AMSL Ch: 12

Luke Walker wasn’t one to brag.

Sure, he liked to lord certain things over his little sister.

And maybe he preened every time his parents said something good about him in front of their friends.

Then there was how he enjoyed being the smartest kid among his peers—

Okay, so Luke had his quirks; nobody was perfect. But that didn't take away from his pride in his plan's success.

It was Friday, September 7th, and they had just been dismissed for the day, meaning the first week of school was officially over. It had its ups and downs, especially on the first day, but things mostly calmed down after that.

Dudley and his goon squad were still trying to catch Luke and Harry whenever the teachers weren’t around, but with both boys on the lookout for the Ne'er-do-wells in question, they skillfully avoided them at every turn.

Harry smiled more daily, while Dudley was forced to fume in class. And without Harry to cheat off, Dudley was getting singled out by Professor Harris for his homework, or lack thereof.

Their teacher had also been giving the two boys in the back more questionable looks as the week went on. He had obviously noticed how close Luke and Harry were to each other but had yet to call Luke up to speak with him in private.

Professor Harris seemed confused by Harry, probably because he had yet to do anything his reputation suggested he would. Every day, Luke’s friend did his work, didn't talk in class, and kept his head down, the exact opposite of his delinquent cousin.

Luke didn’t need to be able to read his teacher’s mind to know that he was stumped about Harry, the perfect sign that their plan was already bearing fruit.

“Ready to go?” Luke openly asked Harry in front of their teacher as he slipped his backpack over his shoulder.

“Sure,” Harry replied happily, sporting a large grin that he wouldn’t have been able to muster a week ago.

“See you, Monday, Professor Harris,” Luke waved goodbye to their teacher with a broad smile as they walked out of the classroom.

“Have a wonderful weekend,” Harry added with a similar smile to the man’s shock.

Professor Harris looked like he didn't know how to respond. In the end, he didn't say anything, but he did offer a curt wave to the two as they exited his classroom, albeit with a constipated look on his face.

“Dudley at 3 o’clock,” Harry whispered to his friend as soon as they stepped foot into the hallway.

“I see him,” Luke replied, easily spotting the obese kid amongst the crowd.

Off to the right, surrounded by his friends, Dudley was brimming with rage as he stared at the two as they made their way towards the stairs. Luke wanted to wave to him cheekily like they did with their teacher but chose not to. If it were just him, he wouldn’t hesitate to rile the boy up, but since it would blow back on Harry, he thought twice about his actions.

In the end, Luke and Harry made their way downstairs, barely acknowledging Dudley’s existence, which did more to the fat child’s ego than if they hurled a thousand insults at him.

Just like they did every day after school, the two met Hailee on the landing below theirs as she was saying goodbye to her growing list of friends. Unsurprising to Luke, some of them who had given Harry dirty looks on the first day of school were noticeably nicer to him as they approached the younger crowd.

Once she was finished saying goodbye, the three of them left the school building together, greeting Luke and Hailee’s mother as soon as they walked outside.

Shannon had continued picking them up every day after school but wasn’t sure if she’d continue doing so for the entire year. She believed they could walk home by themselves, but she didn’t want to give up her time with them.

“How was school?” Shannon asked the three of them with a smile on her face, putting those pesky thoughts off until later.

“Awesome,” as usual, Hailee was the first to reply. “I love getting out early on Friday. I just wish we could get out early Monday, too.”

“That would be nice," Shannon chuckled mirthfully. "Do you have any homework?" she asked the two boys.

"Surprisingly, no," Luke smirked happily. “I guess Professor Harris has a soft spot after all.”

“He did say we would have a test next Friday.” Unlike their first meeting, Harry was no longer nervous to speak around Luke’s mother. Shannon was the nicest adult he’d ever met, and he wasn’t afraid to smile around her. She still eyed his clothes every so often with a sad look on her face, but Harry pretended not to notice, knowing her glances weren’t malicious.

“Think you’ll be ready?” She asked them, raising a single questioning eyebrow.

“Won’t be a problem,” Luke answered confidently for the both of them. Harry wasn't the smartest kid in their class, or even the second or third, but he wasn't dumb. Now that he could do his homework and study peacefully at the Walker residence, school was easy for him.

