HARRY REMAINED HESITANT under the eyes of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who not only looked fearful of their visitors, but absolutely furious. He suddenly became too afraid to move, not sure of how they would retaliate. His Uncle Charlus had claimed that he was taking Harry out of there and there was nothing to worry about, but in Harry's mind, it was easier said than done. Aunt Petunia already said he wasn't allowed to leave, so what if they stopped him? If they were even angrier with him, Harry was sure he was never going to leave the cupboard.

A firm grip fell on his shoulder, bringing Harry to look up to where Charlus was watching the Dursleys intently.

"Don't worry about them, Harry," he said, " just take me to your room and I'll help you pack."

In his hand, and in the hand of the one that was addressed as Sirius, Harry could see that both men were carrying sticks. Curiously, Harry wondered if they planned on hitting the Dursleys with said sticks if they decided to get in the way. The image was enough to make Harry smile as he started walking towards the cupboard under the stairs. His uncle wanted him to pack his things, but truth be told, there really wasn't much for Harry to pack.

He could certainly do without the broken toys that had been passed down to him from Dudley after his cousin was done playing with them. And besides his clothes, Harry didn't have much else to his name. Opening the door, he hurried in and started to grab his clothes that were folded onto a small shelf. Behind him, Charlus stood in the small doorway and peered in.

At first, Charlus believed the cupboard was being used as a punishment room, he would have never imagined that it was actually Harry's room.

Suddenly, it wasn't just anger that washed over him, but sadness as he allowed his mind to make matters worse. How long had Harry been living inside of the cupboard? At what age did they think he could fend for himself, being locked away in such a small space? How could they think that something so terrible was appropriate for a child?

Dust littered the shelves, along with spiders in every corner. It was a small and cramped place that Charlus didn't even feel he should step into comfortably. And even though Harry didn't appear to have a lot of room, to begin with, Charlus could clearly see that the Dursleys were still using up some of the space as storage. It was in the limited space that Charlus got to see just how bad the conditions were for himself.

Not to mention, when Harry was a baby up until the last time Charlus had seen him, he had been slightly chubby with full cheeks and a little belly that Charlus often liked to poke to make Harry laugh. But the Harry that stood before him was quite thin, and even though most of the Potter men had been on the thinner side, paired with knobby knees, Harry 's current state made Charlus wonder when was the last time he had received a good meal?

The clothes Harry wore didn't help him either. Clearly two or three sizes too big, his shirts hung off his body and every so often, Harry would have to stop what he was doing so he could pull up his trousers that continued to fall. Feeling his hand tighten around his wand to the point where he felt he would snap it in half, Charlus turned around to face the Dursleys once more.

"How do you two live with yourselves treating him like this? I don't understand," Charlus said quietly, " he's a child. Only seven years old."

"He's not just a child!" Vernon called back to him. "You know what he is! He's one of you, that's not just a child."

Charlus turned his attention to Petunia, not interested in anything Vernon had to say. "Petunia, when did Lily ever hurt you with magic? When did she ever attack you? Never. And you know that's the answer. You allowed you petty jealousy get int he way of your relationship with your sister and now you and your husband take it out on her son. Why did you even bother agreeing to take Harry into your home in the first place?"

"We didn't have much of an option, did we?" Petunia huffed, folding her arms and directing her gaze off to the side. "He just showed up one night. He and a letter showed up on our doorstep. That's how I found out everything, through a letter. Lily was dead...your brother was dead...and a letter telling me to take in their son for his own protection. Of course, we took him in, we didn't know what would happen if we didn't! And since then, no one has bothered to show up to help."

Sirius looked ready to throttle the Dursleys for their poor excuses but Charlus gave him a warning look to remain as calm as possible. They didn't need a huge scene created that would attract unwanted attention.

"How were we supposed to raise a child we weren't able to control?" Petunia continued. "What are we supposed to do when he turns his teacher's hair blue because he's frustrated in class or  sets off all the car alarms in the neighbourhood? Tell us how we were supposed to manage a child that has magic!? You can't discipline him as you would a regular child-"

"So locking him in a cupboard is your idea of a solution?"

The more she went on, the more hysterical Petunia was becoming. "What else were we supposed to do? How are we supposed to protect ourselves? He's dangerous. Magic is dangerous! Look what happened to my sister and your brother. What killed them? Magic!"

