MR AND MRS DURSLEY of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much, but Charlus hadn't asked, nor did he care. The entire purpose of showing up in the muggle neighbourhood was to collect his nephew without fail and get out of there as soon as possible. Arriving a little ways from their destination, Sirius and Charlus gathered themselves and made sure there was no one lingering outside in their gardens before they approached the home.

Charlus led the way and the entire time, he could feel his heart racing in his chest, to the point where it was almost painful. But he didn't stop until he reached the door and seconds later, he was knocking. Beside him, Sirius remained in his animagus form and as soon as he heard people approached the door, he nudged Charlus' hand and slipped around to the back. It was best to keep a surprise up their sleeves in case something went wrong.

As soon as the door opened, Charlus lifted his head up, only to come face to face with Petunia Dursley. He had only seen Petunia once and that was back when he was a boy, heading towards the Hogwarts Express. Lily was being dropped off by her family, just when the Potters had arrived at the station. While James was practically left drooling, Charlus noticed the blonde sitting in the back of the car, refusing to get out, even if it was to say goodbye to her younger sister.

Later on, after Lily and James started dating and he discovered more about Lily's homelife, Charlus learned that Petunia and Lily had a severe falling out over the idea of Lily being a witch. Initially, she didn't hold her prejudices over magic, but over time, she came to resent all the praise and attention Lily received for being the witch in the family. At first, Charlus could pity her, but as Petunia continued to hold a grudge into their adult years, he became less sympathetic.

Petunia had to understand that Lily had no control over becoming a witch, muggle-borns randomly popped up in families, and it was rare to have sibling muggle-borns. Lily did not take to rubbing it in her sister's face and even if their parents praised and marvelled over the idea of magic, it was to be expected. But their parents were somewhat the ones to blame if Petunia felt overshadowed, not Lily. And to think she could hold onto a grudge for so long that would carry over to Lily's innocent child, disgusted Charlus even further.

Her eyes fell on him and as if she had seen a ghost, her face dropped and her eyes widened. She nearly stumbled back as her hand clutched the front of her blouse in shock. Shaking her head as if it would get rid of Charlus, she continued to back away, giving Charlus the opportunity to enter the home.

"No, it can't be!" she cried out. "You're dead! You're supposed to be dead."

"Save your dramatics, Petunia," Charlus answered as he glanced around the home, " I'm not James, I'm his brother, Charlus. We never properly met, but I can't say that's my fault. Where is Harry?"

Charlus was not looking to make small talk with Petunia or any of the Dursleys, but it seemed it wasn't going to be so easy when Vernon approached them. His facial expression was very similar to the one Petunia wore when she first answered the door. Except, he was turning the colour purple as he stammered out something to say.

"What are you doing here?! What...what's going on?"

"Where is Harry?" Charlus repeated. "I'd like to see him and see that he's alright."

As he took another step into the home, Vernon decided to charge at Charlus, ready to kick him out of his home, until Charlus removed his wand. Suddenly, the walrus of a man, came to a complete stop and then proceeded to back away. He grabbed his wife by her shoulders and urged her to move back. It appeared as though all the commotion attracted the attention of their son, Dudley, who was about to make his way down the stairs until Petunia screamed for him to go back to his room and close his door.

Fear crossed over the little boy's face before he hurried off, but still, there was no sign of Harry.

"We-w-we didn't get a letter saying that you were coming," Petunia said to him, "no one mentioned your visit. What do you want?"

"Apparently, I'm not the only one in this room who is deaf," Charlus countered, " I already said I want to see Harry and see that he is alright. Where is he?"

Vernon and Petunia exchanged looks with one another before Petunia swallowed and attempted to compose herself. It seemed they were going to take advantage of the fact that Charlus couldn't hear.

"He's not here," Petunia said, "he's out. You'll have to come back some other time."

It seemed the Dursleys also believed that Charlus was stupid. "What business does a seven-year-old have that he's out right now?" he questioned. "And where would he be without one of you in his company? I'm growing rather impatient, so I'll ask one more time, where is he? HARRY?!"

Harry Potter listened to the voice that called out his name, requesting to see him. For the first few minutes, he neglected to say anything, fearful that his aunt and uncle would retaliate. But as the voice continued to call out to him, he was becoming eager to see the man's face. It had to be the same person who had written the letter to him. That means they were there to rescue him. He could feel a jolt of excitement course through his little body before he starting knocking against the cupboard's door.

It was currently locked since Harry had been caught sneaking food in the middle of the night, he wouldn't be allowed out until Uncle Vernon believed that he had learned his lessons and some manners. But if someone was there to save him, he didn't dare to remain quiet any longer.

