Harry stepped back half a step, he immediately ran into his suitcase and tripped.
He had a kitten in one arm and balancing his self with the other.
But it was useless, he fell to the ground.
He quickly sat up, the black cat jumped to his shoulders, the cat had a strange smile which made him think of Evan.
He shook his head, he must have been mad, how can a cat have Evan's expression. But it really seemed like his smile, but before he could think about it anymore, he saw a large shadow in the distance with dimly lit eyes.
It was as big as a dog, Harry stretched out his wand.
As soon as he lifted his wand a deafening thud sounded and he was blinded by a bright glare.
Harry shouted and jumped back while Evan held on to Harry's shoulder.
It was very timely, a pair of huge wheels and headlights appeared exactly where Harry had just stood.
Evan looked up and saw a three-story bus on it written in golden letters was: The Knight Bus
"Welcome to the Knight bus, this is a bus that assists stranded individuals of the wizarding community through public transportation, just stick out your wand to hail the bus, we take you wherever you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, I will be your conductor for the night!"
Shunpike was either eighteen or nineteen at most, he had a few pimples on his face with large, protruding ears.
"A strange passenger with a black kitten, where do you want to go?"
"There was a big black thing just over there did you see it?" asked Harry but when he looked back, he saw nothing.
"No, what is that on your forehead?" Stan seemed to see the scar on Harry's forehead.
"It's nothing!" said Harry while hiding the scar on his forehead, if the ministry is looking for him, he doesn't want to make it easy.
"Well what's your name?" asked Stan
"Longbottom!" whispered Harry, his gaze shifted to the bus, "So this bus can go anywhere, right?"
"Yes, anywhere you want but you can't go underwater." Stan looked at Harry with suspicion, "Didn't you signal us to stop? You stretched out your wand, didn't you?"
"Yes!" said Harry quickly, "How much does it cost to go to Diagon Alley?"
"Eleven sickles but if you take a pet, it is five more, if you pay three more, you can get chocolate and one more to get a thermos and a toothbrush, you can pick the colour too."
"Wait this isn't my pet!" Harry then remembered the black cat on his shoulder, "A second before you came it jumped on me."
"Ok it is up to you if you want to take it but I will tell you it is a very rare breed."
Harry thought for a moment and then quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out some sickles and gave it to Stan.
Then he and Stan brought his suitcase and Hedwig's cage into the Knight Bus.
"You sleep on this one!" stan introduced Harry to the driver and then led him to the bed where Evan was sitting, Stan took a big chunk of chocolate out of his pocket and handed it over, "Here, I'll get some cat food for your pet."
He searched under a bed and took out a bowl of rice and put it in front of Evan, he then poured a whole pile of cat food in it.
Evan refused to eat the cat food.
If only Sirius Black wasn't outside, Evan would not have tagged along with Harry.
At home there were a lot of things for him to do, he doesn't know what to worry more about.
Evan had no choice but to wait for his mana to recover, he estimates that he will be able to recover his mana by morning.
If he doesn't want to be torn to pieces by Sirius Black, he needs to stay with Harry since the other side won't go near Harry for the moment.
The bus started moving and with a huge bang, Harry fell on to the bed, the Knight bus threw him backward, he pressed Evan down on the bed.
Evan struggled to get out, he saw that Harry wasn't interested in eating the Chocolate so he lightly leapt up and put the chocolate in his mouth. Stan and Harry had an astonished gaze, they were amazed how a cat could skilfully tear a chocolate wrapper off and eat it. As for the cat food, what regular person would eat it?
Evan was exhausted, he chased and got chased by Sirius Black, he consumed too much energy, he quickly swallowed a whole piece of chocolate.
"Your cat is cool, my sister has a cat but it only knows how to scratch up furniture," said Stan as he looked at Evan with interest.
"Yeah!" Seeing the black cat eat chocolate made Harry think it looked more and more like Evan.
Harry laid flat on the bed, he raised the black cat high above his chest and carefully observed it.
Evan waved his paw feebly.
The cat was so eccentric thought Harry.
A violent collision, Harry subconsciously loosened his hand.
Evan ran to the pillow and sat down, he looked out the bus window, the knight bus always hit the sidewalk but it always avoids lamp posts, mailboxes, and trash cans. When cars come at it, it goes back to its original position.
Harry left Evan alone for now.
It's been a bizarre night, a strange bus, a big dog, and a black cat, he doesn't know what to do next.
Then as he rubbed his stomach, he wondered whether the Dursleys had managed to get Marjorie off the ceiling.
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Evan tried to make himself more comfortable, he squinted and saw Stan give Harry a copy of the Daily Prophet. On the front page was a giant photo of Sirius Black.
