Chapter 23: Escape from the Dursleys

Leila's heart beat nervously as the lights from the bloody flying car drew closer and closer. Her insides told to run, but there was nowhere to go. Knowing that she was safer behind Harry, Leila shimmied to the bottom bunk and continued to watch the lights draw closer from her spot behind her brother. Harry leaned forward and pressed his face against the glass, his breath fogging up their view but that didn't stop the lights from shining through.

"You're fogging up the glass," Leila groaned as she hesitantly reached across her brother's shoulder and wiped the glass with her hand. But seconds later, Harry's breath fogged it up all over again. She groaned again and Harry reached to open the window, but Leila swatted at his hand. "We're not giving them an open invitation to kill us. No thank you."

"We don't even know who they are."

"Because you're the one fogging up the glass."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes at his sister. Sometimes, she was rather insufferable, but she had a fair point. So, he backed up a little to keep the glass from fogging up. Leila grabbed one of his hands and held onto it tightly. The scene unfolding in front of her was like a train wreck-she couldn't help but watch it. Her curiosity as to why a bloody car was flying their way was insatiable.

The turquoise car seemed to slow down as it approached their window. Odd. But the even odder thing was that it seemed as if people were waving from inside the car. "Are they waving at us?" Leila asked Harry.

"Seem to be," Harry then leaned forward, squinting his eyes to see better. "Hang on a minute. That can't be...Ron?"

"Ron?" Leila questioned, squinting her eyes as well. "As in Ron Weasley?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Do we know another Ron?"

"Back in Muggle primary school…"

"Do you really think Ron from primary school would be in a flying car?" Harry asked flatly.

This time Leila rolled her eyes. "No, but you asked if we knew another Ron. You didn't ask if we knew another Ron that would be in a flying car."

Ignoring his sister, Harry quickly pushed the window open allowing the cool summer breeze to fill the room. Leila inhaled deeply. Oh, how she had missed being outside. But now wasn't the time for such thoughts. No, now she needed to figure out why a turquoise car's engine gently purred outside her bedroom window.

Sure enough, it was Ron Weasley in the flying car outside their bedroom. And he wasn't alone. His older twin brother, Fred, and George accompanied him. Fred was in the driver's seat while George sat beside him in the front while poor Ron had been relegated to the back. Leila couldn't help but grin and wave back at Fred and George who were waving at her. The Weasley twins had been very good to her last year. She would never forget their kindness.

Ron furiously rolled his window down, his ginger hair flopping in his face with each crank of the handle. He was practically out of breath by the time he finally had the window rolled down. "Hiya Harry," Ron greeted brightly before adding as somewhat of an afterthought. "And...erm...Leila."

Leila couldn't really say that she minded. After nearly a year of Ron hating her simply because she was a Slytherin, she would take what she could get. "What in the world are you three doing here?" Leila questioned as Fred began to roll his window down.

"Good to see you too, Leila," Fred grinned.

"Well, yes, it is good to see you, but that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course," Ron said as if the answer should be obvious. Leila arched an eyebrow at Ron. Ron then amended his statement, "That is if you want to be rescued of course." His tone had a hint of sarcasm to it, which made Leila roll her eyes. Despite their new beginning as friends, it looked like some things would never change.

Harry elbowed his sister before he asked, "How did you lot know to come?"

"Lucky guess," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders.

George reached back and gave his brother a shove. "Lucky guess, my arse, Ronniekins."

"He was bloody annoying about it, that's what he was," Fred said. "He was almost as annoying as Percy was last summer about making prefect. Wouldn't stop talking about the hundred letters Harry never responded to."

Ron folded his arms across his chest. "It was only twelve," Ron responded rather bitterly.

The Weasley twins rolled their eyes and responded in unison, "Exactly."

"He wouldn't shut up about it," George groaned. "Just kept going on and on. It's all he would talk about."

"Rather annoying, really," Fred added.

