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☀︎︎|☀︎︎
The sound of a chest could be heard tumbling down the stairs as Harry held it, Y/N hot on his tail. The two had spent the last hour or so packing things into a trunk for him to get ready to go to Y/N's for the rest of summer, though it seemed they were stopped short at the bottom as an angry looking Vernon approached them.
"You bring her back," Vernon yelled as he blocked the bottom of the staircase, taking Y/N and Harry aback a bit as they stumbled though the raven-haired boy only seemed to give a scoff at his words. "You bring her back now and you put her right!"
"No! She deserved what she got," Harry insisted as his eyebrows furrowed in anger, but soon felt himself be pushed back when Vernon lunged at him, though his hands didn't make any contact as he and Y/N drew their wands from their pockets. Harry gave a snarl as Vernon backed away, putting his hands up in the air. "Keep away from us."
"You're not allowed to do magic outside of school," Vernon reminded with his wavering voice as he backed away from the end of the staircase, giving them space to descend the rest of it near the front door.
"Yeah? Try us," Harry but back challengingly.
"They won't let you back now. You've nowhere here to go," Vernon stated again as he started to back up towards a scared and antsy looking Petunia and Dudley who stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Oh, I think he's welcome to live with us any time," Y/N retaliated as she rose her wand again, making Vernon stumble back a bit more as she let out a scoff, "And besides, anyone can see that anywhere is better than here. C'mon, Har."
Harry said nothing as she reached down and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the door and opening it before pulling him out of the house. She let out a huff as she then closed the door, shooting the three inside one last glare before she did.
She turned back around, gesturing for Harry to follow her as they made their way across the front lawn and onto the pavement of the street, crossing it before they neared the curb. Though she didn't keep walking as Harry looked at her confused when he stopped. "Where are we going?"
"Away from them," she answered as she kept walking down the road, sparing him a glance over her shoulder, "I'll text Mum and Dad to pick us up somewhere else, wherever we end up when they're done picking up those few things they ran out for. Anywhere to get away from those looney people."
☟︎☟︎☟︎
Seconds of walking soon turned into minutes as Y/N and Harry made their way further down the street, the sky now dark and moon now lit overhead. The squeaks of the wheels on Harry's trunk could be heard as they walked further and further, until they eventually neared the end of a road that spilled out into a small intersection.
They stood silently catching their breath from their fast paces as Y/N looked to the side, seeing a small playground next to them. A dog barking in the distance was heard before she saw Harry sigh and then start walking towards the side by the curb, only to place his trunk down and then take a seat on it himself. "Where are they?"
Y/N looked at him for a moment as he rested his arms on his knees, then let out a sigh as she slowly made her way towards him. She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets as she took to the seat next to him, slowly sitting down. "I told them where we were, they'll be here soon—."
The flickering of the streetlight above caught both of their attention as her sentence was cut short. There was a soft buzzing sound that emitted from it as the two cousins spared each other a curious glance before a squeak was heard along with a new breeze being felt. They turned to see the swings gently swaying back and forth behind them.
"Uh, Har," Y/N murmured lowly as she slowly turned back to him, though he didn't seem to know what was going on either as he looked around.
"What's going on," he mumbled softly as he turned and looked around, his eyebrows furrowed before he diverted himself back to Y/N who was still watching the swings. Moments of silence passed between them before they saw a seesaw start to move up and down each end by itself. "It's not supposed to...do that."
"Really? Nice observation," Y/N scoffed out softly at Harry's words before the breeze picked up, then a rustling was heard. The two cousins whipped their heads back around, looking ahead at bushes across the street as what seemed to be something green was looking back at them.
Their eyebrows furrowed as they slowly stood up before their eyes widened at the sight of a black dog coming towards them. Harry gave a faxed reach out to Y/N as he gently patted her shoulder to tell her to look, though she could see the animal in front of them quite clearly. "Y/N—."
A bark from the dog caused the two cousins to whip their wands out only to be blown back and down onto the curb as a horn was sounded, accompanied by some lights that had blinded them. They let out soft groans as they impacted with the ground only to shuffle up slowly and turn to the side, growing even more confused at the sight of a triple-decker bus coming their way.
"Have we gone mad," Y/N murmured as her and Harry laid on the sidewalk and curb, both perplexed by the occurrences they had just seen. "That bus just—?"
