"I am not doing that again," Harry muttered to himself after stepping off the knight bus.
Today Harry had learned about a new method of magical transport, it was called the knight bus and would apparently show up when needed to help a stranded witch or wizard. Sounds great in theory, except for the fact that the ride was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever ridden on/in, and keep in mind that he liked to fly high in the air as fast as possible. Harry wasn't sure what speeds the bus was driving at, but he was sure that it had shattered the speed limit from start to finish and the most impressive thing about it beyond the shakiness of the bus was the fact that the ride hadn't ended in a massive explosion.
Still, it got Harry where he needed to go, the Leaky Cauldron. Harry looked over his shoulder and watched as the bus took off before turning invisible. He shook his head before grabbing his trunk, he had only taken a couple of steps when the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, Tom, stepped out to greet him.
"Mr Potter," Tom smiled. "it's great to see you."
"Hi Tom," Harry smiled back as he greeted him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Tom said, cutting Harry off. "but there's somebody here to meet you, someone important. I think you should probably go and talk to him before anything else."
"Meet me?" Harry blinked. "Who is it?"
"The Minister of Magic."
...
It was an odd feeling, being sat in a room while the Minister of Magic stood a small distance away from you. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, didn't really look all that impressive as he stood there in his green suit. His hair was balding, he was portly and short and looked quite tired. Yet despite his appearance, the man was one of the most powerful people in the magical government, Harry could still remember the man sending Hagrid to Azkaban just to be seen doing something about the chamber, so Harry was most definitely not comfortable in Fudge's presence, despite Fudge's attempts to smile his way through the meeting. Harry could admit to himself that he wasn't entirely sure how the magical government worked, but he was pretty sure that the head of the government shouldn't pop up to visit a thirteen-year-old boy unless the reason why was very serious.
"Now, Harry, biscuits and tea?" He offered as he gestured to the tray on the table in front of Harry.
"I'm fi…" Harry trailed off mid-way through his refusal when he heard his stomach growl. "… okay, maybe one biscuit." Harry reached out and took one before taking a bite out of it, enjoying the taste leading to him taking another bite, causing the biscuit to disappear into his stomach.
"Atta boy," Fudge smiled at him as if Harry was his all-time favourite nephew. "now," Fudge's smile disappeared as he began speaking. "you should know that we at the ministry were very worried, Harry."
"Worried?" Harry repeated questioningly. Fudge stared at him for a moment, looking confused that Harry hadn't instantly understood what he meant.
"I am referring to you running away from your family's home," Fudge spoke, Harry opened his mouth to protest that those wastes of perfectly good oxygen were not his family when Fudge continued speaking. "running away like that, might have felt good at the time. But it was very, very irresponsible, Harry. You surely realise by now that you're quite a famous lad, an important member of Magical Britain. Could you imagine how the wizarding public would react to learning that their young hero was out, gallivanting around without being cared for? Especially given the… um… 'current situation'." Fudge coughed those last two words out like they physically pained him. Harry, though quite irritated with Fudge, wasn't unable to miss what Fudge had said.
"The current situation?" Harry asked.
"Nothing to worry about," Fudge waved his hand dismissively, though his voice had been a tad quick. "you're safe, and that's all that matters. You'll be pleased to know that your aunt was found."
"Oh." Harry wasn't sure if he had been totally able to keep the disappointment out of his voice. 'Is it bad that I sound disappointed?' He wondered. Fudge, if he noticed Harry's disappointment, didn't comment on it.
"The 'Accidental Magic Reversal Department' had dispatched to your relative's house, it only took a short while before they were able to find your aunt. Her body was punctured and returned to normal, and her memory was modified. She's perfectly fine."
'Disappointing . ' A voice said. Harry's head snapped to the side upon hearing someone speak, he looked around the room, trying to see if there was anyone else here.
"Mr Potter, are you alright?" Fudge asked in a concerned voice, Harry quickly stopped and looked at Fudge who was staring at him.
"Oh… sorry," Harry awkwardly apologized. "I… um… thought I saw a fly shoot past." Harry lamely lied, though it seemed to work as Fudge gave him an understanding look before continuing.
"Anyway, there was no harm done, you're relatives have even agreed to take you back the next summer." Fudge smiled at him.
"I'd rather not if it's all the same to you." Harry hoped he hadn't sounded offensive when he said that.
"Now, now, Harry, I'm sure the situation isn't that bad," Fudge said in a worried tone. "they are your family, after all, and I'm sure you all care for each other enough to get past this little incident." Harry opened his mouth to protest that this incident wasn't little and that there was no way he would willingly go back to those stealers of perfectly good air when Fudge continued. "Now, we just need to decide where you're going to stay in the meantime. I suggest a room here, Tom serves a delightful full English breakfast and…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Harry coughed. "but… what about my punishment?"
"Punishment?" Fudge looked genuinely confused.
"Yeah, you know… my punishment?" Harry trailed off, Fudge didn't appear to understand what he was saying so he decided to continue. "I don't know how things work in the magical world, but in the muggle world, if someone breaks a law then they get punished. I broke the law, so… what's my punishment?"
"We won't punish you, Harry," Fudge looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "it was underage magic, at your age that's as natural as sneezing. It's all accidental."
"But before my second year, there was this house-elf," Harry began. "he was in my house and performed magic, I got a letter saying that if there was any more magic then I'd be expelled."
"A house… never mind, look, you don't want to be expelled, right?" Fudge asked impatiently.
"Um… no, not really." Harry shook his head.
"Then perhaps you should just be appreciative and accept the situation." Fudge suggested, he was smiling but his voice was noticeably more firm.
Harry simply nodded in response, he was indeed grateful about this, but his limited years on Earth had caused him to be wary when it comes to good news, especially from people like Fudge. Harry shifted slightly, there was a part of him that didn't like Fudge's tone and he felt an urge to get up and do something about it. Maybe throw him around a bit, push him, yell at him, rip his throat out and…
'Where did that come from?' Harry wondered. "Um, thank you, sir," Harry nodded to Fudge who looked pleased. "if you don't mind me asking, did you have any luck in capturing Sirius Black?" Harry asked.
"You… you know about him?" Fudge's face had paled.
"I heard about him on the bus," Harry answered. "the conductor was reading a newspaper and Black's face was on it, he told me that Black was a murderer and a big supporter of Voldemort…" Harry stopped when Fudge flinched as if he was shot.
"Don't say his name!" Fudge hissed, causing Harry to stare at him for several seconds before he regained the ability to speak.
"Sorry," Harry apologized. "but… he told me that he supported… you-know-who… and how he's the first-ever person to escape Azkaban."
"Hmm, yes," Fudge looked very uncomfortable. "it's a terrible situation but I don't believe that it'll be a problem for much longer, Azkaban's guards are doing their best to find him, I've never seen them so angry." Fudge shivered. "Now, I'll go and get a room ready for you, while you are here I want you to stay in Diagon Alley, no wandering about in muggle London, is that understood?"
"Because of Black?" Harry asked.
"He's one of the reasons," Fudge admitted. "stay here, don't leave this building after dark and please behave."