Still rather defensive about the attack from his brothers, Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I may have mentioned it once or twice." The Weasley twins rolled their eyes again. Clearly, Ron was understating things.

"However many times doesn't really matter," Leila said, glancing at Ron, offering him a small smile. He gave her a small smile back before she continued. "You still haven't answered my question. How did you know to come here?"

"We came because Dad mentioned that Harry had gotten an official notice from the Ministry about using magic in front of Muggles…" Ron started.

"I didn't do it!" Harry argued. "I…"

Leila covered Harry's hand with her mouth. "It's a long story," Leila said. "Now, while we appreciate your visit, as you can see, the Dursleys have locked us up and the post is out of the question. Will you please send word to Hogwarts for us?"

"No," Ron scoffed, shaking his head.

Leila's eyes widened and her face turned into a sneer. "So much for trying to be friends, Weasley. Excuse me for thinking things had changed between us. I smiled at you, you toerag. I SMILED!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to contact Hogwarts for you because you'll be able to do it for yourself."

"Oh really? And how exactly?" Leila placed her hands on her hips.

"Quit having a go at her. Just tell her already, Ron," Fred groaned.

Ron swatted at Fred's head before he said, "We're breaking you out. And for the record, I smiled back."

Leila blushed. She felt a little sheepish that she immediately assumed the worst of Ron. She was so used to assuming the worst in him, that she never even thought that he'd do something to help her. She would have to work on that. Especially for Harry's sake.

To avoid further embarrassment, Leila went about and began to pack her meager belongings while Harry, Fred, Ron, and George worked out the specifics to the breakout. As Leila pulled the tatty blanket from her bed to make a makeshift rucksack, the boys tied a rope around the bars bolted to the house. Fred revved the engine. Leila froze for a moment, hoping that the Dursleys wouldn't wake. But Harry hissed for her to hurry up. They would never make it out of there if Leila stopped at every noise they made. Harry was right. Leila exhaled and continued to pack her belongings.

Leila spread the blanket on the floor and began to pile her things in the centre of it: the few articles of clothing that belonged to her, some sweets she had managed to hide from Harry, and the photograph album Hagrid had given her last year. All in all, her belongings looked rather pathetic in her pile. But the majority of her belongings were magical items which were locked up in the cupboard under the stairs, her former bedroom.

Harry began to pack his things as Leila tied her blanket rucksack shut using a hair tie that was lying on the floor. Fred called for them to stand back. Leila jumped onto Harry's bed as Fred revved the engine and began to drive away. The bars seemed to easily come unbolted, but that didn't stop the noise from echoing through number four. Both Harry and Leila froze in place and glanced at their bedroom door in silence. They listened to hear is any of the Dursleys awoke from the sound, but the only sound their heard were of Dudley's obnoxious snores.

Leila breathed a sigh of relief as she got up from Harry's bed and walked to the window holding her things in her arms. She watched as Ron dropped the rope that held onto the bars which were dangling from the car. The bars fell a few feet from the ground, so the thud wasn't that loud.

Ron reached out the grab Leila's things, but his brow furrowed. "Is that all you have? I thought girls were supposed to pack more?"

"And you wonder why girls find you annoying," Leila commented.

"They do?" Ron asked.

Leila stared at him pointedly for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes. "If you must know, most of mine and Harry's Hogwarts things-wands, broom, trunks, everything we'd need is locked in our old bedroom."

"The cupboard under the stairs?" Fred asked. Leila nodded her head. Fred responded, "Shouldn't be a problem."

By this point, Harry was at the at the window holding his clothes in his arms. "But we're locked in here and our things are locked in the cupboard." Leila rolled her eyes at her brother's tendency to restate the obvious, but before she could say anything George chimed in.

"Never underestimate the power of...well...I'm not sure exactly what this is," George said holding up an ordinary hairpin, which he bent back and forth. Neither Leila nor Harry seemed very convinced by the object George held in his hand.