"Came out of nowhere," Harry answered in a whisper as the automobile rolled in front of them before slowing, the two now facing the back of the bus, though what caught their attention was the man standing in a platform. They only seemed even more confused as the bus came to a stop, watching him hold up a live of paper in his hands to his line of sight.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus," he read as Y/N and Harry remained silent yet shared a confused expression, "Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for this evening."
Y/N and Harry only remained perplexed as they watched him click his tongue against the roof of his mouth before placing the piece of paper back into a pocket of his jacket. He looked around for a moment before he moved his gaze down to the two gawking up at him. "What you doin' down there?"
"We fell over," Harry said as he looked to Y/N before looking back to Stan.
"What'd you fell over for," Stan asked as his voice raised an octave.
"Our own enjoyment," Y/N huffed as she and Harry started to pick themselves up, "What do you think? We didn't do it on purpose."
"Well, come on, then," Stan ushered as he waved to the bud, Y/N and Harry standing with hesitant looks. Stan leaned against a railing as Harry reached down to pick up his trunk by the handle, "Let's not wait for the grass to grow—!"
"Yeah, okay, thanks, but my parents are coming to pick us up," Y/N interjected, but Stan only gave a laugh and a dismissive wave.
"You think I came for the fun of it? Who do you think sent me? Your parents have a little work to do, so here I am. Now c'mon, before it gets any later," Stan said as he motioned to the bus again, Y/N and Harry giving each other unsure looks before they slowly nodded and walked a bit to the side. Their eyes looked over to the area where they had seen the black dog, but he was no longer there.
"What you lookin' at," Stan asked as he popped up next to them, making Y/N stumble to the side a bit as Harry helped steady her upright.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake," she murmured underneath her breath, "Nothing."
"Well, come on, then," Stan said once more as he waved to the bus, telling the two to follow him. Harry gave a nod as he went back to reach for his trunk, but was stopped when Stan shook his head and reached for it first. "Nah-nah-nah, I'll get this. You two get in."
With skeptical glances to each other Y/N and Harry watched him move towards the trunk, and they simply shrugged before turning around. They cautiously made their way towards the bus, seeming to observe it before a grunt was heard, though Y/N seemed to be the only one to acknowledge it.
As Harry stepped onto the platform, she gave a look to Stan over her shoulder, watching him grunt as he struggled to pick it up. "Uh, sir—."
"I got it, I got it," Stan insisted as Y/N slowly stepped onto the platform with Harry, still watching Stan use his weight on his knees to hoist it up. The two cousins stepped forward, just as the trunk was placed up onto the platform behind them with a grunt. Y/N gave the man one last look before walking into the seating area with Harry, both now looking at their surroundings.
They were met with the sight of a sleeping man lying in a cot. Their eyebrows furrowed curiously and cautiously as they started to hesitantly walk around it, sharing a look before glancing away. Snoring could be heard from him, and small grunts could still be heard from Stan as he tried to get the trunk up the platform and into the bus.
Passing the cot with the man and another next to it, they made their way further down; and soon looked up at a small opening where a chandelier hung from the top of the bud at the third level. Tinkling could be heard from the glass clattering together as they froze for a moment, but were soon pushed further.
"Come on—move on, move on," Stan beckoned, giving them gentle shoved to the back of the bud as they still appeared confused. Y/N looked back at the sleeping man once more before she turned around to see Stan now standing in front of them, giving a clear of his throat.
The two cousins watched him curiously as he reached down to the lever of the ticket machine hoisted around his neck on a strap, the machine leveled at his stomach. With two pulls there were now two tickets seen, and he was quick to tear them apart before holding them out towards them.
Harry and Y/N remained silent as they grasped out, taking hesitant and cautious motions before they now held the pieces of paper. With a quick glance down to the tickets, they then placed it into the pockets of their jacket and coats as Stan knocked on a window next to the Driver's compartment. "Take 'er away, Ern."
"Yeah. Take it away, Ernie. It's going to be a bumpy ride," a hanging head said as a man with goggles sprung up in the seat, taking a bite of his sandwich before he reached out to a lever. Y/N and Harry seemed to be startled and confused as they watched, though felt their eyes widen when the lever was pulled.
The feeling of the bus shooting off was felt as the two were sent back onto the cot behind them, it rolling backwards with a squeak as a gasp left Y/N's lips. A sharp turn was felt as she looked out the window, watching the headlights or cars passing almost immediately. She seemed confused and in shock as she turned to Harry, but he only seemed to be registering their surroundings as well.
