her cats chasing butterflies and nuzzling her ankles, Mundungus and the other watchers dropping by for tea now and then.

Mrs. Figg noticed that Petunia was a nosy bit of work with insecurities hanging from her every harsh angle. She noticed when Dudley learned the word MINE-- the whole neighborhood noticed that one. She noticed that Vernon glared at owls.

She noticed that when Petunia gave Harry a truly horrendous haircut one year, it grew back in at a normal rate. Harry was uneven and weird-looking for ages, hiding under beanies when he could.

When Mrs. Figg had Harry over for carefully miserable afternoons of babysitting, she noticed nothing moved that shouldn't. He didn't accidentally make flowers out of fallen leaves, or levitate anything during tantrums, or turn toys funny colors.

Mrs. Figg called up her mother, interrupting the wizarding bridge game she was winning against the nursing home staff, and asked her how she had known, decades back, that her youngest daughter was a squib.

Love this concept so much and the author did a really good take on it.

2) the family evans Words: 3,529 Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Gen

What if, when Petunia Dursley found a little boy on her front doorstep, she took him in? Not into the cupboard under the stairs, not into a twisted childhood of tarnished worth and neglect—what if she took him in?

Petunia was jealous, selfish and vicious. We will not pretend she wasn’t. She looked at that boy on her doorstep and thought about her Dudders, barely a month older than this boy. She looked at his eyes and her stomach turned over and over. (Severus Snape saved Harry’s life for his eyes. Let’s have Petunia save it despite them).

Let’s tell a story where Petunia Dursley found a baby boy on her doorstep and hated his eyes—she hated them. She took him in and fed him and changed him and got him his shots, and she hated his eyes up until the day she looked at the boy and saw her nephew, not her sister’s shadow. When Harry was two and Vernon Dursley bought Dudley a toy car and Harry a fast food meal with a toy with parts he could choke on Petunia packed her things and got a divorce.

God I wish this happened in canon. This made me tear a bit ngl.

3) a snake in the den Words: 1664 Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Gen

you know what would have been great? if ron got sorted into slytherin.

imagine– we have this kid on the train, the first friend harry meets, with his corned beef sandwiches and smudged nose. ron is eleven years old and he wants gryffindor, because he’s a weasley and that’s what always happens. but it doesn’t happen.

what a way to redeem slytherin house– or, god, at least complicate it. because ron is petty. he is mean and sharp and ambitious and jealous– and he is loyal to the ends of the earth. he is all those things, and he is and always has been good.

potter becomes before weasley in the alphabet, so harry says not slytherin please and gets told might as well be gryffindor. percy and fred and george are all sitting there in red and gold, ruffling the already-ruffled hair of the boy who lived, smug, and then ron sits down and the hat spits out slytherin!

YES SLYTHERIN!GOLDEN TRIO/ SLYTHERIN!RON

4) On Looks (and why shouldn't judge by them) Words: 11,102 Chapters: 1/1 Rating: T

Bill has spent his whole life as a big brother and makes sure that his siblings know to be careful because appearances can be deceiving. He doesn’t like getting approached by people who want a little bad boy in their life (he knows what impression he leaves on the masses).

Fleur is a big sister before everything but only ever gets complimented on her looks even though she knows she is valuable for more than that. She hates being objectified by anyone (even though when his eyes run down her figure, they feel more analytic than appraising).

He knows she’s dangerous from the moment they meet. They fall in love anyway.

I love Fleur. I love her. So when fics portray her as the badass she is, I immediately like them too. Her & Bill's fun dynamic in this is just a bonus.

5) All the Young Dudes Words: 526,969 Chapters: 188/188 Rating: M Pairings: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin & James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

LONG fic charting the marauders' time at Hogwarts (and beyond) from Remus' PoV - diversion from canon in that Remus's father died and he was raised in a children's home, and is a bit rough around the edges. Otherwise canon-compliant.

1971 - 1995

This IS a wolfstar fic, but incredibly slow burn. Literally years. Long build up but worth it I promise!

Sooooo I got on mauraders tiktok and EVERYONE knows this fic. So of course I have to include it. I barely started reading it and am currently on year 1 but god I already know this is a well written heartbreak

Annnnnnnd thats it :)))

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars I (Harry Potter xOc)

A/N: Ok so even though no one reads this I’m updating cause I feel like it and it makes me happy uwu and I have to wait till next tuesday to post daybreak stuff lmao

Words: 1,457

Warnings: None! I do my best here, validate me pls

Series’ Masterlist

Prologue // Next chapter

Chapter one: A Birthday To Remember.

Mel had a sinking feeling in her stomach since the morning started, she was worried, it was a difficult day. Harry's cousin's eleventh birthday.

Since they were little, the Dursleys made extraordinary parties for Dudley: Buy him the best cake, the best presents and they would have his best friends over to go visit the zoo, or the movies, or a park. Harry though, would usually stay behind, with their old neighbor Mrs Figg, since they kept refusing her mum's help.

Sometimes she would sacrifice her own fun to go over to Mrs Figg, spend her time looking at cats' photos and eating musty food, all to help Harry. It wasn't exactly the best help, but she would sneak chocolate bars and cookies, that was something.

"What has you all pouty, sweetie?" Her mum asked, putting a strand of hair away from her face.

"Dudley's birthday," Mel sighed, supporting her head on one hand.

"Is Harry going with Mrs Figg, then?"

"Dunno, I guess. Do you think they'll let him stay this time?"

"You've tried every year since you met him, love" Her mum chuckled.

"Can I try again, please?" The girl insisted, squirming on her chair.

"Honey..." The woman sighed, knowing her daughter won't be calm until she asked, "alright, go. But don't get all heated if they say no."

"I promise I won't," She hopped off her chair and walked towards the exit, "I'll be back in a minute!"

Mel quickly made her way to the Dursleys' front door, knocking a bit too harsh. The door swung open and she met the familiar set of green eyes and messy black hair. He was wearing an old raggedy grey shirt and trousers two sizes too big.

"Hi, Glasses!" She grinned, "Just got up?"

"Don't call me 'Glasses," He replied, rubbing his eyes tiredly and letting her in, "Why are you here? You know is Dudley's birthday, if he sees you he'll start to throw things out the window"

Mel scoffed, stepping inside.

"He can get upset if he wants, I'm here to help you escape"

Harry thanked her with a silent smile and took her towards the kitchen. The routine was normal at this point, Mel comes in and asks the Dursleys if Harry can stay in her house instead of Figg's, the Dursleys politely (not so much) tell her the decision has been made and she can leave the house with no worries (and then Mr Dursley would proceed to kick her out) to yet another unsuccessful attempt to make Harry's life a bit better.

As they walked side by side, she noticed she'd grown taller than him by two inches. She thinks, smiling to herself, that by the time both of them are fifteen Harry will barely reach her shoulder.

"Who was it, kid?" Uncle Vernon asked loudly, He frowned as soon as he saw the children, "Oh, it's you."

"Goodmorning, Mr. Dursley," Mel smiled politely, "I'm here to-"

"Mel!" Petunia squealed joyfully, "Take a cup of tea with us, dear! It's my Dudders' birthday today, are you here to give him a hug?"

Dudley's face got red from the thought of her inching closer, mostly cause he hated her as much as he hated his cousin. Dudley's afraid of her ever since she accidentally caused him to choke on a piece of cake on her ninth birthday.

His mother was (clearly) not aware, she kept the undying hope that one day Mel and Dudley would grow up and get married to have what she called: 'Wonderful kids with the most charming smiles'.

She thought Mel's perfect for her Dudders, she didn't know just how similar she was to Harry; Mel and her mum (and Harry) made sure to keep it to themselves, otherwise, she would've been banned from his house years ago.

Vernon Dursley was different, he could sniff the oddness coming out of her, he knew that a kid that would voluntarily befriend his nephew was someone he had to keep an eye on, even if his wife insisted she was "perfect".

Dudley only kept his mouth shut cause he was scared Mel would try to kill him, even if it wasn't really her fault.

She still hadn't figured that out, How did that piece of cake fly out of the plate and into his mouth at such speed? She could only explain it as a miracle. Dudley was making fun of Harry and she wanted to shut him up in any way.

"Thank you, Mrs Dursley but I had breakfast already," Mel stood in the middle of the room, unsure of how to continue.

"Petunia, she's here for the other boy," Vernon snarled.

"Oh," Petunia's expression immediately fell and turned into slight disgust, "is that so?"

"I'm sure you'll want to uh... leave Harry with a neighbor so you can spend a good afternoon," She continued, "my mum would be pleased to-"

"Mrs Figg called already, sweetie," interrupted Petunia, "she broke her leg, so unfortunately we-"

"Oh!" Mel exclaimed happily, then tried to hide it, "Oh... no! Is she alright?"

"She can't take care of him," Petunia frowned, Vernon growled beside her like a really big, pinkish dog, "but of course, we don't want to trouble your mother, so I guess... I guess we'll take him with us"

"What?" Asked the three children in unison.

"P-Petunia, dear-" Stammered Vernon, spitting ham.

Dudley started crying. Not really, he wasn't much of an actor, but he only needed to show a bit of emotion and his mother would usually stir into action.

"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" He whined.

"That's alright," Mel felt pressured to convince the crowd, but she was still hopeful, "Harry can stay with us-"

"No!" Exclaimed Petunia, terrified by the thought, "I won't risk him causing an accident-"

She stopped like she had just revealed a terrible secret. Mel understood, she didn't want Harry going over to her house more times he'd already been cause she didn't know Mel and her mum knew about the odd incidents. If something were to happen, it would ruin her son's chances of marrying her. Which is of course, completely mad.

"Mrs. Dursley," the girl spoke slowly, trying to reach an agreement, "I can promise we'll be okay..."

"Mel, I think it's time you go back to your house," The woman replied with wide eyes, "go back now."

"I-"

"Let's go," Harry mumbled, leading her towards the door, "before you see Dudley's head exploding and Uncle Vernon spitting his breakfast on him"

"I can't believe she won't let you stay!" Mel exclaimed once they were at the front door, "They rather take you than leave you with us!"

"They think that if you discover I'm odd you'll tell the whole street," Harry sighed, "I don't know why that scares them, but it's better if we stop trying"

"I'll never stop trying," The girl stated, crossing her arms, "you're my best friend"

"I'll go to the zoo, this time" Harry retorted with a tiny smile, "I'm ecstatic"

Mel laughed, knowing that her friend meant exactly the opposite.

"You'll be fine? Promise?"

"I'll try to come back in one piece," Harry nodded, "at least we still have your birthday, remember?"

That was one thing both kids could still look forward to. Mel's birthday was mere days after Dudley's and Harry used to spend the day in her house, being her only friend, it was their favorite time of the year. Her mum would also bake a different cake for Harry, so they could celebrate their birthdays together (Harry never had a birthday party) she was hoping this year could be like the others.

"Yes," Mel smiled, "I'm still sorry though... good luck, Glasses"

"See you..."

The girl went back to her home, miserably dragging her feet through the entrance. The house was more silent than usual, but she didn't notice.

"Mum?" She spoke up, "They said no... but they're taking Harry to the zoo with them-"

She froze in the kitchen's doorway, looking at the people in front of her: Her mother, completely pale and with the most unpleased expression she'd ever seen on her face.

And a very old man wearing half-moon spectacles and long, silver hair.

"Hello?" Mel said, walking over to her mother and hiding behind her, "Mum?"

"Mel," Her mother said softly, closing her hand in a tight fist, "I... I want you to meet Albus Dumbledore."

Next Chapter —>

[sunshinesteves]

 nothing is funnier to me than the beginning of harry potter and the order of the phoenix. absolutely nothing.

like. ok. we’ve got local dramatic emo bitch harry james potter, lying flat on his back, in the fucking flower bed, under his aunt and uncle’s window, thinking his dark emo thoughts, trying to listen to the news (ft. a waterskiing budgerigar, which is apparently a type of parakeet?? did not realize that lmao that’s hilarious) to see if voldy’s done some killin but he, in fact, has not so now harry’s even more emo and then mrs. figg’s cat goes batshit crazy because mr. dung man yeeted himself away from his responsibilities (mood) so harry flips his shit and tries to stand up but hits his head on that goddamn windowsill and then the dursleys show up and yell at him as per usual and he’s really not having it because his head hurts like a bitch so he just. walks away.

then my sad emo boy starts moodily walking around his upper-class suburb thinking about how useless and sad his summer has been (also a mood) because no one tells him shit and he gets to the park, sits down on the one swing dudley’s gang hasn’t broken yet, and just. stares at the ground. broods. dudley’s gang shows up and he wards them off with his weird emo wizard vibes so they wander off (”sEe yA, BiG d!”) and then it’s just harry and dudley wandering through dark suburban alleys, dudley calls cedric harry’s boyfriend, (no comment) harry pulls his wand out ;) dementors show up, scary shit ensues, etc. and then. AND THEN.

FUCKING MRS. FIGG JO WHAT WERE YOU ON.

cat lady supreme turns out to be a squib which is honestly kinda iconic, she attacks dung man with a bag of cat food (also iconic) and helps bring dudders back home, he proceeds to vomit all over the welcome mat, and then harry spends a solid...five pages??? trying to explain voldemort and dementors to his aunt and uncle, gets like three letters in the span of five minutes, peck of owls etc. etc., petunia gets a howler from what harry calls a horrible voice even though it’s dumbledore??? then emo boy goes to bed and proceeds to stay there for three days straight.

[theazkabandreamer]

Harry and Dudley’s Milk Teeth

So I’ve been thinking about Harry’s childhood with the Dursleys and (for some random reason), started thinking about his milk teeth and when they fall out. When Dudley’s fall out, I imagine he gets £20 from the tooth fairy, but Harry? I would say 1p. 2p if he’s lucky and 5p if Aunt Petunia is somehow in a very good mood and Harry polished the family brass so well that Aunt Petunia can’t detect any finger prints.

Uncle Vernon would threaten to pull Harry’s teeth out with a pair of pliers if he didn’t stop going on about them, but Dudley would be smothered with tea and sympathy from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would be chortling that Dudley is on his way to becoming a man.

When Dudleys fall out, they are full of cavities due to all the sweets he’s been eating. Aunt Petunia is distraught but starts making excuses for him. (”He has such a sweet tooth that it is impossible to get him to eat anything else. Everything he has is healthy and he’s a growing boy and he needs his food.”) Whereas Uncle Vernon is proud of him. (”I had my first filling at the age of eight and it’s normal, Petunia for boys to eat sweets. I will not have some nancy boy as a son who only eats vegitables. Attaboy, Dudders. When you get your first proper teeth, we can celebrate by getting you a Knickerbocker Glory!”)

Harry’s however, have no cavities as he doesn’t spend his days endlessly eating sweets and he brushes his teeth, unlike Dudley, who tries to get out of it at every opportunity he has. (”Bugs Bunny is on. I’m not going to miss that!”)

One night, when Harry goes to sleep in his cupboard, he finds under his pillow a crisp Five Pound Note. He has enough money to buy a Mars Bar. Two Mars Bars! Excitment floods him at the opportunities that await him now that he has a Five Pound Note which he vows to protect from Dudley.

