“I am Cornelius Fudge, Harry. The Minister of Magic.”

Harry already knew this, of course; he had seen Fudge once before, but as he had been wearing his father's Invisibility Cloak at the time, Fudge wasn't to know that.

Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table between Fudge and Harry and left the parlor, closing the door behind him.

“Well, Harry,” said Fudge, pouring out tea, “you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think ... but you're safe, and that's what matters.”

Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate toward Harry.

“Eat, Harry, you look dead on your feet. Now then ... You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Majorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental Magical Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that, and no harm done.”

Fudge smiled at Harry over the rim of his teacup, rather like an uncle surveying a favorite nephew. Harry, who couldn't believe his ears, opened his mouth to speak, couldn't think of anything to say, and closed it again.

“Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?” said Fudge. “Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays.”

Harry unstuck his throat.

“I always stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays,” he said, “and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive.”

“Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed down,” said Fudge in a worried tone. “They are your family, after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other – er – very deep down.”

“No we're not!” Harry exclaimed. “They've never been nice to me! I don't think they want me around because I ruin their image of a perfect family by being a wizard! They always try to keep me out of sight! They forced me to live in the cupboard under the stairs until I got my Hogwarts letter before my first year! And they never gave me any presents until I started to go to Hogwarts even though they gave tons of presents to my spoiled rotten cousin!”

Fudge looked very concerned.

“Well... That is shocking to here. Especially after Albus, err.. Professor Dumbledore, said he wished you to go live with your aunt and uncle saying they would raise you like their own son.”

'A person who I look up to and think of as a grandfather wanted me to go live with my aunt and uncle!' Harry thought. 'What was he thinking!'

“It was quite controversial at the Ministry. Especially when he said for the matter of your own safety that you're parents' will shouldn't be read or executed. He wanted you to live with you're mother's blood relatives to keep a blood protection charm your mother placed on you when she died in effect to keep you safe from any of You-Know-Who's followers that were still on the loose looking for revenge on what happened to You-Know-Who. The Ministry cannot turn a blind eye to your aunt and uncle mistreating you, blood protection or not. I need to act. They are people in the Ministry who can think of some way to keep you safe if you live with some other people. I'm going to order a reading of you're parents' will. In the mean time, given the current state of things with Sirius Black on the loose, I suggest you stay here at the Leaky Cauldron and not to wonder around muggle London. Just keep to Diagon Alley and you'll be safe.”

“What about my punishment? I broke the law. I did magic outside of school.” Harry asked.

“It was an accident. The Ministry does not send boys to Azkaban for blowing up their relatives.” Fudge replied. “Now, excuse me while I arrange for a room for you to spend the night in.”

Fudge left leaving Harry to wonder if the only reason why he wasn't going to be punished was because he just told the Minister of Magic that his aunt and uncle had treated him awful. Fudge returned and said that room 11 was available and that he'll be getting an owl from the Ministry about he's going to be living with sometime in the morning. Tom helped Harry take his stuff up to the room. Harry spent the rest of the evening sitting on his bed stroking Hedwig, who arrived 5 minutes after he did according to Tom, thinking about the events of the evening and who he will be going to be living with from now on before he decided to go to sleep.

The next morning, Harry woke up and went down to eat breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. When he sat down, he noticed a copy of The Daily Prophet on the table. Harry saw couldn't help but notice the day's top story.

Boy-Who-Lived Abused

by Rita Skeeter

Harry Potter, best known as the Boy-Who-Lived, has been discovered to have had been the victim of child abuse and neglect at the hands of his muggle aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They were sentenced to 20 years in Azkaban Prison after during a trial held by an emergency session of the Wizengamont which Minister Fudge called for yesterday evening. During the trial it was revealed that the Dursleys had forced Harry Potter to live in a tiny cupboard in their house for almost 10 years, treating him like a badly behaved house elf, calling him names such as useless boy and freak. They also confessed to having a strong hatred of witches and wizards proclaiming that all magical folk should be burned at the stake. Who knows what other horrible things the Durleys did to their poor nephew while he was in their care that they choose not to confess to...

Harry couldn't read any more. A newspaper reporting about his home life was the last thing he wanted. Last year people were whispering and saying things about him behind his back when they thought he was the “Heir of Slytherin”. Who knows what they would do now.

Suddenly an owl dropped a letter on Harry's table. Harry looked at the letter and seeing it was for him from the Ministry, he decided to open it and read what it said.

Dear Mr. Potter,

A reading of your parents' will was done last night. Your parent's will is a binding magical contract meaning that all parties mentioned in the will have to obey it after its reading unless they want to have horrible things happen to them. According to your parents' will, they wished you to go live with your mother's second cousin Severus Snape. He will pick you up from the Leaky Cauldron 10:00 this morning.

Yours sincerely,
Mortus Deadums
Office of Magical Inheritance
Ministry of Magic