AMSL Ch: 8

Monday-Thursday

8:30-8:40 Morning Introduction

8:40-9:40 Language Arts

9:40-9:50 Snack/Break

9:50-10:50 Maths

10:50-11:50 Science

11:50-12:50 Lunch

12:50-13:50 Physical Education

13:50-14:50 Humanities

14:50-15:00 Closing Questions

Friday

8:30-8:40 Morning Introduction

8:40-9:20 Language Arts

9:20-10:00 Maths

10:00-10:40 Science

10:40-11:00 Break

11:00-11:45 Humanities

11:45-12:00 Closing Questions

Luke wasn’t surprised that Professor Harris was the kind of teacher who took the time to write out a detailed schedule for his class on the blackboard. He said he would keep it up for the entire first week of school, but Luke thought it prudent to copy it now.

Most of the classes spoke for themselves, but Luke was curious about what Humanities was and their seeming lack of a history class. That’s why, once Professor Harris eventually dismissed them for their ten-minute break, Luke walked up to the front and asked his professor directly instead of rushing for the bathrooms like most of his classmates.

“Excuse me, Professor Harris?” Luke respectfully addressed his teacher with his title, even though he wasn't sure the man deserved it based on what he had seen so far.

“Luke, was it?” The man asked back in a bland voice, almost as if he was tired. It went to show what kind of impression Luke had made, seeing how Harris had already memorized his name.

“Uh, yes, professor,” Luke awkwardly replied. He’d never gotten on the bad side of any of his teachers before, especially not in the first hour of class. He didn’t know how he should respond.

Harris’s cold brown eyes looked Luke up and down judgingly as he leaned back in his chair, shielded behind his desk. “Headmistress Roemmele informed me how well you did on your assessment test. She also said you seemed like a fine example of a young man."

"Thanks?" The sudden praise took Luke aback, but judging by how disinterested his teacher sounded, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop—and drop it did.

“Then prey-tell, why did you try to start a fight just minutes into my class? If you don't give me a good enough answer, I have half a mind to send you to the Headmistress' office." He threatened.

Luke’s first reaction was to immediately shift the blame to Dudley, as his behavior was arguably worse, but he thought better of it before the words could leave his mouth. Instead, Luke did the one thing most ten-year-olds would never do in this situation: he apologized, even though he didn’t want to. “I’m sorry, Professor,” Luke lowered his head, doing his best to sound sincere.

In a small way, he did regret his actions. Luke had all these memories of being an adult, but at the end of the day, he was still a kid at heart. He may be mature for his age, but that couldn’t be said about his classmates. That went doubly so for Dudley, and not because he was twice the size of the rest of them.

Luke felt he should've leaned more into his past life's knowledge and said something witty. Instead, he went straight to threatening the blob of a kid. It just irked Luke how he treated his cousin, and that was before he realized who Harry was.

"I'm very protective of my little sister," Luke lied, using the truth. "It won't happen again— Sir," he promised.

Professor Harris's eyes narrowed, looking for any sign of deceit. When he found none, he reluctantly nodded. "See that you don't. I don't have time for childish spats in my classroom; I'm busy enough as is."

"Understood, Sir," Luke wholeheartedly agreed. The classroom was a place of learning, and if he got into it with Dudley and his goon squad, he'd do it outside, away from the teachers.

“Yes, now why did you come to see me?” Professor Harris's ability to quickly pivot the conversation, one minute saying he might send Luke to the principal’s office and the next asking him what he needed, gave Luke whiplash, but he didn’t let it show.

“I noticed our schedule,” Luke motioned at the blackboard. “We don’t have Humanities class in the US. I just wanted to know what it was?”

“I see,” Professor Harries leaned forward in his seat, resting his hands on his desk, interlocking his fingers. “Humanities refers to several subjects, basically anything that has to do with thought, culture, or expression," he explained straightforwardly.

"We will examine art, music, theater, cultural studies, communications, and technology. My goal is to teach all of you the basics of typing and how to give presentations, as well as expose you to other things you will likely encounter in secondary school."

