A/N: There is an important change in this story. The students are accepted to Hogwarts when they are 14 years old and graduate when they are 21, so all main characters are at least 18 years(4th year) old when the story commences.
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Waking up with a sudden start, Harry glanced around the dark room and let out a sigh of relief when he realized he was in his bedroom at the Dursley'. Placing his right hand on his scar the young wizard immediately withdrew it as he felt a stinging sensation coming from the blasted scar.
Laying back on his pillow soaked with sweat, flashes of the nightmare he experienced with Peter the sniveling, rat-tailed traitor and Voldemort killing that old man passed through his mind. He let out a deep sigh and a silent prayer to the poor old man who died at the hands of his parents' killers, Harry got up from his bed as he really didn't see himself going back to sleep anytime soon.
He looked around his bedroom. It was really an unusual assortment of goods as at the foot of his bed laid an opened trunk with a cauldron brimming with a potion he cooked up, a sparkling new broomstick of the latest model, black robes enchanted with cooling and cleaning charms, and a stack of spell books tied up neatly. On his desk were parchments stained with ink blotches and incomplete assignments given over for the summer vacation.
In another corner near the window was an empty cage which his snowy owl, Hedwig, usually perched. Just as the thought of Hedwig passed through his mind, a slight tapping echoed from his window and into the room.
Striding up to the window, Harry swung it open and came face to face with his good old friend perched on the window sill.
"How was the hunt, girl?" Harry asked as he scratched behind Hedwig's ear just where she liked it. Hedwig hooted in reply as she flew into the room and rested on her perch.
"Yeah, you must have been good," Harry said as he chuckled to himself but then his thoughts turned back to the nightmare he just had.
He needed to tell someone about the nightmare he experienced, but who should he tell it to? Immediately his mind flickered to his two best friends; Hermione and Ron. Though just as quickly as it passed through his mind he waved it off.
He could already imagine their reaction, Hermione, as much as she is intelligent, she isn't all-knowing. The first response she would give him would be to consult a book and he doubted that any book would be covering his scar. The next best thing she would recommend would be to talk to an authority figure and Harry also highly doubted that option. Having any sort of connection to Voldemorts would never be a good thing!
Ron, on the other hand, as much as he enjoys the company of his friend when he isn't being jealous or thick skulled, he knows that he isn't really the brightest tool in the shed. Their talk about quidditch, girls, or wizarding stuff, in general, is fun, but that is all that he offers.
As Harry's options became smaller and smaller his mind came to Professor Dumbledore, though he quickly crossed that one out, faster than the others. As much as the old man is known for his magical prowess, it has been Harry, a young wizard of above-average talent, who has been thwarting Voldemort at every turn and all other deadly threats that the school has faced ever since he arrived at Hogwarts.
Not once had the wizened old man been there when he faced each and every new menace head on.
Finally, after a long while of milling it about, a name passed through his mind - Sirius.
Jumping to his feet, Harry rushed over to his desk and immediately scorned himself for not thinking about contacting his godfather first about his worrying dream.
Though nobody couldn't really blame him since the man was on the run from incompetent Ministry workers, or the fact he didn't even know the man existed until just last year.
From what Harry picked up about Sirius, he seemed to have deeply cared about him and wanted the best for him, and Harry prided himself for being a good judge of character since for the entirety of his life he needed to fend for himself.
Picking up a parchment and quill, Harry quickly started to pen a letter to his godfather and hoped that it would reach him safely.
After he was done, Harry got up and walked over to his snowy owl. "Hey girl," he called out, "Can you deliver this letter to Sirius for me?" He asked as he held out the letter.
'Hoot, Hoot,' Hedwig replied as if she was saying, of course I can, then grabbing the letter with her talons and was off and away.
Sitting back on his desk chair, Harry started twiddling with his thumbs then he started walking circles around his room like a caged animal. Noticing that he was up, Harry decided he would get an early start on his summer assignments, that more than anything would make Hermione proud plus it would take his mind away from the letter which Sirius would not be responding to for a couple of days.
Once again sitting back on his desk chair, Harry cleared his desk then took out his books and parchments, and got a start on his homework.
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Coming down from his room after showering and brushing up, Harry made his way to the dining room. He put good use to all the time he had earlier as he finished up a few of his assignments and was now feeling a bit famished so he came down for breakfast.
Vernon was already out and Dudley left to hang out with his punk friends, so that only left him with his 'dear old aunt Petunia.'
"What's for breakfast?" Harry asked his aunt who was washing the dishes.
"There are some waffles in the fridge" Petunia responded curtly as she didn't even look up from the dishes she was toweling.