Outside, a Tabby Cat is keeping watch on Number Four Privet Drive and as Midnight strikes, it changes into a woman wearng a green cloak and square spectacles. Minerva McGonagall sniffs, and blows her nose on a tissue before turning her back on the house and disappearing as if she had popped into the ground. 

[atomicpizzaandoneshots]

Violet Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - The Vanishing Glass Pt. 2

Summary: Violet Potter, the girl who lived, is going off to Hogwarts this year. Being something she never thought she’d be… Free. Follow Violet as she discovers what the wizarding world has to offer her and her new friends. Rating: TV-17 ish Word Count: 2553 Warnings: abuse Notes: This story is posted on FanFiction.net as well! I’ll be posting on both platforms. There is a “read more” cut off after the second paragraph.

Part One || Part Three

CHAPTER TWO

THE VANISHING GLASS

Nearly ten years had passed since the fall of Voldemort and Violet Potter had found herself living in the broom closet under the stairs of Number 4 Privet Drive. As the sun rose, the light wafted over the painfully neat rose garden in the front of the home before moving upwards to the steps leading up to the door. Soon the half open window blinds would be create shapes in the pristine living room of the Dursleys' home. You wouldn't have known a child lived there if it wasn't for the photos of a rather plump rosy cheeked boy that sat on the fireplace mantel. You definitely wouldn't know another child lived there within the home. You especially wouldn't know if you asked any of the other three occupants of the home.

Into the front door and past the first step of the stairs is a door. A door with the lock on the outside and a sliding plate near the top. Inside the door on a makeshift cot was a girl with bright fiery hair laying on her side sound asleep, but not for long. Violet Potter's Aunt Petunia was awake and the shrill of her voice was the first voice heard that morning.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Violets Aunt pounded on the door to the cupboard harshley before screaming another "Up!" at the girl. Violet bolted upwards her heart pounding. She didn't remember what she was dreaming about, only the sound of a motorcycle ringing back in her head when Violet thought what it might've been about. She felt groggy but knew that if she didn't get up now she'd regret not doing so later. The punishment for not doing as told when told was enough to scare the girl out of her sleepy haze.

The kitchen, just further down the hall outside Violets door, the scrape and clack of a frying pan could be heard as metal hit metal on the stove top.

Her aunt back outside of the door rapping her knuckles on the wood. Violet wasn't she how her aunt hadn't bruised them yet.

"Are you up yet?"

"Almost, Aunt Petunia."

"Well hurry it up, girl. I want you to look after the bacon. And don't let it burn this time. You know everything has to be perfect for Dudley's' birthday."

Violet sighed and rugged her forehead.

"What was that?" Her aunt demanded.

"Nothing. I was just putting my hair up."

Dudley's birthday - Violet wondered how she could have forgotten. It was only talked about the entire week leading up to it. Violet slowly moved about trying to find a pair of socks. Upon finding two mismatched mens socks she had been given as a birthday present two years ago, Violet pulled a spider off of one and proceeded to get ready. The spiders didn't really bother her. The cupboard under the stairs were full of spiders and their webs and the cupboard was where Violet lived. That and Violet would like to think they had a small understanding for shared space.

After pulling on a pair of shoes, Violet made her way into the kitchen. The dining table was full, nearly overflowing, from Dudley's presents this year. Games, a computer, a racing bike, and much more sat on or around the table. Violet couldn't help but be a bit jealous since all she ever got as presents were old hole riddled sticky clothes from Dudley. It could be worse, Violet pondered. I could have no clothes.

Grabbing a stool and pushing it up against the oven, Violet climbed up and grabbed the pair of prongs used for turning the bacon. Violet watched the meat carefully.

By the time Dudley made his way down the stairs the bacon was done and set aside on a plate so Violet could fry the eggs next. Five eggs in the pan. One for Aunt Petunia, two for Uncle Vernon, two for Dudley. Whatever else was sat on the table - or what could be sat on the table - was divided up and eaten by the three. Violet wasn't allowed food and she knew that if she tried to sneak any she'd be punished. She had found that out quickly and hardly. She knew that she was only allowed to eat when the food was handed to her.

Dudley came clambering into the kitchen stopping right behind Violet. Grabbing a fist full of her hair he gave a big tug.

"Ouch!" She yelled out. Violet grabbed her head and whipped around to glare at the boy. Dudley was already onto something else. Uncle Vernon looked up from the paper he sat reading at the table.

"Don't burn the eggs girl. You know what'll happen."

"Yes sir." She mumbled.

Violet platted the eggs and grabbed the bacon plate taking them both to the table. Finding a place to put was hard as there wasn't much space. Dudley stood there counting his presents. His face fell and brow furrowed.

"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his parents. Violet knew where this was going to go and turned around to start cleaning the breakfast mess.

"But you didn't count this one, love." She heard her Aunt Pentina say. "It's from Auntie Marge."

"Alright, thirty-seven then." Dudley said in an upset tone. Violet, and as it seemed, Aunt Pentina sensed danger but each dealt with it differently. Violet started to scrub faster in an attempt to leave the kitchen quicker. Aunt Pentina tried to talk him down.

"Well what if we buy you two more presents while we out today, hm? How's that sound, popkin? Two more presents?"

"That'll make thirty… thirty-"

"Thirty-nine." Violet muttered.

"Thirty-nine?" Dudley looked to his mother to confirm. She nodded and said, "How does that sound sweetums? Thirty-nine presents?"

"Oh." Dudley said dumbly before sitting heavenly down onto his chair and grabbed the nearest present to rip into.

"Little tyke is just wanting his moneys worth!" Uncle Vernon nearly yelled out. "'Atta boy, Dudders! Just like your father." The larger man let out a deep belly laugh.

At that moment the phone rang. Aunt Pentina sprung up from her seat at the table to run answer it. Dudley continued to rip into his presents as Violet finished drying the now clean frying pan.

"Bad news," Aunt Pentina announced as she stepped back into the kitchen, one hand on her hip. "Mrs. Frigg's broken her leg. Can't take the girl today." She jerked her head towards her.

Dudley's mouth dropped in horror as Violet's heart leaped in hope. Every years Dudley's parents would take him and one friend out for the day may it be a theme park, the movies, the arcade, or where ever else Dudley wanted to go. And every year Violet was left with Mrs. Frigg, the mad old lady up the street who owned far too many cats in Violet's opinion. She was a nice old lady but Violet wanted to do things too.

"We could phone Marge?" Vernon prompted. Violet almost felt her heart jump out of skin in fear.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, you know Marge hates the girl. I don't fancy another hospital bill because she gets too carried away in her beatings."

"You know she deserved it, Pentina."

"Yes, I do, but the girl hasn't a job. Just like her parents. Which means no money to pay for hospital bills."

"Fine, fine, very well," Vernon agreged and nodded his head. "Maybe we could phone that friend of yours, the one you're always on the with, Yvonne?"

"Yvonne is on vacation, Vernon! You knew that, I told you so!"

"You could just leave me here," Violet spoke up hopefully. Maybe she could sneak some food quietly this time with no one around to tattle.

"And destroy my home? I think not!" Pentina shouted, almost offend by the idea of leaving her here alone and by herself.

"I won't destroy the house. I could clean if you wanted me to!"

Pentinua looked away from, "I suppose we could take her to the zoo," her aunt spoke slowly, "... and leave her in the car."

"That car is brand new! I won't be leaving her in it to destroy it as well!" Vernon declared.

Dudley began to tear up. "I-I-I-I don't w-w-want her t-t-t-to come!" He wailed out. "She a-a-always sp-spoils e-everything!" His mother took him into her arms. Dudley shot a grin from between his mother's arms indicating that he was doing just what Violet thought he was doing - faking it.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, dear Lord, it's them!" Petunia screeched. Them being Dudley's friend, Piers, and his parents. Piers wanted to be Dudleys best friends, and they were in a way. Piers would hurt Violet in some way causing Dudley to laugh. Anyone that hurt Violet, Dudley thought was a friend to him. Especially if she reacted.

As her aunt and cousin ran to meet the people at the door her uncle jabbed a large fat finger into her face. He lent in closely, "I'm warning you," he growled, "one toe out of line and you'll be in the cupboard for a week. No meals. No nothing." His face seemed to become a darker shade of purple as her uncle kept talking.

"I won't do anything," Violet leaned back some, "Honestly…"

The only problem was, was that strange things often happen around Violet. She doesn't mean for them to somethings they just happen. Like that one time in third grade her teacher's hair turned bright pink while yelling at Violet for not putting her name on her homework. Or that other time in fourth grade when she wanted nothing more than to be out of the classroom and outside on the swings and then, in a split second, Violet was outside. Still sitting in at her desk staring forward only this time it was at the swings not the teacher. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always got so angry when weird things happened around Violet. Uncle Vernon especially. He'd always hit Violet when she was sent on with a note from school or something happened there at home.

When the five arrived at the zoo Violet was given yet another warning of the repercussions if Violet stepped a toe out of line today. And nothing happened until after lunch, in which she was actually allowed to eat and was even given Dudleys dessert, in the reptile house. Dudley and Piers ran around the building tapping and banging their hands on the glass and pressing their faces against it. Violet feared that, under the weight of the boys, would fall in.

Dudley and Piers soon were found pressing their faces in the glass of the largest snake in the building. It could have easily have eaten both Dudley and Piers and possibly have room for more after! Violet hoped the snake would do just that. Maybe she wouldn't a bald spot if it would.

"Make it move!" Uncle Vernon stepped up behind his son. Vernon, wanting nothing more to please his son, rapped his fingers rougly on the glass. The snake, who looked fast asleep, did nothing.

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Vernon compiled but again the snake did nothing and continued to cash in some z's.

"This is boring!" Dudley moaned and walked away. Vernon and Petunia followed their boy and his friend as they terrorized other reptiles.

Violet moved to stand in front of the tank to finally get a better look at the snake. It had brain skin that almost glittered in the faux light of his tanks. Suddenly the beady eyes of the snake snapped opened. Slowly, very very slowly, the snake raised its head and body until the he and Violet were eye to eye.

The snake winked.

Violet staired. Did a snake just wink at her? She looked around the reptile house to see if anyone was looking at her. They weren't. Violet looked back the snake to find it still in the same position. The snake then jerked its head over the where Vernon, Dudley, and Piers stood harassing other animals and then moved its eyes up to the ceiling. The look plainly said, "I get it all the time."

"I know," Violet said quietly even though she was sure the snake couldn't hear her through the glass. "It must be really annoying."

The snake nodded vigorously.

"Where do you come from, anyway?" Violet asked.

The snake jerked its head to the right of her. A sign on the wall read, Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Was it nice there?"

The snake jerked its head over to the sign again.

"Oh." Violet said has she read the sign. Born in captivity, it read.

"I'm sorry. I know what it's like. To live somewhere knowing you have a home elsewhere but can't seem to get out. I wish I could help."

The snake lowered its head as if trying to say sorry.

Suddenly Piers ran over screaming about the snake and calling Dudley over. He waddled over as fastly as he could.

"Move over you." He punched Violet in the ribs and shoved her to the ground. The concrete scraped into her hands and knees. Violet knew she'd be bleeding now.

Violet sat up and gasped. The glass was gone! Dudley and Piers fell through the open space and into the tank. The snake, knowing now was his time, slithered as quickly as he could out. People started screaming as the snake ran by them and for a moment Violet was sure the snake had spoken to her.

Violet stood all the way back up now looking at the glass that now separates her from Dudley and his friend.

As soon as they were back at Privet Drive Vernon turned the car off and slung open he grabbed Violet by the nape of her neck and dragged her inside. Violet wasn't sure what to expect this time. A beating no doubt.

"I warned you!" He shouted. "I warned you if you had a single toe out of line and now this?" He dragged her into the kitchen and slammed the door behind them. Vernon threw Violet to the floor. She watched as he unbuckled his belt from his wait and folded it so one end was meeting the other.

Violet tried to cower away or at least hide her face as the blows began. Uncle Vernon swiftly and harshly brought down the leather belt on to Violet over and over and over. Not once did Violet scream or move. She laid there and wished for it all to be over.

The belt snapped against her skin again this time hitting the skin of her hands that protected the side of her face. The belt snapped again on her arm then her side. Her arm again. Vernon was blindly hitting her, taking his anger out onto him.

Several more hits and insults later Violet was hauled off the floor and then locked into her cupboard.

"No meals for the next week!" And with that, Violet was left to cry alone and in pain.

Thoughts? Opinions? I know this last scene wasn't up to par but I wasn't sure how to write it. Any pointers on these kinds of scenes would be great.

[cruciferous-spatula]

Imole, what is your problem... like yeah Aroha failed that trick pretty bad but you're still booing and heckling a literal child

also hello friends, and happy daily post posting. We're still with the Tuaruae with everyone else in this neighborhood almost

Also, it's birthday! Take it away Oraora (hey Miretsi you're in the shot)

MIRETSI CAN YOU NOT BE IN THE SHOT FOR ONE SECOND PLEASE

meanwhile, Ora's twin Aroha is of course birthdaying too

They both roll interesting traits, acquire fun aspirations, and Aroha finds she swings both ways just like yours truly

Gave them both long dreads, there aren't enough dreads in this hood at this point :) Aroha seemed a good candidate for this highly questionable basegame hula outfit, or so I thought at first... while Oraora goes for a slightly more down to earth look. I really like Aroha's side knots

I did end up picking a different outfit for her tho.

And Puawai aged up too!

I thinned out his hair a little, but otherwise just kept him in his adult stage look pretty much

teaching Pouri to walk is harder on his back all of a sudden, but hopefully the oldest girls will agree to help out with that now that they're old enough for that interaction to be enabled :P

moar soon!

[joebustillos]

Celebrating Friends and Family over the Past Year (2017)

2017-12, Las Vegas NV. It’s been a crazy year. In fact, if it hadn’t been for getting to spend time visiting family and friends and making new friends, especially during my 39-day cross-country road trip, I don’t know how I would have dealt with the rest of the BS in this post-Truth reality-TV existence. Thank you, thank you, thank you and may we all find peace, fulfillment and meaning in the coming year. Images used in the video can be viewed in gallery below the credits. Enjoy.