“I’m so proud of the both of you,” Shannon gushed as she pulled her son and Harry into her arms as they walked. Harry blushed while Luke took a moment to bask in his mother's love.

“Oh, Harry,” Shannon turned her focus to the boy with messy black hair and oversized clothes at her side. “Did you get permission to sleep over yet? I know yesterday you said you would ask your aunt and uncle.”

Harry took great pains not to meet Luke’s mother’s eyes. “Sorry, no, I forgot,” he replied in a quiet voice, which Shannon found quite adorable.

Luke knew his friend was lying, but it was to be expected. Harry put off asking his family for permission because he knew how they were going to answer—they both did.

His friend was stressing out about it, but Luke already had a plan in mind; he just needed to inform Harry about it when they got to his house. It wasn’t a hundred percent guaranteed to work, but he figured he would try it anyway. Even if he failed, he reckoned he’d accomplish at least one of his goals, if not more.

“I’m sure they’ll agree,” Shannon said encouragingly.

“Not likely,” Harry mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Shannon’s mom-ears were ringing.

“I’ll ask them when I get home today,” Harry quickly responded with a squeaky voice.

"You do that, but first, let’s get you kids some lunch. You all must be starving." She addressed the group but didn't take her eyes off Harry. "How do hotdogs sound?" Shannon offered.

Since Luke revealed a bit about Harry’s situation to his mother, Shannon had made it her job to feed Harry at least one meal a day. It was never anything fancy, but Harry appreciated it all the same.

“That would be amazing, thank you,” Harry replied with a wide smile as Hailee cheered about hotdogs in the background.

From there, the walk to the Walker's home was short. Mrs. Figg wasn’t sitting on her porch today, but Mr. Tibbles hopped down from his favorite seat as they passed by her house. He barely spared any of them other than Harry a second glance before hopping into Hailee's open arms and purring loudly.

“He really likes her,” Harry noted with just a touch of envy.

“Wana pet him?” Hailee held the big cat out like a purring pillow.

"I don't know," Harry hesitated. "None of Mrs. Figgs's cats seem to really like me. Every time my aunt and uncle have her watch me, one of them always scratches me.”

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” Hailee cooed to Mr. Tibbles as he continued to purr in her arms. “Go ahead,” she told him with certainty.

“Are you sure?” Harry nervously reached his hand out halfway.

“It’s okay,” Luke nudged his friend forward. “Trust her; Hailee knows animals." He subtly reminded Harry that his sister could sense emotions.

“Alright,” Harry finally mustered up the courage to pet the large cat. And to his surprise, Mr. Tibbles lovingly leaned into his hand for more scratches. Harry smiled brightly, and he wasn’t the only one.

Luke and his mother joined in on the fun, and they all pampered the cat with attention for a few minutes. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Harry's stomach was the first to rumble loudly, followed shortly after by Luke’s and Hailee’s. Shannon took their stomachs as a sigh that it was time for them to head inside.

Hailee gently sat Mr. Tibbles down, who quickly returned to his post by Mrs. Figg's front door.

Shannon led them all inside, where she made hotdogs for everybody before Luke, Hailee, and Harry went upstairs to play and secretly train with their abilities.

As was tradition, Luke started things off by leading their group in a quick meditation session to quiet their minds after a day at school. A lot of what they were doing was repetitive, but he did his best to make training fun for Harry and his sister. They meditated in different positions, some of which were quite hilarious, but the best way he kept things interesting was by incorporating training into their everyday games.

One game they liked to play was Jenga. Only Hailee and Luke were restricted to using their telekinesis. When it was Harry’s turn, he would take a minute and try to move a block before doing so with his hands. They played a lot of games like that, like checkers or catch.

It was all about repetition. The more Harry meditated and worked on honing his focus and willpower, the closer he was to unlocking his abilities. That said, it wasn’t like he saw any visual progress in only five days.

Most children might have felt discouraged when they didn’t immediately see any results, but not Harry. He was just happy to spend time with Luke and Hailee; learning to control his unknown abilities was just a bonus to the boy.

When they weren't meditating or playing games, the trio mainly talked about miscellaneous things, such as how different England was from the US, but also about important things.

“So, it’s Friday,” Luke yawned lazily after ending their meditative session. “I know we’ve talked a lot about it already, but I suppose we should go over our progress,” he suggested to his two training partners.