"It's an ordinary hairpin, not a wand," Leila stated. "How is that supposed to help us?"

"Of course it's not a wand. The Ministry would be here before we even grabbed your things if we used magic," Fred said. "The Muggle tricks work just as well, probably better in your situation. Unless you'd prefer a Ministry drop in."

Leila and Harry shook their head.

"That's what we thought," George said. "Now, the Muggle way is a bit more time-consuming…"

"So, we need to stop the chit chat and grab their bloody trunks before the Muggles catch on," Fred added.

"Or worse," Ron added solemnly. "Mum."

The Weasley twins blanched but they quickly got over that and crawled through the window of the car and into the Potter twins' prison. One of the twins nearly tripped over Roman, but thankfully he caught himself. She almost scolded her cat, but he didn't really know any better. Instead, she watched as the Weasley twins picked the lock on their door. After a click, the door opened. Fred and George quietly high-fived before Harry warned them that the bottom stair creaked. The Weasley nodded their heads in understanding before they disappeared into the darkened corridor.

Leila tossed her small bundle to Ron, who still sat in the car. He easily caught her light load before he caught Harry's. Leila then reached up on her bed and grabbed Roman who had perched himself there since being tripped over. Roman was not too happy about having his territory invaded by visitors. When he saw Leila's face, he backed himself into a corner. Leila groaned.

"Roman, this is for your own good," she whispered. "Unless you'd rather stay locked away in this room for the rest of your life." That seemed to coax Roman out far enough for Leila to manage to drag him to the edge of the bed so that she could grab him. Holding onto her cat tightly, Leila walked over to the window.

"Ron, catch," Leila said as she began to hoist Roman out the window, but her cat began to squirm and hiss.

"I don't think so," Ron scoffed. "He's going to try to kill me."

"No, he won't," Leila groaned.

Ron didn't look convinced. "Just give him to Harry and you crawl over here so you can grab him."

"You can't seriously tell me that you're scared of a cat."

"Just give him here, Leils," Harry sighed before he reached for Roman and pulled him close. But Roman continued to hiss and squirm in her brother's arms. "Ouch," Harry hissed. "I think he bit me."

Leila gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes in the dark. She then pressed her index finger on Roman's wet nose. "Behave," she told him. Roman immediately seemed to stop squirming. Harry looked at his sister in disbelief as she flipped her hair and crawled onto the desk in front of the window.

She poked her head out the window and looked down at the shrubbery below. It was a good thing that heights weren't one of her irrational fears. Leila then looked at Ron who held his hands out for her to grab. There was a half-smile on his innocent face.

"If you let go, I swear I am going to kill you," Leila threatened.

Ron responded by taking hold of her hands with his sweaty ones On the count of three, he pulled her as Leila pushed off from the desk. Ron fell backward onto the seat and Leila crashed on top of him. From her position on top of Ron, Leila gave him an awkward smile.

"Can you get off now?" Ron groaned.

Leila tried to get off him, but she sat up too quickly. She ended up hitting her head on the ceiling of the car which sent her crashing back onto Ron. As Leila's head collided with Ron's face there was a crunching sound. Ron was about to scream, but Leila quickly covered his mouth her hands, her face scrunched in pain. When Leila removed her hands, Ron groaned and muttered a few obscenities. Leila rubbed at her face when she heard a disgruntled meow from Roman. She looked back to see Harry holding Roman out the window. Her cat looked angry.

"Hurry up!" Harry called.

"Hold on!" Ron and Leila shouted in unison as they tried to situate themselves in the car. After a few accidental kicks, shoves, and bloody hells, Leila managed to make her way to the car window to grab Roman from Harry. She held her cat close and tried to offer him comforting reassurances.

After an excuse me, Fred pushed Harry out of the way so that he could crawl into the car. He crawled through the back window, over Leila and Ron before he ended up in the driver's seat. As he revved the engine, he explained that he needed to swing the car around so that they could get the trunks in the boot of the car. Leila assumed that meant Fred and George had managed to get their things from the cupboard under the stairs.

