Running Away
It all started when the realization kicked in. He was just a boy, a teenager, what does he know of fighting and war? Those thoughts raced through his mind when he finally broke down and sobbed inside his tiny bedroom in Privet Drive.
Why does the wizarding world expect so much from him? Take and take so much from him? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He had looked around that room, filled with broken toys and felt like one of the them. Used, broken, and just like all of them, will one day be discarded once his usefulness was over.
Sirius, the only person who wanted him for himself, the only one who doesn't expect more from him, is gone. Dead just a few short months ago, and by Harry's own stupidity.
Looking back to this moment Harry doesn't know who's stupid idea it was to stop contacting him, the letters were his only lifeline outside that cage, he just went through trauma, he was wrecked with guilt and their best solution was to leave him locked up in that bedroom. No contact, no kind words and certainly no psychological help of any kind.
Therefore it ultimately didn't come as a surprise that he finally snapped. Gritting his teeth in anger Harry grabbed everything he owned, stuffing them into his slightly battered suitcase and freed Hedwig from her cage. He gave her a trembling embrace as she mournfully crooned in his ear. Letting go he ordered her to stay with Hermione then he wandlessly unlocked the bedroom door with a simple alohamora and stealthily left the house.
Harry cautiously looked around, checking to see which order member is on duty to watch over him. This was another issue he was very angry about, he knows they're there but the moment he tries to come in contact they quickly disappear and apparate away.
Harry was very fortunate that Mundungus was on duty that time, and was too busy sleeping behind a couple of shrubs. So he used the opportunity to quickly walk away as quietly as possible.
After dragging his trunk a couple of blocks from number four he decided it was safe enough. Taking out his wand he held it aloft in the air and summoned the Knight Bus.
It came with a loud bang, Harry took a step back in alarm as the shockwave ruffled his person. Harry was very glad he took the extra precaution to walk away. Mundungus would've heard that loud bang and alert the order before he could manage to escape.
On board the bus he asked Stanley to go nearest city, once there he plans to take the subway to another location and then to another, making sure to eliminate his tracks.
He doesn't know it then, he doesn't even know if he will succeed but his life changed from the moment he stepped off that Knight Bus.
Harry stopped using his wand, he doesn't know if they'll be able to trace wandless magic so he limited the use of it just in case.
The first couple of weeks was very tough, especially for a fifteen year old boy trying to find shelter and food. He learned earlier on that his trunk was very noticeable in the alleyways, the eyes of the other homeless would follow it wherever he goes. Therefore he immediately went to learn how to wandlessly shrink and unshrink his trunk after the first couple days.
Now he's only unshrinking the trunk when absolutely necessary.
Harry often went to sleep hungry after the first couple of weeks, his meager money quickly ran out and was not able to sustain him anymore, so Harry resorted to begging on the streets and sidewalks. To his dismay it barely afforded him a good three meals a day let alone a roof under his head.
The gnawing hunger was what led him to start rethinking about his situation, maybe going back to the wizarding wouldn't be so bad after all. Then he would remember, his life will always be in peril, his privacy is almost non-existent, and the student body seems to hate him or love him depending on what Skeeter decides to print on that rubbish newspaper.
No, he will not go back. So he spent a few weeks observing the other homeless people and noticed what a couple of kids and teens were doing on the streets. After observing them he discovered a new way to earn money.
Harry learned how to steal, it took him a long time and a lot of practice on unsuspecting strangers but he had light and swift fingers, capable of catching snitches in the air as well as wallets inside the pockets of passing businessmen.
It wrecked him with guilt at first, stealing wasn't what he wanted to do. So he started picking apart his future victims, checking for subtle clues if they were rich enough that a lone thief won't leave them starving. It also helped if he caught them acting snobbish and being pricks to other people, those were his first choice of targets.
Soon he could tell the brands of shoes a person wore to the price of their watch and jewellery. After awhile he picked up more tricks to help him with stealing and it didn't take him long to learn the tells, the subtle signs that give away what kind of occupation his targets could possibly have. From businessmen to lawyers to law enforcement, he can deduce it from the way they walk, talk and dress.
By then Harry had been on the streets of London for months, no sign of Dumbledore and the Order at all. He doesn't know if that was a good thing or not but he's glad either way.
Sometimes he wonders what would've happened if he stayed. He would be sleeping in his four poster bed in Gryffindor tower, most probably worrying about girls, grades and homework. But this is his life now, the life that he chose for himself, and now he has to face the consequences of running away.
It had been over a year since he left, his sixteenth birthday has come and gone with little or no fanfare. The most notable incident was a harrowing chase across London when he was caught stealing by a shifty eyed lady.
He realized that he needed to learn how to escape. Quick and fast on foot in the city. He has seen the sport before and thought it was perfect for what he needed, and it was then that he decided to learn parkour.
To do so he approached a couple of guys he saw doing parkour multiple times one afternoon, he introduced himself as 'Harry Evans', and he asked if they could teach him parkour. After some initial hesitation, and a private discussion, they quickly took him under their wing.