Seeing his sister still brimming with energy after meditating, Luke decided to let his sister go first. "Alright, Hailee; how are things on your end?"

"Great," she answered with a gigantic smile. “Everyone in my class is super nice, and I’ve been meeting a lot of their friends in other classes.” Hailee was happy to brag about the number of friends she had made.

Luke coughed into his hand before his sister's train of thought got too derailed. “Okay, and how does that relate to Harry? Have you been telling people about how nice he is and how he isn’t like his cousin?”

“Oh,” Hailee bashfully blushed. “Yeah,” She quickly corrected. “I’ve been telling everyone about how he hangs out at our house after school and how nice he is. Some kids ask me about the weird stuff he’s known for, but I tell them those are all just rumors made up by his cousin and the teachers.”

“And they believe that?” Luke was skeptical it was that easy to change somebody’s mind.

“A lot of them do, yeah,” Hailee cheekily smiled at her brother and Harry. Luke had underestimated how easily it was to change a kid’s opinions on things, especially when a friend told them something.

“Well, if it’s working. Keep it up," Luke nodded encouragingly at his sister, who saluted him in return. Next, he turned to his friend. “What about you, Harry? I know we hang out every day, but how are things from your angle?”

“Honestly,” Harry shuffled in place excitingly. “I think this week has been the best week of my entire life. Actually, I’m sure of it,” he beamed happily.

Luke nodded at Harry, urging him to continue.

With just as much joy, Harry gushed about how things were changing around him at school. "Fewer people give me funny looks, and when they do, it’s not as bad as they once were. Even Professor Harris has already stopped glaring at me in class. And thanks to your help, Dudley hasn’t stolen my homework once so far.”

“That’s good,” Luke said, happy for his friend, but it was time to ask a more difficult question. "What about at home? How are things there?"

Harry's smile diminished but didn't fully disappear. “Not as bad as they once were,” he admitted with a pained smile. “Thanks to the breathing techniques you taught me, I haven’t lost control of my powers all week. And just like at school, I've kept my head down like you suggested.”

“And that’s working?” Luke asked, concerned for his friend's well-being.

“Somewhat,” Harry made a so-so gesture with his hand. “My aunt and uncle look at me like I’m up to something. They ask me where I've been every day, even though they know I've been at your house.”

“Have they told you to stop coming over?” Luke held his breath, expecting bad news.

“Not yet,” Harry told him and Hailee. “I think they still don’t believe that I have a friend. It’s why I’m nervous to ask to spend the night tomorrow. What if they say no and tell me never to come back over again?” Harry asked worryingly.

“Your energy,” Luke pointed at Harry’s stomach. He could sense the boy's magic starting to churn violently.

“Sorry,” Harry squeaked, trying to get a hold of his runaway emotions.

Hailee giggled because, for once, she wasn't the one being reminded to reign in her emotions, while Luke assured Harry everything would be all right. "It's fine; there’s no reason to get all worked up. I have a plan for tomorrow if they say no,” Luke assured him.

“Really, what is it?” Harry leaned forward in suspense.

“Yeah, tell us,” Hailee added eagerly.

“Let’s just say I’ll have a talk with your aunt and uncle if they say no,” Luke answered vaguely while smiling like a cartoon villain.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Harry grimaced, imagining what Petunia and Vernin would say if they met Luke.

"It'll be fine," Luke waved off Harry's concern. “All you need to do is ask them tonight if you can sleep over tomorrow. If they say yes, call our house and tell us you got permission.”

“And if I don’t?” Harry asked, sounding like he already knew what their answer would be.

“Then don’t call, and I’ll know to move on to plan B,” Luke shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“And plan B will work?” Harry asked skeptically.

“Mm, 50-50,” Luke chuckled, to the disbelief of his friend and sister.

“That doesn’t sound like good odds,” Harry frowned with concern.

"Maybe," Luke admitted before grinning. “But that’s just whether you can spend the night with us or not. Even if they say no, plan B will serve another purpose,” he told them, having fun sounding cryptic.

“And you’re not going to tell us?” Harry sighed.

“Typical brother,” Hailee shook her head at Luke like she was disappointed in him.

"Hey, I'm allowed to be mysterious,” he said defensively.

“You just like to sound smart.” Hailee rolled her eyes, exaggeratingly. She knew her brother too well to be fooled by his excuses.

