Chapter 2
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"Aleyne House for Orphans housed many children. Those who lost their parents during the War, those who were abandoned for having magic, and those who were left for not."

Adhara Black assumed she fitted into the first category since her father did in fact die during the War. But she had an inkling that, if she had ended up being a squib, then perhaps her mother wouldn't have left her here. So maybe the second option also suited her.

Of course, the second part of the paragraph didn't refer to squibs. It referred to muggle-borns, specifically those with parents who didn't like it when they started levitating objects at the age of four. It was the third part of the paragraph that was meant for squibs, the only children of Aleyne who didn't attend Hogwarts.

In total, there were only 37 children at Aleyne—there used to be more, but they left when they turned 15 years old—14 of which leave for school every September. Adhara noticed how most of those came back with green-rimmed robes. Four of them were in Ravenclaw, two of them were Gryffindor, two in Hufflepuff, and seven of them were in Slytherin.

Adhara supposed that made sense. Growing up at Aleyne, the children had to learn how to be resourceful and cunning, but it also required them to be brave, intelligent and patient from time to time.

The other magical ones, approximately thirteen of them, were still too young to attend. Adhara was the only one who started last year, and it seemed there was only going to be one new Hogwarts student also this year.

And for some reason, she wouldn't stop following Adhara around that summer.

"She's at the door again," Yaritza informed her from the bunk underneath. Her thick black hair was tied up in a bun, strands sticking to her large forehead because of sweat, but she was far too preoccupied to actually care. Her fingers fumbled around a needle and thread, trying the mend the hole in one of her shirts.

Adhara glanced down from the top bunk and noticed Roisin Han's shadow seeping into their room from under the door.

She huffed out a breath but didn't do anything to solve the matter, instead, she reached for the cash she kept hidden in a hole she made on the inner side of her mattress, along with her father's letters and diary. Her heart always skipped a beat whenever she laid her eyes on the leather book.

"She won't leave until you talk to her."

"You can talk to her yourself if you want."

"That's your business, not mine. And besides, she'll ask about Hogwarts, how am I meant to answer her questions? I don't know anything about the place."

"Tell her the generics. About the Houses or something. I'm sure your parent tried to drill Slytherin pride in you before you came here."

"You would know more."

"I'm going to Harry's. I don't have time to deal with her."

"I still can't believe you managed to convince Matron into letting you go."

Adhara couldn't either. Initially, she had planned to sneak out to his place, but she soon realized that wouldn't work in the long run. Matron would notice her absences if she stayed out often. So, she sucked in a breath and marched up to her office at the end of June.

Not surprisingly, when Adhara mentioned how these outings meant her meals would be cut short, Matron had no more problems with her staying out during the day. She lowered her nose, in all its crooked glory, pulled her mouth into a wicked smile, and her eyes even twinkled. She encouraged her to bring some of the other children with her.

Which Adhara wasn't going to do, but she didn't think it to be a good idea to share that with her.

Adhara climbed down the ladder and walked up to the bedroom window.

"You could just leave from the front door. You have her permission."

"I don't fancy watching Matron smile. It makes her look more evil."

Yaritza stopped her work for a moment to picture Matron's smiling face and shuddered at the thought. "Yes, okay. I can see that." She turned to face her roommate and met with her scowling face. Adhara looked like she was waiting for her to say something, which made Yaritza smirk. She went back to her thread and needle, softly saying: "Ma' assalamah."

Adhara pushed the window up. She perched out of it and responded with a "Ma' assalamah" of her own without even bothering to look back.

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Harry's bedroom was fairly empty. With only a bed and a desk, there was a lot of empty space that he knew would never be filled out. His bed was small, and the metal edges were rusty. His desk was also very bare, with drawers full of nothing and shelves devoid of any books. Only Hedwig's cage sat on top, a now-empty jar beside it. He found it in the recycling, deciding to fill it up with all the lollipops Adhara brought for him, which were now also all gone.

He was hunched out at the edge of his bed with a pillow on his stomach, trying to numb the pain. He reached out one hand towards Hedwig who was perched in her cage, next to the bars on his window.

It's been three days since Dobby showed with bizarre warnings, three days since the notice from the ministry arrived and three days since he was allowed to leave his room. His stomach churned from the thought of spending the rest of summer like this, without any contact with his friends.

The last few weeks were great. Harry almost couldn't believe his luck. Adhara managed to convince—threatened—the Dursleys into letting him outside the house, and the pair spent most days roaming muggle streets and discovering things they weren't allowed to have before. It was a win-win situation, really. Adhara got out of Aleyne, and Harry got out of the Dursleys.

But now that was all over. He didn't have any means to contact Ron or Hermione. Or even Millicent. And his aunt and uncle would most definitely shoo Adhara away if she came back.

But Harry forgot Adhara could be quite convincing when motivated. So he shouldn't have been too surprised when shoutings were heard from downstairs in the afternoon.

Harry pressed his ear against the door to hear better.

"You better leave, girl! We know about your little secret. You can't threaten us with magic anymore! That ministry of yours clearly said you can't until you are of age!"

"Mr. Dursley. You can't possibly believe I actually care about what the ministry says. My uncle was sentenced for murder. You think I care about the law?"

Harry smiled. Leave it to Adhara to tip the situation in her favour without actually lying.

"You will be expelled!"

"That wouldn't take away my magic, now would it? I could still show up here and curse you if I wanted to."