Fred then did as he said. Although, he didn't offer a warning to either Leila or Ron. So, Ron went crashing into Leila, his head connecting with hers again. Leila groaned. If she had known that getting to a car with Ron Weasley would have been this dangerous, she would have almost preferred that he and his sweaty hands have dropped her in the shrubbery.

George and Harry then began to load their trunks in the boot. After Leila had made sure that her trunk was safely in the boot, she tossed Roman into the front seat and began to crawl over the seat herself, accidentally kicking Ron in the stomach.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Ron hissed, clutching his stomach.

"I'm going up front before you maim me...again," Leila retorted.

"Good, this way your bloody cat won't maim me."

Leila rolled her eyes and Ron gave her a firm shove, which sent her tumbling in the front seat. She crashed into Fred, but his body was like a stone when she landed on him. He was focused on the task at hand.

"Sorry, Fred," Leila apologised sweetly. Fred glanced at Leila. He smiled and shrugged his shoulder.

"Hey, you didn't apologise to me," Ron accused her.

Leila looked over her shoulder. "You were being a prat," she responded. Ron narrowed his eyes at her and Leila rolled her eyes. "But if it will make you feel better, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it."

Ron seemed satisfied with her response. He shrugged his shoulder. Leila rolled her eyes. Was that the Weasley response to an apology? George closed the boot and gave it two pats before Fred turned the car once again.

George crawled in first so that he could help Harry inside. Harry wrapped his hand around George's arm when Roman pressed himself against the driver's side window and began to meow. It was like he knew they were missing something. That's when it hit her. "Harry," Leila called. "Hedwig!"

Harry immediately let go of George and crawled back inside. Of course, the moment Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage, she began to hoot and holler. Leila could hear Harry telling Hedwig to quiet down, but she didn't. Realising it was a battle he wasn't going to win, Harry handed Hedwig's cage over with the poor bird in a full-blown panic. George had just taken hold of Hedwig when the door to the Potter twins' room seemed to fly off its hinges. From inside the car, Leila's eyes widened in horror at the sight of a seething Uncle Vernon.

"Potter!" Uncle Vernon shouted

Leila and Harry's eyes locked on each other, terror striking them both. Instinctively, Leila scooted closer to Fred until she was practically sitting on top of him. She wanted as much space between her and Uncle Vernon as possible in case he tried to reach through the window to grab her out of the car, focusing more on saving her own neck than Harry's.

Harry tried to jump into the car, but Uncle Vernon had moved surprisingly fast and caught his leg, midair while Ron and George each held onto one of his arms. It appeared they were in a game of tug-o-war using Harry as the rope. The anxiety of the situation made Leila's heart beat faster. She couldn't take it anymore. Leila covered her eyes.

"You and your blood pigeon aren't going anywhere!" Uncle Vernon shouted. With her hands over her eyes, Roman was no longer in her arms. Roman pounced onto Harry and crawled down his back and swiped at Uncle Vernon's hand. Uncle Vernon screamed and released Harry's leg for a second. Roman jumped back inside the car, but Uncle Vernon somehow managed to grab hold of Harry again. "Get back here! Both of you!"

"Fred drive!" Ron shouted.

He didn't need to be told twice. Fred shifted the car into drive and pressed his foot on the gas pedal. The car began to lurch forward when it suddenly stalled. It was as if something were holding them back. Leila removed her hands from her face and looked at Fred in horror. She then looked at her brother. His expression easily read that he was worried. "Fred!" Leila squealed.

Fred put his foot on the gas once more, but the car refused to move forward. "Merlin's sagging left…" Fred started, but George and Ron's grunts cut him off.

Ron and George were straining to hold onto Harry, which confused Leila. Harry wasn't that heavy. Leila slowly scooted over to the other side of the seat and looked out the window. She saw Uncle Vernon, with his feet barely touching the window, only he was still holding onto Harry's legs.