It was worlds of fun, almost as amazing as flying through the air with a broom. He learned quickly and the guys became his new group of friends. They knew he ran away from home, and that he's been living in the streets, so they tried to help him out a couple of times.
They slowly started inviting him to parties and get togethers, places where there's lots of free food, and letting him crash on their couch for the night when it's pouring rain. It was great, Harry discovered that this is what it felt like having real friends. People who don't look at him and see The-Boy-Who-Lived, they like him because of himself, he was 'Just Harry'.
It was also how he finally landed an apartment to live in. One of the guys, called Jason, must have taken pity on him. Jason was a college student like the rest, but unlike them, he lived alone in a small two-bedroom apartment. He offered the spare room in exchange for helping him pay the rent. Harry was grateful and Jason considered it an added bonus when he discovered that Harry is also an amazing cook.
The months flew by quickly after that, he got a job at a local coffee shop one of the guy's family owned. It helped him finally get a real job, it was impossible before given his lack of proper papers. They treated him very well despite the lack of papers and didn't use it as an opportunity to pay him any less than the rest of the employees.
In his downtime from work Harry picked up some school books and studied. He did this despite his initial reluctance at first. Unfortunately for him however, he had realized given how he now lives in the muggle world, that he needs to catch up on all the missed subjects ever since his muggle education got cut off at eleven.
By his eighteenth birthday he realized that since Lily is a muggleborn, there should be copies of his papers in the City Hall and he could ask for a copy anytime, or at least he hoped she had, it was in the middle of war so there was a chance she might not have filed him. Even so he banged his head on the wall a couple of times for forgetting that little tidbit.
Despite all the new positive changes in his life Harry hasn't stopped being a thief. The money he earns still isn't enough to pay for the rent and food. So on the weekends he goes out and goes to 'work' on his second job.
Eat
Work
Study
Steal
Pay rent
It was repetitive, the pattern of his life continued every week, unchanging. He'd gotten used to it, the monotony of it all. If anything, he felt it was getting boring, four years and nothing but moldy pizza had threatened his life.
He came to terms with the fact that he was an adrenaline junky, parkour was the closest he could get to that feeling of danger and excitement. So every now and then he would slip away and spend the day just going parkour.
The pattern of his life took a different turn however, it branched off on a very special day, it changed on his nineteenth birthday. His small group of friends managed to pitch in enough money to buy him a really cheap computer. With sayings of, 'what kind of millennial doesn't have a computer', as they threw him a small birthday party in their apartment.
Harry was grateful, if abit miffed that they bought him something that he doesn't really care to have. But it was when he finally set it up and turned it on that Harry... fell in love.
He fell headfirst into the wonderful world of computers. Harry was a natural, and it didn't take him long to discover coding and programming. Soon he was helping his friends with their computers and making some money fixing and upgrading other people's computers. It was fun and exciting, he would turn it on and discover something new everyday.
It started off rather innocent, he hadn't meant to at first but it seemed inevitable that he took up hacking. He found it rather easy, and like with the rest, tried experimenting on what he could do. Hacking was exciting and he found a thrill in doing it.
So one afternoon he tested out something he's been wondering about for awhile. He hacked into a local school's computer system and added himself in, becoming a full-fledged student in just a few short hours. Harry didn't think it'd work but it did, and since he was already there he decided he might as well attend, to see and experience how much has changed in the school system while he was at Hogwarts.
On the days he felt like it, which was almost everyday, he attended classes. Harry was afraid he would get caught at first, after all he joined the classes while it was already well into the semester.
But he didn't get caught, he did get a few curious looks but that's about it, so he continued to attend the school for a couple of months, he got caught up in all the subjects he missed during that time.
He was already doing well studying on his own but it was in school that realized how 'well' he was doing. Without Ron and Hermione holding him back he had developed a thirst for newfound knowledge, he soaked everything up like a sponge.
It was a couple of months later until he finally got bored and dropped out. He erased all his tracks afterwards but it proved to him something, how easy it was for him to move in the system.
It's been five years since he's left the wizarding world. The only notice he's seen so far of the war with Voldemort were the dementors wreaking havoc in Britain. Of course the muggles don't know about it and are trying to find connections on why there are tens of people suddenly dropping into vegetative states. So far he hasn't seen any dementors but he knows the signs just by seeing it on the news.
Now he only occasionally finds the time to steal, only when the need arises. And just because he knows his way around computers doesn't mean he's about to hack into people's bank accounts and siphon all their life savings.
It was due to this occasional habit that his monotonous life took a turn for the exciting. He hadn't even known nor noticed, not until he was informed face-to-face a few hours later.
Harry was walking by Saville Row, it was not one of his regular haunts but the people there are typically well-to-do and he liked looking into the display windows of the shops lining the street.
It was during this time that he noticed a rather well-dressed blonde gentleman with glasses, he was older, maybe in his late twenties. He had a frown on his face and seemed to be in a hurry. Usually Harry wouldn't pick him as a target but as it stands, Harry only had a couple bills in his pockets, rent was coming up and he was getting rather hungry.
The blonde was busy, and looked to be in a hurry. Perfect. Smiling to himself he carefully brushed by the man, "Excuse me." He said while stealthily taking the man's wallet and quickly slipping it into his own pocket.