Filmed on locations noted below… The Producers wishes to thank the following participants list in order of appearance: Jennifer Bispo (Gand Lux Cafe & Mandarin Bar, Las Vegas & Jinky’s Cafe, Thousand Oaks), Matt & Marty Bustillos (South of Nick’s, San Clemente), Gwen Williams & Emily Doyle (Texas Station, Las Vegas), Michaela, Jennifer & Paul Quinby and Josie Bustillos (Long Beach), Debbie Wright & Jennifer Bispo (Cheesecake Factory, Cerritos), Craig & Marie Kirk & Missy Bergman (Carlsbad), NEVA (Kincaid’s, Redondo Beach), Michaela Quinby (Umiya Sushi, Las Vegas), Matt & Josie Bustillos (Denny’s Carlsbad & Long Beach CA), Jason Smisko & Christine Eaves (Sloan’s Ice Cream, Woodland Hills), Courtney Merz, Emily Doyle, Kevin Batista & Sonya Clark (Fitzgerald ES, North Las Vegas), Danni Keith, Emily Doyle, Courtney Merz, & Tig Dudder (North Las Vegas), Pam Smith Stevens (Pub 1842 MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas), Matt Bustillos (JPL Pasadena, CA), Emily Doyle & Courtney Merz (Pizza Rock, Las Vegas), Amanda Stannis, Courtney Merz, Melissa Rowland & Kevin Batista (Gold Spike, Las Vegas), Emily Doyle & Courtney Merz (Fitzgerald ES, North Las Vegas), Christine Eaves (Sugarfish Sushi, Santa Monica), Wendy Gorton, Paul Sparks & Sharyn Gabriel (ISTE San Antonio), The Spotted Cat Music Club (NOLA), Swami, Tristen Spears, OHD: Tom Pearce, Tom Cooper, Craig Roy & Rachel Decker (Route 46, Sanford FL), Kellie Perkins, Swami, Jessica Lang & Susan Scrupski (Eden Bar, Orlando FL), Kellie Perkins, OHD, & Courtney Merz (Ace Cafe, Orlando FL), Holly Ludgate (Ethos Cafe, Winter Park FL & Nagoya Sushi, Winter Springs FL), Mike Mello, Blanca Perez, Sean Lone Bison, Jessica Lang & Kellie Perkins (Geneva FL), Kennedy Space Center (Titusville FL), OHD: Craig Roy, Tom Pearce, Rachel Decker, George K. Dimitrov & Tommy Cooper (Outriggers Tiki Bar & Grill, New Smyrna Beach FL), Rachel Decker (Casey’s NSB FL, Will’s Pub Orlando FL, Sand Dollar Lounge Las Vegas), Sonya Savage (World of Beer, Altamonte Springs FL), Mike Mello & Blanca Perez (Johnny’s Fillin’ Station, Orlando FL), Robert Cunha (Full Sail Labs, Winter Park FL), Heather Haas (Winnie’s Tavern, Wilmington NC), Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (Chantilly, VA), Lincoln Memorial (Washington DC), Brandon Eggers & Stephanie Kauffman (NYC subway & Big Bar NYC), One World Observation Tower (NYC), Erika Barker (Liberty Tower NYC), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland OH), Greg Thompson (The Bean Chicago IL, Chicago River near Wrigley Building Chicago IL, Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda Madison WI), Laurel Quinby-Jones & Robert Jones (Maple Grove MN, Al’s Breakfast, Modist Brewing Co, The Loon Cafe, Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis MN), Arturo Saliva (Coyota Ugly Oklahoma City OK), Meteor Crater AZ, Marie Kirk (Carlsbad), Josie Bustillos (Denny’s Oceanside), Jennifer Quinby & Aliye Aydin (Long Beach). Written and Produced by Joe Bustillos Edited with/by, Music by Apple Photos.app iOS

Image Catalog: Click on any image to bring up larger view and to launch viewer:

2016-11-17 Grand Lux Cafe – Venetian Resort (LV NV) with Jen

2016-11-23 South of Nick’s Mexican Kitchen (San Clemente CA) with Marty & Matt

2016-12-16 Texas Station Bowling Center (LV NV) with Williams & Doyle

2016-12-18 LV Sign

2016-12-24 Xmas-Eve Long Beach CA

2016-12-26 Cheesecake Factory (Cerritos CA) with Debbie Wright & Jen Bispo

2016-12-27 Naked Cafe (Carlsbad CA) with Craig & Marie Kirk and Missy Bergman

2016-12-28 NEVA at Kincaid’s (Redondo Beach CA)

2017-01-21 Umiya Sushi (LV NV) with Mich

2017-02-19 Denny’s with Matt & Mom

2017-02-19_Sloan’s Ice Cream with-Sissy-and-Jason

2017-02-20 Jinky’s Cafe (TO CA) with-Jen

2017-02-23 Fitzgerald Friends – Merz, Doyle, Batista & Clark

2017-03-04_USA-rugby-sevens-2017_026

2017-03-11 Pub 1842-MGM Grand Hotel (LV NV) with Pam Smith Stevens

2017-03-23 at Mandarin Bar (LV NV) with Jen

2017-05-20 JPL (Pasadena CA) with Matt

2017-06-02 Gold Spike (LV NV) with Unknown, Rowland, Batista and Merz

2017-06-02 Pizza Rock (LV NV) with Doyle & Merz

2017-06-02 Pizza Rock (LV NV) with Stannis & Merz

2017-06-09 Last Day at Fitzgerald 2016-17 school year with Emily Doyle

2017-06-11 Sugarfish Sushi (Santa Monica CA) with Sissy Eaves

2017-06-27 ISTE (San Antonio TX) with Paul Sparks

2017-06-27 ISTE (San Antonio TX) with Sharyn Gabriel

2017-06-27 ISTE (San Antonio TX) with Wendy Gorton

2017-06-29 NOLA The Spotted Cat

2017-06-30 Route46, Sanford, FL with ohd, swami & tristen

2017-07-01 Ace Cafe (Orlando FL) OHD & Kellie Perkins

2017-07-01 Eden Bar (Orlando FL) JBB Birthday

2017-07-02 Ace Cafe (Orlando FL) Courtney Merz

2017-07-02 Ethos (Winter Park) with Holly Ludgate

2017-07-04 4th of July at Hacienda Williamson

2017-07-05 JBB at KSC

2017-07-08 Casey’s NSB (New Smyrna Beach FL) with Rachel Decker

2017-07-08 OHD at Outriggers Tiki Bar & Grill (New Smyrna Beach FL)

2017-07-08 OHD in a trailer (Outriggers Tiki Bar & Grill – New Smyrna Beach FL)

2017-07-09 World of Beer (Altamonte Springs FL) with Sonya

2017-07-10 Johnny’s Fillin’ Station (Orlando FL) with Mike & Blanca

2017-07-11 Full Sail Labs (Orlando FL) with Robert Cunha

2017-07-11 Nagoya Sushi (Winter Springs FL) with Holly Ludgate

2017-07-12 Will’s Pub (Orlando FL) with birthday girl, Rachel Decker

2017-07-12 Winnie’s Tavern (Wilmington NC) with Heather Haas

2017-07-14 Smithsonian Air & Space Museum

2017-07-15 Lincoln Monument Washington DC

2017-07-17 Big Bar (NYC) with Brandon & Stephanie

2017-07-17 NYC Subway with Brandon & Stephanie

2017-07-18 NYC Skyline at One World Observatory Tower

2017-07-18 with Erika Barker Liberty One Building NYC

2017-07-20 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Cleveland OH

2017-07-22 The Bean (Chicago IL) with Greg Thompson

2017-07-22 Chicago River near Wrigley Building (Chicago IL) with Greg Thompson

2017-07-23 Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda Madison WI with Greg Thompson

2017-07-24 Maple Grove MN with Laurel Quinby-Jones

2017-07-25 Al’s Breakfast (Minneapolis MN) with Laurel

2017-07-25 Al’s Breakfast (Minneapolis MN) with Laurel

2017-07-25 Modist Brewing Co (Minneapolis MN) with Laurel & Robert

2017-07-25 The Loon Cafe (Minneapolis MN) with Laurel

2017-07-26 Glam Doll Donuts (Minneapolis MN) with Laurel

2017-07-27 Coyote Ugly (Oklahoma City OK) with Arturo Saliva

2017-07-29 Meteor Crater AZ

2017-10-26 Sand Dollar Lounge (LV NV) with Rachel Decker

2017-11-21_Carlsbad with Marie

2017-11-23 Denny’s with Mom (Oceanside CA)

2017-11-23 Long Beach Thanksgiving with Jenny & Aliye

2017-11-23 Long Beach Thanksgiving with mom & matt

2017-11-25 Hanging out with Jen (TO CA)

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jbbsmediaprojects.com by Joseph Bruce Bustillos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Celebrating Friends and Family over the Past Year (2017) Celebrating Friends and Family over the Past Year (2017) 2017-12, Las Vegas NV. It’s been a crazy year.

[halothenthehorns]

THE LETTER’S FROM NO ONE

James quickly began reading, dying to know about his son realizing his true heritage.

The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.

Then he froze after only one sentence, feeling bile rising thick and fast in his throat.

"Longest ever punishment?" Sirius hissed, "and how long would that be?"

All eyes swiveled to the adult Harry, who remained quiet and was hoping this would quickly pass. Then his mum surprised him by placing her hand gently on his shoulder and whispering, "It's alright dear, no one is blaming you. We just want to know."

Once again relaxing at her touch, he finally admitted, "A month, give or take a bit."

Lily pursed her lips, determined not to start screaming again after she had just reassured her son.

Remus managed to ask through clenched teeth, "When it said, locked up, what exactly did that entail?" At first he had thought of it like grounding a child, in a more medieval fashion but still. The no meals thing had pushed him to question this further.

Harry didn't really want to answer, as his Aunt and Uncle had always threatened far worse punishment if he ever told the school about his sleeping arrangements, but his Aunt and Uncle weren't here. These people had shown nothing but loving kindness to him, who was by all accounts a stranger. They deserved the truth. "I was let out once a day to use the loo; otherwise I was literally locked up." He said quietly.

"Did they ever hit you?" James snapped almost before Harry had finished, after all if they could imprison a child, what else had they done? He didn't like the way his boy kept edging around this.

"Never left a bruise," Harry answered honestly, "knocked me around a bit, spanked me sure, but they never left a bruise." Harry felt like he was reassuring them while carefully wording his answer.

Lily dearly wanted to ask what the school must have thought, but she didn't think she could stand listening to whatever lie they would have told to keep Harry in there. Still none of the four were happy, James decided they had pressed enough for now. Harry was looking more and more likely to bolt from the room if they kept up this line of questioning.

By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had broken the majority of his birthday presents and run over the neighbor.

"Why do we have to keep hearing about this?" Sirius sighed. "I really don't want to keep hearing about that stupid little boy."

Harry was glad school was over because that meant he had a chance to wander around the neighborhood and avoid Dudley's gang, whose favorite game was Harry Hunting.

"Do I even need to ask?" Remus frowned.

Harry shook his head and said, "Nah, they liked to chase me down, but they couldn't often catch me. I've always been pretty fast."

Lily sniffed and glanced about the room, finding irony in the fact that these boys were upset that Harry had been bullied, yet didn't even seem to realize they themselves were bullies. Now seeing the damage it could do to the victim, maybe the next time she brought it up they might actually understand.

Harry thought to himself that he was almost looking forward to next year, when he'll be going to the local public school, while Dudley would be going to a private school.

"While that would have been nice," James smiled, "being away from your horrid cousin and all, I am quite pleased that you will be going to Hogwarts instead."

"How do you know?" Harry couldn't help but ask. After all, would a wizarding school take someone who didn't even know they were a wizard?

"Did you not pay attention to all that accidental magic before?" Sirius demanded. "Of course we know you're going."

Harry instantly felt reassured and motioned for his father to go on.

Dudley thought this was funny.

"Why would going to public school be funny?" Lily asked, genuinely confused.

Remus shook his head in pained remembrance as he told her, "Because some people were raised to believe that anything lesser than them was meant to be laughed at."

He told Harry that the school initiation was to stuff people's heads down toilets, and offered to do it to Harry now.

All three boys tensed up at this, not wanting to start in on another round of bullying already.

Harry's response is to tell him no, because the toilets never had anything as bad as Dudley's head down it, the toilet might get sick, then Harry ran.

While everyone laughed at the boy's wit Harry beamed with pride at remembering how long it had taken Dudley to figure it out and come after him. He hadn't even been punished for it.

One day during the holiday Petunia took Dudley to get his school uniform and left Harry at Mrs. Figg's.

"Ouch," Sirius winced. "Looks like you didn't get out of seeing her after all. Cabbages, bletch!"

She wasn't as bad as Harry remembered her anymore; she had recently tripped over one of her cats and didn't seem as fond of them.

"Oh," Sirius cried, perking up at once. "Well then for once the little pup ought to have a good time."

She let Harry watch television and gave him some chocolate cake.

The rest of the adults hadn't looked ready to believe Sirius until they read it for themselves, now they were all smiling and hoping for some inexplicable reason that Harry would spend the rest of his time there until school started. Sadly this idea was ruined the moment James continued reading.

When the Dursley's got back, Dudley spent the night in his new uniform, which was

maroon in color with orange knickerbockers and straw hats.

Remus made exaggerated gagging noises with his throat while Lily grumbled under her breath, "Remind me to never complain about the school uniforms again."

They also carried knobby sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking.

James spluttered in disbelief but Lily sighed and stated, "Don't even start James. You know very well you cursed anyone you could get your wand on without being caught. It's the same basic principle."

James looked slightly hurt but had no way to really deny this so let it go and moved on.

While Petunia crooned about her little Dudders, Harry was trying his hardest not to laugh at the whole spectacle.

"Glad to know he looked as ridiculous as we thought," James chuckled. Sirius was fighting the impulse to comment on the baby name that had been used.

The next morning, when Harry entered the kitchen, he saw his aunt bent over a tub that was full of what looked like dirty rags in grey water.

"What's that?" Remus asked. Without looking up James kept reading.

When Harry asked what it was, his aunt at first clenched up, always hateful whenever Harry dared to ask a question.

Lily huffed and grumbled under her breath, but again James didn't bother pausing.

She did decide to answer him though, by telling him it was his school uniform.

"What!" Everyone in the room yelped.

"Why are you so surprised?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "The book already told you that they gave me Dudley's old clothes."

"It's just-" James started, then looked to the others who were all just as appalled that Harry wasn't more upset by this, "Just last night your cousin paraded around in a brand new uniform and now you're watching your Aunt tell you that they can't be bothered to get you clothes."

Harry merely shrugged, that's how it had always been, why would he be concerned with it now? It had already happened to him several years ago, and he was wearing clothes that fit him just fine now. The four exchanged looks and determined that they would have to have a serious talk with him about this later.

Harry's first response is to tell her he hadn't realized the uniform was supposed to be wet.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Brilliant, glad to see you don't take it all lying down."

Petunia snaps back that he was being stupid, that she was just dyeing some of Dudley's old clothes so they would look like everyone else's.

"I can't decide if she's delusional enough to believe that, or just trying to stop Harry from saying anything else," Remus grumbled.

"The first one," James and Lily said at the same time.

Harry had every reason to doubt this, thinking that by the time she was done he'd probably look more like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin.

"Lovely visual description," Sirius smiled.

When the other two Dursleys came in, their noses were wrinkled up from the smell.

"That could only improve their appearances I'm sure," James muttered.

Vernon went to look at his newspaper while Dudley put his Smelting stick on the table, which he carried everywhere.

"Do I even want to know why he carries that around with him everywhere?" Lily sighed. No one answered her, they all knew the answer.

The mail arrived and Vernon tells Dudley to go get the mail.

Sirius pretended to faint in shock while the others did look genuinely surprised at this, until Remus spoke up, "More of that pretending he doesn't exist thing, I'm sure."

"Really Remus," James sighed. "Can't you turn your brain off for five minutes and just be happy about something?"

"Not in my nature really," he said with a benign smile.

Dudley demands Harry should get it and Vernon indeed tells Harry to get it. Harry retaliates by saying Dudley should get it and Vernon tells Dudley to poke Harry with his Smelting Stick.

"Are you kidding me?" Lily yelped, snatching the book away from James to read that one for herself.