"Stop!" Leila told Fred. Fred did as he was told and slammed his foot on the break. She knew she sounded mental, but a plan was slowly forming. It was a good thing she had paid attention in Muggle primary school science class when they discussed forces and motion. If they were to lose the extra weight they needed to make a quick break for it. It needed to be a surprise.

Fred watched Leila, who was holding up three fingers. She counted down without using her voice. Three fingers. Two fingers. One finger. Fred must have understood her plan because he slammed his foot onto the gas. Thankfully, the heavy acceleration was enough to shake Uncle Vernon from Harry. Instead, he fell from the second story window and right into the very shrubbery Leila had been admiring earlier.

But Harry wasn't there. Leila almost began to panic, but thankfully she saw both George and Ron straining. They were still holding onto something. Harry. They kept their grips tight as they slowly pulled him inside the car. It wasn't until Harry was seated in the back with Ron and Hedwig's cage that Leila finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I almost thought we were goners," Leila said, exhaling the breath she had been holding onto.

"For a minute there, so did I," Harry admitted. "But we made it, Leils. We made it." Harry reached toward the front and grabbed his sister's hand. Leila squeezed him back.

Escaping your aunt and uncle's in a flying car? Check that off a list Leila could check that off a list she didn't know she needed. Leila's eyes glanced back once more to number four Privet Drive. She could see the silhouettes of Dudley and Aunt Petunia standing in the window. She could hear Uncle Vernon shouting for them to come back. Unless he wanted to be considered abnormal by the neighbours, Uncle Vernon had better stop shouting before he woke them all.

The very thought of the neighbours thinking something other than normal about the Dursleys made her smile. Her smile widened when it finally sank in that they were free. They were free from the Dursleys. With a sigh of contentment, Leila relaxed and leaned her head back against the seat. She chuckled to herself when Harry shouted out the car window that the Dursleys would see them next summer. In fact, everyone in the car laughed.

When the laughter had subsided, they just sat there for a few moments in silence taking in what they had done. Ron was the first to break the silence, "I know it's a bit belated, but happy birthday, Harry."

"And Leila," Fred added.

"I was getting there," Ron groaned, which made his brothers laugh. "You didn't let me finish."

"Well, don't let us stop you," George continued. He nudged Leila with his elbow and offered her a wink. Leila then turned back and looked at Ron with sad puppy-dog eyes.

"And Leila too," Ron muttered.

"I'm proud of you," Leila retorted. "I know how hard that was for you." Ron rolled his eyes which made Leila start to laugh. Fred and George joined in the laughter...which made Ron groan.

Ron folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "I hate you three, you're the worst trio ever."

"I don't know about that, mate," Harry said with a grin. "I think I'd rather take these three than Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle."

"Here, here!" Leila offered, raising her hand in the air. Those three might be in the same House as her, but one of the was downright the most annoying person she had ever met. The other two did whatever he said.

Ron quickly changed the subject, suggesting that Hedwig fly behind them, especially since she had been cooped-up all summer. Harry was all-too-eager to agree, which made Hedwig very happy. Roman seemed to have settled down because he crawled into her lap and fell asleep.

Leila sighed contentedly. Despite the fact that she was in a flying car heading Merlin knew where this was probably the happiest she had been since she was last at Hogwarts. Living with the Dursleys made life miserable.

As she gently stroked Roman, Leila listened as Ron began his interrogation process of Harry. From the way Ron was going on about things, he apparently had been quite concerned about them...both of them. Leila was surprised to hear mention of her name-especially since the context wasn't negative. Maybe this whole not hating each other thing was going alright so far.

Harry then began to explain to Ron about how the Dursleys had kept them shut inside for most of the summer term, even before the whole house elf incident. He then continued to go into further detail about the bloody house elf in their bedroom which had caused so much chaos-not only with the Dursleys but with the Ministry of Magic. Harry was practically out of breath when he finished explaining things. There was a moment of silence where Fred and George exchanged a glance over Leila's head.

