Harry Potter and the Destruction of a Home

8

It was only about a week before Charlie was invited over to a friend's house to play after school. After a few hours of begging he was allowed to go on the Friday, an event he was looking forward to greatly.

When the Friday came, and school had finally ended, Charlie went with his friend - Dudley Dursley - in the direction of Privet Drive, where he was glared at by Mrs Dursley. This made him angry because he was used to being celebrated rather than glared out — no-one he knew actively showed disliked towards him. It was a few minutes after the boys had arrived at Number 4, when Mrs Dursley rang the phone and said, "Lily, you said you and your freakish spawn would stay away from my normal family and me!" there was a pause before she added, "What is your freakish son doing in my house then?"

Mrs Dursley eventually told this 'Lily' to come and remove her son from her property within the next twenty minutes or she would be forced to make decisions that would be irreversible to keep her precious Duddykins safe. Charlie was unsure about whom Mrs Dursley was talking about but resolved to be wary of her anyway, just in case her plan backfired and hurt him instead. He knew that his mother was called Lily but why would his friend's mother have his parents' phone number.

After the Dursley family and Charlie had enjoyed a meal of pizza, and it was nearing time for Charlie to be collected, the doorbell rang. Swiftly, Mrs Dursley opened the door to shove Charlie outside with his stuff before Charlie had registered that it had rung. He turned around as the door closed and practically leaped into the arms of the man he saw — his father was there. "I thought you'd forgotten about me, Daddy!" He cheered

Laughing, James Potter joked, "Forget about you? How could your mother and I possibly forget about you? Padfoot and Moony are picking up your brother and your stuff now. Have you eaten yet?"

Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, as the children ate their dinner, the doorbell rang. William bristly walked towards the door after informing Chloe that he would answer it. When William opened the door he saw two men standing on the door step, one seemed scruffy and seemed to have had a hard life — if the scars on his face were anything to go by. He seemed to be actively restraining the other man, who was obviously nervous about something. This second man resonated the signs of childhood abuse that William had grown to notice and little more than a glance. "Hello?" William questioned them as though to prompt them to inform them as to why they were there.

"Hi, my name is Remus Lupin and this is Sirius Black. We were wondering if it would be possible to have a word with you about Harry Potter?" The scared man said, immediately putting William on his guard. 'How did these men know Harry?'

"Well then, you better come in." William invited them in, and guided them towards the meeting room. "Have a seat. I've just got to call Harry's social worker." Soon after vacating the room, William phoned the twin's social worker and asked her to come as soon as possible.

Half an hour later, Hetty had arrived. She checked in with Harry before entering the meeting room, where she discovered the men waiting. "Hello, I am Hetty, Charlie and Harry Potter's social worker. How may I assist you?"

"We were wondering whether it would be possible for us to talk with Harry quickly." Sirius Black requested.

"I am afraid that will not be possible."

"Why?"

"It is almost time for Harry to go to bed."

"Thank you. We will come back another time then." Remus interjected as he stood and dragged his friend from the room. "Goodnight."

When the men had arrived outside they walked to an alleyway where Remus explained his plan to Sirius. A few short minutes later, they were ready and they apparated into Harry's room at the orphanage, where they began packing anything that Harry might want when he got back home, to Lily and James.

It was a few minutes later that Harry arrived in his room, rubbing his eyes, shocked as he recognised the men in his room. He quietly wandered over to them and in a voice, little more than a whisper, asked, "Why're you here?"

"We're taking you home Harry!" Sirius answered in a slightly louder voice, "Grab Moony's arm and we'll apparate you home."

"Wait a minute. There's something I need to do first." Harry said as he grabbed a piece of paper and began writing,

Dear William and Chloe,

I am writing this note to prevent you from worrying about me. This evening I have realised that it is time for me to return home — with my parents — and I hope that you will be able to help another child, who has become lost. Please don't worry about me as I am sure I will be alright without you and who knows we might find ourselves crossing paths again in the future. I am leaving you this book, 'The Explorer' because I feel that you will be able to pass this into the hands of a child who will enjoy it as much as I did.

Goodbye, Harry Potter

"I don't want them to worry about me." Harry responded to Sirius's confused look, "I'm ready now."

Seconds after Harry grabbed Remus's arm, they left.