That’s— actually, pretty cool. Humanities was essentially history class, but instead of only focusing on the past, it branched out into everyday subjects. Luke approved everything his teacher said, and Professor Harris genuinely appeared to have his students’ best interests in mind. But if that was the case, what was his deal with Harry? Did the two of them have a history or something?

"Now, if that is all, I suggest you use the restroom like the rest of your class,” Harris suggested, motioning towards the door. “You only have seven minutes left,” he pointedly noted.

Now, Luke could do the smart thing and walk away. He could take his seat and keep his head down, especially since he narrowly avoided being sent to the office on his first day. Sadly, that wasn’t Luke’s style, and even though it might get him in trouble, he felt the need to ask, or else it would drive him crazy thinking about it the rest of the day. Luke felt he needed the whole picture, if only to know what he was dealing with regarding Harry and his cousin.

Looking over his shoulder, Luke counted the number of students left inside the classroom. Including Luke, only seven hadn't rushed to the bathrooms. Harry and Dudley were both gone. The other six kids were talking as a group in the back. None of them were paying attention to Luke or Professor Harris.

"Actually, I have one more question," Luke lowered his voice, just in case anyone was secretly eavesdropping on them.

Harris raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering why Luke was still standing in front of his desk. Thankfully, he didn’t shoo Luke away.

When it was clear that Professor Harris was patiently waiting for him to ask his second question, Luke decided to just come out with it and hope the professor didn't take it the wrong way.

"I was wondering…. What’s the deal with the kid sitting next to me? I think his name was Harry or something?” Luke did his best to sound unsure as if Harry was an afterthought.

It was minute, but Luke noticed his teacher tense up at the mention of Harry’s name. For a split second, Professor Harris's stone-like demeanor cracked. “I wouldn’t get involved with him,” Harris leaned forward and warned Luke quietly.

“Is he a bad kid or something?” Luke leaned in, prompting his teacher to explain further.

“He is,” Luke’s professor told him with a serious expression. “The whole school knows about him. He’s gotten in trouble for all manner of things. He's been caught climbing the building. A few years ago, he dyed one of his teacher's wigs blue. She was so distraught after the fact she never fully recovered and quit at the end of the year.”

“He’s constantly getting into trouble with his family. His guardians have tried everything to bring him into line, but nothing works on the boy. He tore up all the clothes they bought him, forcing them to clothe him in his cousin’s old uniforms. Just something as simple as getting him to comb his hair is impossible,” Harris sighed.

“Really!?” Luke feigned shock.

"Indeed," Harris's eyes narrowed. "It's why he was placed in my class; I’m supposed to try and keep him in line until he transfers out."

If that was how Harris saw Harry, "What about his cousin, Dudley?” Luke was curious about how his teacher saw the bully, as he was slow to correct him when Dudley made fun of Luke spending time with his sister.

“Yes, rather sad, him,” Harris shook his head regretfully. "I've heard about it from his past teachers and Headmistress Roemmele herself; poor Dudley’s parents spend so much time looking after his misbehaving cousin that he feels ignored at home, leading him to seek attention at school. I shouldn't be telling you this, but the Dursleys feel so responsible for Harry's behavior that they regularly donate a considerable amount of money to the school for the Headmistress to look the other way and not expel him."

“They bribe the Headmistress?” Luke's eyes bulged. What was this, a telenovela?

Professor Harris had the presence of mind to look awkward. “I don’t like to call it that, but yes. Despite everything he’s done, they care for him and are willing to pay money to ensure he remains in school. It's quite disappointing, really; from what I hear, the boy is rather smart when he wants to be. He just can't seem to stay out of trouble. That's why I recommend you stay far away from him.”

Luke had to literally bite his tongue to keep himself from saying something he shouldn’t. Many things Professor Harris mentioned sounded like accidental magic to him. The rest had to be a plot to make Dudley look good at the expense of Harry's reputation. Which made it that much sadder that Professor Harris believed it.

