Beginning of Summer

The first thing Harry noticed when he emerged out of the barrier separating Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was his uncle who always seemed to fill any space he occupied, in the literal sense of the word. The next thing he noticed was the small group he and his wife were looking at suspiciously.

Harry followed Vernon's gaze and saw Remus, Tonks, Moody and Mr., and Mrs. Weasley along with Fred and George standing there. In an effort to delay the event of talking to the unpleasant Muggles that were his relatives, he immediately made a beeline towards the motley group. As soon as he came within range, Mrs. Weasley immediately descended upon him and pulled him into one of her crushing near stifling hugs.

Harry absently noticed that not only was her head near his chest, but he no longer felt as crushed as he used to when being hugged by her. Breaking away, Harry shook hands with Remus and greeted the twins as well as the others.

'Wotcher Harry,' said Tonks.

'Hey, what are you guys doing here?' asked Harry.

'Well, Harry we have come to see you off,' said Remus

'Also, we have come to talk to those relatives of yours about a few things for the summer,' Said Arthur Weasley.

'Indeed,' said Moody looking rather sinister with a bowler hat pulled over his magical eye. 'Especially over how they have been treating you'

'I dunno if that's a good idea,' said Harry quickly.

'Oh I think that it's a really good idea,' said Moody, 'That'll be them, then?' He jerked his thumb behind him towards the Dursleys. Harry knew that he had his magical eye on them as he had said that.

As soon as Harry nodded, the group moved as one towards the Dursleys who seemed rooted on the spot. Harry finally noticed his large cousin Dudley trying to look as small as possible, and failing rather spectacularly.

Harry looked on as The Order uttered various threats to the Dursleys should they ever fail to treat Harry right. He was pretty amused at the Dursleys' reaction to Moody's eye when he revealed it.

He also was irritated at the Order's antics. Here they were threatening those fat Muggles on his behalf and yet they decide to do it now, when Harry had the means to defend himself. Where were they last year? Or the year before that? Hell, where were they before he even knew about Hogwarts and the magical world? When he was a small helpless child stuffed in a cupboard with spiders for company and forced to slog every day to "earn his keep".

Harry kept his face impassive as these thoughts ran through his head, he knew that the Order had been tailing him ever since, and yet they had not done anything to help him then. His anger at Dumbledore grew even more as he guessed that they probably had been forbidden from interfering on that old man's instructions.

He waved them goodbye careful to keep his expression neutral. The only good thing he could find about this whole situation was that it looked like they won't be posting guards around Privet Drive to keep an eye on him if what they unknowingly implied when threatening the Dursleys was true. This gave him ample enough opportunity to learn and practice new spells.

Harry loaded the boot of Vernon's company car with his trunk which was no longer heavy for him anymore due to his improved physique and the Featherlight charm he had placed on it and the empty owl cage (Hedwig would be flying directly to the house), and got into the car. Vernon who had been waiting impatiently for him to get in, pulled out into the street without even waiting for Harry to put his seatbelt on.

Harry absently looked out of the window at the cars flashing by. The Dursleys had been quiet so far but Harry knew that it would only be a matter of time that Vernon finally regained his bluster. And he was not disappointed. By the time the car had reached the M25 and was speeding along towards Surrey; Harry could hear the man muttering under his breath and sending scathing looks at Harry through his rear-view mirror getting redder and redder.

Harry pretended not to notice but as the car pulled into little Whinging and stopped at the driveway of Number Four, he tensed up gripping his wand which he had kept under the sleeve of his jumper; ready for a fight.

As soon as the car stopped, Vernon popped the boot open while Dudley and Petunia got out of the car and into the house as fast as they could manage without running.

Harry got his trunk out without much difficulty and followed his uncle who had been watching him with beady eyes into the house. As soon as he got in, his uncle turned around to face him.

'Close the door, boy!'

Harry set his trunk and owl cage down on the side and turned around to close the door.