"I'm in here!" he cried out. "Help me! I'm in here!"

He continued to knock against the cupboard door and when he paused to see if anyone was coming towards him, he heard the man demand to know where he was being hidden. Harry didn't understand why his uncle couldn't hear him. Maybe he wasn't being loud enough, so he started yelling even louder.

"Please! I'm in here! I'm in here! Help me! He-"

Harry stopped as soon as he heard the lock on the door move and the door swung open, revealing a man waiting outside. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia screamed as soon as they noticed the man in their home and when Harry looked over, he saw that there was already another man standing before him.

And while he was thankful towards the man that had freed him from the cupboard, Harry's eyes fixated on the man across the way. Perhaps it was because the man looked so much like him, that he couldn't help but feel a gravitational pull to start walking towards him.

Sirius had been waiting around back when he had heard the sounds of Harry yelling for someone to help him. Unfortunately, Charlus couldn't hear him, leaving Sirius to sneak inside and make his way to where the commotion was taking place. And as soon as he let Harry out, it was like looking at a miniature version of James again. There was such a strong resemblance among the Potters and even if James and Charlus looked very much alike, there was something about Harry that said James all over it.

He watched as Harry looked around the room until he spotted Charlus across the way and ignoring his cowering aunt and uncle, he started walking towards him. Charlus slowly lowered himself to Harry's eye level so that when Harry finally reached him, they were face to face. They stood before each other for a few moments, completely quiet as they observed one another.

Finally, Charlus reached out a hand and touched one of Harry's dark locks before smiling directly at him.

"Hello, Harry. It's nice to see you again. It's been too long."

"You know who I am," Harry grinned, " you've met me before?"

"Oh yes," Charlus nodded his head, " I was there the day you were born. I was the third person to hold you. I'm your Uncle Charlus and I've missed you so much."

The last thing anyone expected was for Harry to practically fling himself at his uncle, wrapping his arms around Charlus and holding onto him tightly. And as soon as Charlus realised what was happening, he started to cry, but he seemed incredibly overjoyed. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Harry as well, one of his hands holding the back of Harry's head to hold him close.

"You're here," Charlus said, letting out a sigh of relief through his own happy tears, "you're actually here."

For Charlus, holding Harry wasn't just having his nephew back in his life, it was like having a part of James back as well.

When Charlus pulled away back to look at Harry once more, he could see a frown develop on his nephew's face.

"Why are you crying? Aren't you happy to see me?" Harry asked him.

"Oh, of course, I am!" Charlus sniffed as he used his sleeve to wipe away the tears. "I'm crying because I'm so happy to see you. You've gotten so big since I last saw you and you're still so beautiful."

Harry couldn't remember a time where someone had called him beautiful or someone looking happy to see him. He contemplated if he were dreaming or if all of it was actually real. But even if it was all just a dream, he didn't want it to end there.

"Are you going to take me away from here?" he asked in a low whisper. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Of cour-"

"He can't go anywhere!" Petunia suddenly cried out. " Under no circumstances is he allowed to leave unless...unless Dumbledore permits it. That's what I was told. That's what I had to agree to. He stays here for his own protection."

"Own protection?!" Sirius nearly exploded. "His own protection is being locked up in a cupboard? How long has he been in there? Why was he in there in the first place? You dare to say that you were prot-"

"Sirius!" Charlus called out to him, giving him a look that told him to calm down. Truth be told, he was just as angry as his husband at the moment, but it wouldn't do them any good to lose their temper. Slowly pushing himself up, Charlus placed Harry behind him and kept a protective stance.

"I know what Dumbledore told you about the blood bond," he said, looking directly at Petunia, "and maybe somewhere inside of you, there is still some good left because you did take Harry in. I'm sure you could have refused but you didn't. But you clearly still hold some resentment towards Lily and you're taking it out on an innocent child. He's seven years old, Petunia. And you're locking him in a cupboard. I don't care how long he's been in there, I care that you put him in there in the first place."

"He's unruly-"

"That's no excuse!" Charlus snapped, and Harry swore he saw the lights in the house flicker. "This is how you honour your sister's life, by treating her son this way? What if you and Vernon died tomorrow, is that how you would want your son to be treated? Like he was nothing. You don't care about Harry as you should and it's clear that Dumbledore doesn't either."

Petunia looked away as if she were a scolded child, all the while Vernon shot dirty looks in the direction of both wizards, but didn't dare to speak while they both carried wands.

Charlus turned his back to them and returned his attention to Harry. "So, to answer your question from before, Harry, yes, you're leaving with us. Now go grab your things."