The Dursleys must have some agreement with Headmistress Roemmele; that's the only way things could've become this distorted from the truth. Luke wanted to point this out to his teacher, but he recognized the folly of his actions. Even if he had told Harris that Harry was innocent, what would that sound like coming from him? This was Luke's first day at St. Grogory's. He had only met Harry an hour ago; Harris knew this.

He didn't have many options, and that's why Luke felt the need to plant a seed of doubt within his teacher; it was only fair. “That all sounds awful,” Luke pretended to sympathize with Harris's plight. “I would’ve never guessed from my first impressions of them.”

Harris' brow furrowed in confusion as Luke continued. "You couldn't see it from down the hallway, but Dudley and his friends blocked the door, keeping Harry out. It looked like they were bullying him, not the other way around. I must have been confused.”

"Truly?" Professor Harris returned, his stone-like demeanor returning in full force, not revealing how he felt. "You aren't just saying that to cause trouble, are you?"

Luke placed his hand over his heart and looked his teacher dead in the eyes. "I swear, that’s what I saw. I might not like Dudley, but I have no reason to lie about what I saw, either. Honestly, I plan on avoiding both of them—" for now, Luke added in his head.

"Hmm," Professor Harriss hummed, deep in thought. "I'll keep an eye on them... and on you. I better not see you starting any fights,” he pointed an accusing finger at Luke.

“I would never start a fight,” Luke said, giving his teacher a hurt look. After all, he wasn't his sister Hailee; Luke didn't start fights; he finished them.

“Alright, you’ve used up more than half your break,” Harris glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "If you aren't going to use the facilities, then I suggest you retake your seat."

“Actually,” Luke smiled sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I think I do have to use the restroom.” He hadn’t needed to go when he approached his teacher, but after all this heavy talk, a quick trip to the bathroom didn’t sound like a bad idea.

Harris let out a tired sigh. “Then I suggest you hurry up, young man.”

"I will do that. Thanks for answering all my questions, professor.” Luke wasn’t perturbed when Harris didn’t return his smile.

“It’s going to be a long year,” Luke also pretended not to hear his teacher’s final remark as he rushed out of the classroom for the nearest bathroom.

Most of the kids were already on their way back to class. Once he slipped past them, it took less than a minute to make it to the bathroom and do his business.

Luke was counting the seconds in his head as he dried his hands. He had little more than a minute to get back to his seat before he was late, so when he exited the bathroom and came face to face with Dudley and his crew waiting for him, Luke couldn't help but curse in his head.

"Where are you going, Yank?" Dudley tried to cross his arms in front of him but was too fat to do so.

"Back to my desk," Luke lazily replied as if he didn't care that he was surrounded and outnumbered. A few boys standing behind Dudley noticed how unconcerned he was and instinctively stepped back. “Can this wait until lunch? We only have a minute before we're late."

“You think you’re so cool,” Dudley’s face contorted into an ugly snarl as he invaded Luke’s personal space. “We run this school. I’m in charge here,” he thumbed his chest.

“That’s funny; it didn't seem like that in class." Luke didn't back away, which would have been a sign of weakness. "Professor Harris told you to be quiet, too,” he sassily reminded the obese boy.

That single taunt set Dudley off and made him swing at Luke.

Luke briefly considered taking the punch and retaliating in self-defense but decided to go another route after considering the ramifications of what that would cause. Luke had just told his teacher he wouldn't get into a fight, and it would look bad if he broke his promise not five minutes later.

Dudley might have weighed twice as much as him, but the fat-ass was three times as slow. Luke had spent the last two years dueling his sister, so Dudley's wild punch might have well been coming at him in slow motion.

Cycling his magic, Luke used the tried-and-true technique of magically gluing one of Dudley’s shoes to the ground. That and a well-timed block sent the large boy tripping over himself, sending him crashing to the floor with a loud thunk, all with Luke barely budging an inch.

From Pier’s and the other kids’ perspective, Luke sent Dudley flying with a wave of his hand, so when he didn’t even spare a glance at the fat kid on the ground and instead addressed them directly, it made quite the impression.