The two glanced up at the chandelier above them for a moment before they looked back to Stan, the man biting the top of his finger as he looked at them incredulously. He then lowered it and pointed at them before folding his hands. "What did you two say your names were again?"
"We didn't," Harry said as he and Y/N tried to steady themselves up on the cots, but were seen struggling as they did so.
"Well, whereabouts are you 'eaded," Stan questioned once more.
Y/N watched Harry fall back onto the cot once more as she gave a sigh, still trying to steady herself. "The Leaky Cauldron—in London."
"Did you 'ear that, Ern," Stan asked as he turned his head so his words would be directed to the driving compartment, "The Leaky Cauldron. That's in London."
Stan let out a laugh as the shrunken head said, "The Leaky Cauldron. Hey, if they have the pea soup, make sure you eat it before it eats you."
A cackling laugh was heard as the bud zoomed busy streets and roads, Y/N and Harry only continuing to be thrown about. Shape turn after sharp turn was felt, and it didn't seem they had any chance to fully steady themselves.
"But the Muggles—won't they see us," Harry asked as he and Y/N frantically looked out the window to see they were in the center of a busy town.
"Muggles," Stan laughed out, "They don't see nothin', do they?"
"No, but if you have them with a fork they feel," the shrunken head added, laughing once more being heard as Y/N and Harry only looked around their surroundings confusedly and somewhat scarily. "Ernie, little old lady at twelve o'clock!"
With their eyes widening the two cousins spotted a woman with a walker crossing the street up ahead, and they watched the driver give a quick pull of the lever as the bus came to a compete stop.
The feeling of their bodies flying forward was felt before a searing pain coursed throughout them, both cousins' faces smushed against the glass window at the front of the bud as they let out grunts. Y/N slowly peeled herself off with Harry as she rubbed her cheek.
"Oh, Merlin, have mercy," she muttered under her breath as the shrunken head counted down, them still watching the woman make her way across the street rather slowly.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, three-and-a-half, two, one-and-three-quarters—yes!"
The feeling of the bud again zipping off was felt as Harry and Y/N were pushed backwards by the force, once more landing on a cot as they stumbled. Grunts and groans left their lips at the contact.
With a glance up to Stan, the man seemed unbothered as he stood upright, but something else caught their attention. The picture of a man in Azkaban prisoner uniform holding up his number could be seen on the front as he screamed, and it seemed the two cousins became curious as they look at it until Harry spoke up. "Who is that? That man."
Stan let out a sigh as he flipped the newspaper over, folding it over to the front to take a look. He gave the picture one look over before turning to the cousins with a scoff. "Who is that? Who is—."
He cut his sentence short when he flipped the paper fully over, the two now getting a clearer picture, though it seemed Y/N had gotten the gist as her mouth parted eyes slightly widening. "That is—."
"Sirius Black," she murmured quietly and almost trancelike before turning to Harry with a curious look, "Har, don't tell me you've never heard of him."
Harry gave her and Stan incredulous and hesitant glances before he slowly shook his head. Y/N only seemed a bit surprised as she let out a scoff before looking to Stan, the man taking a step towards them before crouching down. "Har, he's—."
"A murderer," Stan finished in a quiet and eery tone, "Got 'imself locked up in Azkaban for it."
"How's he escape," Harry asked as he and Y/N gently moved back and forth on the trolley-cot they sat on, his eyebrows furrowing as he glanced down at the paper in Stan's hands before looking back up.
"Well, that's the questions, isn't it," Stan chimed in suddenly as he crouched down fully, holding his hands up to the two cousins to give gentle but quick taps to their chests as they only sat silently, "He's the first one that done it!"
Y/N and Harry watched him slowly stand up, starting to back away though still leaning down towards them as he whispered, "He was a big supporter of...You-Know-Who. Reckon you've 'eard of him."
"We've both...heard of him," Y/N muttered lowly as she and Harry shared a look and both nodded at each other before turning to Stan. Stan gave a hum and a nod as the bud continued to weave and turn, making its way quickly on the busy streets of London.
"Ernie, two double-deckers at twelve o'clock," the shrunken head said, catching Harry and Y/N's attention as they peeked over to see the two buses coming from outside the window up ahead, "They're getting closer, Ernie—Ernie, they're right on top of us—!"
Y/N and Harry watched wide eyed as the buses came closer and closer, closing in within yards of them until the driver had stomped on the brake and pulled a lever, the bud now moving in slow motion.
