Chapter 2: Without any hope of come back
Harry woke up at the sound of his aunt banging loudly at the door…
"You'd better get up boy…"
The problem was that Harry did not want to get up. For one thing, he was far too tired to even move a muscle and for another, he was so depressed that he did not even want to try to move a muscle. Events of the night were slowly surfacing, like a dead fish in the rising tide, ready for the predators to eat. And his despair was the predator, only waiting for the sad thoughts to be thrown on the beach. His despair grew stronger with each minute he laid in bed, darker too… He definitely did not want to get up to please those muggles with a diet breakfast that he did not deserve to follow. All he wanted to do was to stay in bed and rummage through dark thoughts. He did not want to eat, he did not want to see or hear the Dursleys. They would have been too happy to laugh at Harry's distress or at any weakness he would have shown in his current state of mind. His eyes were wandering in the room. Lingering on the trunk with his books, the ink, the quills, the parchments, the assignments for homework for the holidays… He did not want to do that homework… Maybe he would be expelled for that… But again, what's good with being a wizard if you have to hide your entire life, or if your love life is shredded to pieces because some psychopathic wizard has your name on his list and can kill you with two little words?
In the cage suspended near the wall, Hedwig was looking at Harry with some sadness in her eyes. Magical creatures were often seen sharing feelings with their owners. At the present time, Hedwig could sense what was on Harry's mind - as if she understood what was in his thoughts. She let out a little "hoo hoo" as to say: "Don't give up… "
But Harry was not paying attention. He was lost in his dark thoughts: "All my life has been a misery - a huge mistake, a huge comedy, like a silly cream pie fight of monstrous proportions.. My parents were killed because they were trying to protect me. 'Eat this Potter; this is the first one you'll taste in your life… Oooops missed!' I was to stay with relatives who would be thrilled if they knew I was found dead. 'Take another one Harry… Ooooops missed again!' My friends risked their life a hundred thousand times - because of me. Cedric Diggory died because of stupid act of chivalry. Even Sirius died trying to protect me… Yep… A bad cream pie fighting comedy… But I don't get hit… others got creamed - my parents, my friends, my classmates, Cedric… The world would be so much better without Harry Potter. I would no longer be the cause of other sudden death. And I doubt anyone would miss me anyway."
There was only one star left in Harry's darkening sky. This star was carried two names on it: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger - his two best friends. Oh, of course, with him dating Mary during the sixth year, they had slowly but surely drifted apart. For one thing, Ron was dating Lavender Brown, something he dreamed of for years before realising it, for the another thing, all Hermione had seemed only to be thinking getting good grades so that she would be prepared to pass her exams in their seventh year. She had spend the whole year locked up in the library, studying. On his side, he had spent so much time with Mary. Looking back, he was still wondering why. Sure, Mary was great physically and she also had more IQ than a table. But now it was hard to understand what the attraction had been. He didn't seem to know why he let his friends down. And for what? The result today was that this girl dumped him, and he had drifted so far from his friends that he barely dared to write them in search of comfort, pity, or some help.
At this time, he made a decision. To heck with the Minister of Magic and the restriction for the use of magical power in the presence of Muggles thing… He packed all his stuff - all of it… Everything he owned could easily be contained in his Hogwards trunk. He left outside the trunk his wand, his Firebolt, the invisibility cloak, some ink, a quill and two pieces of parchment. On each piece of parchment, he wrote the same message:
Mary broken up with me.
I don't know why.
My life was already worthless; today it is down in the dumps for good.
You have been the best friends I could ever hope for.
Keep a loving memory of me
Good-bye
Harry
He fetched Hedwig out of her cage and tied the letters to her legs. Then, he packed the last thing remaining: Hedwig's cage, the ink, the quill (a gift from Hermione). Then he reduced his trunk with a single spell and a swish and flick of his wand. When the trunk was the size of a matchbox, he picked it up and placed it in his pocket. Then he turned to Hedwig to give her the delivery instructions:
"Go to Ron first. But don't wait for an answer 'cause there won't be one. As soon as you have the message delivered to Ron, fly to Hermione. Stay with her. You always have been a good owl and I'll miss you but you deserve someone who will be more careful with you.. Ron has Pig, I want Hermione to have you. Go now."
Hedwig looked a last time at Harry with a reproachful look that Professor McGonagall would have appreciated, as if to say, "Ok, I'll carry your mail, but after that I do what I want to do." Then she left in the morning breeze.
His suitcase in his pocket, Harry took his broomstick, threw the invisibility cloak on his shoulder and over the Firebolt, and then headed for the window. He heard the stomping footsteps of his Uncle Vernon on the stairs. Knowing the swiftness at which the ministry could detect any act of magic in the muggle world, Harry was sure that his uncle was carrying a letter from the ministry. Suddenly the voice of Uncle Vernon boomed in the staircase: "Harry Potter, you have once again done magic… This won't happen again… Get your lazy carcass out of your room this instant. If you think you're going to spend your holiday doing nothing…." Under the invisibility cloak, Harry was listening to the voice of Vernon Dursley. This was also a part of his life that he wanted to flee… The sooner the better… From that day on, he would be a fugitive. He would never put the life of others in danger. Never. And if, to reach this goal, that meant spending his life under that invisibility cloak of his, well so be it. He quickly gave a push and took off slowly, leaving Uncle Vernon yelling in the empty room of 4 Privet Drive. It was not the way he imagined it would be to leave that family, but even they would be better without him.
Unknown to Harry, more than one pair of eyes where witnessing his departure. It is extremely rare to see a window open seemingly by itself. It was less rare to hear Vernon Dursley yell… Mrs Figg, the old neighbour lady of Harry, was not very long the right in drawing the correct conclusions from what she had heard and seen - rather, not seen… In the hedge of the Dursley family's garden, nobody had seen a thin and passably peeled rat, with a finger missing from one of its paws. He also has been witnessing the whole scene, as he had been there since the evening of the day before. And as usual, nobody seemed to care that this rat left the garden to go in a dark place. There the rat turned itself into a human and the human vanished in the air…