The sound of the lock hitting home had yet to die out when Harry, suddenly sensing danger, dropped down on one knee and ducked. This was just in time as the huge meaty fist that was aimed at his head missed; causing the obese Muggle behind the punch that was Vernon Dursley to overbalance with his arm extended out in the air in front of him that, till a second ago, was occupied by his nephew's head; a few inches away from the thick window pane in the front door that would have probably sprained his wrist had his fist made contact with it judging by the velocity it was travelling in.

Harry did not waste any time, as soon as he had hit the floor, he immediately spun around till he was facing his fat uncle. He unleashed his fist right between Vernon's legs at that moment, putting all of his ritual enhanced strength into the punch, adding to the momentum gained from the spin. Still acting on instinct and not sparing any time, Harry then got behind Vernon, where he unleashed a wandless Banisher point blank at the man's back.

Vernon was still processing the pain radiating from his groin and had just bent down on reflex and agony when the magic unleashed from his nephew rammed into him. This threw him headfirst right into the door which shook from the impact but held firm.

Dazed, Vernon sank to the floor while Harry quickly got to his feet and immediately stood to the side till he was facing both Vernon and the remaining two Dursleys who had yet to react to the events unfolding in front of them.

His aunt and cousin watched with shock as Harry had disabled and incapacitated Vernon all in the space of a few seconds. They were not used to having their relative who used to be so weak and easy to push around, fight back and were thus unprepared. Dudley was the first to shake out of his stupor. He was not of intelligent mind, and did the only thing he knew to do in a situation involving Harry, beat him up.

So with that thought, he raised his fist and lumbered towards Harry. Only to be brought up short by the business end of Harry's wand pointed right between his eyes and glowing an ominous emerald green.

Dudley's eyes crossed at the object pointed right at him before looking beyond and up the arm into his cousin's face. He realised with a start that the small titchy kid that used to be his cousin was now towering over him. His face was an emotionless mask with a cold green fire in his eyes that were actually glowing in the low light of the dying sun with almost the same intensity as the tip of his wand. 'Back. Off.' Harry growled in a dangerous voice.

For the first time in his life, Dudley Dursley felt afraid. What was even more galling was the fact that the person who he was currently afraid of was the person whom he was used to tormenting and bullying for all these years. Fear welled up in his belly and sweat ran down his spine as he backed away.

'Right, to the living room, we are going to have a family meeting,' said Harry tersely. Seeing Petunia about to open her mouth, he cut her off and said, 'Either you get there on your own, or I get you there. I promise you that you will not like option two.' At this Petunia shut her mouth and with a look of disdain on her horsy face moved into the living room followed closely by Dudley.

Harry began to follow them, but as he was about to set foot into the living room, Vernon groaned. Noticing him, Harry sneered and stepping into the room, flicked his wand at the obese man, jerking the fat man towards the living room violently where he collided with the wall just next to the doorway before being dragged into the room where he then flew past Harry and impacted with his son and wife sending all three of them painfully into the sofa which groaned in impotent protest with the sudden weight placed on it.

Harry regally sat down on the armchair that was usually used to hold Vernon's obese frame treating it as if it were his throne placing his elbows on each of the armrests and clasping his hands in front of his face underneath his chin. He watched with a cold gleam as the three Dursleys tried to untangle themselves from each other. Petunia was trying unsuccessfully to get her large husband off herself gently. Finally with a mighty heave from both mother and son, Vernon was unceremoniously rolled off the sofa and onto the floor where he groaned but did not move.

'Right,' said Harry when he had the undivided attention of his cousin and aunt, 'For fourteen years now, I have had to endure you and your belittling, abuse, neglect and bullying. You have enjoyed lording it over me using the fact that I was smaller and not able to defend myself. Now I've had enough, from now on Dudley will do any and all chores you have in mind for me-'

'Oh no you don't freak! You will do all the chores that we have allotted for you or else you will not get any meals. If you think that you can get away with lazing around you have another thing coming!' roared Vernon, interrupting Harry mid speech, he had finally managed to regain his wind and awareness enough to give his nephew the most intimidating glare he could muster as he got up and hefted himself onto the sofa.