“I don’t have time to deal with this,” Luke walked directly through the group of kids as if they weren't there. But after a few steps, he stopped and abruptly turned back around to face them and a panting Dudley, who was slow to get to his feet.

"Unlike you, I have no intention of getting in trouble at school. If you have a problem with me, find me outside of class. I finally remember where I've seen you," Luke pointed at Dudley. "You live a few streets over from me— I'll see you around," he left with that vague threat hanging over their heads.

With that final warning, Luke walked away without looking back. He made it back to his seat with seconds to spare. Dudley and his boys weren’t so lucky.

“This is the first day, so I’ll make an exception this time,” Professor Harris berated each of them in turn at the front of the class for their tardiness. Next to Luke, Harry did his best not to openly laugh at his cousin’s misfortune.

Luke was curious about where he had disappeared during their short break, but as he was still hesitant to interact with Harry, so he decided to file the question away for later.

“Now, take your seats,” Professor Harris instructed the properly chastised youths. All of them shot Luke dirty looks as they followed their teacher's instructions.

From where their teacher was sitting, Harris couldn't see any of the angry looks directed at Luke, but Luke wasn’t the least bit concerned. No matter how many of them there were, Dudley and his friends were only ten. Luke refused to be intimidated by children, even if they were technically the same age, especially with magic on his side.

“Umm, did something happen?” An uncertain voice, barely above a whisper, hesitantly called out to Luke.

Turning his head, Luke met a pair of vibrant green eyes behind broken glasses. He had the option to ignore Harry, but the way the boy looked at Luke broke his heart. There was fear in Harry’s eyes as if he was waiting for Luke to snap back at him and call him names like everybody else.

“Nothing much,” Luke had to turn away before he answered lest he let his concern show. "They tried to intimidate me, but it didn't work.”

“Have you had trouble with bullies before?” Harry asked, a sliver of hope leaking into his voice that he’d finally met someone who could sympathize with him—someone who didn't immediately look down on him.

“Not me personally,” Luke answered honestly, still looking forward. "My little sister is quite outspoken; some people don't like that.”

“And you protect her." Luke didn't need to see Harry to know what expression was on his face. He could hear the longing in his voice.

Damn, didn’t he just tell his teacher he would avoid Harry? So much for that. At this rate, Luke was going to feel obligated to help him. It was like seeing a puppy shivering in the snow; you couldn’t help but want to scoop it up and bring it inside.

“He gives you a lot of problems?” Luke tentatively asked Harry even though he already knew the answer.

"Every day," Luke heard the hurt in Harry's voice. “We live together.”

Luke didn’t ask about Harry’s home life; he wasn't in the right headspace to open that can of worms. He still felt terrible, though, and wanted to say something reassuring to Harry. However, he had to abruptly cut their conversation short because Professor Harris called for the class to focus and started teaching again. And it was a good thing, too, because neither of them wanted to get busted for talking to one another.

-X-X-X-

The next few hours went surprisingly fast, though not because Luke was learning anything. Harris spent most of the time quizzing them on math problems. Twice, Luke was called up to solve a problem on the board; one was a long division problem, while the other was multiplying two large numbers. He solved both in no time at all, earning him a single approving nod from his teacher as an award.

The rest of the time, Luke sat in the back of the class, ignoring the dirty looks Dudley and his crew were shooting him every chance they got. He was too busy going over the pros and cons of helping Harry in his head.

Luke felt heartless even considering leaving Harry to his horrible family life, but he felt he had to consider all the ramifications that might stem from him changing the timeline.

Besides, how would he even warn Harry without looking like a crazy person? He couldn’t just walk up to the boy and tell him he knew the future, both because that would sound insane but also because if it got out that he knew what he did, a lot of people would be after him. Mind reading was a thing in the wizarding world; he knew that much, and while Luke had almost a decade of learning to hide his emotions behind a mask of youth, Harry did not. So, outright telling him everything was out.

The same went for Hailee, which made Luke feel even worse. He’d finally learned what their powers were, and he couldn’t tell his sister without risking people asking how the two of them knew so much. If he got a Hogwarts letter in a year, everything would become public knowledge, so there was that, but it still meant Luke would need to play dumb until then.