James let it go out of his slack grip, "You mean he actually encourages him to beat on you?" he asked his son.

Harry simply shrugged, but chose not to answer that. So what if Uncle Vernon had, even if Dudley did it without his father's permission, he still wouldn't have gotten in trouble for it.

Gingerly taking the book back from his wife, James vowed to move that talk up to after this chapter was over, maybe even sooner if this didn't stop soon.

Harry gives in and goes to get the mail, and finds a letter written for him. It is addressed so accurately, even labeling where he slept in the cupboard, there couldn't be a mistake. He feels instant confusion, since no one in his life had ever written to him.

Remus and Sirius again winced at such a reminder that they were dead, and Lily and James felt their hearts break once again that something so common to a normal person would mean something so big to their child. How lonely a life and James still felt responsible for it all. He would have wanted to quit reading these books after the last chapter if not for one thing keeping him going. He hoped his son would find out what he had done to set Voldemort after his family, and right that wrong. Hopefully it wasn't too late.

He was so lost in thought that he hadn't realized how long the silence had drug on until Harry had

nudged him gently in the side, a questioning look in his eyes. James threw him a quick smile before pressing on.

Harry reflected back on the fact that he had no friends, family or anyone else who would write to him.

Remus and Sirius had continued to sink lower into themselves at this, but Lily looked like she was thinking something over. Since no one spoke up this time though, James kept going without interruption.

The envelope was a thick yellowish parchment and there was no stamp.

"Hey it's his Hogwarts letter!" James brightened up at once. "Please, please, tell me he goes waving that in front of his Aunt and Uncle and we get to read about them tripping over themselves to explain." The malice in his voice was obvious, as was the eagerness coloring his tone as he continued. He didn't even care in that moment he didn't know what a stamp was, just having recognized the standard paper of a wizard's letter.

In the kitchen Vernon yells at Harry to hurry up, sarcastically asking if he was checking for letter bombs, then laughing at his own joke.

"I don't get it," Sirius said, "and I've heard some pretty lame, dumb jokes in my life."

Lily had a pained look on her face, "It's a reference to something in the muggle world that should not be made fun of. Just trust me on that one," she explained. Sirius shrugged and decided not to push it.

When Harry got back to the kitchen, Dudley exclaimed that Harry's got something.

"Why would he shout it like that?" James asked. "Is it really that odd for Harry to have something?"

"I suppose it's the way Harry reacted to it," Remus speculated.

Harry was just unfolding the letter when it was taken from him by Vernon.

All of the adults huffed in agitation at this, but remained silent, wanting to hear the explosion they knew was coming. Lily in particular felt a vindictive pleasure, as Vernon might not understand right away what it was, but Petunia sure would.

Harry shouts back that it is his, but Vernon sneers back who would even be writing to you?

Sirius grimaced in disgust, "I knew they bullied you, but did they always speak to you like that?" he demanded. Harry just shrugged, which was occurring far too often for their liking. Was he always so quiet because of the way he had been treated in his younger years?

Vernon then glances down at the letter and his large face begins reflecting a rainbow of colors at his surprise.

"Well, he certainly knows what it is," Remus said. "Though I wonder why? Do you think Petunia would have told him the name of the school you went to, in preparation for this moment?"

"I suppose so," Lily said absentmindedly, thinking more of the satisfaction that was about to come. They would have to explain to Harry about his parents now.

When he shows it to Petunia her reaction is the same . Dudley demands to see it was well. His parents ignore him, and Dudley then pokes his own father in the head with his stick.

"Really!" the other two marauders cried in shock.

"His violence extends to hitting his own parents?" Lily gasped; her disbelief evident on her face.

Sirius shook his head, "I would have thought he'd just whine some more."

Dudley then shouts that he wants to read that letter.

"What gives him the right?" James muttered.

Harry shouts even louder that he wanted to read it, as it was his!

"While he has every right," Lily sighed, "and he'll probably be the last one to get to."

Vernon shouts at both of them to get out of the kitchen, stuffing the letter away.

All four of the adults frowned at that, this was not the reaction they had been expecting at all. Could they really continue hiding this from Harry?

When Remus voiced this question aloud, Lily said slowly, "No, I should think not. I know for a fact that when a muggle-born receives a Hogwarts letter a representative wizard will show up that day to explain and answer the Muggle's questions. However this is an interesting phenomenon. Harry is a wizard by blood but raised by Muggles who know about the magical world, so it was up to the family to discuss his magic." She paused for a moment, stomaching the bile that rose in her throat as she remembered all of the lies her sister had piled up. "The school knows if the child's letter doesn't reach its intended person, and the letters will continue coming in until they do. What the extent of that is, I have no idea."

After a pregnant pause James finally asked, "How on earth do you know all of that?"

Lily snorted and finally came back to the present, having been lost in a few memories. "It's in Hogwarts a History, establishing how and why the students are selected and introduced into the school."

"Never bothered to read that one," Remus said with fond remembrance. "I preferred preparing for my classes rather than leisure reading. If I did want to read for fun it would always be fiction."

"Guys," Sirius whined when it became obvious this was going to become a full and lively discussion about reading of all things. "I am freely reading and listening to this book, but please don't make me sit here and listen to what you two did in your free time."

"You could do with a bit of extra reading Sirius," Lily snapped, rounding on him at once. "Maybe if you had cracked your school books open to use for more than a pillow-"

The following squabble was familiar enough that James and Remus began laughing, while Harry nudged his father again and asked, "Is this common around here?"

"What?" James asked, genuinely confused.

"They're arguing, but they don't seem to be mad about anything?" Harry asked, watching the two with keen interest, and a vague familiarity about two other people arguing a lot...

James felt a pang of sadness once again when he realized his little baby would never see these

kinds of interaction for himself. "Yes Harry, those two often have lively debates with each other, but there's no real heat to them. They just enjoy provoking each other."

Harry nodded as he continued watching, but after a few more moments James cleared his throat loudly and waved the book in his hand around. "Do you suppose we could get back on topic?"

"You just completely ruined what I was saying James," Sirius grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall beside the fireplace, but did not stop James as he finally continued.

Harry stands his ground, shouting at the top of his lungs that he wants his letter!

"Now there's a temper we haven't seen," Sirius chuckled lightly.

Vernon lost his temper, grabbed the back of both boys' shirts, and tossed them into the hall.

"What!?" Lily, Remus, and Sirius all squawked, getting to their feet and looking as murderous as they had when they found out about the cupboard.

"I thought you said he never hurt you?" James growled, the book in his fist clenched so tightly it was in danger of ripping.

"I-er-he didn't," Harry said, looking at all of them genuinely confused, "it's not like it hurt," he explained gingerly.

"If he put his hands so easily on his own boy-" Lily began.

"You think I'm lying!" Harry interrupted, feelings of hurt and anger beginning to boil. "I would have told you if he'd done anything worse." His anger managed to keep the shot of shame out of his voice that even though he had told the truth...there was still technically a lie by omission. None of them seemed that happy, but they all backed down, and sat back in their seats.

Harry was still feeling a touch hurt, so James told him gently, "We believe you Harry, we're just beginning to wonder how loosely you use the wording 'knocked around'." Harry just sighed, and waved his father to go on, feeling this didn't need to be discussed further. James disagreed, but was still eager to continue on.

Then he slammed the kitchen door closed. Harry and Dudley had a brief wrestling match of who would watch at the keyhole, which Dudley won, so Harry dropped to his stomach and watched through the crack at the bottom of the door.

"Inventive," Remus beamed.

In the kitchen, Petunia is fretting about how the letter knew where he slept.

"Lily, if they knew where he slept, wouldn't you think there would be an inquiry?" Remus asked, attempting to force a friendly tone into his voice instead of the growl he felt.

Lily pursed her lips in thought before shaking her head and saying, "No, 'fraid not. No one looks at where the letters are addressed, simply if they're muggle-born or not." The others all huffed at that, and now dearly hoped this was a situation where someone magical would come, see this travesty, and have Harry removed that day.

Petunia suggests writing them back, saying they don't want- Vernon cuts her off by saying they won't react at all, but simply ignore the letter's existence.

"Could they though?" James asked, a feeling of fear beginning to twist in his gut. "Could they tell them that I mean. Could they really stop Harry from going to school?"

Lily nearly broke skin over her lip as she worried it before finally answered in a quavering voice, "I suppose, yes they could. After all Hogwarts is not compulsory or mandatory in any way. It is optional for the family to send their student there."

The boys' mouths fell open in shock and horror at what this could mean. Sirius and James getting paler by the second as they looked on at the books in worry. If Harry didn't go to school, he wouldn't be able to get out of that house, wouldn't be able to properly learn magic. Could they really deal with seven books full of these horrible Dursleys?

After a brief bout of shock however, Remus shook himself and said sternly, "No, if they choose to do that, then the ministry will still make an appearance, find out why they choose otherwise, and someone will still find out about the way they treat Harry."

Everyone just turned to Harry, as if expecting an answer, but he simply shrugged and reminded them, "Hey, I'm as clueless as you guys, remember?" Only slightly reassured by Remus, James decided the easiest way to get his answer was to keep reading, rather than let his mind continue such dreadful thoughts.

Petunia tries to protest, but Vernon shouts he's not having one in the house, because they were dangerous!

"Dangerous!" Lily exclaimed. "Honestly Petunia, what have you told him?"

"Nothing good," Sirius grumbled, picking restlessly at the carpet.

That evening Vernon went to visit Harry in his cupboard.

General snorts of crude amusement arose as James demanded. "He fit?"

"Just his head," Harry laughed slightly, happy that he remembered this detail as they continued.

Harry asks for his letter at once, but Vernon tells Harry that the letter wasn't for him.

"Does he really think he's that stupid?" Remus demanded.

"Bet his own son would have fallen for that," Sirius snickered.

Vernon had burned it.

"Harsh," James winced before going on.

Harry snaps back that it wasn't a mistake, but Vernon yelled at him to be silent, and a spider fell from the ceiling onto his head.

"Hope he enjoyed that," Lily said viciously.

He took a few breaths and then tried to force his face into a smile, which looked painful.

"Hope it was," someone muttered.

Vernon tries to go on in a more pleasant tone and tells Harry he thinks he's getting a bit too big for the cupboard.

"A bit big for it?" Lily said, looking faint. "When did you come to that conclusion? Before or after you realized it was illegal?" Harry put a reassuring hand on his mother's shoulder before asking his dad to go on, James conceded that there was nothing more to be said and continued.

Then offered that Harry could move into Dudley's second bedroom.

Harry winced and Hickory tore out of the room in a fright at this uproar. Yeah, maybe Harry should have mentioned that he remembered that bit. As before, he moved to each of them and tried his best to comfort them, but his attempts were getting weaker every time. There are only so many things he could have said before they all lost it and went out to commit homicide.

Finally, with a sense of regret he said, "Okay, promise me this, you won't go and leave this house because of anything in the books until after they're all done?" None of them were happy, but finally agreed they should learn all of the transgressions before the deserved murder. With a heavy heart James continued.

Harry asks why.

"Why are you questioning it?" Sirius demanded, fire still roaring through him.

"Oh I don't blame him for that," Remus snarled, "They've never done a single decent thing for him, why start now?" Sucking in air, as if slowly dying on the inside, James pressed on.

Vernon snaps at Harry not to ask questions and do as he's told and go up there. The narrative returns, stating that the Dursley's house had four bedrooms.

"Four!" was hissed mutinously around the room, but at the promise they had just made to their boy, no one did or said anything, though they were all thinking it.

One for Vernon and Petunia, a guest room, one for Dudley, and one for Dudley's stuff that wouldn't fit in his own room.

They hadn't thought it could get worse, and were growing quite tired of being proved wrong, at this Sirius even resorted to begging. "Come on Harry, a second room for his crap, while you slept with the shoes! That is bad enough for whatever punishment." Harry pursed his lips but shook his head, instinctively knowing he didn't want anyone in this house to leave it any time soon.

It only took Harry one trip to get his stuff upstairs, and he spent a moment looking around at everything in his new space. A lot of junk mostly, like Dudley's broken birthday presents, some dusty old books that looked as if they'd never been touched, and a television Dudley had once put his foot through.

"Hope it hurt," Remus huffed.

Downstairs Dudley was having a fit, wailing that he didn't want Harry in there, that he needed that room.

After their previous outburst none of them even had the energy to comment on Dudley's spoiled brat behavior this time.

Harry simply sighed, wishing he was in his cupboard with that letter, then up here without it.

That was the final straw for Lily, hearing that her own son would rather be in a cupboard with a

piece of mail had finally pushed Lily Potter into tears. All four boys freaked out initially, most of them never having seen such a woman cry, but at her tears, her baby became distressed as well and began putting up quite a fuss.

Lily made herself busy by going about and comforting him, then she got up and excused herself into the kitchen to fetch him a bottle, leaving him with Remus. She took far longer than was normal, but when she came back she was much more composed. Remus gave the boy back to his mother and Lily then told her husband to continue on.

The next day Dudley was in shock. He'd thrown a right fit, including being sick on purpose, and kicking his mother, but he still didn't have his second room back.

Sirius let out a low throaty whistle, "and here I thought Regulus was spoiled. I can't imagine any child getting away with that."

"And I don't even need to ask if he was punished," Remus said with contempt.

When the mail came again, Vernon seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry

"A first I'm sure," James muttered darkly.

This time he made Dudley go get the mail and after much protest he stormed down the hall, and when he got there he screams that Harry's got another letter.

"Why would he shout that?" Sirius laughed, "After the reaction it got yesterday, you'd think he would have the sense to hide it and read it himself."

"Ah but you said the magic word Sirius," Remus reminded him, "sense, which he has none of."

Everybody laughed at this, and with a bit of a better mood, James read on.

Vernon got to his feet at once, going out into the hallway to try and get the letter. Harry grabs hold of Vernon's neck.

"Now that took guts," Sirius said with pride, "You'll be a Gryffindor for sure." Harry just blinked in confusion, having no idea what that could mean, but kept the question to himself. Lily frowned at him, feeling that brawling like that took more stupidity than guts.

After a brief fight where all three of them got hit with the Smelting Stick, Vernon comes up victorious with the letter.

"Rats!" James sighed, not surprised, just disappointed. He looked around expectantly again, and then frowned, still not used to his third friend not being present. He'd have to bring that up again if Peter wasn't back soon.

Harry goes up to his new room, and comes up with an idea. If the person knew he hadn't received the first letter, then surely they were going to try again. Harry had a plan.

"Oh this can't be good," Sirius sighed, placing his face in his hands.

"I'm going to have to agree with Sirius on this one," Remus chuckled. "Remember our first prank? We had a lot to learn about plan making."

"Oh yeah," James laughed boyishly, "still a riot though." Now feeling quite eager to hear this he continued.

He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.

"Not a bad idea actually," Remus said with appreciation, "much more subtle than I would have given you credit for."

"Thanks, I think," Harry said, deciding to take that as a compliment.

After repairing Dudley's old broken alarm clock,

"How did you manage that?" Lily asked in surprise, thinking he'd hardly be let around tools, or even having the knowledge at that age.

"I just filched some batteries from a working one of Dudley's," Harry shrugged, "He'd been too lazy to do it and just told his parents it was broken."