However, to his shock Harry did not even flinch at his tone. Harry drew his wand back out and pointed to Dudley.

'Don't think you can threaten us with that boy! I know you cannot do magic outside that freak school of yours or you will be expelled!' shouted Vernon triumphantly,

'Is that right?' Harry smiled coldly. Pointing his wand at Dudley, he said loudly for dramatic effect, 'Abscido'

Immediately Dudley started to claw at his throat as his air supply was cut off. He collapsed on the floor in front of his horrified parents turning slightly blue and beginning to convulse from the lack of air.

Just as it looked like Dudley would pass out from the lack of air, Harry cancelled the spell giving Dudley some much needed air. The rotund boy started coughing, inhaling deeply and frantically supplying his body with sweet oxygen.

'Will you look at that, I have used magic!' said Harry. He looked mockingly around the house before turning his attention back to a grey Vernon and a frantic Petunia who was crouched next to Dudley, 'And no owls telling me that I have been expelled either! It looks like the Ministry either does not care, or cannot tell that I have cast magic!' He gave a wide fake smile looking at his relatives as their thick heads and limited intelligence processed the ramifications of his words and actions.

'I hope you loved that charm, it cuts off the air supply encasing the target in a vacuum, we learnt it in our first year. It's pretty handy when you want to snuff out a candle. It's not much use when you want to kill a person though, it is ridiculously easy to counter ...' Harry trailed off, 'But you are Muggles!' he exclaimed in mock surprise, 'you couldn't even counter a tickling hex even if you tried! Shame really, that means you wouldn't be a match for an eleven year old wizard!' he tisked

Smiling maliciously he continued, 'Well it seems that I have the power now, and so now I am stronger and bigger than you. You three are now nothing but pathetic, helpless Muggles.' he spat gesturing at them with his left hand while his right was twirling his wand between his fingers.

'So we are going to be playing by my rules now. So from now on, Dudley will be doing all the chores in the house. The days of you lazing around on your fat arses while I do all the work has passed. You want work done in the house, you do it! It might even help with your weight problem.' He said disdainfully looking at his cousin. It seemed that last year's diet had completely failed for Dudley had reverted to being just as large as ever.

'And if you do not comply, well,' he brandished his wand causing his relatives to cower back in fear. 'I can more than take care of you.' satisfied that the message had sunk in, he put his wand away leant back and looking at his aunt said in a cheerful voice, 'Now what's for dinner? I'm famished! I hope you have cooked something good for me Auntie.' Seeing her nod jerkily, he beamed, 'Excellent! I'll just put my trunk up in my room, shall I?' with that he got up and strode into the hallway where he floated his belongings up with a flourish of his wand. Putting them in his room, he thundered back down the stairs causing as much noise as he could manage knowing that it would irritate the hell out of his aunt and uncle.

He plopped down at the table, shortly followed by his uncle and cousin.

Petunia had already served the occupants with their usual portions of food before Harry had come in. Harry took one look at his chipped and worn plate on which was a small, measly, burnt piece of her roast (which she had cooked to welcome her precious Dudders home from school), glanced at Dudley's generous helping and said, 'Now that won't do,' with that, he floated Dudley's plate away from his cousin just as he was about to dig in; exchanging it for the meagre rations.

'You'll never lose weight if you keep up with this atrocious diet,' he admonished Dudley, 'Since your previous diet obviously did not work, we'll try out a new one where you eat my share and I eat yours. I hope there is no problem with that?' he directed his question to his aunt and uncle glaring at them challengingly.

Cowed, Vernon muttered 'No, not at all,' eyeing Harry's wand warily while Petunia just nodded wordlessly, looking as if every motion was causing her acute physical pain too afraid to fill Dudley's plate back up.