Setting the issue with his sister aside for later, Luke still couldn't see an easy solution to his problems. Luke's most significant advantage was, and always has been, his knowledge of the future. Just him being here meant he was going to change things, whether he liked it or not. The next few years were likely to play out as he remembered, but the more he tipped the scales, the quicker his future knowledge would become useless.

He might have already inadvertently changed things just by talking to his teacher and suggesting Harry wasn’t at fault. But was that a bad thing?

No matter what, the child sitting next to Luke had to be the one to defeat Voldemort. They were linked; it was literally destiny that they faced off against each other. Up until now, Harry’s life had been nothing but suffering, and while he would find friends once he made it to Hogwarts, that didn’t lessen the challenges he would be forced to face in the future.

Harry needed all the help he could get, and Luke was in the perfect place to offer it.

No matter what, Luke would need to do something; the only question was, to what degree would he intervene?

Luke could secretly watch over the boy like Dumbledore was doing, toss out hints to him and his friends whenever they needed them, all while keeping his distance. If he did that, he might not attract unwanted attention until he was strong enough to protect himself.

The more Luke thought about it, the better the idea sounded. And he didn’t need to wait until they were at Hogwarts to start.

Luke smiled as he thought about ways he might make Harry’s life just a bit easier. He could casually suggest he call the British version of Child Protective Serves; it would only take a caseworker five minutes to figure out that his aunt, uncle, and cousin were abusing him.

Dumbledore would likely step in to keep Harry with his family due to whatever magic kept him hidden, but it would scare them if nothing else.

Of course, there was always the possibility that he could take Harry under his wing, but Luke was reluctant to get that close. Luke didn't want to take Ron's position as Harry's first friend, as the bond the two shared in the movies was one of the best parts of the series.

Luke briefly considered beating up Dudley and his friends, but that was only a temporary fix and would likely blow up in his face and make things worse.

The only thing Luke was sure of was that he could never go back once he had befriended the boy.

It was all one big moral quandary for Luke. On one hand, he desperately wanted to help, but on the other, he didn't want to get pulled into the madness that was Harry Potter's life. Avoiding him would be the safe decision, but that didn't stop Luke from feeling slimy for thinking that way.

He was doing his best to come to terms with this new feeling plaguing him when the lunch bell sounded. While half of his classmates grabbed their lunches from their bags, Luke fished a £5 note out of his pocket as he followed the rest of his class out of their classroom and into the hallways. A few people were taking their bags with them, but Luke didn’t feel the need to do so.

If Dudley or any of his friends were stupid enough to mess with his bag while he was gone, that was their choice. Secretly, Luke kind of hoped they were that dumb, as it would give him ample reason to report them to their teacher.

Feeling as if he left a clever trap behind, Luke confidently made his way down to the first story of their school along with everybody else. As he descended, he was surprised by the number of students he passed by, or more accurately, how few there were. Unlike Luke’s old school in Tacoma, it didn’t feel crowded as he walked down the school’s corridors and entered the cafeteria.

There were six grades present in St. Grogory's Primary School, but unlike in America, where each class would hold upward of thirty kids with multiple teachers teaching each grade, the class sizes here were much more respectable, those being spread out amongst a handful of teachers.

Luke's class had only twenty-four kids in it, and from what he could see, there were only three or four classes dedicated to each year. Only around 800 kids were enrolled in the school, so their lunch breaks didn't need to be staggered.

The gym/cafeteria on the bottom floor was a large, plain room at the back of the school, packed with foldable tables and a line of children leading into the adjacent kitchen. Luke felt right at home, standing in line with everybody else to buy his lunch. To pass the time, he watched all the kids around him find their friends in a giant game of Where's Waldo, guessing who was friends with whom.

All around Luke, people were either gushing about their new teachers or complaining about them, sometimes both in the same breath. But what caught Luke’s eye wasn’t the gossip; over half of the kids appeared to have brought their lunch from home. Kids were pulling out thermoses, sandwiches, and snacks galore, trading and swapping items just as they did at his old school. The food may differ, but kids were the same wherever you went.