Luke faked pain in his chest. "You wound me, little sister.”

“It’s what you deserve,” she stuck her tongue out playfully.

The siblings went back and forth a few times before both got bored and moved on to other topics.

"So, the plan is working," Luke beamed.

“Does that mean we just keep doing what we’re doing?” Harry was much more vocal than he was five days ago, and while Luke was happy that his friend was making progress, he noted that Harry was still instinctively deferring to him and Hailee about most things.

“That’s up to you,” Luke said, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back as if the decision wasn’t up to him. “What do you think we should do?”

Harry fidgeted in place a bit, but eventually, a spark appeared in his eyes. “I want to do more,” he stated firmly, with fire in his voice.

“Then let’s do it.” Luke smiled proudly at his friend. “What should we work on next?”

“Umm?” Harry's nervousness momentarily returned as he tried to devise a plan. His small hands grasped at the hem of his oversized second-hand school uniform.

“I want….” Harry paused, but with supportive looks from Luke and his sister, he quickly found his voice without fear of judgment. “I want clothes that will fit me," Harry told them while frowning down at his uniform.

“I see,” Luke rubbed his chin as if he had a beard. “It’ll take work, but that sounds like a good goal to work towards.”

In his mind, Luke pictured Harry’s vault at Gringotts and the pile of gold coins he had sitting in there. It would have been so much easier if Harry had had access to that money, but obviously, that option was off the table. No, Luke had a better idea, though it involved more work—as in work-work.

“I guess it’s time to make some money,” Luke rubbed his hands together greedily. He’d been putting off reforming his handy-boy business. First because his family was so busy after moving to England and then because Luke was training so hard. He might’ve eventually used Harry as an excuse, but that wasn’t an option now.

Since learning about magic and his slowly approaching future, making money has become much less important to Luke. It wouldn’t help too much with things to come, but if Harry needed it now, having some spare money for the future wouldn't be bad. Plus, it would help with the way people around the neighborhood viewed Harry. If he could—

“Luke?” Hailee yelled his name into his ear. “Anyone home?” She waved her hand in front of his face.

“What?” Luke flinched back.

“You had a creepy look on your face,” Hailee deadpanned.

"I did not…. Did I?" Luke looked to Harry for help.

“It was a little creepy,” Harry admitted.

“This is what I get for helping,” Luke made a performance out of grumbling, doing his best to puff his cheeks out like Hailee usually did.

“I don’t look like that,” Luke’s sister immediately caught on to what he was doing.

“Do too; I'm not the only one who can make funny faces," Luke playfully bantered.

Sensing that the two were going to start bickering again, Harry decided to step in as the voice of reason. “You said something about making money?” He asked, cutting the twos arguing short.

Luke recognized what his friend was doing and lightly coughed in embarrassment. “Yes, well, umm…. I was saying that it was time to restart my old business.”

From there, Luke told Harry about how he used to help around his neighborhood back home in Tacoma and how much money he made doing so.

“It’s that easy?” Harry’s eyes went wide behind his broken glasses.

"I wouldn't call it easy. It's still work," Luke told him, trying to help his friend set realistic explanations. “You won’t be able to buy much right away, but you should be able to buy some clothes here and there depending on how much work we can get. We can work together and split everything evenly.”

“That would be amazing,” Harry brightened the room with his smile.

“We can make some flyers on the computer and go door-to-door,” Luke planned aloud. “I’m sure plenty of people would like some cheap child labor.”

“Mrs. Figg said she’d pay us to help her bathe her cats,” Hailee suggested helpfully, but she was the only one smiling.

"I think we'll leave that for last," Luke made eye contact with Harry, who nodded fiercely in agreement. It was unsaid that neither wanted to be clawed to death, even if it was a quick way to make some money.

The kids talked more as they played and practiced their abilities until, eventually, the sun started to dip in the sky outside Luke's window.

Harry had a free pass to stay as long as he wanted, but he still felt terrible about asking Mr. Walker to drive him home after work every day if he stayed too late. So, Harry said his goodbyes and walked home by himself.

Luke and Hailee waited for their phone to ring for the rest of the night and throughout dinner, but it never did. Luke knew it was unlikely to, but it still made him mad to know Harry’s family were, in his sister’s words, ‘such complete Butt-heads.’