"Well then, I guess I will help myself to it" Harry uttered as he made his way to the refrigerator and took out the stack of crisp batter cake. Grabbing himself some syrup too and the jug of milk, he took a cup from the washed dishes Petunia set aside and made himself comfortable at the dining table.
Uncomfortable silence greeted the area as Harry wolfed down his food and Petunia finished cleaning up the dishes. Once Harry finished his meal and wiped himself clean, he made his way over to the sink to drop his utensils and plate in.
Watching him like a hawk, Petunia announced, "Make sure you clean your dishes boy, I do not want to deal with your stuff."
"I know perfectly well how to wash dishes Petunia," Harry smoothly replied. "I have of course been washing them since I was four years old."
Sniffing to herself, Petunia turned away from Harry as she headed off to the backyard leaving him alone to finish up his cleaning. Ever since the Dursley' found out that his Godfather is a mass murderer, they've been on edge. His unsaid threats that the man might come by didn't really help matters so the Dursley' did the next best thing they could, treat him like he did not exist.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
That worked perfectly fine for Harry as he did not have to deal with their shouting, screaming, insults, and every other annoying shit that they put him through. So this summer was turning out to be the best summer he's ever had in his life with the Dursley'.
Once he finished washing up, Harry decided to stretch his legs out a bit. He headed out the front door, opening the front lawn gate, he waved at Ms. Arabella Figg who was sitting on her porch with her cats lazying about in the morning sun.
Having nowhere in particular to go, Harry headed off in a random direction and simply enjoyed the pleasant morning breeze which was a rare thing in Britain since it was always rainy and gloomy.
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After a long pleasant walk, Harry decided it was time to head back to the Dursley' home. It was starting to get late as the evening sun slowly set in the sky, plus he was starting to feel hungry once again and lunchtime was long passed.
Reaching Number 4 Privet Drive, he once again waved at Ms. Arabella Figg in greeting who was still sitting on her rocking chair on her porch. The elder woman waved back at him with a smile and got back to scratching her cats' ears.
Opening the front door for himself without knocking, Harry entered the home. He was surprised when he got greeted by silence, Vernon had to be already in since Harry saw his car in the driveway and the man was always causing up a racket wherever he goes just like his walrus of a son.
Waving that observation off, Harry made his way to the kitchen to see what Petunia had cooked up. He knew if anything the horse faced woman would have saved something for her son and it would be a large portion, he saw no reason why not help himself to it. If you looked at it from another angle, he would be helping his cousin by trimming down on all that fat.
After Harry grabbed himself a portion of the meal Petunia set aside, he decided to head on up to his room. Just because the Dursley' decided to ignore him and start treating him like a regular person, if not one they did not like, it did not mean he wanted to stick out like a sour thumb.
As Harry was passing through the living room on his way to his room, he saw the most peculiar sight ever. Petunia and Vernon were sitting together on the large couch holding hands and shivering right down to their boots. Across from them on the single lone couch chair, Harry could only make up a mop of black hair jutting from beyond the armchair's back.
Vernon must have noticed Harry poking his head in as all of the sudden his face became red like he was suffocating and he shouted "Come in here boy, and talk to th- this... man who came here to see you" the man finally finished as he gazed at Harry like he wanted to swallow him up and spit him right back out.
Harry wondered who could have made Vernon act so cordial, he really could have given that person a hug, however, there is the likelihood that this visitor might be more sinister in nature. The first thought that crossed his mind was Voldemort and his Death eaters.
Balancing his plate and drink in one hand he carefully set it on the ground, he then slowly pulled out his trusty wand from his pocket and held it at the ready. Even though he might get in a lot of trouble with the Ministry for doing any spell work, there was no way he would helplessly send himself off to be slaughtered, so if it came to trading blows with this mysterious visitor then he would go down fighting.
Slowly creeping into the living room, Harry jumped right in front of the visitor with his wand pointed right at the individual's nose, and finally, he was able to get a good look at the visitor.
"Sirius?!" Harry called out in surprise as he came face to face with his own Godfather. "What are you doing here?"
"Yes, wh- what are you doing in our home, yo- you... mass murderer" Petunia exclaimed.
"Shut up Petunia!" Harry and Sirius said at the same time, then turned away from the woman and got back to discussing between themselves.
"Well, I got your letter from your owl" Sirius replied as he motioned towards Hedwig perching on the armchair, which Harry just noticed was there.
"I was sort of expecting, you know, a letter back," Harry said. "Because aren't you suppose to be like in hiding? Did you forget about the Ministry who is after you and the muggles they let loose on you?"