The following meal was the best one of Harry's life at Privet Drive. He enjoyed every single nervous glance sent his way and relished every jump they made at any small noise coming out from him as he purposefully clacked his teeth against the fork at every bite.

Harry closely watched Dudley as he wolfed down the portion originally meant for his formerly scrawny cousin. Just as Dudley was about to reach for seconds, Harry pounced. 'Ah-ah-ah! I think you've had more than enough for tonight,' he said sending a stinging hex at Dudley's meaty paw. Dudley immediately retracted his hand and squealed in pain, fixing his watery blue eyes at Harry.

'You can have some of the vegetables however,' said Harry ignoring the murderous stare sent his way by Dudley and gesturing at the boiled carrots and beans that Petunia had cooked for herself, 'I'm sure that your mum won't mind terribly.'

Dudley only scowled in response. Harry cleared his throat and waved his wand, effectively quelling any response his relatives were about to make.

The rest of the meal continued in silence. After the roast, Petunia stiffly got up and collected the plates and got the chocolate pudding out which she had also spent hours on making to welcome her son back from school (even though the fat lump of lard had arrived two days ago). She placed the largest of the three glasses in front of Dudley while taking the two remaining smaller ones for herself and Vernon. Harry eagerly waited for Dudley to pick his spoon up, and just as Dudley was about to scoop out a helping, he quickly Summoned the glass away and set it down in front of himself grinning maliciously as he saw his cousin's eager face literally sag in disbelief. 'Now, now I am afraid you cannot have dessert, after all, you didn't have any of your vegetables!' said Harry mockingly, waving his wand at Dudley's face.

Dudley's and Vernon's face turned an identical shade of puce as they furiously began to open their mouths to give Harry a piece of their minuscule minds. Harry immediately silenced both of them and with a sticking charm ensured that they could not get off their seats. He then Vanished the contents of Vernon's glass while saying 'You have to watch your cholesterol Uncle dear, wouldn't want you keeling over with a heart attack now would we? Since you lot obviously have no manners and cannot behave, I'm afraid that you will have to sit there while I finish my dessert.' Saying this, Harry gleefully Vanished Petunia's dessert as well, and after silencing her and sticking her to her chair, worked his way through the chocolate pudding taking care to slowly eat and relish every scoop taken by the spoon he had specifically shrunk for the purpose all the while smiling sadistically at the hungry look in Dudley's eyes.

Finally finishing his dessert, Harry got up, burping elegantly and patting his stomach. 'Dinner was lovely Petunia, and the dessert was exquisite.' He then cleaned the remains of his dessert to Dudley's silent dismay and left for the door. Before leaving, he stopped and said, 'Oh and before I forget, we cannot have Dinky Diddidums sneaking snacks in the middle of the night now, can we?' He took his wand out and silently locked the refrigerator and pantry up. He then left the kitchen and cancelling the sticking and silencing charms, headed up towards his room. He chuckled as he heard Dudley's roar of rage and frustration as he discovered what Harry had done.

Harry stopped outside his room noticing the locks in front of the door in distaste. He quickly vanished all of them silently and got inside, closing and locking the door behind him with a quick Colloportus. He eyed the pathetic furniture and the small room he currently occupied. He had no idea what spells he could use to expand the room and if he couldn't expand it, he couldn't change any of the furniture. Suddenly getting an idea, he called for Dobby (he really did not think that he could possibly survive reciting the names of his other elves with his ribs intact).

Immediately the elf in question appeared in front of him. 'What is Master wanting of Dobby?'

Gesturing around the small room, Harry said, 'Can you do something to this room and the furniture? It is a bit small.' Harry trailed off looking at Dobby hopefully. He did not bother correcting Dobby on his form of address; he had given up doing that a long time ago.

Dobby took one look around the room and said in a scandalised voice, 'Master is not living in such a small room! It is no bigger than Dobby's old quarters with old master's house!'

