Prelude

Chapter 1-Prologue

Harry Potter sat in the middle of an untidy room in number four, Privet Drive. This room however bore no resemblance to his daring personality. The thrills of school challenges were over, and now the hibernation had progressed through most of the summer break. Ron and Hermione had written to him while he just hoped for death to take him and drag his spirit to wherever Sirius' was now. His godfather had fallen through that acursed veil. All it took was a split second for his death to overtake him once he understood.

'Sirius is really gone... How could I let him come here to save me when I had caused all this pain? Oh yeah... I was too stupid to realize that he was never in any danger. I had to go off and lead him to battling Belatrix Lestrange. Curse that horrid cousin of his. It was a shame that they were even mildly related.' Harry's mind was surging with painful thoughts of his godfather and family. 'Narcissa, Lucius' wife was related to Sirius...why?'

"Potter!" Harry's uncle Vernon had found where he was staying, and now he was starting to rant about owls that delivered the post and Daily Prophet. It was a wizarding newspaper.

"I have had it with all these damned birds flopping in and out our windows like it's an oversized shit basket! There's a letter for you and you'd better keep your stupid gang of protectors off us for allowing you to see it!" Vernon thrust the letter into Harry's hands. The writing was in a rich emerald colour. The print looked familiar.

"Thanks, Uncle Vernon." Harry had forced himself to speak to his sinister uncle in a civil manner. The problem with that was when he was still blamed for things that happened out of the blue.

"Go to your cupboard-I mean your room. We'll send your crumbs up to you, you undeserving little-"

"Vernon, quiet!" Petunia had finished setting the table for what looked like four occupants, but Dudley came in and took up two of them. Harry sighed and returned to his shell of a haven. This was at least better than the old moldy cupboard under the stairs.

The letter that bore the emerald ink sat trembling in its owner's hands. 'Will it be a good report or bad?' He thought. The only way was to confront the problem at the sourse. The letter had to be opened and its contents examined.

Dear Harry,

I have been ordered to immediately remove you from your relatives' house. They will be notified formally in a bit. As to when I arrive, it'll be thirty minutes after you have finished reading this letter. Have your trunk packed and all by the time I turn up. See you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

All he could do was stare at the letter. The fact that he was leaving this desolate place was good, but the question still remained. Where would he go? Surely someone wasn't going to take him in now. They had all his life to do that! He didn't even scribble a reply on the back. Hedwig had already gone and returned with another message by the time he had finished organizing his thoughts.

"Damn... time sure moves as if a troll were stomping toward it when I don't need it to." Harry had heard a distinct muffled scream come from the kitchen. Aunt Petunia must have burnt the meal for him again. She surely didn't mind that, but Harry would be leaving in a few minutes time, so he didn't care. Besides, what good did fear do unless it was seen on Dudley's piggy face?

"Vernon, do we let him get away with this or don't we?" Petunia stared helplessly at the letter now resting in her hands. Dudley had already finished his breakfast and was staring at the letter. "He's leaving? That's good and all, but I won't have any time to beat him and all that good stuff with my gang. I won't like it here. I want him to stay here!"

"And I want him out! He has run up our electric bill and other bills for ever. He'll go alright!"

"Vernon, what about that screaming letter I got last summer? What will he do if he finds out?"

"Now now Petunia, don't be scared by a silly little crackpot's old letters that had recording devices in them. It was a trick of the mind."

"Trick of the mind, eh?"

Harry had just emerged into the sitting room where Petunia was trying to calm herself while Vernon stared at him menacingly. "I think I should leave. You all have been dunderheads from the beginning. I should move on and enjoy what life I have!" He sprinted back upstairs and hastily began packing everything he owned in the tall wooden trunk that sat on his floor.

"I'm leaving... I'm actually leaving! Ha, this has to be the best summer yet. Let's hope-"

"Potter!"

Judging by this sudden distinct yell that had most certainly been Vernon, Harry realized that his uncle wasn't boing to let him leave so easily. "You aren't going anywhere! You failed to clean Dudley's room, clean your room, cook breakfast, clear that up, and on top of all that, you scared the shit outof Petunia and Dudley!"

He came bounding up the stairs as fast as his oversized legs would carry him. There was a briken chair leg in his hands. He held it like a baseball bat, and before Harry could move, it had collided with the side of his head.

BAM!

The impression was spectacular. Blood dripped down the whitewashed walls, and Vernon lookid pleased with himself. Petunia followed up after her husband when she heard the crash and thought that that boy had attacked her loving man. The problem with this was that Dudley was left all alone in the sitting room when a light pop was heard. His shriek was audiable enough to rouse the statue of liberty.

"What are you d-doing here! G-get out, you old h-hag!" He trampled upstairs to reunite with his dear parents, but he was being followed.

A stern looking woman with a sinister glint in her eye marched up the stairs as Harry was being pulled up from the floor by Petunia. Vernon had chucked the bloody chair leg out the window where it spun furiously then hit a passer by. The only ezplanation Vernon could give was that his insane nephew had tossed it in rage while trying to kill a rat that wandered into his room.

"So sorry... it's my nephew, he's very disturbed. Seeing strangers upsets him..." The man neither heard or cared what Vernon said, because he had seen what happened.

"Oy, you go tellin' lies like that, an' I'll have that bloke removed from your perfect household!" He stomped off while Petunia stared after him horrorstruck.

"Vernon, do you reckon he saw it?"

"No dear, he is not what you should be worrying about." Came a cold voice from behind them. Dudley gave a little scream and hid behind his mother who was standing close to Vernon.

"Who are you, you are breaking and entering. I demand that you leave at once!" Vernon had stepped up for his bony wife. "You are forbidden to enter here! Your sort is and always wasn't allowed within these walls!"

"Surely you didn't expect that feeble attempt at a threat to scare me... How childish." Minerva McGonagall stared daggers into Vernon's eyes. "For if you did, you're horribly mistaken." She had been towering over all of them while Harry cowered below.