"What the...," Harry muttered as he and Y/N looked around, catching the outside of the bus traveling slowly only to look back at the driver and see him pull a handle above him. They watched the shrunken head turn to them before muttering, "Mind your head."
Laughing was then heard as the two cousins felt themselves shrink, and it was almost too tight to move as they felt their bodies compress. The bus thinned in front of their eyes as they watched in somewhat awe. "Hey, guys! Guys! Why the long faces?"
The feeling was suffocating and dizzy for the two cousins as the bus made its way through the two others by its sides before the went back to its normal width, starting to widen out again as Y/N and Harry felt themselves slowly return back to normal.
The bus once more zoomed, and with a few more seconds of going down the street it turned, now down a familiar and dark alleyway. It started to move to the side as the driver reached out to lever and the shrunken head gave directions. "Yeah, yeah—nearly there, nearly there."
The two cousins watched as the bus neared a car parked by the curb before their eyes widened, feeling themselves be flung forward only to meet the window with the side of their faces again. Yelps and groans left their lips at the impact as the bus hit the car bumper, and an alarm was soon heard.
Peeling themselves off of the window, Stan gave a sigh as he held his hand up before letting it fall back down to his side. "The Leaky Cauldron."
"Next stop, Knockturn Alley," the shrunken head announced, Y/N and Harry turning around and rubbing their faces only to stumble back slightly at the sight of a hunched-back man making his way into the bus and towards them with a smile. "Ah...Mr. Potter and Miss (Y/L/N)...at last."
The two cousins shared confused and dazed expressions before they were beckoned to follow, and hesitantly did until they reached the platform of the bus and stepped off of it and onto the sidewalk.
"Do you know what's going on," Harry asked Y/N as he leaned towards her, following the hunchback man, though the latter only gave a shrug as she looked around.
"No clue, but I'm starting to think Mum and Dad had something to do with it," she murmured back lowly as they cautiously walked down the cobblestone sidewalk to a doorway where they were being waved over, steeping into it as the man turned off the blaring car alarm with a flick of his wand.
The walked into what seemed to be a bar and eating area, and they both shared somewhat curious and confused glances until the man directed them towards a staircase and gestures for them to make it up. The followed his directions, starting to ascend it as they heard him say, "Room eleven."
They made their way up, feet stepping up each stair until they reached a hallway with the hunchback man following behind. They let him take the lead, now following in his pursuit as they were led down a somewhat dark corridor.
They passed wooden door after wooden door, and it didn't look like there was any end in sight before they were abruptly stopped in front of a door, watching the man open it, then step in as their faces lit up.
"Hedwig," Harrry said with a smile as he made his way to where his owl was pegged up on a stand.
"Dexter," Y/N called out as she made her way to the owl next to Hedwig, giving the bird a soft nuzzle of her finger over his nose as she and Harry saw that their belongings had magically been placed into the room.
"Right smart birds you got there, Miss (Y/L/N and Mr. Potter," the man complimented as the two gave soft laughs, "They arrived just fives minutes before yourselves."
A clearing of a throat was heard as Y/N and Harry turned, seeing a man standing by a window. "As Minister of Magic it is my duty to inform you, Mr. Potter and Miss (Y/L/N), that earlier this morning your uncle's sister was located south of Sheffield, circling a chimney stack."
The two cousins felt themselves be pushed by the hunchback man to two chairs placed next to a fireplace, then were offered pieces of candy from him though they declined politely with smiles.
"The Accidental Magic Reversal Department was dispatched immediately. She has been properly punctured and her memory modified," the Minister spoke up once more, though the cousins were still waving off food as they were now offered bread, "She will have no recollection of the incident whatsoever. So, that's that...no harm done."
They watched the man turn around, now being able to see it was the Minister, Fudge, who was now making their way towards them. He put on a small smile as the two cousins looked at him, though turned their heads at the sound of a crack to see the hunchback man had cracked some nuts. "Pea soup?"
Turning their heads back towards the Minister, they shook their heads. "No thank you."
"Um, Minister," Harry called out shyly.
"Yes," Fudge answered as he placed a lid back onto a bowl.
"I'm afraid we don't understand," Y/N cut in with a furrow of her eyebrows.
"Understand," Fudge repeated with a tilt of his head.
"Well, yeah, we broke the law," Harry pointed out, "Underage wizards aren't allowed to use magic at home."
