Harry and Dudley barely remembered to grab their duffels and the goblin bag as they fled out the door. Harry remembered to keep an eye out for Vernon as they ran down the street. Even if Vernon was arrested - if they stuck around the police would likely call child services and they would be in Aunt Marge's ‘tender care' in no time. Harry was feverishly thinking of how to get to London to take the bus to Birmingham. He discarded the idea of asking an adult for help - a then a desperate idea took hold.

Turk was the only boy in the whole of Magnolia Crest and the nearby streets with a worse reputation than Dudley and his gang. However he was old enough to drive and had a beat-up car of his own. Harry also remembered that Turks father had been abusive before he'd been sent to jail. Hopefully he would be sympathetic, and bribable.

Harry hauled the silent Dudley down a few alleys, hopefully beneath the notice of the neighbors. They slipped around a corner and he saw with relief that Turk was outside, waxing his car. Harry stood at the corner of the house and said, "Hey, Turk.", and motioned the boy over.

Turk ambled over, the spiked hair and nose-ring looking especially intimidating today. "What's up, Potter?" He raised an eyebrow at the swiftly bruising face and duffel bag. He had been about to remark that Potter was too young to run off, when he noticed Dudley with an equally bruised face and matching duffel. So, the older Dursley had turned on his own, as well.

"Uncle Vernon's gone mad, and Aunt Petunia wants us to go to a friend's house. We need a ride to the London bus station. We can pay you." Harry searched Turk's face; he was obviously sympathetic, but wary of trouble. "No one will suspect we went to you. We'll keep ducked down until we're away from here." Turk thought a moment and nodded. The boys hustled into the back seat with the bags and kept down.

Turk motored down the streets slowly, to avoid notice and was startled to see several police cruisers and an ambulance with a crowd of neighbors around the Dursley residence. He peered over the back of the seat in inquiry.

"Vernon hurt Aunt Petunia. We were supposed to escape together, but we'll have to make our way alone - to our friend's house." Harry decided to skip the part about the shooting, in case Turk got cold feet. Turk nodded and kept going.

The drive was made mostly in silence, with an occasional query from Dudley. "You think she'll be okay, Harry?" Harry always said yes as positively as he could.

They made it to the bus station without difficulty, and then Harry thought it would be better to not have two youngsters buying the tickets. The ticket seller might remember them with their bruised faces. For a bit extra the willing Turk bought the tickets and wished them well. Turk drove off hoping they made it.

Harry pulled Dudley through the huge station, and then remembered. "Dudley - get out that debit card, there are ATM's everywhere. Your mum said to not use it after we leave London, so now's your chance."

Dudley's eyes lit with a vindictive light, and they went down the lengthy walk and hit every ATM available, shoving the money into the Goblin bag. They made it to the bus just in time, boarding with lowered faces, hoping no one noticed the bruises.

Harry looked at Dudley's watch - it was well past 3 pm he saw. He sat back with a sigh. He hoped that Mr. Snape knew they were on the way to his house, and that they had been unable to wait on Privet Drive for him.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Severus looked across the street at the police cruisers and yellow crime scene tape with incredulous horror. What could possibly have happened? He double checked his muggle clothing, and edged up to an elderly woman who was watching avidly, he pegged her as a gossip.

"Whatever happened, - do you know?" He asked in unfeigned interest.

"Ooooh, that horrid Mr. Dudley has shot his wife and kidnapped his son and nephew." The woman answered with relish, and causing Severus' heart to drop to his feet. "They took Mrs. Dursley off to the hospital - she was in a bad way."

"Did they see him leave with the boys?" Severus asked.

"Well, no, but they aren't at the house, and nowhere in the neighborhood - he must have taken them." She answered logically.

Severus almost fainted with relief; he knew that Petunia had had an escape plan in place, with any luck the boys were on the way to Severus' home. He winced at the idea of the two boys making there way across much of England on their own, but at least they weren't in Vernon's clutches. Of course he needed to make sure they got away.

"Where did they take Mrs. Dursley?" Severus asked as casually as he could.

"Surrey General is the closest." She answered, losing interest in him.

