Blood Stained Starlight

Disappearance on Privet Drive

Harry was several streets away before he collapsed onto a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging his trunk. He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart. But after ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion overtook him: panic. Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix. He was stranded, quite alone, in the dark Muggle world, with absolutely nowhere to go. And the worst of it was, he had just done serious magic, which meant that he was almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts. He had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping down on him where he sat.

Harry shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent. What was going to happen to him? Would he be arrested, or would he simply be outlawed from the wizarding world? He thought of Ron and Hermione, and his heart sank even lower. Harry was sure that, criminal or not, Ron and Hermione would want to help him now, but they were both abroad, and with Hedwig gone, he had no means of contacting them. He didn't have any Muggle money, either. There was a little wizard gold in the moneybag at the bottom of his trunk, but the rest of the fortune his parents had left him was stored in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London.

He'd never be able to drag his trunk all the way to London. Unless ... He looked down at his wand, which he was still clutching in his hand. If he was already expelled (his heart was now thumping painfully fast), a bit more magic couldn't hurt. He had the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father – what if he bewitched the trunk to make it feather-light, tied it to his broomstick, covered himself in the Cloak and flew to London? Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and ... begin his life as an outcast. It was a horrible prospect, but he couldn't sit on this wall forever or he'd find himself trying to explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with a trunkful of spellbooks and a broomstick.

Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside, looking for the Invisibility Cloak – but before he had found it, he straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more. A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted, and no lights shone from any of the large square houses.

He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up once more, his hand clenched on his wand. He had sensed rather than heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he'd know whether it was just a stray cat or – something else. 'Lumos,' Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand, almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them, Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.

Harry stood frozen, wand held aloft, as he stared at the large shadowy figure lurking in the narrow alley. His heart hammered in his chest, apprehension and curiosity battling within him. The creature's eyes seemed to glow eerily in the wandlight as it gazed back at Harry, unmoving. He wondered if he should cast a spell, but some instinct stopped him.

Slowly, the hulking form began to emerge from the darkness. Harry's eyes widened. It was a massive dog, as large as a bear, with shaggy black fur and pointed ears. But it was like no ordinary dog - an ominous intelligence shone in its pale eyes. The grim-like creature stepped closer, its movements fluid and soundless despite its size. Harry's breath caught in his throat. He knew of only one creature that could take this form.

"A...a grim?" Harry whispered, his voice barely audible.

The dog studied him a moment longer, then nodded its great head. Before Harry's astonished eyes, the grim began to change. Its limbs lengthened, front paws morphing into hands. Fur receded into pale, sunken flesh. Moments later, a man stood before him - gaunt and bedraggled, with a haunted, hollow-eyed gaze. Long dark hair fell in tangled waves around his shoulders.