"Oh, come now, you two," the Minister said with a laugh and a clap of his hands as he stood in front of them, "The Ministry doesn't send people to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts."
The sound of a horse-like laugh was heard from the hunchback man, though he quickly cut his acts short when the Minister sent him a sharp and stern look.
Fudge looked back to the two in front of him shortly after. "On the other hand, running away like that, given the state of thing, was very, very irresponsible."
Fudge made his way towards them before passing by, standing right behind their chairs as they turned to look at him. They only seemed confused as Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. "The 'state of things', sir," she murmured curiously before shaking her head, "No, sir, you see, my family and I were going to take Harry in, you know, with the custody case still pending and—."
"No matter, we have a killer on the lose," Fudge interferes as Y/N gave a raise of her eyebrows. With a soft hum she turned to the side and let out a huff. "Sure, not like I was just talking, anyway—."
"Sirius Black, you mean," Harry clarified before he looked confused, "But what's he got to do with us?"
The Minister gave a slightly nervous chuckle that made the two share a glance as he gave a dismissive wave. "Oh, nothing, of course. You're safe!"
He started to round their chairs, making his way to stand in front of them. He took their hands in his for a moment. "And that's what matters. And tomorrow you'll be on your way back to Hogwarts."
The two cousins watched him walk back towards his desk before he motioned to piles of books on another desk on the side of the room. "Oh—uh—these are your new schoolbooks. I took the liberty of having them brought here for you. Now, Tom will show you to your room."
The two were abruptly yanked up by their chairs by the hunchback man named Tom before they stumbled towards the door, but not before beckoning their owls over. Hedwig and Dexter flew to their arms, and they were about to leave before they were called out to.
"On, by the way, you two," the Minister called out, making the two look back to him, "It would be best if you didn't...wander."
☟︎☟︎☟︎
"So...what now," Harry asked as he laid on his bed on the side of the room, staring up at the ceiling as his arms were underneath his head. He heard Y/N give a sigh from her bed across the room as she scrolled through her phone.
"Dunno, Mum and Dad said to stay here, that it's safe," she murmured as she went through a few message, "But they can't make it tomorrow before we go to Hogwarts, they're backed up on Ministry duties."
"Lovely," Harry muttered back in response as he turned over on his bed, propping his head up on his elbow to look at her from across the room, "And everyone else? Our friends?"
"I texted some of them saying we're here, but I'd highly doubt them moving round their plans to meet us here and not at the station," she murmured back, waiting for a response though she wasn't given one. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up to Harry, though she was only met with a cheeky grin. She rose an eyebrow in question as she eyed him warily. "Uh...what?"
Harry gave a small shrug as he looked away before glancing back at her. "Nothing...," he drawled out slowly before raising his eyebrow pointedly, "Did you text Hermione?"
His question was met with a scoff as he watched Y/N's facial expressions turned into an amused state before she looked back down at her phone, typing away. A frown formed to Harry's face. "Hey, it was a serious question!"
"And I'm seriously debating on hitting you upside the head," she countered back as she looked back at him with a looking asking if he was being genuine, "I might have Granger's number, but that doesn't mean I'll actually use it—!"
"Why can't you two just get along," Harry whined out somewhat dramatically with a sigh as he rolled back over to lay on his back, "We've got this big friend group and we can all get along, but for some reason you and Hermione refuse to."
"It's practically her fault for how we are, I tried being nice in first year, but she wanted to be ignorant and arrogant," Y/N pointed out knowingly as Harry gave a hum and took off his glasses, placing them to the side on the nightstand next to his bed as Y/N turned off her phone and placed it on hers.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I can tell you two will eventually make up, whether you'd like to admit it or not," Harry countered back as he got settled in his bed, making sure the covers and blankets were adjusted comfortably over himself as a sarcastic laugh was heard.
"Yeah, sure, Potter," Y/N murmured back as she draped the blankets over herself and laid down on her side, head hitting the pillow underneath as she got situated before falling still. The feeling of drowsiness soon started to take over her senses, and it wasn't long before her eyes started to droop. With a sigh, she allowed them to close. "Night, Har."
The sound of sheets and blankets ruffling from a few feet away on the other side of the room was heard until it wasn't anymore. "Night, (Y/N/N)."
And just like that Y/N felt herself be whisked away into sleep, and with the discussion just moments earlier, she couldn't help but notice how a bushy-haired girl flash's throughout her mind a few times along with her friends before she had fully drifted away into her slumber.
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