He's mastered the art by now and continued walking as if nothing ever happened.
A few blocks away he looked through the wallet, there was a picture of a little girl and a woman, presumably her mother, a few cards and a couple of bills inside. Smiling to himself again he heads to his favorite pizza joint, Harry was getting hungry.
As he walked he felt a tingling sensation, as if someone is looking at him. Feeling alarmed he looked behind him suspiciously, seeing nothing but the usual cars and buildings.
Harry still couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched so he quickly walked to the closest alley. Once in the semi-darkness he ran as fast as he could, using his parkour skills to jump past walls and slip through buildings.
Once Harry felt like nothing was following him he relaxed and finally slowed down. Feeling more cautious but also getting more hungry he headed to the pizza joint.
He got home just fine, unlocking the door and going in, he shed his coat and hanged it while shouting. "Jason! I'm home, I got pizza!"
Harry chuckled when he heard a whoop somewhere in the apartment. Putting the large pizza on the small dining table he went to the kitchen to wash his hands and grab a couple of beers from the fridge.
"What did you get?" He heard Jason ask. Harry wandered back to the dining area with the beers in hand, "Just a bacon and cheese pizza." He replied as he eyed the pizza like a starving animal, the walk home from the pizza joint was pure torture. The smell was mouth-watering.
They both quickly grabbed a slice, acting like someone else was going to take it if they weren't fast enough and each took a big bite. They spent the next couple of minutes talking and laughing over the food and beer. However, midway while Jason was telling a story there was a knock on the door. They looked at each other in confusion, "You expecting one of the guys over?" Harry asked.
"No, most of them are busy, finals is coming up." Jason answered.
Harry shrugged and crossed the living room, he figured one of the guys decided to come over to hang, it's not uncommon. "What's up mate?" He said with a smile while opening the door.
The smile quickly vanished when he took in their unexpected guest. It was the well-dressed blonde gentleman from earlier, and he doesn't look happy.
"Who is it?!" He heard Jason shout from the dining table.
"Just someone I know! Be right back!" He shouted back, his eyes never leaving the strangers.
Harry stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. "What do you want?" He asked cautiously.
"You're Mr. Potter I pressume?" The man asked in a cultured voice.
Harry looked at the man in alarm and horror, his mind racing. They've found him. How did they find him? He's spent five years running away from the wizarding world and it only took one slip up for everything to come crashing down.
The man picked up on his horror and frowned, his brows furrowed down in confusion.
"Mr. Potter? Are you alright?"
"Who are you?" He asked while taking a step back and the man's frown just deepened.
"My name is Gary Unwin, and I'm here to offer you a job."
Harry paused after hearing the last word. "A job?"
"Yes, may we step out for a bit, the nature of the profession is rather, classified." The man, Gary, indicated the stairs with his hand.
Seeing as Gary didn't seem to know about Harry's other self other than his last name, he decided to follow along. He was tense and his hand ready at his side for any altercation, he's gotten proficient with wandless magic over the years and was confident he can take this man down if need be.
Just as he was about to go down the stairs the man spoke again. "Oh and please, return my wallet."
They took a quick walk through the streets of London, Harry felt shocked at the words coming out of Gary's mouth. Spies like James Bond exist! Well, it's not as surprising as magic existing but it was up there alongside it for sure.
Harry still didn't believe it until Gary showed him a few tricks with his watch and glasses.
"Wicked." He said breathlessly while wearing the Kingsman glasses. It was showing him footage and data of the nearby surroundings. Amazing tech, his fingers itched to play with it.
Then he frowned and handed the glasses back with a forlorn expression. Shaking his head he looked at Gary.
"What's this about really?" He asked cautiously, suddenly remembering there has to be a catch.
"Like I said before, I'm offering you a job." Gary explained with a shrug and a smirk playing on his lips.
"Wait wait wait, you mean you were impressed when I managed to steal from you--"
"Successfully and without my notice, and only when my colleague informed me that I discovered it was gone."
"--and that I managed to run away from you when you tried to follow me--"
"You managed to evade an agent successfully, that was commendable parkour skills."
"--and now you're offering me a job?"
"An opportunity to become a Kingsman agent."
"Like you?"
"Like me."
"Why? Shouldn't you be picking from elites and not from people on the streets?"
"Mr. Potter, like you I was also not born with a silver spoon up my arse, we are more alike than you think. Also, many of my colleagues died a few weeks ago and I'm on a time limit to be honest." Harry could hear the accent slipping a bit at the end.
"Many died?" Harry asked in alarm.
"There was an incident, I can't tell you more. Strictly confidential."
"But it shouldn't be that easy should it?" Harry looked skeptical.
"Well no, if you accept the offer you will have to embark on the most dangerous job interview in the world. You will compete with other candidates and we will choose only one at the end of the trials to be the new Kingsman."
Harry thought it over for a while, it all sounded rather exciting, he could even be like that spy in the movies, James Bond. After a couple of minutes spent pondering he gave the man a smirk.
"When do we start?"