No matter, plan B it was. Luke grinned sadistically into the mirror as he brushed his teeth and readied himself for bed. While he did so, Hailee shot him multiple unsure looks, but she didn't say anything about the subject.

As Luke crawled into bed, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow. The Dursleys weren’t going to know what hit them.

-X-X-X-

It was a cold, cloudy morning as Luke walked down the street. The news had said it would only hit 19.1°C today, which, converted to Fahrenheit, was only 66.4 degrees. Tomorrow was supposed to be a little bit warmer, but the temperature was slowly falling.

The cold didn't bother Luke as he steadily approached Harry's house. He was bundled up in his jacket, but it wouldn't have mattered

, even if he weren't.

He was calm and composed on the outside, but he was a ball of vindictive fury on the inside. Luke had thought long and hard about what he might say to Harry’s aunt and uncle upon meeting them for the first time, and now that he was moments away from their house, he was practically steaming.

A small part of Luke was nervous, but he was mostly looking forward to laying into them because of how they treated Harry.

Finally, he spotted it: #4 Privet Drive. It looked like every other house on the block, a perfect replica of his own home. It didn't stand out in the slightest; in fact, it was utterly ordinary compared to its surroundings.

Luke wanted to storm up to the front door and bang on it, but as soon as he stepped past the property line, he froze as a familiar sensation washed over him. He suddenly felt like he was being watched closely from every angle, like a million eyes were staring at him at once. Luke immediately looked around, trying to spot the ghostly figure of Harry’s mother, but there was nothing around him.

It was faint, but Luke sensed the same magic that protected Harry, covering Dursley's house like an invisible shield. Like Harry, he hadn’t sensed a thing until he touched him or, in this case, walked right into the bubble of protective magic.

Interesting, Luke thought as he tried to sense the protection spell around him. It had utterly hidden Harry and his family from his senses until he was in it. Luke felt silly for not realizing he couldn't sense Harry until now but quickly chalked it up to him being understandably distracted.

Quick to move past his blunder, Luke focused on the magic around him. It was like the magic protecting Harry, only it covered the entire lot rather than a single person; that, and it was multiple times stronger.

The magic made him feel like he was under a microscope, yet strangely, it didn't bother him much. Luke could sense the overwhelming emotions that powered the spell. It was soothing and made him feel safe—and that made him angry.

Luke wasn’t mad at the spell for making him feel safe and secure; he was mad that the Dursleys could be protected by something so pure and still feel such hatred towards magic in general, enough so that they felt the need to take it out on poor Harry.

They didn’t deserve it—They didn’t deserve Harry.

Schooling his features, Luke marched up to the Dursley's front door and rang the doorbell. While standing in front of their door, he could hear the loud family inside as they were undoubtedly enjoying breakfast. Luke sensed all of Harry’s extended family in the kitchen—and where was he?

If the Dursleys' house had the same layout as Luke's, as Harry said, then Luke was sensing his friend under the staircase, confined to the broom closet he was forced to live in.

Luke rang the doorbell a second and third time quickly until he sensed one of Harry's family members starting to move towards the door.

It wasn't long before the door in front of Luke was yanked open so suddenly that the hinges screeched in protest. “Whatever it is, we don’t want any,” Harry’s uncle started yelling before he could even see Luke on the other side.

“Who are you? What do you want?” As the man loomed over him, Luke immediately spotted the resemblance between Dudley and his father, Vernon Dursley. He had the same piggish face that made Luke want to punch Dudley and almost the exact same sneer. Vernon Dursley was a stout, overweight man in a brown bathrobe over a white tank top shirt and faded pajama pants.

The man had small bits of egg in his mustache that looked moments away from falling off as Vernon’s expression continued to sour.

Luke had to take a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke so that he would not immediately start yelling back. While doing so would make him feel better, it wouldn't help Harry, which was Luke's main goal.

"Hello, sir." Luke felt gross for politely addressing the man but did it anyway. "Is Harry around?" he asked innocently.

Vernon's face quickly went through a wide range of emotions. He was surprised by Luke's accent and confused about why he was there before settling on disgust.

"Never heard of him," Vernon barked before quickly slamming the door in Luke's face.

