Harvey Takes On Hogwarts

Welcome to New York

**Updates may not remain consistent. Enjoy it while we can** 

The airport in New York was crazy. There were thousands of people walking, running, sitting, sleeping and overall, Harry was overwhelmed. He grabbed the nearest cart to load the Dursleys luggage onto it and made sure he had his backpack on his back. He struggled to follow his relatives, only succeeding because people were forced to move away from his loudly complaining Uncle. They got to the parking lot where their new 2012 Chevy Captiva Sport SUV in a light blue color. Grunnings had gotten the car for the family as well as a Dodge Charger in a black color with dark grey rims. This was the car that Vernon would take into the city to save on gas and space.

Harry struggled to load the luggage into the boot while the rest of the family got into the car. There was a two booster seats for Harry and Dudley but because Dudley was so fat Vernon got rid of them. He did not care that Harry was still small enough to require a carseat or that it would not be safe to get rid of the seats. Harry was more than used to this and just climbed in and buckled up after.

He listened as Vernon complained about stupid Americans driving on the wrong side of the road and city traffic. He drove aggressively through the streets where Harry was thrown into the door many times. He could already feel the new bruises forming, including one near his temple from his head hitting the door hard.

They arrived at the Hilton Hotel after about 45 minutes of driving and traffic. Harry swore they almost hit someone else's car many times. The valet helped him get the luggage out of the car and brought up to the room. The company set up two rooms for the family with connecting doors. They had Harry and Dudley in one and Vernon and Petunia in the other. Each room had two queen sized beds with bathrooms attached and a mini fridge and TV.

Vernon decided to order room service that night for dinner. They each ordered a ton of food while Harry was given a small grilled cheese, after all the server handed out the food and they could not be seen neglecting to feed him.

The next week was spent with The Dursley family exploring New York City and some of the surrounding areas while Harry was left behind to fend for himself. The first day he went and talked to some of the employees asking for a map of the area so he would not get lost. The Dursley's may say that he is stupid but he knew that after the first beating for getting better grades than Dudley, he had to fail on purpose. Harry loved reading and learning but he was never allowed to and back in Surrey the local librarian was told he destroyed books that Dudley had really tore up in an effort to get Harry punished. Harry was not only beaten but also banned from the library.

Harry had found a nice little cafe where there were books you can read and get some food or a drink. Due to never having money Harry was just there to read some books. He found this amazon series called The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. He found a love of fantasy and adventure books. He used them as a way to escape from his own world of abuse and pain. He got some weird looks from other individuals in the cafe but he never paid them any mind.

There was even this one kind teenager who bought him a bagel and an apple juice. He tried to find a way to pay him back but the teen refused and instead sat down with him to talk about what books he was reading. He recommended a few other books and even gave him a little pad of paper notebook he could keep in his pocket to write down what he read, what he wanted to read and just take notes in general.

They spent the next few hours talking and then unknown to Harry, the teenager one Robert Martin left a $10 card to be used for Harry when he came in. Growing up in foster care Robert saw some very familiar marks and the state of his clothes. He wished he could help more but he also knew that sometimes help only made things worse. He was adopted by an amazing family and finally learned about family, love and getting the education he wanted.

Harry was also able to see some of the local stores where he looked around at what Americans are wearing and what is popular there. He knew it was hopeless to wish for new clothes, but he liked looking at them. He was kicked out of a few of the bigger name stores because of how he was dressed and not being with parents. He often snuck behind other couples of families to try and blend in.

Each night he would come back before they ordered room service, so he had at least one meal a day as long as they did not go out to eat. He got to try so many new foods that week like the lasagna from the plane, chicken tenders, spaghetti and meatballs, and even a hamburger and chips (or fries as the Americans call them). There were a couple days he did not get dinner because his relatives went out to eat but he had the leftover half a bagel from his friend and another day he was given a chocolate donut.

At the end of the week Uncle Vernon got notified that their furniture was being delivered that afternoon, so the small family packed up and checked out of the hotel. They got back into the car where once again Harry sat through another hour-long drive of traffic and swerving aggressively. Harry tried to shield his head this time as the bruise was very obvious last week and he had to tell many people that he fell.

They pulled into a neighborhood very different from back in Surrey. Every house was different in size, shape and color. Harry loved it because it was so much more fun and easier to know which house was theirs. Aunt Petunia complained that it was awful and made the street look bad. They pulled into the driveway of a white two-story house. The shudders are a dark blue and the front door is a sky blue. Harry also thought it was a little weird that the mailbox is by the street and not a slot in the door.

The first floor had an open concept kitchen, living room and dining room. There was a bathroom off the side of the living room that had a sink, toilet, and shower. By the kitchen was the mudroom that led into the two-car garage. In the mudroom was the laundry set up as well as shoe and coat racks. By the staircase was another door that went down into a basement that was finished. That was going to be set up as Dudley's playroom because the house only had three bedrooms.

American houses also did not have cupboards apparently or at least this one did not so the Uncle Vernon decided that Harry would be in the attic. They could lock that door at night and he would be kept hidden from guests. They put his cot and a small dresser up there for him alone with a bucket in case he had to use the bathroom while they locked him up. Due to chronic neglect Harry has a small bladder that was caused by an infection at age four when they locked him up for a week and did not let him clean up after any accidents. This led to a terrible rash and a kidney infection.

The second floor had three bedroom and a bathroom. The master bedroom had a half bath attached that just had a toilet and sink. There was room for a bathtub, but one was not installed. The master bedroom was a beige color that they would have to repaint and big enough for their king size bed. Dudley's bedroom was the second largest bedroom that was painted a light red color and would fit his full-sized bed and hopefully a queen if he continued to get fatter. There was a desk for his computer and his TV would go on his dresser. The third bedroom was the guest bedroom that would be set up with the full-sized bed and painted in a light blue color.

The movers came and started to unload the furniture first. The set up the Livingroom and bedrooms. Harry could tell they were getting frustrated with Uncle Vernon yelling at them and Aunt Petunia complaining about the dirty they were tracking into the house from walking back and forth. Harry just knew he would have to clean that later.

By the end of the day the bedrooms were set up and the boxes were sorted into the right rooms to be unpacked the next day, most likely by Harry except the things his relatives did not want contaminated. The rest of that weekend was spent with Harry unpacking, Dudley complaining and hitting Harry causing him to almost drop many things.

Exhausted, sweating and sore Harry dropped onto his cot and held the blanket close to him. He started drifting off wishing for someone to save him. He had the smallest sliver of hope that America would be better for him, and someone may even save him.