The Knight Bus
Eventually everyone in the chamber settled down and they were just about to continue reading when there was another flash of bright white light and much to Harry's surprise none other than Stan Shunpike was standing there in front of him, looking remarkably confused, staring at his younger self.
"That's impossible, that is," Stan said.
"Must be a dream," his younger self agreed.
By his side was a pair of house elves. "Yous be a disgrace!" the younger of the pair said as the older staggered, before toppling down onto the ground.
"Winky?" Harry blinked.
"Yous be knowing Winky?" the younger elf asked.
"Yes," Harry said with a smile. "Although, you haven't met me yet."
"Princey be knowing Winky." She bubbled with excitement. "I is needing to take Winky back to the other elves." She gave her older self a cold look. "She's be embarrassing us."
Hermione tutted. "She's upset."
"Winky has no business being upset. The Great Mother has called her elvesies. It is being a time of celebration."
Before Hermione could argue with the young elf, Barty was on his feet and rushing forward. "WINKY!"
He surprised everyone when he wrapped the two elves in his arms.
"M-Master Barty, but yous is being dead!" Winky cried.
"I is been trying to tell yous," younger Winky said with a grimace.
Stan Shunpike was not looking at the elves though. His attention was focused on the two Harrys. "Harry Potter?" he said, his jaw wide. "I'm definitely dreaming."
Minerva quickly explained everything in her most no nonsense voice and soon everyone was sitting back down. Barty was still clutching his two elves, tears evident in his eyes.
Harry was several streets away... a new emotion overtook him: panic.
"Surprised it took that long," Ron said. "I'd have been panicking as soon as I got out of that house."
Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix.
"Huh?" George asked.
"That whole thing with the dragon?" young George suggested.
"The detention in the forest?" Fred added.
"Quirrell and the stone," Blaise said.
"The basilisk," Draco muttered.
He was stranded, quite alone... he was almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts.
"It was accidental magic," someone said, like that actually mattered when your name was Harry Potter.
He had broken the Decree... swooping down on him where he sat.
"Unlikely. They wouldn't know where you are," Moody said. "You're not actively using magic. But they'll be at your house."
Harry shivered... outlawed from the wizarding world?
"Not for acc-" Harry tuned them all out. If he heard one more person say that accidental magic was forgiven, he'd lose whatever hold he had on his temper.
He thought of Ron and Hermione... he had no means of contacting them.
"This is a major breach of security," Kingsley was muttering. The protections around the Boy-Who-Lived were disappointing to say the least.
"Oh, is this the night we met, Harry?" the older Stan asked eagerly.
"You didn't say you'd already met him!" his younger self complained.
He didn't have any Muggle money, either... He'd never be able to drag his trunk all the way to London. Unless...
"Oh, no. What is he going to do?" Hermione muttered.
He looked down at his wand,... a bit more magic couldn't hurt.
"Except that would be intentional use of magic," Tonks said, "and actually could get you in trouble."
"Although, I would think that it would be allowed given you're stranded," Kingsley said. "It's called the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underaged Magic for a reason."
He had the Invisibility Cloak... flew to London?
"Not the worst idea," Moody said. "Only one spell but you do risk being seen if the cloak comes off in the wind."
Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault... a trunk full of spell books and a broomstick.
"That's true enough," Arthur said.
"Also you need to find safety," Kingsley said. "While ever you are out in the open like that, you're at risk."
Harry opened his trunk again... Harry feel he was being watched,
"Good instincts," Moody growled.
but the street appeared to be deserted... something else.
"Good lad," Moody said with a nod.
"Lumos," Harry muttered,
"Harry! That's illegal!" Hermione screeched.
"No. It's not," Kingsley and Moody said together. "It's a perfectly reasonable use of the spell, given the situation he found himself in," Kingsley went on to explain.
and a light appeared at the end of his wand... something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.
"What is it?" the kids all asked eagerly.
"Some sort of creature?" Charlie guessed.
Harry stepped backward... shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light.
"Was that me?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Harry grinned.
"Wait!" Kingsley was on his feet. "Are you telling us that Sirius Black found you before you even went to Hogwarts?"
"Yeah," Harry said with a shrug.
"No security at all," Kingsley muttered, glaring at Albus. "Anything could have happened."
"Hey! I wouldn't hurt my pup!" Sirius growled.
"But we didn't know that. His security was supposed to be at an all time high because we thought you wanted to kill him. Not to mention, if you could find him that easily, anyone could."
With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement... The Knight Bus.
"Knew it," Stan said eagerly.