"Game on, fat man," Luke grinned evilly as he heard Mr. Dursley stomp back to the kitchen on the other side of the door. Reaching over, Luke pressed the doorbell again. He did so repeatedly until he heard a shout of rage from deep in the house, which only made Luke press the button more. He kept pressing it even as Vernon once again threw the door open in a fit of rage.

“Press that blasted thing again, and I’ll tan your hide,” Vernon threatened with a beat red face. Petunia Dursley and Dudley stood behind him in the kitchen entryway. Harry's aunt was scowling, while Dudley smiled smugly at Luke, expecting a show.  

Luke didn’t so much as flinch under the threat of violence, though he was disgusted by the spittle coming out of the man’s mouth while he raged.

“I’m here for Harry,” Luke calmly stood his ground against the much larger man. “Oh, and hitting me is assault against a minor; you really want to do that?”

"That—" Vernan Dursley was at a loss for words, so he used Luke's threat against him like a child. "Leave now, or I’ll call the constables. This is my property, and you will do as I say.” He stomped his foot and pointed at the ground furiously.

For a few seconds, Luke stared at Harry’s uncle with a look of destain before suddenly breaking out into laughter. Mr. Dursley and his family were caught off guard and instinctively flinched back away from the boy.

"Oh, that's funny," Luke mimed, wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter died down before turning serious. "Go ahead, call the cops; I'll wait," Luke crossed his arms in front of him.

“Don’t threaten me, boy, I’ll do it!” Vernon tried again to get Luke to leave, but when he didn't do so much as move, he barked at his wife behind him. "Petunia, call the Bobbies!”

Vernon thought that would be enough to scare the boy, but Luke wasn’t impressed; in fact, he was a little disappointed with how stupid the man was. It appeared the apple didn't fall far from the short tree.

“You aren’t very smart, are you?” Luke deadpanned to the confusion of the Dursleys. “Tell me, I don’t know if they do things the same way here as they do in America, but do people go to prison for child abuse?”

Vernon stepped back as if slapped, so Luke continued. “Go ahead and call the cops. I bet they'll be interested in learning how you treat Harry. He told me about where you make him sleep, you know. From where I’m from, that’s child abuse. Do you know what people do to people who hurt children in prison?" Luke stepped forward threateningly.

“I’d say I’d feel sorry for you, but I don’t. What, not going to call the cops?" Luke yelled past Vernon to Petunia, who was holding Dudley as if her fat baby was about to be taken away from her. “What? No?”

“Harry’s my friend," Luke instinctively used telekinesis to have the wind blow into the house from behind him. "He's coming over to my house for a sleepover,” Luke stated as if it weren’t up to debate. “And when school starts on Monday, I better hear that you’ve moved him into a proper room.”

“You—You think you can threaten us!?” Vernon Dursley stuttered.

“I’m not threatening you about anything,” Luke’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm promising you that if I don't hear that you're treating Harry better, or at least leaving him alone, I’ll call the cops on you myself.”

“Harry!” Luke yelled down the hallway. He could sense Harry’s magic churning violently underneath the stairs in the broom closet, meaning he was listening to everything they said.

Slowly, the door leading to the space under the Dursley’s stairs inched open, revealing Harry to all of them.

“Come on, my mom made breakfast. My family is waiting for us,” Luke ignored everybody but Harry as if they were the only ones there.

Harry was stunned in disbelief. He looked between his aunt and uncle as if trying to decide the right move.

Luke watched from the Dursley’s front door. He wanted to encourage Harry further but didn't. Luke knew this was a pivotal moment in Harry's life, and he needed to decide for himself. The Dursleys were now aware that there was somebody willing to fight for Harry, somebody who wasn’t afraid of them, but things wouldn’t change unless Harry made them.

“I need to pack some things,” Harry’s quiet reply was heard by all of them.

Vernon Dursley looked like he was ready to explode, but he didn’t say anything as Harry turned around and went back into his hovel. They could all hear Harry as he dumped out his school bag onto his bed and shoveled a handful of Dudley’s hand-me-downs into the empty bag.

“You good?” Luke asked as his friend once exited the broom closet with his things.

“I think so,” Harry replied meekly. He didn’t look at his aunt or cousin, who were watching everything with disbelieving looks on their faces. Harry also didn't make eye contact with his uncle as he walked past him to leave the house.

