Thirteen - Chapter 1

Petunia Dursley stood at the window holding a cup of tea that had gone cold a few minutes ago. Her sister's son had turned eleven two days ago. There wasn't an owl in sight. The day she had been dreading for years had come and gone without a word.

"If those freaks won't keep their word, then why should I?" Petunia grumbled.

She set the cold cup of tea on the table and hurried to find Vernon in the sitting room. Her lovely husband relaxed in his favorite chair watching some program. He worked so hard to provide for his family, even with that ungrateful parasite that they had been saddled with.

"Vernon." Petunia took a seat near him. "We need to discuss something."

Vernon grunted as he turned off the TV. He shifted in his seat to face her better.

"Do you remember what I had told you about my sister?" Petunia asked. "And what could possibly happen to her son?"

Vernon furrowed his brow for a moment. His face shifted to a shade of crimson as he connected the dot.

"Pet, get Dudley and go somewhere safe, I'll handle this." Vernon struggled to get to his feet.

"No, Vernon, it's not that." Petunia soothed the brave man she loved so much. "It was his birthday two days ago."

"Are you sure?" Vernon settled back into his seat.

"Remember?" Petunia prompted. "We took Dudley to the movies and ice cream after to distract him? I'd hate to imagine how his heart would break if he thought we cared for that boy."

"I remember, Pet." Vernon nodded. "They aren't coming then?"

"They would have been here by now." Petunia replied. "My sister would have already had one of those freaks to take her already. At least they would send some of those owls they love so much."

"Owls?" Vernon scrunched up his brown in confusion.

"To deliver letters, yes." Petunia nodded. "I don't know what to do, Vernon. They were supposed to take him this year. He should have been their problem by now."

"Hm." Vernon leaned back in his chair.

"If those freaks aren't going to take him, then we shouldn't have to keep him." Petunia stated. "We can just drop him off at the first orphanage we can find and wash our hands of it."

"Pet, we can't." Vernon replied quickly. "I've already paid for Stonewall and there are no refunds."

"Well then, they can have him." Petunia stated. "This is the last time we'll have to spend money on the boy. They already have been paid for his room and board so he's their problem."

"That is a wonderful idea, Pet." Vernon smiled at his wife.

Petunia giggled. She recognized that smile. It had been quite a while since she had seen it. Her suspicions were confirmed when Vernon grabbed her thigh.

"Vernon." Petunia fanned herself. "It's not even our anniversary."

~§~

The Dursley's were acting strange. For the last week they had practically been cheerful. Dudley had noticed it too and he was just as freaked out. Petunia was constantly giggling, Vernon had a real smile on his face, and they had started to leave him alone. Sure, he still did the cooking, cleaning, and all that, but he'd only been yelled at a few times.

Harry stayed quiet to the entire ride to Stonewall. Vernon had turned on the radio and hadn't said anything since they started driving. Usually, Harry was blamed for every slow driver, red light, or if the weather was bad. Harry had already changed into his Stonewall uniform.

He had been prepared for the worst when the uniform fit much better this morning. It had looked like an elephant skin rug when it had dried. Today, while the dye job was still horrible, the clothes actually fit. Harry had expected Vernon to toss him in the back with the luggage. Instead, they got into the car and started the trip.

Harry lurched in the backseat as the car came to a sudden stop.

"Get out." Vernon ordered.

Harry looked out the window to see they were already at the school. He was pretty sure it should have taken at least another half an hour. Vernon must have sped the entire way. Harry grabbed the second-hand luggage and got out of the car.

Vernon took off once the door closed. Harry watched him go, still confused. He shook his head as he turned to face the building. Signs were laid out to direct new students to their dorms. He checked the piece of paper with the information of his dorm and class schedule.

There were hardly any other students. He had a suspicion that Vernon had dropped him off at the earliest time available. The dorms were furnished in a mixture of institutional with budget office lounge. All of the rooms he passed had the same layout. One bed on either side of the room, a desk with two chairs, and a closet for each side. His room was easy to find. He had arrived before his roommate.

Harry made the bed with the provided stack of tan blankets and white sheets. He then unloaded his secondhand, altered uniforms and sat on his bed.

His bed! This was amazing! No more cupboard. Even better. No Dursleys. He wouldn't have to play stupid to avoid showing how stupid Dudley was or get hauled to his cupboard by his ear by Vernon. For some reason, Petunia was the one that really hurt. She didn't touch or look at him. The few times she spoke were orders delivered in short, sharp bursts. They never hurt him, that would have meant they cared enough to give him any attention. It was clear that he was an unwanted guest in their house and had to earn every scrap he could to repay them.

Harry waited on his bed until his roommate arrived. He was a bigger than him, but smaller than Dudley.

"I'm Eugene." His new roommate looked at Harry's side of the room.

"Harry." He replied. "Do you need help with your things?"

Eugene shrugged.

~§~

His first year at Stonewall wasn't as difficult as Vernon tried to make it sound. The classes were challenging in a way he enjoyed, he got three full meals a day, and people treated him like a person.

Eugene was a quiet kid. When he did speak it was in one or two words at most. He didn't seem to have any friends. Technically speaking, Harry was his friend through association. He wasn't the cleanest kid, but he was a good roommate.

Harry's days were spent in a rotation of Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Art, and French. After classes there were club meetings. He stayed at the school over the holidays. He didn't make any enemies. Compared to the rest of his life, this was amazing. It wasn't until the end of the year that anything went wrong.