Luke stood there, taking it all in until he eventually reached the front of the line and could pick out his lunch. He had three options: square pizza with blackened edges from being overcooked, some sort of fried meat twisted into a spiral shape served with a side of baked beans, and a mashed potato dish with gravy and shredded beef on top. Luke went with the last option.

To be healthy, he grabbed a fresh apple and steamed carrots from the salad bar before grabbing milk and paying for it all. Once he had his food, Luke briefly considered sitting at a random table, but he could barely take three steps out of the kitchen before his sister’s familiar voice reached his ears over the crowd.

“Luke! Luke! Over here!” She happily shouted over the throng of chattering students, drawing more than one person's attention.

Luke didn’t have to look hard to find his sister. Hailee was the only one jumping up and down in place, waving one arm in the air to get his attention while simultaneously holding her lunch in the other. She was standing in front of the doors leading outside, surrounded by a group of kids her age, all giggling in delight as Luke’s sister shamelessly drew attention to herself.

His sister's bright smile was like a campfire in a snowstorm; seeing that she was having a good time warmed his heart and put him at ease. While Luke was having his sense of reality challenged, his sister was already on her way to making friends with the entire school, and if the kids surrounding her were any indication, she was well on her way to doing so.

“Why am I not surprised,” Luke playfully teased his sister while exaggeratingly shaking his head side to side as he joined her and her friends by the door.

Not deterred by her brother's words, Hailee immediately started introducing Luke to the kids around her. “This is Sara. That’s Maddie. Over there is Trent. And that’s Jacob….” She threw out five more names in rapid secession, which Luke failed to remember. “They’re all in my class,” Hailee smiled ear to ear.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Luke,” he politely introduced himself to his sister’s friends.

“He sounds just like you, Hailee,” the girl Hailee introduced as Maddie squealed in delight in her British accent.

“Technically, she sounds like me,” Luke lightly bantered, smiling politely.

"Come eat with us outside,” Hailee motioned to the door. There weren’t as many tables available outside as there were inside the cafeteria, but there were plenty of places for them to sit and eat lunch and enjoy the sun at the same time.

“Sounds like a plan," Luke was quick to agree. It was the beginning of September, so it was still nice out. He figured they might as well enjoy the weather while it lasts. He and his sister moved here from Washington; they knew to appreciate good weather when they could.

As usual, Hailee’s bright and uplifting personality meant that she was the center of attention, so she led them to a nearby table. Luke was happy to sit back and let his little sister take charge, especially after the morning he'd had. It was nice not having to overthink where he should eat. He made small talk as he sat and ate, but Luke mostly smiled at Hailee and her friends, content to sit back and listen to their day so far.

All of Hailee’s new friends seemed to genuinely like her, which made sense. The positive energy she emitted was infectious, and Hailee would know better than anyone if any of them harbored any sinister feelings toward her. Though Luke wouldn’t put it past his sister to try and make friends with people who didn’t like her, that was just the kind of person she was. She'd done so in the past; thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case this time.

Lunch was going nicely, and for a few minutes, Luke could forget all about Harry and his annoying cousin— That was, until said annoyance sought him out.

"Heads up, Dudley's coming," Trent, one of Hailee's new friends, warned the table.

"What's a Dudley?" Hailee asked her friend innocently.

"A bully," Luke answered his sister before her friends could say anything. "He's in my class,' Luke sighed as he turned around in his seat.

“Bad luck, that,” he heard one of his sister’s friends say as he stood up just as the large boy and his followers stomped up to their table.

Dulley’s group had expanded since their little encounter outside the bathroom, with a handful of new faces flanking Dudley on either side. The fat boy must have thought this made him look more intimidating because he was smirking at Luke as if he were hot stuff.

“Well, look who it-“

“What do you want, Dudley?” Luke interrupted the boy’s villainous monologue before he could gain any traction.

A few of Hailee’s friends snickered behind Luke, causing Dudley’s cheeks to turn red in embarrassment, which quickly morphed into rage. However, unlike last time, he didn't attack immediately, which was surprising.