'Do you need any help with the remodelling? Perhaps I can call another elf to help out? I think Wink-'

'No sir! Dobby is not needing assistance! Dobby can do it himself!' said the elf hastily. With that, he quickly waved his hands and set about expanding the room to twice its size. He then started to change the tiny rickety bed to a large king sized bed and the desk into a larger and more elegant version of itself. The wardrobe was expanded to twice its capacity and the windows made larger and more elegant.

Harry watched all this with an amused smile on his face. He knew that even a small mention of that former alcoholic elf that used to belong to the Crouches in the presence of Dobby would be more than enough to shut the guy up and get him to do his work with minimal fuss. It would also cut through the babbling which at times, like a few minutes before could get vexing (who liked their room being compared to a house-elf's quarters anyway?)

'This won't be noticed from the outside by anybody right?' Said Harry, he was concerned about the Ministry and Dumbledore finding out about his newly expanded bedroom that for all intents and purposes was as big as an entire flat.

'Dobby is expanding the room from the inside sir. He is also masking his magic so that the Ministry does not notice.'

'Thank you Dobby. I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow with breakfast then? Or is it going to be Twinky?'

'No sir, it is Willy who is going to be serving you tomorrow,' said Dobby sounding slightly downcast at the prospect of not being able to serve the Great Harry Potter.

'Oh yeah, tomorrow's Thursday!' said Harry. He had yet to find more work for his elves. So far, he was managing with having one of the elves cook all three of his meals for a day in the week. With seven elves, that meant he had a personal elf for every day of the week. Being forced to cook for the Dursleys for all his life had put Harry off the prospect of ever partaking in that activity even if it was for his own benefit. Especially now that he had an option to skip that chore what with having seven different highly capable chefs who could do the work and actually loved every single second of it!

Harry may be able to make an extremely sinful French toast or cheese omelette (cooking for the Dursleys does give one extensive knowledge in making some of the most tasty foods even if they aren't good for you), and the food that he cooked may come out better than his horsy aunt could ever hope to manage, but that did not mean that Harry would ever voluntarily make food for himself.

Dobby unpacked Harry's trunk, placing his things in the necessary areas and with great relish, disposed of Dudley's hand-me-downs that Harry had taken to wear in the last few days at Hogwarts (his friends could be a bit too nosy and observant at times) before disappearing.

Harry then stripped down to his pants, discarding the last remaining set of castoffs and his glasses, throwing them into the corner. He sank down on his new and improved bed looking at his slightly shaking hands. He could not believe that Uncle Vernon had tried to hit him; sure he had been overly cruel and spiteful, but he had never tried to beat Harry up. That was more Dudley's forte.

Harry was even more surprised at his reaction. The way he had immediately sensed the threat and incapacitated Vernon was not something he knew to do normally. Figuring that it had been gifted to him by Voldemort, he snorted, looks like Tommy knows how to fight!

He finally relaxed and lay down closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Harry was about to open the front door and step out into the sunshine when the doorbell rang. Opening the door he saw the last person he expected to see, yet was hoping to see ever since the incident at the Department of Mysteries. Standing in front of him was none other than Sirius Black.

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Mouth hanging open, he tried to formulate a response, 'I ... how ... Sirius?'

'Hello Harry,' said the person who looked a lot like Sirius in a voice that sounded exactly like Harry's recently deceased godfather.

Harry regained his senses; quickly pointing his wand at the figure in front of him, he said in a cold voice, 'How do I know that this isn't some sort of trick?'

The person in front of him (Harry refused to think that it was Sirius) let out a bark-like laugh that Harry was very familiar with and said, 'It really is me Harry! Look I can prove it to you,' with that, he changed into his Animagus form and back again, 'See?'

Harry stood there dumbly looking at his godfather for a few seconds. Finally convinced that it was him, he tackled Sirius hugging him for all he was worth. After a few moments they separated, surreptitiously wiping their eyes.