In the morning Harry crept down the stairs, but when he got to the bottom he stepped on something alive.

"Do they own a pet that hasn't been mentioned?" Sirius asked, wincing at such bad luck.

The thing he'd stepped on was Vernon's face.

While Lily groaned at indeed, such bad luck as this, the other three laughed. Feeling quite pleased that Harry had this small victory.

Vernon had been sleeping at the front door all night to make sure Harry didn't do exactly what he was planning.

"Pity he's not stupid as well as an arse," James sighed.

Harry shrunk off to the kitchen, and by the time he came back the mail had arrived again along with a few more letters for Harry. Vernon ripped them to shreds at once. He also stayed home from work that day and nailed the mail slot shut.

"What good would that do?" Lily asked frowning, "And how would they get their other post?"

"Is that even how muggle post works?" James asked.

"Not at all," Remus shook his head at this absurdity.

According to Vernon, if they couldn't deliver the letters, they'd just give up.

Lily opened her mouth again but Sirius cut her off, "We know Lily, you just told us." She huffed and laid baby Harry's bottle down, beginning to put him on her shoulder and encouraging him to burp.

Petunia tried to convince him that wouldn't work,

"You know it won't," Lily huffed under her breath.

But Vernon tells her 'their' minds work differently than their own

"Thank Merlin for that," James snapped at the book.

while trying to knock a nail in place with a piece of fruit cake.

"Is that how muggles use fruitcake?" Sirius asked with genuine confusion.

"No," Lily and Remus answered together. When neither elaborated, James continued.

The narrative continues by saying that things continued to get out of hand because the mail started arriving randomly through every slot in the house. Vernon spent another day humming a strange tune and nailing up all the small cracks in the house while jumping at small noises.

"I think this poor bloke lost whatever sense he once had," Remus laughed and Sirius quickly joined in while Lily and James smiled vindictively.

The next day, they started finding the letters inside of eggs. Vernon began making furious calls to the post office and the dairy, trying to find someone to yell at.

"Those poor people," Lily said sympathetically as baby Harry finally burped. "I'd just hang up on him."

Petunia shredded the letters in the food processor.

"Points for originality," Remus chuckled, still rather disgusted these two would go to such lengths to keep this from his cub.

On Sunday Vernon finally seemed in a cheerful mood again, announcing there was no post on Sunday's while spreading marmalade on his newspaper.

"Why don't muggles get post on Sundays?" James asked curiously.

"That's what you're caught on?" Sirius demanded while holding his sides laughing. "Wonder if he puts jam on his bills?" Remus gave James a quick answer on Muggle post, enough to satisfy James to move on.

Even as he said it, a letter came whizzing out of the fireplace and bounced off the back of Vernon's head. Soon the kitchen was nearly flooded with them and the Dursley's ducked to avoid the swamp while Harry got to his feet and tried to grab one.

"Love the excess," Sirius snickered while James turned to Harry and demanded, "Why didn't you just pick one up from the ground?"

"They were mostly being aimed at Uncle Vernon and landing at his feet," Harry answered, smiling slightly as he remembered something a bit funny next, "and I'd rather not be within arm's reach of him. I was trying to catch the ones that were ricocheting away."

Vernon roared in outrage and seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall to get him out of the kitchen.

Good mood gone in an instance, Harry quickly reminded them that it didn't hurt, and then practically pushed the book back into his father's face, wanting them to read about his funny memory.

In pure frustration, Vernon began pulling violently at his moustache, and came away with great clumps of hair.

Harry couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, after a few moments the others joined in. "He was very vain about his moustache, and he looked quite deranged with half of it missing. Looking back, it just seems funny."

Then he screams at them to go and pack, that they were going away.

"Going away where?" James asked. "Did they have a second house?"

"Doesn't matter where," Lily snickered, "they still can't outrun them!"

When the others were all packed, Vernon slapped Dudley upside the head for trying to pack away his VCR, along with a few more electronic devices.

The four adults exchanged dark looks again at such a reminder that he was violent with his precious son, so it could possibly be worse with a boy he didn't even like.

In no time at all they were in the car driving to who knew where. Occasionally he would spin around and drive in the opposite direction for a while, muttering 'shake 'em off...'

"What exactly is he basing this on?" Remus asked, trying to work this out from his point of view.

"Don't do that Moony," James sighed without looking up.

"Do what?" he asked distantly.

"Try and think it through," Sirius told him with a straight face. "I don't want to see you going as bonkers as this fool." Remus sighed and decided to let it go for now.

Dudley was miserable, he'd never gone so long without being able to play on his computer.

"That is an inkling of what my boy's been through you prat," Lily huffed, not having any sympathy for this boy.

"What's a computer?" James couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Kind of like an interactive TV," Sirius offered, the idea fairly complicated for him to explain. James seemed satisfied enough, though still intrigued to see one of these in person.

They stopped for the night to rest, but Harry stayed awake through the night looking out the window, wondering...

"He's never going to figure it out," Sirius said primly.

"I didn't," Harry agreed. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have dreamed up something like this."

Next morning, the manager came looking for them, saying that she had a hundred letters for a Harry Potter. Harry gets to his feet to claim them, but Vernon forcefully pushes him aside and claims them instead.

"That would be an odd sight," James grimaced. "Wish she'd reported it."

"Not odd enough I'm afraid," Remus sighed.

The narrative goes on to say some of the odd places Vernon stopped at over the rest of the

day, including halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multi-level parking garage.

"What was he looking for?" Sirius wondered at such seemingly random places.

"I have no idea," Harry answered honestly, "He never told us. As deserted a place as possible I suppose."

During the late afternoon, Vernon exited the car and locked them all inside while he went somewhere.

"How do you lock someone inside a car?" Lily snorted. "Dudley fine, but I suspect Harry knew you could simply get out."

"And go where?" Harry asked. "No, it was better I stayed." All of them looked rather heartbroken at this but James pressed on.

Dudley sniffles that his father had gone mad, hadn't he?

"Can't go where you're already at," Sirius snarled.

Dudley makes the comment that it was now Monday, and he wanted to stay somewhere with a television. Harry has no interest in this, and instead reflects that this would make tomorrow his eleventh birthday.

"Oh dear," Lily moaned, rocking her baby from side to side fitfully.

"Something wrong Lily flower?" James asked hesitantly at such a tone, not that he was looking forward to hearing about this either, after all if they treated his boy like this on normal days, why would it change on his birthday?

When Lily said something similar and James had no way of comforting her he instead turned to Harry and practically pleaded, "How did your birthdays go?"

Harry grimaced; not really wanting to admit that they basically ignored the occasion, or gave him such awful gifts he'd rather they'd ignored it. He felt lucky he even knew when his birthday was. When the silence dragged on, James simply sighed and decided he'd have to get his answers from the book.

Harry reflected back on his past birthdays, the most memorable of which was the one where Vernon gave him an old pair of socks.

"Jeez, I'd have rather Harry lied to us," Remus snapped, not realizing his feelings could actually sink lower until they had.

Vernon was back and was beaming and carrying an odd shaped package, claiming to have found the perfect place.

"This can't be good," Sirius sighed pushing his hair out of his face, just for it to fall back again when he shook his head in trepidation.

They were now headed towards a large rock out in the middle of the sea. Perched on top was a miserable little shack.

Lily couldn't help but wonder if Vernon was perhaps going off of the old, and untrue, legend that

wizards couldn't go across water?

"Sounds like Azkaban," James frowned, hating to think of his son in there. None of the others had ever been there, but they all shook slightly at the mention. Harry frowned and chalked this up as a question he'd like to ask later.

They climbed into a tiny little boat and began rowing out there, it was freezing. Icy spray ran all over them and the chilly wind wasn't helping.

Lily pursed her lips at thinking of her Hare-Bear out in that, without any warming spells, possibly even without a jacket. She wouldn't put anything past Dursley's at this point.

The shack was dismal at best, with only two rooms.

"Why was that place even built?" Remus demanded. "The shrieking shack sounds better!"

"I suppose it might have been more hospitable at some point," Lily mused, trying to think of a possibility.

"I would just love the irony if that used to be a wizarding house," Sirius smiled grimly.

"What makes you say that?" James asked curiously.

"Perfect place isn't it?" He explained, "Middle of nowhere, perfectly accessible to wizards, ratty on the outside, but a wizard could fix that up in a jiffy on the inside. I was hoping an old wizard couple used to live there, no family so it was left to shambles. I just like the irony." After mulling that over for a moment they all burst into laughter, though they would never know the answer to this, but they had to agree with him that this would indeed be lovely irony.

The only food Vernon provided was a bag of crisps and four bananas.

Everyone in the room was disgusted that a snack could be referred to as rations. None of them even wanted to think how long Vernon intended to stay there.

When he tried to light a fire and it didn't work, he cheerfully said that he wished he had some of those letters now.

"Oh sure, just rub it in you-" James broke himself off and cursed under his breath a few moments before pressing on.

He was clearly in a good mood; content in thinking no one could deliver mail out there. Harry agreed, but it didn't make him feel better.

"Don't worry Harry; weather doesn't have much of an effect on us." Remus told him bracingly as he noticed how crestfallen Harry seemed to be getting. "It's been long enough that someone should have filed an inquiry by now as to why you haven't gotten your letters. I'm sure they'll be around soon."

He put special emphasis on this last word, for the rest of the rooms benefit.

As the night wore on Vernon and Petunia went to the bed, and Dudley settled down on the couch, Harry was left with the thinnest blanket to curl up on the softest bit of floor he could find.

"Very, very soon," Sirius hissed in disgust.

James entertained the notion for a moment of a wizard, wishfully him, storming through the door with a reasonable explanation of where he'd been, cursing all of those excuse for humans, and then taking his son far, far away from there. Lily and Remus had come to the conclusion that there wasn't much more they could do, due to Harry's promise, so after a pause they both told James to hurry up and get past this part.

The storm was in full swing outside, and Harry lay awake with hunger and cold.

When it looked like someone was about to pause this again, Harry simply spoke over them all that he was fine, and that he had a very good sense of Déjà vu over him. Something good was about to happen on this birthday. Feeling a mite more hopeful James hurried on.

Harry laid awake watching Dudley's watch, counting down the time until it reached midnight on his birthday. At the five minute marker, he heard something creaking outside, and wondered if the roof was going to cave in. He decided he'd at least be warmer if it did.

"I can't decide if that was supposed to be funny, sad, or suicidal?" Sirius asked.

"Go with the first one," Remus sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation at such a description. Even he had never had it this bad and Remus had slept in some pretty bad places.

At four minutes Harry was thinking about the house at Privet Drive, hoping when they got back it would be so full of letters he could take one without someone noticing.

"I should hope so," James smiled happily at the thought.

At the one minute marker, he was considering waking up Dudley, just to annoy him.

"I wouldn't do it," Lily grumbled. "The less of his company the better." In truth, she was projecting a lot of her hatred from the younger Marauders onto this boy, though even she had to admit they never got this bad.

When the clock struck midnight, there was a large BOOM.

"Boom?" The others asked in concern as James puzzled for a moment.

"Did the house actually cave in?!" Sirius yelped, going slightly bug eyed, picturing his pup under all of that horrid rubble. He was sure to survive, but it wasn't a pleasant thought.

"James, keep going," Remus pleaded, feeling concern mounting, what a thing to happen on Harry's eleventh birthday!

Lily on the other hand was eyeing her adult son, and the pleased smile on his face. He didn't look remotely concerned, the opposite in fact. Now she simply wanted James to keep going out of morbid curiosity. After shaking himself for a moment James read the last line of the chapter.

Someone was knocking to come in.

Sirius and Remus relaxed a bit, though James still looked concerned. "Who knocks and makes a 'boom' noise?"

"Well, keep going and we'll find out," Lily snapped.

"The chapters over," James said.

"Guess it's my turn then," Sirius groaned, dragging himself to his feet, but eagerly taking the book.

"Never thought I'd see the day Padfoot would take up a book willingly!" James laughed.

"If it's about my little pup you bet your wand I will," he stated primly, turning the page.

[ladybloo]

Harry!!! On Ice, the Reprise

So months and months ago around when I first watched Yuri!!! On Ice I got really into the fanfic type where crossover adoptions happen. And since Harry definitely could of used some parental love during his childhood, he becomes the adopted kid of Victuuri. A lot of the original head-canons can be read here. @cinnappo helped out a lot with the initial stuff and got me really into it too!

Flash back to the present, I notice some comments on the original post, and I was honestly surprised it managed to break 100 notes, but I figure if people like it, then that’s enough to motivate me to do more!

So here is Part 1 of how I think the adoption and life of Harry Potter goes with Victor and Yuuri. 

Harry!!! On Ice (working title)

Synopsis: Harry Potter is adopted by Victuuri (Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki)

(Part 1) Before Hogwarts and adoption

Victor and Yuuri are visiting England, potentially taking a brief break between seasons to visit and sight see. Inevitably they come across a skating rink.

The Dursley family is at the rink because a classmate of Harry and Dudley’s invited ALL of their class to the rink for their birthday party. The Dursley’s were not able to foist Harry off to the crazy cat lady neighbour, nor to Vernon’s sister. Plus it would look odd if Dudley went and Harry did not (Dudley complained, no one was happy)

At one point Dudley ends up complaining because he fell one too many times (…so…once) and thus Vernon and Petunia take him to the cafeteria to get ice cream. ((added point- Vernon was probably not too bothered by ice skating because Hockey is a MAN sport))

Little Harry is left by himself, with maybe a concerned parent or official helper dude around the rink asking if he’s okay.He mostly shies away, but determinedly keeps doing his best.

Enter the Nikiforov and Katsuki

Victor and Yuuri notice a little boy who is so small trying his absolute best to skate around the rink. Of course they look around and no one seems to be really looking out for the boy, and for someone his age and obviously very new to the ice, there should be Someone keeping an eye on him. But bar some quick concerned or curious glances, no one really looks twice at the kid.

One moment Harry is alone and doing his best not to fall down again, the next suddenly to adults are beside him, wearing friendly and warm smiles. Now, Harry has heard all about stranger danger in classroom by teachers, and once from Aunt Petunia (and he’d unfortunately never forget Aunt Marge who threatened bad and strange little boys got taken away by terrible men)- however he is in a public space and they seem so friendly and nice (he doesn’t get nice very much these days).

Yuuri and Victor introduce themselves to little Harry, and ask where his parents are-

“They died.”

“…oh…”

When they ask where his guardians are, he points towards where his aunt, uncle and cousin are. Victuuri are then introduced to the sight that is Dudley scoffing down a large ice cream, hot dog and can of fizzy juice, Petunia sneering down at her cheap ice rink tea but smiling and wiping at her precious ‘Dudders’ face, and finally Vernon cheering his son on as he’s a growing boy, going to be just like his dad. What they take not off however out of all of this, is their complete lack of concern for their missing child, who is presumably the boy next to them.

For now however, Harry seems quite content on the ice, and his supposed family don’t show any concern. So instead of leaving the boy to it, Viktor and Yuuri offer to help Harry skate, would he like that?

“Yes please.”

