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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 62: A New Home
"Lucius?..." Harry was staring at the unmoving body lying in the middle of the living room.
"Already?" His wand scanned for a magical signature and found none, meaning that the man was finally dead.
"At least I had time to set up a Fidelius Charm and place him as the Secret Keeper. Now that he is dead, I can be sure that no one else will ever find out the location of this house without my permission."
Harry looked around the place. It was fairly small, but regardless of its size, it was tastefully decorated. After all, this was something made for one of the richest wizards in the country, so there was no lack of commodities.
"It's too bad that now I have no one to help me test those dark artifacts." He couldn't use the Dursleys for this, as he needed someone with magic to activate them.
Using Hermione or Luna would be a waste, as those were his only followers for now.
"I will have to procure someone else."
He went to one of the guest bedrooms and began to unload his belongings.
Now that he finally had a safe place to be, he had no more need to carry everything around. Just having to maintain so many Featherweight Charms was already exhausting.
Harry first placed the holding bag containing all the Malfoy money. It was hard to tell how much was in there unless he started to pull it out, but it was many times the amount his parents left in his vault.
He then took out the box of artifacts and left it in one corner of the room. That was going to have to wait until he could procure some test subjects.
After walking back to the living room, he glanced at Malfoy once more. "I'd better get rid of the body. I don't want to stink my house."
It was also for safety, as he wasn't sure if there was a way for his family to track his body down.
The Fidelius was a powerful protective charm, but there was no such thing as an invincible defense.
Even his old fortress had fallen after being attacked by an army.
"Tempus." Harry noted that it was already getting late. He had arrived at Diagon Alley early in the morning but had been very busy since then.
"I have gotten much done for a day already." Harry walked outside and looked back at the house. This was now his first official hideout.
"A humble beginning, but this is where my new reign will start. From here, I will expand until the world is all mine." Harry lifted his wand and disappeared from the clearing.
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Petunia was tapping her foot against the stone floor while continuing to peek at her watch.
"Oh…" It was getting very late already, and she had lost count of how many hours she had been stuck in this nasty tavern.
The only time she left was when that Auror spotted her and demanded that she help her find Harry.
They looked all over the Alley, and he was nowhere to be seen, which made Petunia think that Harry had already left somehow and hadn't bothered to tell her anything.
This was the same thing that the Auror had told her before leaving.
However, Petunia did not dare to do the same. She did not have the luxury of disobeying an order from Harry, even if she had to spend the evening here.
The night before, she had seen him torturing her husband with one of his awful spells and promising to do the same to her son if she failed him today.
Petunia looked around and frowned. There were many more wizards and witches now. The bartenders were walking all over the place with plates and cups, while Petunia remained sitting at a corner table with a glass of water in front of her, as she didn't care for eating anything made by the freaks.
The door at the back opened up, and someone walked inside the tavern, earning the gazes of the other patrons.
Petunia also scrutinized the new arrival, and her eyes opened widely when she saw it was Harry.
He looked different than when they had arrived, wearing completely different clothes compared to when they arrived this morning.
His cursed green eyes immediately found hers, as if he already knew where she was sitting even before crossing the door.
A smirk appeared on his face as he approached the table. "This is not the table where I left you… did you decide to move for some reason?" Harry asked.
Petunia froze. It was true that she had taken a different table after returning from her trip with the Auror. She hadn't thought about it, but Harry had left her at one of the center tables, and now she was at a corner.
"I… I liked this. It's more priv—"
"You think I can't tell when you are lying to me?" Harry's smirk became more pronounced while his fingers played with his wand.
Petunia's face went pale. 'He knows!' She feared for the worst.
"I didn't mean to l—"
"Save it." Harry interrupted her. "We can talk at the house. Now let's go. I'm sure you are tired of being surrounded by freaks the whole day."
Petunia knew better than to answer that, so she grabbed her purse and stood up from the table, leaving a few coins on top. They were pounds, as she didn't have any magical currency, but she hoped it would be enough for the water. It was the only thing she had consumed all day.
Harry walked out the front door into London proper, while she followed right behind.
A bit later, she was riding a car on her way home, hoping that this day would end without anyone she cared about being hurt, and wondering what she had done to deserve this.
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