'Getting old there Sirius?' said Harry finally noticing the grey hair on his godfather's temples, 'You have no idea,' said Sirius. 'It's got to do with what happened to me in the Death Room and the veil. It's also the reason I came to you first without telling anybody else that I am alive.'

'What do you mean?' asked Harry with trepidation. 'What happened to you anyway? Remus told me that you had died ...'

'Well, that is what I had thought too at first, but then I realised that the veil hadn't killed me. It just sent me back in time,' said Sirius.

'Oh,' said Harry processing this new piece of information, 'how far back?'

'Around forty years back, I would've come visit you earlier, but at that time, there were two of me running around and I didn't want to cause any scenes by being spotted or recognised when I was supposed to be in Azkaban or on the run.'

'That makes sense,' said Harry understandingly. Perking up he said, 'Does that mean I can now come and live with you now that your name has been cleared and everything? There won't be any issue with you taking custody since you've already adopted me.'

'Wait, you've already done the ritual?' said Sirius with a look of surprise on his face, Harry only nodded wordlessly, hoping that Sirius hadn't changed his mind.

'Damn,' said Sirius, 'I was hoping that you hadn't already done it! I actually was hoping to stop you from doing it-,' he stopped abruptly on seeing Harry's stricken face.

Realising what he had said and how it had sounded coming out, Sirius quickly explained, 'It's not that I didn't want you Harry! Nothing makes me happier knowing that you are mine, I will always want you, never doubt that.'

'Then why?' asked Harry. He was slightly appeased but still wary.

'Well, that is what I wanted to explain. You see there is a slight complication that has arisen because of me being catapulted into the past.'

'"Complication"?' said Harry nonplussed.

'You see, when I had been thrown back that far, I saw this as a chance to start a new life for myself as a Muggle. The thing is, one night I had met this beautiful Muggle ...' he trailed off uncertainly

'Go on,'

'I won't bore you with the details, Harry, but one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I found myself sleeping in her bedroom.' Sirius broke off here, looking nervously at Harry.

'So?' said Harry beginning to relax. While he was slightly uneasy listening about his godfather's sex life, he didn't see how this was pertinent to the conversation. 'It looks like you found yourself somebody to spend your life with. I'm not a little kid Sirius! I can handle that fact. Did you marry her?' he inquired.

'I wish,' said Sirius miserably. Clearing his throat he continued, 'You see, Harry, uh, I had only met her for that one night. What we had done would be called-'

'A one night stand, yes Sirius I know, I'm not as innocent as you think I am,' cut in Harry bemusedly.

'Oi! I wasn't finished yet,' Said Sirius giving Harry an annoyed look,

'Sorry,' said Harry not sounding sorry at all.

'Now where was I? Oh yes, well the next morning I found out to my shock that not only was she married but also had a kid! I got out of there as soon as possible.'

Harry winced in sympathy at Sirius' words. 'While I can only imagine your pain, what is that got to do with this?' He said gesturing between the both of them.

'It's not that I slept with her, but who she was,' Here Sirius' face turned mournful.

'What, was it the Queen or something?' said Harry snickering, imagining the monarch going out into a random pub anonymously for a drink.

'Oh, ha, ha,' said Sirius giving Harry a dirty look, 'No it wasn't the Queen, but somebody much worse. Judging from the picture of her four year old daughter that I had seen and what she had named her, I gathered that it was your Maternal Grandmother!'

'You slept with my Grandmum?' Harry half said-half yelled incredulously.

'Yeah, and not only that, I found out later that our night together had resulted in her becoming pregnant! Thankfully her husband never found out ... eventually the guilt was too much for her that I decided to obliviate the night from her memory'

'Then ... that-that means ... that you are Lily's real father?' stuttered Harry in dawning comprehension and horror,

'Um, you could say that, yeah,' said Sirius running his hand through his hair nervously. Now the disparity between the two sisters in looks really hit Harry. As did the fact that Lily was the magical one. He had always thought that his aunt or mother was adopted or something ... but this?