SO. Victuuri keep company with Harry, going around the rink and helping him out and time just flies by. They get small bits and pieces from Harry as he grows more comfortable with the two men. Then it all unfortunately comes to an end. Vernon can be heard, yelling ‘BOY! Where are you!’, causing Harry’s head to snap up alarmingly fast.

((I’m not quite sure what happens in between, Perhaps Yuuri and Victor go and introduce themselves to the Dursley’s? Maybe they ask if they’ve thought about putting Harry into classes, because in their opinion he has some potential and talent? I don’t quite know, but either way Victuuri watch as Harry leaves with his family, and they are left with a bitter taste in their mouths and their insides clenching with worry.))

The Dursley’s aren’t happy with Harry talking to Victor and Yuuri (and I’m fairly certain Vernon would have some extra choice words, especially after seeing the matching golden rings on their hands), and make sure to ground him and so on- the usual Harry is unfortunately familiar with. But as he curls up to sleep that night, he can’t help but remember the warmth he felt despite the chill of the room when Victor and Yuuri skated with him, endlessly patient and kind. Little Harry falls asleep that night and wishes.

((This is where somehow Harry meets Victuuri again and they keep up steady communication whilst they are in England. I can’t say what yet, however I am swaying towards either Victor maybe offering skating lessons to both kids (dudley only going cause vernon thinks it could get him on hockey path who knows), or magic from Harry somehow brings them together again, who knows?? I certainly don’t!))

Eventually their stay in England is coming to an end, and everyone is heartbroken about it. Harry is so upset, and Victuuri have fallen in love with the kid who seems to have taken to ice skating and also with them. They also know enough (but not all) of the kid’s home life and they think ‘we could do better’. And that pretty much how Victor and Yuuri both decide that they want Harry to be their kid.

Harry cries because he doesn’t want Victor and Yuuri to leave. They care about him so much but they are leaving and he’s going to be alone again with nothing but disdain and neglect. Harry doesn’t want them to go.

Insert Victor and Yuuri jumping through various internet searches and appointments with officials on how to adopt a child, especially on how to adopt a child and take them back home abroad.

A/N Honestly I’d love for the Dursley’s to be arrested for child neglect and so on, but I have a feeling the magicals would keep butting in somehow if such a big fuss occurred. For instance, perhaps in the past Harry was taken by social services, only to be returned later due to the work of some memory charms being applied liberally. Granted, with this being set in a modern AU, social media would definitely beat the magicals hands down, especially with news like ‘Top Figure Skating Couple, Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki Press Charges For Neglected Boy During England Holiday’. But I kind of want to do a Matilda sort of route with this, where the Dursley’s freely give Harry to Yuuri and Victor (with maybe just a little bit of threatening or pressure from Victor, showing them just how far they’ll go to gain custody of Harry. Social media is a weapon Victor is very skilled with after all, not to mention the other friends they have. Obviously there are still various forms to fill out, and they’d definitely more than likely have to rearrange stuff about (i think i read something about staying 10 weeks in total with kid before adoption?) but they’d work it out somehow.

Both Victor and Yuuri tell Harry they have some, hopefully, good news. Harry asks if they are staying.

“I’m sorry Harry, but we can’t stay here in England with you.”

“…but if you want, we’d like for you to come home with us.”

Cue happy crying.

A lot of crying, and hugging.

A/N For concerns about the whole ‘blood wards’, I think Harry would be okay. He’d be taken to either Russia or back to Japan to meet the Katsuki family, and since Voldemort was more of a UK threat when he popped up, I doubt the rest of the world had much concern over him, especially if supposedly a child killed him, so they wouldn’t be too starry eyed over the ‘boy who lived’, or even at all. Kids wouldn’t have grown up with him as their bedtime stories, nor would they have bought (grossly inaccurate) books that claim what happened that night. Magicals wouldn’t really look twice at the kid for the time being, other than him being the newly adopted kid of figure skating celebrities. So with his scar covered by his hair and outfitted in some new attire with a new passport, Harry makes his way safely out of England and the UK entirely.

SPEAKING OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND CELEBRITIES, Harry is more than likely first introduced to Japan where he can settle in with brand new grandparents and a new, much more nicer and pleasant auntie in Hasetsu. Hasetsu is also much more relaxed, the perfect place to get Harry more used to a life with his new loving parents and all that comes with them (although they eventually return to Russia and harry is introduced to the life of being in the media’s eye because he has two amazing dads).

[justmattycakes]

OR full text after the break!

Arabella stared quietly ahead, observing as Petunia Dursley scolded her nephew, Harry Potter. He seemed like a rather normal boy, his clothes a few sizes too big and hanging like curtains around his lanky form.

"We'll need to figure something out," Petunia explained, exasperated. "You'll just ruin Dudder's special day at the circus, like you did with the school rehearsal this year. Honestly, Harry, the years I've already lost worrying about your behavior…"

"I didn't do anything during the rehearsal! Piers kicked me and I slipped off the bleachers…"

"Don't blame others for your mistakes; you know I've spoken with your teachers, they told me everything that happened. I swear, you're just like that good-for-nothing father of yours was, never taking responsibility..."

Arabella wanted to charge into the street and give that Petunia Dursley a piece of her mind. The nerve of that woman, speaking to Harry Potter as if he were just a common ragamuffin and not the savior of the world.

"If Marge can't take you, I suppose we can lock you in your cupboard. I can't imagine giving you the run of the house…"

"I could take him," Ms. Figg said, surprised at her own forwardness. She'd never spoken up before -- she was only supposed to observe, after all -- but never had she seen such disdain for a child. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dursley, but did I hear your sitter is out of town?"

Petunia pursed her lips, giving Arabella a penetrating stare. Her eyes lingered on Arabella's tartan slippers and matching housecoat, and she suddenly felt self-conscious for speaking up. "I'll have to speak to Vernon," Petunia allowed. "I'll come by this evening once he's come back from the office."

Arabella could imagine it now; treating the Chosen One to tea and biscuits, as if it were just a normal Saturday, thank you very much. She could tell young Harry what she knew about the world of magic and his parents -- they'd been in the Order with Arabella and Dumbledore and the others, after all. It did seem that the Dursleys took the Statute of Secrecy very carefully; neither her nor her cats had heard a peep of magical talk from them since she'd moved to Little Whinging.

Back inside, she spoke to her cats as she went about her daily chores, chatting amiably as she talked about the little boy with his unruly dark hair and telltale scar.

"She was quite cross with him, and for Merlin knows what tiny infraction. I have half a mind to contact Headmaster Dumbledore about it. What do you think, Mr. Paws? Is it worth the trouble?" But Mr. Paws wasn't interested, he was too busy toying with the moth that had managed to slip inside last night night when she'd gone out to watch the shooting stars. Dedalus always conjured them at midnight on the anniversary, without fail.

It had made Arabella feel connected to it all again, like she had when the Order was up and running. She wrote her reports for Dumbledore, of course, but there wasn't the same buzz of energy swirling around her anymore. She reached out and stroked Tufty's dense coat, her tail flicking slowly as she squinted in the single beam of sunlight in the hall. Maybe it was just as well. That meant that they were safe, didn't it?

"You know what, Snowy? I think she said that if she couldn't find a sitter, she would just lock him in his cupboard. You don't think she makes him sleep in our broom closet, do you? Their house is the same layout as ours, just mirrored."

Snowy made a tired sound, and Arabella wondered if she'd been missing it all along. Had she been looking without really seeing? She silently berated herself, of course she had to tell Dumbledore. Surely he would dismiss her from the assignment now, she was only a squib after all and couldn't do much beyond watching. If she couldn't even properly monitor little Harry…

Oh, she supposed it didn't matter. His well-being should be the first priority. "I'm going out," she explained to her cats as she slipped into her raincoat, cradling her umbrella in the crook of her elbow. "I've left all of your dinners, but don't eat before five o'clock or you'll be hungry before I'm home. Be good now."

Arabella walked the mile and a half to Langley station, all the while fretting what she would say to Dumbledore in her letter. 'Do pardon me Headmaster Dumbledore, but I think that the Dursleys do a poor job of providing for young Mr. Potter. They are petty and cruel to him, and are making him sleep in the broom cupboard while they spoil their own son.' It was all well and good to imagine saying it, of course, but she didn't want to offend someone so important. What if Dumbledore thought she was blaming him for leaving Harry with the Dursleys? Arabella shuddered at the thought; best to be careful then. She knew that she needed to tell him about the cupboard, though. It simply wasn't right.

--*--

At Langley, she bought a ticket to Paddington Station, waiting on a bench as her train ticked closer on the schedule. Arabella wrote three drafts that ended up crumpled in her purse before she was satisfied with her letter, spending the final twenty minutes of the train ride staring at the scenes slipping past her window. She'd never admit it to anyone in the Order, but she was intimidated by Diagon Alley, with so many wizards and so much latent magic in the air. She didn't go often, except for business, and there were always places that she wasn't allowed without a wand.

The train eased to a stop, and Arabella switched to the Bakerloo line, riding it until she reached Charing Cross Station. From there, she walked the familiar path to the Leaky Cauldron, careful not to draw attention to herself as she slipped past the nondescript door of the pub.

Inside, it was nearly empty, only Tom the innkeeper and a couple reading in plush armchairs before the fire.

"Hello there, Arabella." Tom met her with a cheery smile and came around the bar, slinging his kitchen towel over his shoulder. "Heading to the Menagerie on business today?"

"I've just got a letter to send today," she said, indicating the short note she'd written.

"Well, let's head back then." Tom led her out the back of the pub, drawing his wand and counting off the stones with hardly a glance. The passageway to Diagon Alley bloomed open from the stonework, the magic drawing it back like a curtain. "I'll see you on the way back, Arabella. And we've got a roast on tonight, if you're interested in dining at the Leaky."

--*--

Once she entered Diagon Alley, Arabella went straight to the owl post and took her place in the queue. The school year was ongoing, so there was a whole perch of owls dedicated to Hogwarts. When she reached the counter, Arabella slid her coins to the wizard running the till and handed him her carefully folded letter. "This letter is for Headmaster Dumbledore at Hogwarts, please."

The wizard looked at the coins before staring at her with an annoyed expression. "You're short by half, prices are listed on the board to your right." He flicked his wand in that direction and a small circle of light illuminated a price. In the muggle column.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm not a muggle, just a squib," she explained, ducking her head. "They usually charge me the wizard price."

He pointed his wand toward the board again, this time illuminating a new message at the bottom. 'Squibs now pay the Muggle price for all post and subscriptions.'

"I see." Arabella gathered the coins and letter, slipping them back into her purse. She did have muggle money with her, she could go to Gringotts and exchange it for wizard money. It should cover the cost of the letter and still leave plenty for Tom's roast at the Leaky Cauldron. Yes, that's what she would do. "I'll come back once I've gone to the bank."

--*--

"Wait, this doesn't seem right. When I was here last month, I got nearly six pounds to the galleon. This looks closer to four..." said Arabella, trying to run the numbers in her head again. She might be doing it wrong, after all.

"Yes, the exchange rate works that way when going from muggle currency to magical." The goblin pulled out a table of figures, her fingers running dexterously across an abacus as she explained the calculations and costs involved.

"Thank you for explaining, Ms…"

"Grylkiss."

"...Ms. Grylkiss. I suppose I've only ever exchanged in the opposite direction."

"You see, there isn't much demand for muggle currency, by comparison. Especially this early in the school year, after all the muggle parents have come to buy their children's school things. Very lucrative time of year for our exchange business." The goblin grinned, her teeth a menacingly brilliant white, and slid the coins and receipt over to Arabella.

--*--

"Have the coins now, do you?" It was the same wizard from earlier, his eyes watching her umbrella with a bored disdain. The owl post was mostly empty now, folks heading home for their dinner or popping out to the market for some last minute shopping at the stalls.

"Yes. To Headmaster Dumbledore at Hogwarts, please. It's very urgent." She carefully slid the letter across the counter again, dismayed to find that a corner had been bent at some point throughout the day. She must have been careless with her purse again…

"I'm sure it is," said the man, dropping her coins into the till with a soft clink, though she could tell he didn't really think so. "It should reach Hogwarts before he finishes his supper."

Leaving the owl post, Arabella felt relieved that she had managed it all. Soon, Dumbledore would know about the circumstances young Harry was being raised in, and he'd get it sorted. They'd take him to a kind wizarding family, someone to give him the love and support that the poor boy needed. Someone who understood what he’d already been through. A cool relief spread over her skin as she turned back down the main street, the Leaky Cauldron just visible ahead.

Arabella found that Tom had been true to his word about the roast; the comforting aroma enveloped her like a warm hug as she stepped through the door, the pleasant murmur of conversation drifting in from the next room. ‘I’ve done my part as a member of the Order,’ Arabella thought with pride, ‘I could justify a little reward, I suppose.’

On the days that Arabella dined at the Leaky, she often chose to sit at the edges of the room, content to simply listen as Hagrid or maybe Dedalus told their stories to eager listeners. Being stationed in the muggle world -- as she chose to think of it -- did keep her away from much of the news. She couldn’t have the Daily Prophet delivered by owl every day, now could she? 

Instead she straddled the liminal space between the two worlds, somehow an oddity to each. Arabella had long ago come to terms with the arrangement; she trusted Dumbledore, and he'd placed his trust in her. That was a great deal more than most wizards ever did.

“Thanks for coming, Arabella,” Tom said as he cleared away the plates. “I’ll just leave your bill here and you can take it to the till when you’re ready.”

Arabella smiled and slid the bill in front of her, reaching into her purse for the small pouch of coins she had. She dumped them out onto the table to count them, and her stomach slowly filled with a cold dread. She counted them again; this couldn’t be happening, she remembered that she’d exchanged her pounds for the coins and… ‘Oh no,’ she realized, ‘I forgot about what nice Ms. Grylkiss taught me about the exchange. I haven’t enough after the letter.’

She felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She had more muggle money, but she needed that for the train rides home, there wouldn’t be enough to exchange more. If Gringotts was even still open at this hour. Arabella couldn’t believe she’d made such a mistake, and Tom was always so kind to her. She felt wretched, like she had betrayed his trust, taking a chance on a squib like her. Arabella’s fretting must have been visible, because she found Tom returning to her table, a concerned look on his face.

“Is everything alright, ‘Bella?” She could only shake her head and try to keep the tears from falling from her eyes. Tom looked over the coins piled on the table, doing the quick math in his head. He gathered up the coins and placed them back into the little pouch, setting it in front of Arabella.

She started to explain, the words babbling from her mouth, but he raised a hand to quiet her. “It’s quite alright, I’ll just set you up a tab. You’ll be bringing the new litter through next Tuesday, won’t you? I’ll see you after that.”

“You’d… you’d give me credit…?” Arabella whispered, nearly in shock.

“Of course, it’s reserved for regulars like you, though. Can’t just be giving it out to anyone, you know?” Tom winked at her and tapped the side of his nose, and went back to drying glasses behind the bar.

She’d never been extended credit from a wizarding establishment before. Squibs always had to pay in cash and before delivery, and even then they would still sometimes sneer, acting like they were doing her a favor. As if her coins weren't as good as everyone else's. It was on those days that she wondered if she should just give it up and go full muggle. At least the cashier at the corner store never snickered when she came for her canned cat food.