Vernon didn't show up to pick him up. The number provided was no longer active and the other contact information given wasn't successful. Harry hadn't been bothered. He stayed at Stonewall for the rest of the week. They called Harry into the Headmasters' office and to break the news. The Dursleys were gone. They had sold the house and did not leave any way to contact them.

Further complicating the matter was that according to their information, there was no Harry Potter. He didn't know his parents' names. Working from the Dursleys and following Petunia's maiden name discovered she had a sister that would be the right age. Unfortunately, records of her stopped while she was in primary school.

Harry was issued his 'you are alive' paperwork and spent the summer in an orphanage.

~§~
At the same time in the Magical World
~§~

Hagrid picked up the stone from Gringotts. He had a couple of drinks before he headed back to Hogwarts. The year went by smoothly. It did feel strange to not have any First Years, but the war had changed some of the laws. It turned out that starting Hogwarts at thirteen allowed the young witches and wizards to adjust to their magic. A happy accident that wasn't known about until it happened. This meant they were more in tune with their magic which made learning to develop it smoother.

That was the official story. In reality, they had decided to give the magical world a couple of years to recover from Voldemort's Rise. It wasn't until after the first class of older students started that they noticed the change.

Dumbledore hid the stone in the school. Quirrell attempted twice to steal it. The first attempt on Halloween had been foiled. His second attempt toward the end of the year succeeded. Unfortunately for him, while the stone was magical, it wasn't the Philosophers Stone. Voldemort's shade was forcefully exorcised from Quirrell's body and into the stone.

The Soul Trap did its job. While Dumbledore didn't know how to destroy the spirit he did have something else in mind. A safe enforced by a few layers of enchantments now sat in a corner of his office. Even then, there was an almost visible cloud of evil around it.

Voldemort had been neatly captured and the world was none the wiser.

~§~
In the Mundane World
~§~

Harry attended a community school when he lived in the orphanage. Eugene had remained his roommate the entire time. They had yet to speak more than fifty words to each other. Harry didn't really have any friends in school, or the orphanage. Even without Dudley around to scare off everyone there was something that distanced him from others.

It was something more controlled than accidental magic that made people distance themselves. It wasn't so much that they completely avoided him. Harry had to be the one to approach people to engage in conversation. It was almost like they were waiting for his permission.

The most interesting part of the year was when Harry vanished from his seat in class to be found in his bedroom shortly after. Multiple people swore that he had been at school, but clearly that wasn't the case. They figured that Harry most have gotten up to get ready then fallen back to sleep. Harry being among the students was assumed, so they had overlooked that he wasn't there.

It wasn't a very convincing story, but most chose to believe it.

Harry passed the days reading, schoolwork, and did some chores around the orphanage. It was a normal year for him. He had no clue that this was the last normal year he would have in a long time.

~§~
At the same time in the Magical World
~§~

It was another year. Dumbledore researched methods to deal with the Soul Trap. At the end of the year the Weasleys won a trip to Egypt.

It was a perfectly normal year. That was, until the end of summer. Sirius Black had somehow escaped Azkaban. He had almost chanted the words: He's at Hogwarts. It was a PR disaster, and the Ministry went into survival mode. Minister Fudge announced that Azkaban would undergo an overhaul. On top of that, the DMLE was given a nice 'photo-op' increase in budget.

Aurors made their presence known in Nocturn Alley with regular patrols. It was to show they were being vigilant on the hunt for Sirius Black. Amelia Bones was able to slip a few minor alterations to the orders before Fudge smiled for the camera and signed the deal. Dark artifacts, illegal potions, banned creatures, and a dozen other criminal enterprises started to fade.

Many Pureblood families, those who dealt in the darker side of things, did not enjoy the squeeze on their income. Lucius Malfoy had a plan to get revenge on Bones. This was the first year her niece would attend Hogwarts, it would be the perfect time to plant a dark artifact on the younger Bones. He had the perfect one in mind. The Dark Lord had given him a diary to protect. With Voldemort gone there was no reason keep it.

He slipped a certain dark artifact in among textbooks of Amelia's niece in the rush of a new school year.

Susan Bones was a teenage girl. She was also the last living relative to Amelia Bones, the youngest DMLE to date and protective replacement parent. Susan had spent the last summer learning with Grandpa Moody. Newly honed instincts caught the foreign item in her basket. Unfortunately, it was too crowded to gather reliable intel on possible suspects.

"Auntie." Susan squeezed Amelia's hand. "My items are heavy."

Amelia took the code-phrase in stride. It was a simple bit of security. A seemingly innocuous phrase that alerted her to danger. She took her niece to the DMLE where the newly purchased items were searched for curses. The diary shined like a beacon under the inspection. No one knew what type of dark magic had been placed on the book. It was then taken to the Unspeakables to examine.

~§~
In the Mundane World
~§~

Harry stared down at the red envelope that had been dropped on his head. He was in the midst of pulling weeds in the garden when an owl delivered the letter. The strange sight was enough for him to stop and try to see more of the bird. He didn't know for sure, but he was pretty sure owls were nocturnal. They also weren't used for mail either.

The owl had paused long enough to stare at him expectantly. Its gaze shifted to one of disappointment when he didn't give them a treat. Harry watched the owl huff and fly away. He had no idea that owls could be so expressive.

It took a couple of seconds for him to remember the letter. Seeing the owl had thrown his train of thought off. Once he was able to focus once more, he read.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
Order of Merlin, First Class
Grand Sorcerer
Chief Warlock
Supreme Mugwump, International Confederacy of Wizards

Dear Harry Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. A professor will be dispatch to escort you to purchase your supplies no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall 
Deputy Headmistress