"Good," Luke patted his friend on the back before addressing Mr. Dursley one last time. “Harry will be home sometime tomorrow night, most likely late. If you need him for something, my family lives next to Mrs. Frigg.”

And like that, Luke turned his back on the stunned family. He and Harry walked in silence until they eventually turned down Wisteria Walk.

"I can't believe you said all that!" Harry turned to Luke with admiration in his eyes.

Luke smiled and shrugged. “What did I tell you when we met? The only way to get people to stop bullying you is to stand up to them. It can be scary, and things can go wrong, but you have to try…. And having blackmail material always helps," he lightly joked.

“Were you serious about calling the constables or bluffing?" Harry asked wide-eyed behind his glasses.

“Depends,” Luke lazily replied.

“On what?”

“On whether or not they listen,” Luke stopped smiling, looking serious. “Calling the police is our last resort. I made it sound like I knew what I was talking about, but anything could happen if we got the police involved. In the worst-case scenario, they side with your aunt and uncle, and we lose all our progress."

“They could also relocate you, possibly to an orphanage. I don’t know how good places like that are here. In both situations, you lose any chance to make your own decisions, and I lose my only friend," Luke explained with a heavy heart. He didn't tell Harry that he was protected at the Dursley's. Of the two of them, only Luke knew of the dangers Harry would face in the future.

“So, you were bluffing,” Harry was dumbfounded by how much his friend had thought things through.

"Somewhat," Luke admitted as they passed Mrs. Figgs's house. “I wanted them to know they weren’t untouchable. If anything, they should at least move you to that empty room you told me about.”

“You really think they will? What if they don’t?”

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Luke said, placing a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "For now, let's enjoy the weekend. You can help me design the flyers we’re going to pass around. How does Walker and Potter Handymen sound to you?”

“It sounds brilliant,” Harry smiled with tears in his eyes.

“Ah, don’t start that,” Luke playfully shoved Harry away from him. “This is going to be lunchtime all over again.” He turned away from Harry to open the door to his house.

“Luke,” Harry called out as his friend opened the door.

“What?” Luke looked back, and his heart almost burst out of his chest.

“Thank you.” Harry rubbed at his eyes, but it was what was hovering behind him that nearly gave Luke a heart attack. The ghostly figure of Harry's mother was there for only a split second, but Luke didn’t miss the smile on her face.

Sniffling, Luke hugged his friend before pulling him out of the cold.

-X-X-X-

The pair had a fantastic weekend together, one filled with games and training. They designed their flyers and agreed to start handing them out around the neighborhood after school on Monday.

Harry didn’t think about the Dursleys the entire time he was over until it was time for him to leave, and even then, it didn’t dampen his mood. His aunt and uncle were no longer untouchable in his eyes. Luke had shown him that he had options. Most of them weren't much better than his current situation, but he still had options.

Harry had finally realized that he didn't need to sit back and take the abuse. He couldn't lash out, as that wouldn’t make things any better, but with Luke, Hailee, and their parents' help, Harry could see a future where he was happy.

The world was no longer out to get him, and with real work, his future was getting brighter by the day. Harry only grew surer of this when he was dropped off Sunday night by Mr. Walker and learned what few possessions he had had been moved into Dudley's spare room. His aunt and uncle said nothing about Luke or the threats he made, seemingly content to pretend that their encounter with the boy never happened.

But it did happen, and Harry would never forget the things his friend said that day. Harry was ready to have a better life and didn't mind fighting for it. He had people who had his back, and that was all he ever needed.

Harry told Luke the good news the following Monday before school started, and the two celebrated at lunch.

But this was just the beginning for the boys. They were taking their first steps, and neither of them was going to stop any time soon. Both had a vision of the future in their heads that they were willing to work for.

Luke still had the occasional nightmare about changing the future but was more interested in the present. He had to keep a lot to himself, but that didn't stop him from doing his best to help Harry.

One by one, things were changing. Good or bad, that was up to fate to decide.

All that could be said was that the future looked magical.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Author’s Notes:

Sorry for not posting in a few days; things have been a little hectic between this chapter and where I'm at with Magic-Smithing. I’m hoping to have the next chapter of Magic-Smithing out tomorrow, so I hope this holds you all over until then.

Thanks for reading, and please comment on what you think below.