But no, she had a job to do, and helping like she had today made it all worth it.

--*--

The trek back to Wisteria Walk from Langley Station felt much longer than the walk there had, though Arabella supposed she had been of a one-track mind earlier. She thought about Tom at the Leaky Cauldron and his easy kindness. She ought to bake him something, or find a way to say thank you.

Arabella was so preoccupied that she nearly made it to the door before she noticed the strange cat sitting on the low garden wall. No, not strange…

"Oh, is that you, Minerva? Let me get the door and I'll put the kettle on."

--*--

Minerva McGonagall sat tall, but there was something uneasy in her posture. She sipped lightly at her tea and asked about Arabella's cats and how the business was; all perfectly polite, but it was very unusual for Minerva to engage in idle talk. Arabella began to feel uneasy, too; what was Minerva trying not to say? Had she done something wrong in contacting Dumbledore? Were they angry with her?

Finally, it appeared she could avoid it no longer. "Headmaster Dumbledore received your letter, and we thought it best that I come to see you. In what you've heard so far, does it seem that Harry is in any danger?"

"Well, no," she admitted, "but under the circumstances… he's just a child. He deserves to live a happy life, this aunt and uncle of his…"

"I know," McGonagall interrupted, shaking her head sadly. "I know it better than most. The times I've argued with Albus about it… But he knows something he isn't saying and insists it's of the utmost importance for Harry's safety. You know how Albus can be with his secrets if he's worried for someone's safety."

They sat in silence, and Arabella's mind raced for some way to make her understand. "I offered to watch him for the Dursleys. If they accept my offer, I can ask Harry about how he feels about living there, how they're treating him. Do you think Dumbledore would change his mind it he knew Harry was unhappy?"

"Unless Harry is in true danger, he'll need to continue staying with the Dursleys. I wish there was another way, too. And they'll accept your offer to watch him," Minerva confirmed, her lips pursed as she sipped daintily at the tea. "I heard them discussing it through their kitchen window earlier. That horrid woman will come by shortly to ask you, I expect. I'd recommend that you not make it a particularly pleasant experience for either Harry or Petunia; I have a rather bad feeling that she wouldn't allow him back if he enjoyed himself."

Arabella sat in silence, feeling the waves of dismay wash over her. She couldn't even allow him to have fun, couldn't even tell him about who he was or what he would become? It seemed so unfair; this poor little boy who had lost so much, forced to continue sacrificing for years and years.

Maybe his safety came at a high price, and that was simply how it had to be. Who was she to argue with Dumbledore? She didn't like the idea of young Harry associating her with more sadness, but this wasn't about her or her pride.

"What do you think I should do, Minerva?"

By the time Arabella's doorbell rang, she had begun boiling quite a lot of cabbage and managed to drag out every old photo album of her cats that she could find. Minerva had helped move the small television into her bedroom, and she'd hidden away any magazines or newspapers that Mrs. Dursley might find too entertaining for young Harry. She took a deep breath at the front door and turned to wink at Minerva, who was now slinking through the kitchen window as a cat.

"Well, hello Ms. Dursley, what a pleasant surprise," Arabella chimed, doing her best to keep the edge from her voice. She wasn't sure how she would manage to keep from giving this woman an earful, but she resolved to keep calm and soldier on. For Harry and Dumbledore, and everyone else in the Order who was counting on her.

Petunia sniffed rather forcefully, scrunching her nose at the smell of cabbage wafting from the kitchen. "Hello, Ms. Figg. I'm sorry to call on you so late, but we've decided to take you up on your offer to watch our nephew, if you're still available tomorrow?"

"Of course, always happy to help a neighbor. Now, why don't you come inside and have a seat, I'll put the kettle on. I was just looking through some albums of all my cats over the years if you'd like to see while you wait. I'll keep them out for your nephew, I'm sure the boy would be delighted to learn all about them."

"Indeed," said Petunia, a malevolent glint in her eye as she surveyed Arabella's home with thinly veiled disdain, her gaze pausing on the threadbare rug and the scratch marks that Mr. Paws had left across the front of the hall cabinet.

Inwardly, Arabella smiled. She was used to being underestimated; in fact it was one of her greatest advantages. It may not be the outcome she had hoped for, but she knew that she was doing her part to keep the boy safe. Maybe things would change for the better in the future, but until then she would play the role that the Order needed her to play, even if young Harry would never know the truth.

Hey folks - made a quick canon-compliant one shot for a weekly prompt (see below). Arabella Figg has a dilemma, should she tell Dumbledore that the Dursleys treat Harry like shit? I hope this hurts you!

"Have you ever spoken up when you saw something going on that was wrong? Were you scared? What ended up happening?"

[heroicintention]

@mindthevoices liked this for a starter from Petunia Evans

“It’s nothing large, just a little Christmas dinner,” Petunia smiled softly. She was doing rather well, really, by herself. Well herself and the white cat that she had adopted in, quaintly named Archimedies. He was quite good company. 

“I know it’s late to be asking, but if you can’t make it, that’s quite alright. Dudders will be here, so I won’t be alone at all, and he’s bringing his family, of course. If anything, you can come pick up gifts the night before-- I’d still like to see you. Now how about some tea, hm?”

[ladybirdanimalsanctuary]

Available for adoption: Dudley! STATUS: Adoptable AGE AT ARRIVAL: Approx. 3 years old ARRIVAL DATE: May 24th, 2018 GENDER: Neutered Male ADOPTION FEE: $150 NOTES: Dudley is #FelineLeukemia positive Dudley came into Hamilton Animal Services as a stray. He had a large open wound on the side of his face that HAS staff treated. HAS staff did a test to see if he was FIV positive. He wasn’t. But, he was Feline Leukemia positive. Not a great diagnoses, but he’s doing okay! We took Dudley to the vet where he was neutered & where he had a more comprehensive test that confirmed the #FeLV . He did great for his surgery, & he recovered fantastically in his foster home. He’s now ready to start the search for his forever home! Here’s a note from Dudley’s foster home: “Are you wanting to never use a laptop or read a book again? Do you have nothing to do all day and can give snuggles ALL THE TIME!!!? Do you want a cat who will literally lay at your feet and hug your legs? Or bear hug you until you snuggle him? Or suffocate you with head butts? Are you alright with being completely covered In cat hair the moment you sit down? If you’ve answered yes, then Dudders is the cat for you! Dudley is the most affectionate cat in the world. The moment you sit down, he is on your lap for snuggles. He falls asleep in your arms like a baby. He lays on the floor & hugs your feet. If you had nothing better to do than to snuggle him 24/7, he would be in heaven. When we first got him, he was sad, skinny & sick & hid behind the couch. Now he is healthy & plumping up, he is a cuddle machine. He is beginning to play a little, & loves the laser light. He is still a little skittish with dangling toys, but will bat a toy mouse all over the house. He waits at the window in his bed & greets us when we get home. He is ok with kids, but probably because that means more snuggles. So far, his feline leukemia diagnosis has not been a problem. He is very healthy, very active & very loving.” Visit ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com to apply (🔗in bio) 📸 @happytailsphoto #lookwhatlovecando #adoptme #adoptdontshop #dontshopadopt #hamont #hamilton #ladybirdanimalsanctuary #felvcats #catsofinstagram #dudley

[readbookywooks]