'So,' said Harry slowly having another epiphany, 'That means that you are my real Grandfather?'

'Uh huh,' said Sirius, 'But now since you have done the ritual, I'm also your father. That makes you your mother's half brother as well! I think you know why I didn't want you to do it.'

Harry couldn't take the shock of the situation anymore, faintly he heard somebody scream out 'Noooooo' sounding suspiciously like him as he felt himself falling.

Harry woke up with a start, a scream dying on his lips. Breathing heavily, he wildly looked around the room, sweat dripping down his bare chest and his body wrapped in the blankets.

He realised that he was in his bedroom in Number Four. The sun had just risen with the first rays of dawn hitting him in the face. Frantically he shouted, 'Dobby!'

Immediately the little elf appeared in front of the wizard, 'You is calling Dobby master?'

'Yeah, can you tell me what day and time it is, please?'

'It is being six in the morning the day after sir arrived at his Muggles' house sir!' said Dobby. If he was confused, he hid it rather well.

'Oh thank Merlin,' said a relieved Harry. He sagged back into the bed, 'It was only a dream!' laughing slightly hysterically, he turned his attention back to Dobby, 'Can you tell Willy to have breakfast ready by nine? Thanks.'

As the elf disappeared, Harry got up and exited the room for the bathroom down the hall. Finishing his morning ritual, he got into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Putting on his trainers and tucking his wand into his waistband, he cautiously opened the front door.

Finding the stoop empty of any dead godfathers claiming to be his grandfather, he finally relaxed. Shaking his head at the weird dream and exhaling loudly, Harry immediately started off at a brisk pace. He figured that duelling would require a lot of physical stamina and it would be a good idea to increase it. While he found that he not only had the experience of magical duelling but Muggle fighting as well from Tom, and knew how to move his body, he still had to get his body used to the punishment that it would endure from a long bout.

Harry still marvelled at the fact that Voldemort of all people knew how to fight without magic. He theorised that before he became the big bad Dark Lord, Tom had to rely on both magical and non magical techniques to win fights in his bid to make a name for himself.

Harry found himself winded by the time he had reached Magnolia Crescent. Slowing down to a brisk walk and breathing deeply, he made his way to the play park. Vaulting over the low gate, he made his way to the back of the park.

He knew from his various explorations around Little Whinging that the park opened out into a small patch of woods. The fence separating the park and the woods was high but covered by the bushes was a small gap which one had to strain to see.

It was the perfect escape route for Harry when he was younger and running to avoid his overweight cousin. The opening was small enough that somebody of Dudley's girth couldn't squeeze through. Not that they ever found the place. They weren't too bright anyway!

Rooting around the bushes, Harry finally found the opening. He noticed that it was much smaller than the last time he had been here. Then again, that was when he was ten, small, and scrawny.

Pulling his wand out again, Harry cut through some of the links in the chain in the fence, making the opening large enough for him to duck through.

Once through the opposite side, he cast a Notice-Me-Not charm on the entrance before proceeding forward. He quickly reached the clearing he used to frequent many times as a child to get away from Dudley. Pacing around the clearing, he nodded to himself, satisfied; this would be big enough for him to practise his spells. He knew that the trees went on for a while before coming out onto a busy motorway, so he did not run the risk of being noticed, as long as he was careful.

Returning back to the play park, Harry made his way back to Wisteria walk and Privet Drive picking up the pace till he was matching the speed with which he had started out at.

Sweating and breathing heavily, he got behind some bushes in his aunt's backyard before silently Apparating back to his room. Gathering his bath things, he made his way back to the bathroom for a quick bath to wash the sweat off with a smile on his face and a spring on his step.

Summer at the Dursleys was beginning to turn out rather well. For the first time in his short life, Harry didn't mind living with the Dursleys. It really is good to be King!