From what Luke had seen, Dudley was anything but subtle, so it was a pleasant surprise for him not to immediately turn to violence. That said, Luke didn't lower his guard; just because Dudley wasn’t swinging from the start didn't mean he was here to be friends— the way Hailee

was looking at Dudley, and his group was an indication of that.

“I wanted to give you one last chance; join my group or fall in line," Dudley boisterously declared, as if offering Luke a seat on the town council.  

Piers was rubbing his hands greedily beside Dudley, looking quite rat-ish, while the rest of Dudley’s followers were doing their best to look intimidating.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I don’t want anything to do with you or your friends,” Luke didn't hesitate to turn down the offer.

“You tell them, Luke,” Hailee cheered behind him.

“Shut it," Dudley angrily barked at Luke's little sister.

At that moment, Luke wanted nothing more than to threaten Dudley for speaking to Hailee like that, but he held himself back. Dudley and his friends were bullies, so violence would be the quickest way to get through to them, but at what cost?

No, Luke refused to resort to petty threats of violence— At least not until it was his only option.

“What’s wrong, Dudley? You feel the need to pick on a little girl? I'd say be the bigger man, but you're already big enough. It's sad, but what can you do?” Luke shrugged as if Dudley’s behavior was only natural.

“Hey, I can take care of myself," Hailee said as she stood in her seat, much to the dismay of her friends, who tried to keep her down.

“I know you can, Squirt,” Luke called back over his shoulder, seemingly ignoring Dudley. However, he secretly kept an eye on him in case he forgot where they were and attacked.

“You… You….” Dudley was so angry he could barely talk. If he got any redder, steam might start coming from his ears.

Luke ignored all this and talked to him as if he weren’t seconds away from lunging at him. "Careful, Dudley. There are teachers around this time," Luke said, looking to the left directly at one such teacher casually glancing over the schoolyard.

There were only two teachers outside, and neither had noticed what was happening at their table yet, but it was only a matter of time before they noticed Dudley's large group.

“You Think I Care?” Dudley was moments away from foaming at the mouth.

“Yeah, I think you do,” Luke called Dudley’s bluff. “But if that’s not the case, then go ahead, I’ll give you the first shot.” Luke raised his chin.

Luke was playing chess while Dudley was trying to figure out how to play checkers. Luke didn’t believe for a minute that he would start a fight in front of everyone, and even if Dudley did, Luke was confident he could turn the situation in his favor. He wouldn’t even hit the idiot back; instead, Luke would gladly take the punch and make a production of it all.

With so many witnesses around, Dudley and his crew wouldn't be able to talk themselves out of it, and unlike Harry's Aunt and Uncle, Luke and Hailee's parents would care if Luke came home with a black eye.

No matter what Dudley did, Luke would have the last laugh.

He didn't need to threaten the boy; he was more intelligent than that.

Behind him, Hailee's friends stared at Luke as if he were crazy. Hailee was already calling upon her magic just in case she needed to help her brother, but Luke was adamant about keeping his sister out of this. It was why he was trying to keep Dudley’s focus on himself and not her.

Luke was confident his sister could handle herself if needed. That said, he'd prefer Dudley focus on him and ignore his sister all tougher.

"Dudley," Piers whispered/warned his friend when it looked like he might say screw it and throw a punch.

“This isn’t over,” Dudley threatened as he turned and stomped away.

“Find me outside of school. We can play then,” Luke cheerfully waved at Dudley’s retreating figure. Dudley’s friends shot him more looks, but none of them did anything more than that.

"I don't think this is what Mom meant when she said you should make friends," Hailee sassily told Luke as he retook his seat. All her friends were still staring at him, mouths open, as if they couldn't believe what they had just seen.

“I can’t believe you got them to walk away," Sara, one of Hailee's friends, eventually found her voice.

"Eh," Luke shrugged as he finished his lunch. "They're bullies, stand up to them, and most of them back down."

"No, you don't get it," Jacob excitingly added. "That was Dudley's crew; they never back down.”