Severus slowly cast his senses around the area. He had the necessary gift and power level to sense other wizards, and if he cared to expend the effort, he could sometimes identify them as well. Albus had thought that his ability as a Legilimens aided him in this - that although he could not sense their thoughts, Severus could feel their minds at least dimly, and this told him that they were wizards, and if he knew them he could identify them.

Severus was finally satisfied that there were no wizards present, so Albus had not been alerted as yet. The wards must still be up, so Petunia must be alive. Hopefully this episode would not prove fatal, but the longer she stayed alive and kept Albus unaware, the better.

He carefully ambled away after extracting enough of an image from the old woman's mind to coordinate apparition to the hospital. The old woman had spend a great deal of time last year there with her late husband, so he went straight to the alcove of the chapel, luckily empty, so he didn't have to obliviate anyone.

Severus wandered down the hall following signs to Emergency services. An inquiry to a passing nurse revealed that Mrs. Dursley was just coming out of surgery, and directions to there were given. Severus wandered down the halls, wincing at the amount of noise that seemed required to stay alive in the muggle world. He found the post surgical waiting room and a quick glance through the receptionists mind while asking about visiting showed where the post operative recovery room was. He ducked into a lavatory and waved a spell at his clothing, and soon had scrubs on that seemed to match what he had seen.

Severus strode purposefully into the recovery room, and straight up to the stretcher Petunia was occupying. He picked up the chart and perused it while eyeing Petunia as well. He pulled the curtain enough to hide himself, and discretely cast an avoidance charm to keep the doctors and nurses away for a bit. Petunia had several IV lines and blood infusing, but she still looked pale as death. The chart said the bullet had severed her liver - not good. They had slowed the bleeding, but had been unable to totally stop it. Apparently they had to wait and see if her body could take care of the rest of the damage. Dammit.

Even in the magical world such an injury was bad news, one had to hope they could get to a healer before they bled out. Potions would help, but they required a magical core to work with. A potions mastery did require some healing knowledge, and Severus had, of personal necessity learned more than actually required - many times he had to take care of injuries inflicted by the dark lord on himself and Lucius.

Severus did a quick scan, her blood levels were alarming low, and the bleeding still slowly continued. He carefully cast a charm to encourage the damaged tissue to knit back together, but it seemed to not do a great deal. Another charm urged her bone marrow to make more blood, but it was very little against the loss she was experiencing. He cast a very mild enervate on her, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Severus," she whispered. "Are Dudley and Harry alright? I sent them off to you."

"They escaped Vernon, then? It's only been a few hours; they aren't at Spinners End, yet." He answered.

She nodded slowly, "Vernon ran out and drove off after shooting me, and I told the boys to go to you."

"I'll find them and keep them safe. You rest, now." Severus watched her eyes close and then took down the avoidance charm and, keeping in his doctor role, told a nurse to ‘give the patient more blood, couldn't she see the levels were still low?'

Severus then apparated back to Spinners End and paced irritably. He firecalled Lucius, and told the horror-struck wizard the tale, so he wouldn't have to be the only one worrying. Lucius flooed through immediately and joined him in pacing.

"How long will it take them to get here? Should we look for them?" Lucius fretted.

"I don't know how they are getting here. Bus, train, plane - I don't know where to look. Petunia said Harry was resourceful, and clever." Severus grimaced. "If I alert authorities in either world, I'll risk losing them entirely."

"I have people who can look discretely." Lucius said.

"I would give them until tomorrow." Severus said slowly. "I don't want the trail to be too cold, but Petunia had set up their escape - if they stick to the plan she had all may be well."

Lucius nodded and flooed back to Malfoy Manor, leaving Severus to fret alone.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Vernon drove insanely fast to a liquor store, panting with anxiety. He ran in a grabbed a large bottle of scotch and went back to his car, mind racing. What happened? Surely he hadn't just shot Petunia? He gulped at the bottle, and fumed. This was the freaks fault, again. He sat in the car and guzzled most of the bottle down. He finally decided to drive home, wherever that was. It was his house dammit, he could go there if he wanted to. He seemed to have trouble remembering where the house was, and somehow ended up on a busy highway, driving a bit faster than he should have. The curve coming up he misjudged and the car smashed through the guardrail, and flipped several times. It was too bad Vernon had forgotten the seatbelt.

Vernon never made it to the hospital alive.