Chapter 1
It was dumb, Harry knew that, but he couldn’t go back he just couldn’t. Honestly it was one the smartest ideas Harry had ever had.
While on the way back to the Dursley’s home after saying goodbye to Mrs Weasley, he had told uncle Vernon that he needed to pee really badly, like REALLY BADLY!, and so Uncle Vernon had pulled the car over at the closest gas station and went to the ‘bathroom’. Their he tried to figure out how to escape. Luckily for him uncle Vernon wanted snacks and had gone inside the gas station so he didn’t see Harry come out of the bathroom, which was on the side of the gas station not the inside, ‘honestly who thought that was a good idea?’, and grabed his Hogwarts stuff than ran as fast as he could. He couldn’t use magic cause of the trace but he could still wait for night then get on the knight bus, head down to the leaky caldron get inside Diagon ally and access his vault. That way he could get money to pay for a stay in the leaky cauldron.
Vernon aparrently didn’t realize Harry want with him or just didn’t care because the moment he got out of the gas station he was in his car pulling out of the parking lot and driving home. At least that made his plan a lot easier, he now had a lot longer until someone figured out he was gone and even then they wouldn’t care, so essentially he had free will to do whatever he wanted until night so the knight bus could pick him up.
Wow, how had Harry not thought of this?, he could just take muggle transport sure it would be a little difficult To explain why he had an owl but other than that it would work he could be dropped off at the closes bus station the a Leaky Cauldron than just walk. Had Herry really got so used to the wizard if world he forgot about the muggle world?, honestly that kinda saddens Harry. Harry’s mom was a muggle born witch, and he felt that if she had raised him she would have raised him in both worlds.
Harry walked to the closest bus stop which luckily wasn’t far as he was still in the out skirts of London. He got on the bus waiting till it reached the bus station then got off. People gave him wierd looks as he walked over to the bus schedule trying to figure out what bus got him the closest to the Leaky Cauldron. Though that was proving difficult as it looked like he would need to take 2 buses but he was confused on which ones, but it want like he could ask somebody as they were all muggles. Than it hit him, if he could figure out a muggle shop in that area he could ask one of the workers what bus would bring him the closest to that shop.
Harry really had to search his memory, which wasn’t good as for some reason he could never remember much of the little things, like muggle shops that are near the Leaky Cauldron. Finally, after thinking for about two minutes he remembered one, and it lined up perfectly with what he had with him.
Harry remember when Hagrid had taken him to Diagon Alley, he remembered seeing a hotel fairly close to it and for some reason it stuck out to him, it was called “Hotel For You”.
Thanks to that stoke of luck in memory, something Harry didn’t have often, he was able to ask one of the workers in the bus station what bus got him the closest.
“Um, sorry to bother you but I’m trying to get to ‘Hotel For You’ what bus would get me the closest?”
Harry said in the most innocent way possible.
“Oh of course I can help you, you see that board over there,” The worker pointed out, “ it has all the busses on it. Now if you want to get the closest you can than you have to take two busses,” she held two fingered up as if talking to a primary student, “ and the two buses are the 183 and the 185. Here let me just write this down for you” she paused to grave a peace of paper from her pocket, “ ah yes here it is, so, you stay on the 183 for fifteen stops then you get off on the sixteenth stop walk across the street and wait for the 185, from their you just stay on the bus for five stops, the sixth stop will bring you right in front of the hotel.”
She finished with a smile, handing me the paper.
Harry had to wait ten minutes for the 183. I then got on heading to the very back of the bus, because it was only 1:35 in the afternoon so there wasn’t many people on the bus. At like the fifth stop Harry became the only person on the bus which wasn’t suprising as earlier there had only been 5 people including him on the bus excluding the bus driver of course.
Finally he was able to get off the 183. That bus ride took about twenty minutes so when he got toe the stop for the 185 he had a bit of a wait, about forty minutes passed when the 185 came. Thankfully this five stops took about 10 minutes instead of twenty.
Harry was pleasantly surprised when he look down the long London street and could acually just make out the image of the Leaky Cauldron. He walked for about twenty more minutes, with all of his stuff mind you, and reached the Leaky Cauldron by the time Harry arrived he was drenched in sweat.
Harry walked in worth all his stuff beside him and headwig who had been sleeping for a lot of this trip finally awake and hooting like a manic. Harry knew what he looked like at the moment so he tried to keep his face hidden but it was impossible when everyone knew the famous Harry Potter, even the owner of the Leaky Cauldron named Tom who had just come over to help him.
“ Hello I’m Tom, it’s good to meet you Harry Potter. Now I’m not going to bother you to much just going to ask, what can I do for you?”
Tom says.
“Do you know how to get into Diagon Alley, I need to get money so I could pay for a room here.”
Harry said out of breath from the walk, as it was horribly hot outside.
“ How about you get a room right now then you could pay me tomorrow. Is that fair as I think you could you a brake from just being around people.”
Tom bargained.
Harry tried to protest but had subsequently failed at all attempts of denying Tom’s kind jester.
Tom gave Harry the key to his room, from their Harry went up to the room put his stuff on the bed then took a much needed shower after the day he just had, or honestly the year he just had. Harry after the affects of being focused on running away wore off he had time to feel what he had witnessed just a week prior. Cedric Digorys body laying in the ground while Voldemort yelling at him about duelling and manners or something. It really took a toll on poor Harry, and he wasn’t ok. As much as he would like to pretend he was ok, he wasn’t as just being in the shower took him back to the tournament.
After thirty minutes in the shower he got out and went to put some clothes on. He wanted to head to down the stairs and maybe talk to Tom or something. Though that didn’t work out as while he put on his shirt he couaght a glimpse of a scar from the tournament and started to think about the mass again. How scared he was, how um prepared he was… how alone he was. It aparranly lasted a really long time as by the time he checked the time again it was 6 o clock which meant time for diner.
After he ate the meal Tom provided he went to yes it may have been really early but Harry was too tired to care. As he drift off to sleep that last thing he thinks before falling asleep is ‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t enough Cedric.’