“Then they do this often and get away with it?” Hailee asked before Luke could.

All her friends nodded, but Trent explained things further: "Everyone knows Dudley’s parents are friends with the Headmistress. No matter what he does, he doesn’t even receive a slap on the wrist. Even most of the teachers are on his side."

“That’s horrible!” Hailee exclaimed while Luke nodded in agreement.

"But someone has to have stood up to them before?” Luke noted. “What about kid’s parents?”

Maddie just shook her head. "If someone complains, then it’s blamed on somebody else. A few kids switched schools, but people mostly try to avoid him. Besides, he spends most of his time picking on his weird cousin.”

So, the whole school knew about Harry and Dudley’s situation, Luke frowned.

“Someone should do something,” Hailee proclaimed with righteous fury.

"You're right; someone should do something," Luke pointedly looked at his little sister. “But that someone isn’t you. I'll think of something," he told her.

“Promise?” Hailee held out her pinky finger. She must have really disliked the emotions she felt coming off Dudley and his group if she was jumping to a pinky promise right off the bat.

“I was going to anyway, but if you insist,” Luke pretended it was no big deal as he locked fingers with his sister.

“Tsundere,” Hailee couldn’t help but tease her brother one last time.

“What does that mean?” Hailee’s friends gave her questioning looks.

“And that’s my cue to leave," Luke nearly jumped out of his seat, to his sister's enjoyment.

“Don’t get into too much trouble,” she called out as he left, much like he had done to Dudley.

Sadly, it was too late for that. Luke could only imagine how much trouble his sister would give him if she learned about everything he’d had to deal with so far today. Who was he kidding? She would love every minute of it and ask for more.

With a tired sigh, Luke headed for a nearby tree off to the side of the school's playground, where he planned to decompress away from the throngs of playful children. He knew Dudley would be a problem the moment he made fun of his sister at the beginning of class, but this was ridiculous.

Luke could hardly imagine what it must be like for poor Harry. To be constantly at the mercy of someone you couldn’t fight back against, to live with that day in and day out, it sounded like a good description of what Hell would be like.

Then there was what Hailee’s friend said. Luke hadn’t missed how she called Harry weird despite not knowing him. Even though everyone knew what Dudley was doing to him, the kids around the school still viewed him as somebody abnormal.

Closing his eyes, Luke did his best to regulate his breathing as he reexamined Harry’s situation and concluded that the kid was trapped in the worst situation imaginable. Harry’s family and everybody around him treated him like they did because of the weird things around him, which made his emotions flare up, leading to more incidents, which only caused more trouble.

If only Harry’s family had shown him an ounce of kindness, maybe they wouldn't have even realized he was like his parents. But they didn’t, and now they blame everything on him when it was them who caused everything.

Seeing Harry's life up close was depressing. When it was just a movie in his head, there was a certain disconnect, and Luke could write everything off as a plot device, but now that he was seeing it firsthand, it made him feel sick inside. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

All Luke wanted to do was go home, bury his head in his pillow, and scream, but the universe had other plans.

It happened so fast that Luke couldn't help but look up. He'd trained himself to focus on out-of-control magic while watching over his sister. One second, there was nothing, and the next, he sensed raw, chaotic magic lashing out seemingly from nowhere.

Luke instinctively zeroed in on the source. He was half expecting to see his sister getting into trouble, but she was still at the table with her friends, not anywhere near what he sensed.

He barely had time to process what he was seeing when he heard the scream. Across the playground around the side of the cafeteria, out of view of the teachers, Harry was surrounded by Dudley and his gang. One boy, who up until a moment ago had his hand on Harry’s shoulder, was crumpled over, holding said hand in pain.

One of Dudley's lackeys was already running to get a teacher while the rest were shoving Harry angrily.

Luke didn’t even realize he had gotten up and was rushing toward Harry until he was halfway across the playground, consequences be damned.

-X-X-X-

Author's Comments:

Did you really think Luke would sit by and do nothing? What kind of story would that be? Now things get interesting. Who knows what will stay the same and what will change?

What do you think; please tell me below, and thanks for reading.