For a split second... and I will be your conductor this eve--"
"That's me!" Stan said.
The conductor stopped abruptly... "'Choo fall over for?" sniggered Stan.
Both Stans sniggered again now.
"I didn't do it on purpose,"... "Like a dog. . . but massive. . . "
"Yup, definitely me," Sirius grinned.
He looked around at Stan... "Woss that on your 'ead?" said Stan abruptly.
"Not the cleverest, is he?" Draco muttered to his younger self.
"Nothing,"... he didn't want to make it too easy for them.
This made several people laugh, to imagine a thirteen year old Harry Potter on the run from the Ministry of Magic.
"Woss your name?"... saying the first name that came into his head.
"Sorry, Nev," Harry muttered.
Neville merely laughed, his grandmother however looked less impressed.
"So - so this bus,"... Can't do nuffink underwater.
"Shame that, I always thought," Stan said with a sigh.
"Ere," he said, looking suspicious again,... "Not now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs" and rolled over in his sleep.
Several people laughed. A surprising number of the children had never been on the Knight Bus and were eager to hear more about it.
"You 'ave this one,"... "Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?"
"That's quick," Fred said excitably.
"I wonder how it works," young George said.
"I wonder if we can make a prank toy that moves like the Knight Bus," Fred pondered.
"We'd need to work out how it works first," young George said thoughtfully. "Sounds an awful lot like apparition."
"Mass apparition? Is that even possible?" Fred asked.
"Ar," said Ernie... Never notice nuffink, they don'. "
"It's spelled," Kingsley said. "A combination of Notice Me Not charms and muggle repelling wards.
"Best go wake up Madam Marsh... Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel.
"Doesn' really need ter," Stan said excitably. "The bus does all the work."
The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement... managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet.
"Unlikely," Kingsley said. "The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad would have done it in a flash though."
Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet... "He was on the Muggle news!"
"Hey, look at that, Snape! They're talking about me again," Sirius said with a wink.
Severus just rolled his eyes.
Stanley turned to the front page... "You oughta read the papers more, Neville. "
"He's not wrong, Harry," Hermione said.
Harry mimicked Snape and rolled his eyes.
Harry held the paper up to the candlelight... most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress,
"Most infamous?" Sirius laughed. "Even more so than dear cousin Bella? She won't like that."
is still eluding capture... "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
Harry gritted his teeth. He didn't like Fudge.
Fudge has been criticized... and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.
"A vampire?" Sirius chuckled. "I'll have you know, I'm more handsome than most vampires."
"Scary-lookin' fing, inee?"... "Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo," he said.
"Not true," Sirius said, folding his arms.
"What, Voldemort?"... "'Choo say 'is name for?"
"Harry always says his name," Ron muttered irritably.
"Sorry,"... "Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast. . . "
"I couldnee believe it. Imagine forgetting that!" Stan told everyone.
"So - so Black was a supporter... Harry nervously flattened his bangs down again
"You're being quite obvious," Remus said good-naturedly.
"all You-Know-'Oo's supporters... second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over.
"Second in command?" Sirius laughed.
"No offense, Mr Shunpike," Amelia said, "but it bothers me that this is how Heir Potter is learning about this. His magical guardian," she glared at Albus, "should have informed him."
"Anyway, they cornered Black... "Jus' stood there an' laughed.
"It was the shock. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think Peter had it in him." Sirius frowned.
An' when reinforcements... 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"
"Well, I am a Black," Sirius said.
Arcturus looked less impressed. He didn't like what people had been saying about his grandson back then.
"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban... "Gas explosion," grunted Ernie.
"That's the usual answer," Kingsley said. "It always seems to work. Muggles must have a lot of gas explosions, whatever they are."
"An' now 'e's out,"... "Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern?
"It's easy enough when the Ministry doesn't know you're an animagus," Sirius said. "Could have left at any time."
"Why didn't you?" Moody asked.
"What would be the point? Besides, I thought it was my fault," Sirius said.
Beats me 'ow 'e did it... Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles."
Everyone in the chamber seemed to agree with that, as no one said anything, eager to move past any mention of dementors.
Stan put the paper away reluctantly... 'E was tryin' to run for it. . . "
"You blew up your aunt, 'Arry?" Stan asked excitably.
"Yeah," Harry muttered.
He, Harry, had broken wizard law... and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry knew.
"Ah, thanks Harry," Hagrid smiled sadly.
The Knight Bus rolled through the darkness... "Diagon Alley," said Harry.
"Bad idea if you were actually on the run," Sirius said.