Charlus was about to respond when he felt Harry brush against his arm. He looked down to see Harry looking awfully confused.

"But you two said my parents died in a car crash?"

No, James and Lily Potter were not killed in a car crash, Charlus thought to himself, but he didn't have the heart to tell his nephew that his parents were murdered either. It didn't seem like a very appropriate thing to tell a seven-year-old. But he couldn't take any more of the Dursleys had to say trying to defend themselves. In a lot of ways, Charlus blamed Dumbledore for allowing such a setup because the Dursleys did have a point.

They were completely overwhelmed with fear over the idea of magic. And by what Petunia had said, Harry was showing signs of accidental magic, something that had been quite prominent since Harry had been born. How were two muggles supposed to assist Harry or care for him in those scenarios? Charlus was sure that Harry's accidental magic was more than likely brought on even more because of his stressed state living under the Dursleys' roof.

So, it became a vicious cycle.

Harry would have an incident of accidental magic, the Dursleys would retaliate in fear, and Harry would exhibit more magic. Knowing Petunia's and Vernon's distaste for magic, Charlus could not wrap his head around Dumbledore thinking it would be a good idea to leave Harry there with no assistance in his upbringing. Yes, there were muggle-born children that experienced similar experiences, but Dumbledore wanted to put on the air that he actually cared about Harry's well-being when it certainly didn't look like it.

And Charlus was nearly one hundred percent certain that Harry wasn't even that he was a wizard because the Dursleys wanted to suppress the idea of magic as much as they possibly could.

Looking down at Harry, Charlus knew they would have plenty to discuss but that could wait until they were out of Privet Drive.

"Sirius, take Harry outside," Charlus told him, "I'll be right there."

It was Sirius' turn to appear hesitant to leave Charlus alone. Even though his husband had kept such a calm demeanour with the exception of looking upset here and there, he knew Charlus was raging internally. The way the lights had been flickering constantly inside the home whenever Charlus nearly lost it.

"Charlus-"

"Go. I'll just be a minute."

Not willing to argue, Sirius used his wand to summon Harry's belongings and while Vernon and Petunia cowered in fear, Harry's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped open.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Once Sirius and Harry were outside, Charlus turned the Dursleys once more. Perhaps they thought that he had sent Harry out so that he didn't have to witness an upcoming crime scene, but Charlus had no plans to hurt the couple. As angry as he was and how deserving they were of it, Charlus wasn't going to hurt them.

"Magical children aren't dangerous," Charlus told them once they were alone, " they need to be nurtured. Sure, some accidental magic will show itself here and there, but it's usually harmless. However, if a child is neglected or provoked, it only gets worse. So you two brought this upon yourselves in many ways. Harry lost his parents and you two decided to put him down further. I don't know how you live with yourselves or how you sleep at night. Honestly, I don't care either. I'm taking Harry now, and I'm going to do what you failed to do. I'm going to protect him."

"The letter said-"

"I don't care what Dumbledore's letter said," he said. "And apparently, you didn't care about it much either. You took Harry in, but that was about it. You two should be happy, you're relieved of your duties, even though you failed to do them. You won't see him again and he'll grow up happy and healthy as he should. But before I go, there is something I need you to do for me. You owe it to Harry, and Petunia, you owe it to your sister."

"Wh-what do you want?"

Albus Dumbledore had been sitting in the Headmaster's office when he had received a letter. It was brought to him from Professor McGonagall, who claimed that it appeared urgent. Raising a brow, Dumbledore opened it as McGonagall lingered in the doorway.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Thank you for meeting with me the other day. I understand that we've shared our differences over our views. But one thing is clear, we just wanted the best for Harry. Unfortunately for you, I didn't agree with your plans. And as his biological uncle, I think I have more say than you do. By the time you get this letter, Harry will no longer call Privet Drive his home and you won't be able to find us. I think it's better this way. Harry needs an environment where he will grow and be surrounded by those that care about him, not those who are willing to use them for their own selfish beliefs.

I'm sorry it has come down to this. As I remember as a boy, I looked up to you. But maybe that was because I was shorter than you at the time. Or maybe it was because I was naive, who knows?

I wanted to let you know that you can go to the Dursleys and see for yourself. And another thing, they were more than willing to allow me to take Harry. You can ask them all about it when you get there. If you wish to pursue us, you can try, but it won't be very easy.

Good luck with your future endeavours.

Sincerely,

Charlus Potter.