Harry then heard a door slam shut and hurried footsteps up the stairs. For a moment, his blood ran cold. He thought maybe his relatives didn't care for the threats of a twelve-year-old girl and pushed her out. And that is was his uncle's footsteps he heard coming towards his bedroom. Perhaps, holding his belt in his hand.

Harry still hadn't moved from his spot beside the door when Adhara rushed in. She arched a questioning brow at him when she spotted him.

"Were you listening?"

Harry nodded, meekly.

Adhara handed him a burger. "I had a feeling they weren't feeding you properly again. You look thinner than usual."

"So do you."

Adhara didn't bother with a reply. Harry unwrapped the burger and took a large bite, watching her as she made her way towards Hedwig. She released the bird from its cage, knowing the Dursleys wouldn't say anything as long she was here.

She shoved more lollipops into the jar. "You ought to learn how to make a few threats."

"I do know. I just can't when it comes to them."

Adhara hummed in response, making herself comfortable on the bed as Harry joined, sitting cross-legged in front of her. She didn't speak for a while, letting him finish his burger. She watched him crumble up the wrapper and throw it on the floor.

"Your relatives won't let us out today."

"I know."

"I could still visit. They wouldn't be too happy about it, though."

"I know."

"What happened?"

Only out of habit, Harry didn't tell her about Dobby. He was too used to hiding things.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I used a spell."

"I assumed so. But I believed even you wouldn't do something so reckless."

"What else did you expect? I am a Gryffindor, after all."

Adhara frowned.

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The first thing Adhara did when she reached back to Aleyne that night was write a letter to Weasley. And then another to Hermione, asking her to owl the letter addressed to Weasley for her since muggle posts didn't reach The Burrow.

And the next time she visited Number Four, Petunia Dursley shouted at her about injured backs, broken windows and a flying car full of redheads.

Adhara shook her head at the recklessness but smiled nonetheless.

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Harry stared at the empty parchment he had rolled open in front of him. He sat at Ron's desk, debating whether or not he should write a thank you letter to Adhara. She was able to make the summer more bearable for him during the last month. And then Ron informed him how she was the one who contacted the Weasleys about Harry's situation.

Of course, she didn't tell them everything.

Harry tapped the quill on his mouth, still unsure about what to do. A thank you note didn't seem to be enough. But if he were to write one, this was the only chance he had.

He loved the Burrow. Every nook of the house was filled with something; a bookshelf full of picture albums and fairytales, piles of old textbooks and novels in one corner, chests full of clothes or tools and old toys or more books in another. There was an old worn-out chair here, a couch with ink scribbled all over the upholstery over there, a wardrobe at the end of a corridor, and another beside the telly Mr. Weasley tried to fix up. No surface was left bare, unlike the complete emptiness of his own bedroom.

Mrs. Weasley welcomed him with open arms, the twins tried to involve him in most pranks, and Ginny kept wanting to ask him questions. The attention, although greatly appreciated, was starting to make him dizzy. Back at the common room, he could easily slip away whenever he felt overwhelmed. With the amount of Gryffindors, no one would hardly notice his absence, but that was a bit difficult to do here.

He finally managed to get some alone time with the excuse of writing a letter. Ron and his siblings were de-gnome-ing the backyard at their mother's demand, so Harry took that as a chance to slip into Ron's bedroom.

Harry brought the quill to his mouth again, trying to think of the words he could put on the parchment. Whether he should put them there. to begin with.

He leaned back on the chair, resting his head on the back and closed his eyes, quill still hanging between his teeth. The window was left open, letting a cool breeze into the room. Harry felt the hair on his nape rise, but he didn't bother to move. He welcomed the cold: it always made him feel more at peace. Back at Privet Drive, the house was always so hot. His aunt kept the heat on, even in the summer in case her Dudleykins caught a cold—which was stupid since his room was the only one with air conditioning. It drove Harry mad. The only way he could soothe himself was by setting the sole of his feet against the wooden floorboards of his bedroom which managed to somehow stay cooler.

The Burrow was also warm, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't an artificial overbearing one. It was the warmth of a family, the kindness of welcoming arms. It felt real and comforting, similar to what the Gryffindor common room felt. Similar to what the halls at Hogwarts felt.

Harry opened his eyes again, taking a deep breath. He still felt quite frustrated, but he had calmed down a bit. He still didn't know what to do, though. He wanted to help Adhara, just as she had helped him. Even back when they didn't consider each other friends, she had helped him. Before she even knew about the Dursleys.

Harry ran a hand through the mess on his head, tugging at his curls. He was going to help her. He was determined to do so, but he didn't how yet. So in the meantime, a letter would have to do.

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The minute Adhara received her book list from Hogwarts—which she had to retrieve from Matron at her office, much like she did with her acceptance letter—she sent a letter to Hermione, attaching one for Millie since she couldn't receive muggle post either. She asked if any of them wanted to meet up at Diagon Alley to buy their books.

She receives a reply two days later, along with one from Harry assuring her where he was.

It turned out only Millie could join her the next time she was allowed to leave Aleyne.

So that's what they did. Adhara met up with Millie to shop for their supplies as the latter's father went to Knockturn Alley. Adhara peered at the street, curious to know what kind of shops they had, but Millie convinced her against it.

"Wouldn't recommend. Even my father doesn't want me there. Says I'm too young." She took ahold of her forearm and dragged her towards Flourish and Botts instead.

But Adhara's always been bad at following orders.

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