Dudley Demented

The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing--for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four. He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time. His jeans were torn and dirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his trainers were peeling away from the uppers. Harry Potter's appearance did not endear him to the neighbours, who were the sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening he was quite invisible to passers-by. In fact, the only way he would be spotted was if his Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia stuck their heads out of the living-room window and looked straight down into the flowerbed below. On the whole, Harry thought he was to be congratulated on his idea of hiding here. He was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard earth but, on the other hand, nobody was glaring at him, grinding their teeth so loudly that he could not hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at him, as had happened every time he had tried sitting down in the living room to watch television with his aunt and uncle. Almost as though this thought had fluttered through the open window, Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle, suddenly spoke. 'Glad to see the boy's stopped trying to butt in. Where is he, anyway?' 'I don't know,' said Aunt Petunia, unconcerned. 'Not in the house.' Uncle Vernon grunted. 'Watching the news...' he said scathingly. 'I'd like to know what he's really up to. As if a normal boy cares what's on the news-- Dudley hasn't got a clue what's going on; doubt he knows who the Prime Minister is! Anyway, it's not as if there'd be anything about his lot on our news--' 'Vernon, shh!' said Aunt Petunia. 'The window's open!' 'Oh--yes-- sorry, dear.' The Dursleys fell silent. Harry listened to a jingle about Fruit 'n' Bran breakfast cereal while he watched Mrs. Figg, a batty cat-loving old lady from nearby Wisteria Walk, amble slowly past. She was frowning and muttering to herself. Harry was very pleased he was concealed behind the bush, as Mrs. Figg had recently taken to asking him round for tea whenever she met him in the street. She had rounded the corner and vanished from view before Uncle Vernon's voice floated out of the window again. 'Dudders out for tea?' 'At the Polkisses',' said Aunt Petunia fondly. 'He's got so many little friends, he's so popular...' Harry suppressed a snort with difficulty. The Dursleys really were astonishingly stupid about their son, Dudley. They had swallowed all his dim-witted lies about having tea with a different member of his gang every night of the summer holidays. Harry knew perfectly well that Dudley had not been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every evening vandalising the play park, smoking on street corners and throwing stones at passing cars and children. Harry had seen them at it during his evening walks around Little Whinging; he had spent most of the holidays wandering the streets, scavenging newspapers from bins along the way. The opening notes of the music that heralded the seven o'clock news reached Harry's ears and his stomach turned over. Perhaps tonight--after a month of waiting--would be the night. 'Record numbers of stranded holidaymakers fill airports as the Spanish baggage-handlers' strike reaches its second week--' 'Give 'em a lifelong siesta, I would,' snarled Uncle Vernon over the end of the newsreader's sentence, but no matter: outside in the flowerbed, Harry's stomach seemed to unclench. If anything had happened, it would surely have been the first item on the news; death and destruction were more important than stranded holidaymakers. He let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again ... and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet.... He kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not recognised for what it really was by the Muggles--an unexplained disappearance, perhaps, or some strange accident ... but the baggage-handlers' strike was followed by news about the drought in the Southeast ('I hope he's listening next door!' bellowed Uncle Vernon. 'Him with his sprinklers on at three in the morning!'), then a helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Surrey, then a famous actress's divorce from her famous husband ('As if we're interested in their sordid affairs,' sniffed Aunt Petunia, who had followed the case obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bony hands on). Harry closed his eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the newsreader said, '--and finally, Bungy the budgie has found a novel way of keeping cool this summer. Bungy, who lives at the Five Feathers in Barnsley, has learned to water ski! Mary Dorkins went to find out more.' Harry opened his eyes. If they had reached water-skiing budgerigars, there would be nothing else worth hearing. He rolled cautiously on to his front and raised himself on to his knees and elbows, preparing to crawl out from under the window. He had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession. A loud, echoing crack broke the sleepy silence like a gunshot; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath and the sound of breaking china came from the Dursleys' living room, and as though this was the signal Harry had been waiting for he jumped to his feet, at the same time pulling from the waistband of his jeans a thin wooden wand as if he were unsheathing a sword--but before he could draw himself up to full height, the top of his head collided with the Dursleys' open window. The resultant crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder. Harry felt as though his head had been split in two. Eyes streaming, he swayed, trying to focus on the street to spot the source of the noise, but he had barely staggered upright when two large purple hands reached through the open window and closed tightly around his throat. 'Put--it--away!' Uncle Vernon snarled into Harry's ear. 'Now! Before--anyone--sees!' 'Get--off--me!' Harry gasped. For a few seconds they struggled, Harry pulling at his uncle's sausage-like fingers with his left hand, his right maintaining a firm grip on his raised wand; then, as the pain in the top of Harry's head gave a particularly nasty throb, Uncle Vernon yelped and released Harry as though he had received an electric shock. Some invisible force seemed to have surged through his nephew, making him impossible to hold. Panting, Harry fell forwards over the hydrangea bush, straightened up and stared around. There was no sign of what had caused the loud cracking noise, but there were several faces peering through various nearby windows. Harry stuffed his wand hastily back into his jeans and tried to look innocent. 'Lovely evening!' shouted Uncle Vernon, waving at Mrs. Number Seven opposite, who was glaring from behind her net curtains. 'Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Petunia and me quite a turn!' He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way until all the curious neighbours had disappeared from their various windows, then the grin became a grimace of rage as he beckoned Harry back towards him. Harry moved a few steps closer, taking care to stop just short of the point at which Uncle Vernon's outstretched hands could resume their strangling. 'What the devil do you mean by it, boy?' asked Uncle Vernon in a croaky voice that trembled with fury. 'What do I mean by what?' said Harry coldly. He kept looking left and right up the street, still hoping to see the person who had made the cracking noise. 'Making a racket like a starting pistol right outside our--' 'I didn't make that noise,' said Harry firmly. Aunt Petunia's thin, horsy face now appeared beside Uncle Vernon's wide, purple one. She looked livid. 'Why were you lurking under our window?' 'Yes--yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our window, boy?' 'Listening to the news,' said Harry in a resigned voice. His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage. 'Listening to the news! Again?' 'Well, it changes every day, you see,' said Harry. 'Don't you be clever with me, boy! I want to know what you're really up to--and don't give me any more of this listening to the news tosh! You know perfectly well that your lot--' 'Careful, Vernon!' breathed Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon lowered his voice so that Harry could barely hear him,'--that your lot don't get on our news!' 'That's all you know,' said Harry. The Dursleys goggled at him for a few seconds, then Aunt Petunia said, 'You're a nasty little liar. What are all those--' she, too, lowered her voice so that Harry had to lip-read the next word, '--owls doing if they're not bringing you news?' 'Aha!' said Uncle Vernon in a triumphant whisper. 'Get out of that one, boy! As if we didn't know you get all your news from those pestilential birds!' Harry hesitated for a moment. It cost him something to tell the truth this time, even though his aunt and uncle could not possibly know how bad he felt at admitting it. 'The owls ... aren't bringing me news,' he said tonelessly. 'I don't believe it,' said Aunt Petunia at once. 'No more do I,' said Uncle Vernon forcefully. 'We know you're up to something funny,' said Aunt Petunia. 'We're not stupid, you know,' said Uncle Vernon. 'Well, that's news to me,' said Harry, his temper rising, and before the Dursleys could call him back, he had wheeled about, crossed the front lawn, stepped over the low garden wall and was striding off up the street. He was in trouble now and he knew it. He would have to face his aunt and uncle later and pay the price for his rudeness, but he did not care very much just at the moment; he had much more pressing matters on his mind. Harry was sure the cracking noise had been made by someone Apparating or Disapparating. It was exactly the sound Dobby the house-elf made when he vanished into thin air. Was it possible that Dobby was here in Privet Drive? Could Dobby be following him right at this very moment? As this thought occurred he wheeled around and stared back down Privet Drive, but it appeared to be completely deserted and Harry was sure that Dobby did not know how to become invisible. He walked on, hardly aware of the route he was taking, for he had pounded these streets so often lately that his feet carried him to his favourite haunts automatically. Every few steps he glanced back over his shoulder. Someone magical had been near him as he lay among Aunt Petunia's dying begonias, he was sure of it. Why hadn't they spoken to him, why hadn't they made contact, why were they hiding now? And then, as his feeling of frustration peaked, his certainty leaked away. Perhaps it hadn't been a magical sound after all. Perhaps he was so desperate for the tiniest sign of contact from the world to which he belonged that he was simply overreacting to perfectly ordinary noises. Could he be sure it hadn't been the sound of something breaking inside a neighbour's house? Harry felt a dull, sinking sensation in his stomach and before he knew it the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued him all summer rolled over him once again. Tomorrow morning he would be woken by the alarm at five o'clock so he could pay the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet--but was there any point continuing to take it? Harry merely glanced at the front page before throwing it aside these days; when the idiots who ran the paper finally realised that Voldemort was back it would be headline news, and that was the only kind Harry cared about. If he was lucky, there would also be owls carrying letters from his best friends Ron and Hermione, though any expectation he'd had that their letters would bring him news had long since been dashed. 'We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously....' 'We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray....' 'We're quite busy but I can't give you details here....' 'There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you....' But when were they going to see him? Nobody seemed too bothered with a precise date. Hermione had scribbled I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon inside his birthday card, but how soon was soon? As far as Harry could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione and Ron were in the same place, presumably at Ron's parents' house. He could hardly bear to think of the pair of them having fun at The Burrow when he was stuck in Privet Drive. In fact, he was so angry with them he had thrown away, unopened, the two boxes of Honeydukes chocolates they'd sent him for his birthday. He'd regretted it later, after the wilted salad Aunt Petunia had provided for dinner that night. And what were Ron and Hermione busy with? Why wasn't he, Harry, busy? Hadn't he proved himself capable of handling much more than them? Had they all forgotten what he had done? Hadn't it been he who had entered that graveyard and watched Cedric being murdered, and been tied to that tombstone and nearly killed? Don't think about that, Harry told himself sternly for the hundredth time that summer. It was bad enough that he kept revisiting the graveyard in his nightmares, without dwelling on it in his waking moments too. He turned a corner into Magnolia Crescent; halfway along he passed the narrow alleyway down the side of a garage where he had first clapped eyes on his godfather. Sirius, at least, seemed to understand how Harry was feeling. Admittedly, his letters were just as empty of proper news as Ron and Hermione's, but at least they contained words of caution and consolation instead of tantalising hints: 'I know this must be frustrating for you....' 'Keep your nose clean and everything will be OK....' 'Be careful and don't do anything rash....' Well, thought Harry, as he crossed Magnolia Crescent, turned into Magnolia Road and headed towards the darkening play park, he had (by and large) done as Sirius advised. He had at least resisted the temptation to tie his trunk to his broomstick and set off for The Burrow by himself. In fact, Harry thought his behaviour had been very good considering how frustrated and angry he felt at being stuck in Privet Drive so long, reduced to hiding in flowerbeds in the hope of hearing something that might point to what Lord Voldemort was doing. Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to be rash by a man who had served twelve years in the wizard prison, Azkaban, escaped, attempted to commit the murder he had been convicted for in the first place, then gone on the run with a stolen hippogriff.... Harry vaulted over the locked park gate and set off across the parched grass. The park was as empty as the surrounding streets. When he reached the swings he sank on to the only one that Dudley and his friends had not yet managed to break, coiled one arm around the chain and stared moodily at the ground. He would not be able to hide in the Dursleys' flowerbed again. Tomorrow, he would have to think of some fresh way of listening to the news. In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake. Often the old scar on his forehead prickled uncomfortably, but he did not fool himself that Ron or Hermione or Sirius would find that very interesting any more. In the past, his scar hurting had warned that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that Voldemort was back they would probably remind him that its regular irritation was only to be expected ... nothing to worry about ... old news... The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that he wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for him, nobody would even have known Voldemort was back! And. his reward was to be stuck in Little Whinging for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to squatting among dying begonias so hat he could hear about water-skiing budgerigars! How could Dumbledore have forgotten him so easily? Why had Ron and Hermione got together without inviting him along, too? How much longer was he supposed to endure Sirius telling him to sit tight and be a good boy; or resist the temptation to write to the stupid Daily Prophet and point out that Voldemort had returned? These curious thoughts whirled around in Harry's head, and his insides writhed with anger as a sultry, velvety night fell around him, the air full of the smell of warm, dry grass, and the only sound that of the low grumble of traffic on the road beyond the park railings. He did not know how long he had sat on the swing before the sound of voices interrupted his musings and he looked up. The streetlamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way across the park. One of them was singing a loud, crude song. The others were laughing. A soft ticking noise came from several expensive racing bikes that they were wheeling along. Harry knew who those people were. The figure in front was unmistakeably his cousin, Dudley Dursley wending his way home, accompanied by his faithful gang. Dudley was as vast as ever, but a year's hard dieting and the discovery of a new talent had wrought quite a change in his physique. As Uncle Vernon delightedly told anyone who would listen, Dudley had recently become the Junior Heavyweight Inter-school Boxing Champion of the Southeast. 'The noble sport', as Uncle Vernon called it, had made Dudley even more formidable than he had seemed to Harry in their primary school days when he had served as Dudley's first punchball. Harry was not remotely afraid of his cousin any more but he still didn't think that Dudley learning to punch harder and more accurately was cause for celebration. Neighbourhood children all around were terrified of him--even more terrified than they were of 'that Potter boy', who, they had been warned, was a hardened hooligan and attended St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. Harry watched the dark figures crossing the grass and wondered who they had been beating up tonight. Look round, Harry found himself thinking as he watched them. Come on ... look round... I'm sitting here all alone... Come and have a go... If Dudley's friends saw him sitting here, they would be sure to make a beeline for him, and what would Dudley do then? He wouldn't want to lose face in front of the gang, but he'd be terrified of provoking Harry.... It would be really fun to watch Dudley's dilemma, to taunt him, watch him, with him powerless to respond ... and if any of the others tried hitting Harry, he was ready--he had his wand. Let them try ... he'd love to vent some of his frustration on the boys who had once made his life hell-- But they didn't turn around, they didn't see him, they were almost at the railings. Harry mastered the impulse to call after them.... Seeking a fight was not a smart move.... He must not use magic.... He would be risking expulsion again. The voices of Dudley's gang died away; they were out of sight, heading along Magnolia Road. There you go, Sirius, Harry thought dully. Nothing rash. Kept my nose clean. Exactly the opposite of what you'd have done... He got to his feet and stretched. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seemed to feel that whenever Dudley turned up was the right time to be home, and any time after that was much too late. Uncle Vernon had threatened to lock Harry in the shed if he came home after Dudley ever again, so, stifling a yawn, and still scowling, Harry set off toward the park gate. Magnolia Road, like Privet Drive, was full of large, square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large, square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Vernon's. Harry preferred Little Whinging by night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colour in the darkness and he ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about his 'delinquent' appearance when he passed the householders. He walked quickly, so that halfway along Magnolia Road Dudley's gang came into view again; they were saying their farewells at the entrance to Magnolia Crescent. Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited. '...squealed like a pig, didn't he?' Malcolm was saying, to guffaws from the others. 'Nice right hook, Big D,' said Piers. 'Same time tomorrow?' said Dudley. 'Round at my place, my parents will be out,' said Gordon. 'See you then,' said Dudley. 'Bye, Dud!' 'See ya, Big D!' Harry waited for the rest of the gang to move on before setting off again. When their voices had faded once more he headed around the corner into Magnolia Crescent and by walking very quickly he soon came within hailing distance of Dudley, who was strolling along at his ease, humming tunelessly. 'Hey, Big D!' Dudley turned. 'Oh,' he grunted. 'It's you.' 'How long have you been "Big D" then?' said Harry. 'Shut it,' snarled Dudley, turning away. 'Cool name,' said Harry, grinning and falling into step beside is cousin. 'But you'll always be "Ickle Diddykins" to me.' 'I said, SHUT IT!' said Dudley, whose ham-like hands had curled into fists. 'Don't the boys know that's what your mum calls you?' 'Shut your face.' 'You don't tell her to shut her face. What about "Popkin" and "Dinky Diddydums", can I use them then?' Dudley said nothing. The effort of keeping himself from hitting Harry seemed to demand all his self-control. 'So who've you been beating up tonight?' Harry asked, his grin fading. 'Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago--' 'He was asking for it,' snarled Dudley. 'Oh yeah?' 'He cheeked me.' 'Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? 'Cause that's not cheek, Dud, that's true...' A muscle was twitching in Dudley's jaw. It gave Harry enormous satisfaction to know how furious he was making Dudley; he felt as though he was siphoning off his own frustration into his cousin, the only outlet he had. They turned right down the narrow alleyway where Harry had first seen Sirius and which formed a short cut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps. Their footsteps were muffled between garage walls on one side and a high fence on the other. 'Think you're a big man carrying that thing, don't you?' Dudley said after a few seconds. 'What thing?' 'That--that thing you are hiding.' Harry grinned again. 'Not as stupid as you look, are you, Dud? But I s'pose, if you were, you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time....' Harry pulled out his wand. He saw Dudley look sideways at it. 'You're not allowed,' Dudley said at once. 'I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school you go to.' 'How d'you know they haven't changed the rules, Big D?' 'They haven't,' said Dudley, though he didn't sound completely convinced. Harry laughed softly. 'You haven't got the guts to take me on without that thing, have you?' Dudley snarled. 'Whereas you just need four mates behind you before you can beat up a ten year old. You know that boxing title you keep banging on about? How old was your opponent? Seven? Eight?' 'He was sixteen, for your information,' snarled Dudley, 'and he was out cold for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him and he was twice as heavy as you. You just wait till I tell Dad you had that thing out--' 'Running to Daddy now, are you? Is his ickle boxing champ frightened of nasty Harry's wand?' 'Not this brave at night, are you?' sneered Dudley. 'This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this.' 'I mean when you're in bed!' Dudley snarled. He had stopped walking. Harry stopped too, staring at his cousin. From the little he could see of Dudley's large face, he was wearing a strangely triumphant look. 'What d'you mean, I'm not brave when I'm in bed?' said Harry, Completely nonplussed. 'What--am I supposed to be frightened of, pillows or something?' 'I heard you last night,' said Dudley breathlessly. 'Talking in your sleep. Moaning.' 'What d'you mean?' Harry said again, but there was a cold, plunging sensation in his stomach. He had revisited the graveyard last night in his dreams. Dudley gave a harsh bark of laughter, then adopted a high-pitched whimpering voice. '"Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!" Who's Cedric--your boyfriend?' 'I--you're lying,' said Harry automatically. But his mouth had gone dry. He knew Dudley wasn't lying--how else would he know about Cedric? '"Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad! Boo hoo!" ' 'Shut up,' said Harry quietly. 'Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you!' '"Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to--" Don't you point that thing at me!' Dudley backed into the alley wall. Harry was pointing the wand directly at Dudley's heart. Harry could feel fourteen years' hatred of Dudley pounding in his veins--what wouldn't he give to strike now, to jinx Dudley so thoroughly he'd have to crawl home like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers-- 'Don't ever talk about that again,' Harry snarled. 'D'you understand me?' 'Point that thing somewhere else!' 'I said, do you understand me?' 'Point it somewhere else!' 'DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?' 'GET THAT THING AWAY FROM--' Dudley gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water. Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless--the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them. For a split second Harry thought he had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact that he'd been resisting as hard as he could--then his reason caught up with his senses--he didn't have the power to turn off the stars. He turned his head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on his eyes like a weightless veil. Dudley's terrified voice broke in Harry's ear. 'W-what are you d-doing? St-stop it!' 'I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!' 'I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I--' 'I said shut up!' Harry stood stock still, turning his sightless eyes left and right. The cold was so intense he was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up--he opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing. It was impossible.... They couldn't be here.... Not in Little Whinging.... He strained his ears.... He would hear them before he saw them.... 'I'll t-tell Dad!' Dudley whimpered. 'W-where are you? What are you d-do--?' 'Will you shut up?' Harry hissed, 'I'm trying to lis--' But he fell silent. He had heard just the thing he had been dreading. There was something in the alleyway apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Harry felt a horrible jolt of dread as he stood trembling in the freezing air. 'C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!' 'Dudley, shut--' WHAM! A fist made contact with the side of Harry's head, lifting him off his feet. Small white lights popped in front of his eyes. For the second time in an hour Harry felt as though his head had been cleaved in two; next moment, he had landed hard on the ground and his wand had flown out of his hand. 'You moron, Dudley!' Harry yelled, his eyes watering with pain as he scrambled to his hands and knees, feeling around frantically in the blackness. He heard Dudley blundering away, hitting the alley fence, stumbling. 'DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!' There was a horrible squealing yell and Dudley's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could mean only one thing. There was more than one. 'DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand!' Harry muttered frantically, his hands flying over the ground like spiders. 'Where's--wand--come on--Lumos!' He said the spell automatically, desperate for light to help him in his search--and to his disbelieving relief, light flared inches from his right hand--the wand tip had ignited. Harry snatched it up, scrambled to his feet and turned around. His stomach turned over. A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly towards him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the night as it came. Stumbling backwards, Harry raised his wand. 'Expecto patronum!' A silvery wisp of vapour shot from the tip of the wand and the Dementor slowed, but the spell hadn't worked properly; tripping over his own feet, Harry retreated further as the Dementor bore down upon him, panic fogging his brain--concentrate-- A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for him. A rushing noise filled Harry's ears. 'Expecto patronum!' His voice sounded dim and distant.... Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted from the wand--he couldn't do it any more, he couldn't work the spell. There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter.... He could smell the Dementor's putrid, death-cold breath filling his own lungs, drowning him-- Think ... something happy.... But there was no happiness in him ... the Dementor's icy fingers were closing on his throat--the high-patched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head: 'Bow to death, Harry.... It might even be painless.... I would not know.... I have never died....' He was never going to see Ron and Hermione again-- And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath. 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand; it's antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated. 'THIS WAY!' Harry shouted at the stag. Wheeling around, he sprinted down the alleyway, holding the lit wand aloft. 'DUDLEY? DUDLEY!' He had run barely a dozen steps when he reached them: Dudley was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his face. A second Dementor was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists in its slimy hands, prising them slowly, almost lovingly apart, lowering its hooded head towards Dudley's face as though about to kiss him.... 'GET IT!' Harry bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound, the silver stag he had conjured came galloping past him. The Dementor's eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the silver antlers caught it; the thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellow, it soared away and was absorbed into the darkness; the stag cantered to the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist. Moon, stars and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighbouring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again. Harry stood quite still, all his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, he became aware that his T-shirt was sticking to him; he was drenched in sweat. He could not believe what had just happened. Dementors here, in Little Whinging. Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Harry bent down to see whether he was in a fit state to stand up, but then he heard loud, running footsteps behind him. Instinctively raising his wand again, he span on his heel to face the newcomer. Mrs. Figg, their batty old neighbour, came panting into sight. Her grizzled grey hair was escaping from its hairnet, a clanking string shopping bag was swinging from her wrist and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. Harry made to stow his wand hurriedly out of sight, but-- 'Don't put it away, idiot boy!' she shrieked. 'What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!'