"He looks scary, doesn't he?" Stan carefully observed the expression on Harry's face, "It's been all over the news recently, Sirius Black was considered the most notorious prisoner in Azkaban"
"He killed people." whispered Harry, "With the killing curse."
"Yes! In front of witnesses, in broad daylight, he caused a great deal of trouble!" Stan came up and lowered his voice and said, "Black is a supporter of you know who, he has a very close relationship with him."
Evan saw Harry act a little nervous.
"All the supporters of you know who have been hunted down and these people know since you know who has vanished, they are finished. He once killed a wizard and twelve muggles in one go. Scary isn't it? Do you know what he did next?" said Stan in an exaggerated whisper.
"What?" asked Harry nervously.
"Laugh!" Stan said, "He just stood there and laughed and when the Aurors arrived, he quietly followed him while laughing all the way.
"Is he crazy?"
"If he wasn't before he had gone to Azkaban, he should be mad now," said Stan. Stan whispered, "You know no one can escape Azkaban but he somehow did and the dementors cannot find him."
Harry nodded uneasily and Stan was also pale he seemed frightened by his own words.
Evan was a little amused if the two of them knew they had just passed Sirius Black they would have fainted.
No one uttered a word.
The Knight Bus kept on going it ran past telephone booths and trees while Harry laid on his bed, he was restless and miserable.
Evan stretched out his paw and rubbed Harry's head, Harry seemed to want to hug him so he hurried aside.
The sky outside the window was brighter than before and Evan soon saw a ragged little bar coming up, The Knight bus skidded and stopped.
Evan jumped on Harry's shoulder and they exited the bus, Stan put Harry's suitcase and Hedwig's cage on the sidewalk, the Knight bus soon drove off.
"Well, let's go into the Leaky C…." Harry suddenly stopped, he looked at a man in amazement.
"You're here, Harry!" Said a figure coming out of the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron, it was the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.
Harry was nervous, he dragged his suitcase while being brought into the bar by Fudge, a bald toothless man stood at the bar next to a lantern.
This is Tom, he is the Leaky Cauldron's landlord.
"You found him, Minster!" Tom stopped and saluted, "What would you like to drink, beer or brandy?"
"A cup of tea." Fudge looked haggard, he pointed at a chair beside the fireplace and said, "Sit down, Harry."
Harry sat down, Evan could feel Harry's body tremble slightly, he seemed very nervous.
Fudge took off his green striped robe and threw it aside, he then pulled up his dark green trousers and sat down opposite of Harry.
"We met three months ago Harry. I am Cornelius Fudge the Minister of magic," said Fudge quickly, he glanced at the black cat that was lying on Harry's shoulder.
Harry nodded stiffly; he couldn't believe he had been caught by the Minister of Magic himself. Three months ago, the other side had given him, Evan, Hermione, and Ron an award but now he will expel him.
Before he said anything else the landlord Tom appeared again with a tray of tea and pastries.
He put the tray on the table between Fudge and Harry, he then left the two alone.
"Well, Harry!" said Fudge as he poured the tea, "I sure you know you left us worried about you when you ran away from your aunt and uncle's home. But fortunately, you didn't have any mishaps."
Fudge put butter on his pastries and pushed the plate toward Harry.
"Eat, Harry, you look pale. You will be glad we resolved the situation a few hours ago, a few ministry employees were sent to Privet Drive, Marge was fixed and her memories wiped, don't worry it doesn't hurt.
Evan jumped on the table and grabbed a pastry.
He saw Fudge smile at Harry, like an uncle looking at his beloved nephew. Harry didn't believe his ears; he opened his mouth to speak but he didn't know what to say so he shut it once more.
"Ah, are you worried about your aunt and uncle's reaction? Well, I won't deny they are extremely angry, Harry but as long as you stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter, they will take you back next summer."
"I always stay at Hogwarts during the Holidays. I don't want to go back to Privet Drive," said Harry.
"Take your time and calm down a little, I am sure you will change your mind. They are family after all and I'm sure you love each other deeply," said Fudge with a tone full of fear.
Harry didn't want to change Fudge's view; he was still waiting to hear if he will be expelled or not.
"Now the only question left is where are you going to stay for the remainder of your holiday?"
"I thought, I might go to my classmates Evan's house, he invited me to go there several times," said Harry, unsure.
"Are you talking about Evan Masson, he is a really good child, he helped us by writing the article about the chamber of secrets. He helped improve people's faith in the Ministry of Magic," said Fudge as he buttered another pastry.
"But I'm afraid he won't be any help since the man…. I suggest you rent a room here in the Leaky Cauldron and stay in it until the end of the summer."