"Ahh, forget about those Ministry workers and those muggle Aurors" Sirius said with a wave.
"They are called the police" Harry corrected, but it seemed like Sirius didn't care about the correction since he carried on.
"What matters to me is your safety pup" Sirius declared and to that Harry felt a twinge of warmth. It was a first that an adult figure spoke out loud that they cared for him something which was really missing when he grew up with the Dursley'.
"Do you know what is happening to me?" Harry asked seeing that Sirius was already here and he did want the man's advice on the matter.
"No," Sirius replied with a shake of his head.
"But then why are you...." Harry started to ask before he was cut off as Sirius continued.
"However that doesn't mean I do not know a place where we can get some answers."
"Where is that?" Harry asked, some answers would be pretty good right about now. As much as he's keeping it together, he really is alarmed that somehow he and Voldemort are connected.
"You will find out," Sirius said as he got up from his chair and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Pack up and we shall be on our way."
"Alright," Harry said as he started walking towards his room.
It was at that moment that Vernon somehow found his voice and cut off with, "That boy is going nowhere until he is an adult then he could go wherever the hell he wants," the large man shouted with his mustache bristling. "And he sure as hell isn't going anywhere with the likes of you!"
Before Harry could wade in and try to convince the blustering fat old man, and get through his thick skull he would be turning 18 in a couple of weeks, Sirius spoke up for the first time and addressed the Dursley'. "With the likes of me, huh? And what exactly am I, Vernon?"
Vernon who thought he would be getting his way like always did a double-take once Sirius came right up to him, towering over him, and teeth bared.
Unable to respond, Sirius sneered down at the man and bent over so that they were at eye level. "What I recommend, Vernon," Sirius said like the very name was an insult, "Is that you keep your fat walrus of a mouth shut," Harry nearly bent over in laughter at that demeaning insult, however, he quickly schooled his features and let Sirius continue on. "And carry on with your miserable existence. What us fine wizarding folks do" at the word the two Dursely' flinched back as if they had been smacked, but Sirius didn't seem to give two f*** about it, "It's none of your business and you best make sure it isn't, or else..." Sirius finished, leaving the threat hanging in the air.
Turning around from both of them Sirius was about to head on upstairs with Harry until Petunia spoke up. Harry didn't know if this family was somehow damaged up there in the head but they just didn't seem to know when to shut their mouths. "That old coot, Dumbledore will hear about this! He made use take him in until he reached the age of majority. Let's see what he has to say about you being here."
Harry almost felt bad for the Dursley as they brought upon themselves the full and undivided attention of Sirius, but as that thought appeared it quickly vanished. The Dursleys' if more than anyone out there except maybe Voldemort and his Death eaters deserved whatever sort of punishments comes their way.
In only a matter of a couple strides, Sirius was once again upon the two Dursley', whispering towards them in a tone brooking no response, "If you think for a single moment that good old Dumbledore will protect you sorry lot for a single second after he finds out how you have been treating Harry for over the past decade, then you are sadly mistaken."
At those unwittingly explicit words from Sirius, Harry gazed upon his Godfather in shock. He had never mentioned all the emotional abuse that the Dursley' put him through, the countless years that they treated him like their own servant, the punching bag that they made him out to be, and the minimum necessities that they handed to him. It seemed like Sirius already relived the hell he was living under the Dursley'.
"Let me make myself absolutely clear so that it can get through your small, tiny, little empty heads; if you ever mess with my Godson in the slightest bit I will mark you out to be my next targets." Sirius then turned to Harry and asked, "how many muggles in counting do I have on my casualty list?"
"Ahh, 49" Harry said, giving out a random number which sounded bloody enough since he really did not know how much people the Ministry and the Britain government were saying that Sirius killed.
"Yes," Sirius said as he put on a bloodthirsty grin on his face. "That would make you 50," Sirius said as he pointed towards Vernon who looked rather subdued than at Petunia marking her as number 51 as all blood drained from her face. "Oh, yes, and I can not forget about mentioning dear old Dudley" Sirius announced as Petunia whimpered and silently sobbed into her hand, Vernon on the other hand shook with wrath, fear in his eyes.
"Now," Sirius said in a calming voice, "This could all be avoided if from now on you treat Harry, here with the utmost respect and gratitude because it is only thanks to him that you get to keep your worthless lives for now." With that Sirius gave the two Dursley' a final glare and was off, this time no one tried to stop him.
Gazing down at the two miserable souls seated on the large couch, Harry shook his head to himself and followed after his Godfather. This could have all been avoided if they treated him with the bare minimum of respect, but now it seemed like their sins would be catching up to them and they would be getting the comeuppance they well deserved.