"Not that you'll ever need to know that!" young Mrs Weasley screeched.
Harry almost laughed. The younger Mrs Weasley was in for a shock or two.
"Righto,"... where, he didn't know.
The adults all frowned. The boy should never have been this alone. He should have had adults he felt he could go to when he was in trouble. Albus felt troubled. Didn't he know he could always come to Hogwarts?
Ern slammed on the brakes... "There you are, Harry," said a voice.
"Oh, no. Who is it?" Sirius asked.
"What if it's a death eater?" young Percy asked.
Before Harry could turn, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"No respect for personal space," Arcturus growled lowly. "Whoever it is, is lucky not to lose his wand hand for that! Touching a person from behind."
At the same time... Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself.
"Should have known," Arcturus said, his tone like ice.
Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them... "This is Harry Potter."
"No sense," Kingsley said. "He shouldn't be announcing your presence like that. They thought a murderer was out for you."
"I knew it!"... I can see 'is scar!"
Harry groaned. He hated the way people reacted to seeing him for the first time.
"Yes," said Fudge testily,... who still hadn't let go of Harry.
"Probably scared you'll do a runner," Hagrid said.
There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them... "And a private parlor, please, Tom," said Fudge pointedly.
"Not the politest, Minister Fudge," Stan said snidely.
"'Bye,"... "'Bye, Neville!" called Stan.
"Did you forget who he was?" Hermione asked, bewildered.
"O' course not," Stan said. "But 'Arry clearly didn't want everyone knowin' it wer' him."
Harry smiled at that.
Fudge marched Harry along the narrow passage... dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley.
"Shame," George said.
Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department... and no harm done."
Even the aurors were looking shocked at Fudge's reaction. They'd expected him to ask about the incident, find out what caused it. Not to mention, they'd expected him to tell Heir Potter that he needed to learn control.
Fudge smiled at Harry... "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry,
"Understatement of the century," Harry muttered.
but they are prepared to take you back... stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."
"And that didn't concern anyone?" Augusta Longbottom asked.
Harry unstuck his throat... very deep down. "
"Fond of each other?" Tonks laughed. "Not likely."
It didn't occur to Harry to put Fudge right... I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron and. . . "
"Major security risk," Kingsley muttered under his breath. He silently vowed that he'd become Harry Potter's personal bodyguard. He definitely seemed to need one.
"Hang on,"... We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts!"
"Well, that's not true," Amelia said with a sigh. "If it was intentional and you were of age, of course, we'd send you to Azkaban. As it was, it was accidental magic and you were underage."
But this didn't tally at all with Harry's past dealings with the Ministry of Magic.
"He's not daft," Moody said to Amelia with a smirk. "He reads the situation well. He'd make a damn good auror."
"Last year, I got an official warning... if there was any more magic there!"
"And this is why someone is supposed to investigate every breach of the decree," Amelia huffed. "So it can be determined if you've actually committed a crime or not."
Unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him... in the present climate...
"What does he mean by that?" young Hermione asked.
"I think he's referring to the fact that I've escaped prison," Sirius said with a smirk.
Surely you don't want to be expelled?"... usual for the Minister of Magic himself to get involved in matters of underage magic?
"No, definitely not," Arthur said with a grimace. He knew how much Harry hated anything that even seemed a little bit like special treatment.
Fudge came back... Keep to Diagon Alley.
"Not sure why he thinks you'll be safer there," Hermione said. "Definitely more likely to come across death eaters in the alley than in the muggle world."
And you're to be back here before dark each night... best we know where you are. . . I mean. . . "
"He's acting so suspicious," Ron said with a chuckle.
Fudge cleared his throat loudly... Fudge's finger slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak.
"Honestly," Minerva huffed. "It's no wonder Potter always finds things out on his own."
"It would be better if people just told me the truth," Harry said sharply.
"What's that?... D'you think you could --?"
"You even asked the minister?" Ron laughed.
"I really wanted to go," Harry muttered.
Fudge was looking uncomfortable... In fact, I think it's best if you don't... yes.
"Definitely keeping secrets from little Harry," Fred said.
well, I'll be off... "Hedwig!" Harry gasped.
"Impressive," Tonks said.
The snowy owl clicked her beak... "Arrived about five minutes after you did.
"Always looking after me," Harry said softly.
If there's anything you need... and that he was now facing two completely Dursley-free weeks.
"Best summer ever," young Harry said.
"It's been a very weird night, Hedwig,"... he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep.
"Right!" Mrs Weasley said, clapping her hands. "Time for lunch."