Leila arched an eyebrow as she looked between the two of them. "You two know something, don't you?"

Fred chewed his lip. "It's just that house elves have their own powerful magic."

"Only, they can't just do whatever it pleases," George added. "They need their master's permission."

Harry leaned forward from the back seat and rested his arms on the back of the front seat. "Meaning what exactly?" he asked.

"Meaning that old Dobby was likely sent to stop you as some sort of deranged joke," Fred responded.

George glanced over his shoulder at Harry. "Know anyone at school with a grudge?"

"Yes," Ron and Harry answered simultaneously.

Leila rolled her eyes. She knew where this conversation was headed without needing to be told. Leila mouthed the words Draco Malfoy as Harry said them aloud with evident disgust in the voice.

"He hates me," Harry added.

After another eye roll, Leila turned around to face her brother. Their faces were mere inches apart. "That may be very true, but last time I checked, he doesn't hate me," Leila said.

"Only because you're far too friendly with him for my liking," Harry scoffed, slightly narrowing his eyes at his sister.

"Friendly? You think that's friendly? I've done everything I can do get rid of him. I've yelled at him. I've slapped him. He's like some sort of lost puppy whose latched onto me, I can't help it."

"Sure you can," Ron interjected. "You just need to find him a new owner."

Ron beamed quite proudly at his response which made Leila roll her eyes. She wanted to argue with him on the matter, but if this whole not hating each other thing was to work, she had to choose her battles with him. So, she shook her head and turned to sit properly. A lull overcame them and Leila yawned. George must have seen her yawn because he too released a yawn. But George quickly rolled down his window and stuck his head out it for a rush of fresh air.

Leila closed her eyes and snuggled a bit closer to Fred who looked down at her with an odd expression on his face. He then shook his head and looked back at the sky in front of them. The upside was that traffic was certainly lighter up here.

After a few minutes, George brought the conversation back around. "So, this Draco Malfoy kid. Is he by any chance related to Lucius Malfoy? The nasty guy Dad's always going on about from his work at the Ministry?"

"Dunno," Harry said with a shrug. "Probably has to be. I mean, Malfoy can't be a very common name, right?"

A silence came over the car and Leila could practically feel all eyes on her, because of course as a Slytherin she should be a Malfoy expert. She groaned. "As far as I know, Draco's father does work at the Ministry of Magic, but I've never actually met the man. And the Malfoy name isn't very common, but it is an old pureblood Wizarding name," Leila muttered, still snuggled beside Fred.

Harry arched an eyebrow. "And how is it you know all this?"

Leila rolled her eyes. "In case you've forgotten, I happen to be in the same House as him."

"How could we forget?" Ron muttered.

Leila quickly shot back up and turned around to narrow her eyes at Ron. "As much as I would love to forget everything Malfoy says, I haven't perfected the art of in one ear and out the other like you two." Ron's face went pink and Harry just shook his head, but neither of them voiced a response. Seemingly satisfied with their response, or lack thereof, Leila turned back around and cuddled Roman closer to her. He purred with contentment. Leila then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The next thing Leila knew, she was being poked on the cheek by Fred whose lap her head lay on as she looked upward. He didn't look angry that she had fallen asleep on him. In fact, just the opposite. He looked rather amused.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Fred chuckled.

Leila groaned. "Why? Where are we?"

Fred grinned. "Home. We're home."

"Home," Leila whispered back, a smile slowly spreading across her face. She liked that word. She just hoped that the Weasleys home was everything she hoped a home would be.

Author's Note: I know it's been a while. Sorry about that. Last year was hell for me and Leila's muse just wasn't there. But a lot in my life recently changed for the better. I'm a million times happier, except for the cold I caught yesterday...haha. I hoping to be able to get more of this story written, but give me some time to figure out a new routine with the school I'm teaching at. I will try my hardest not to be gone for over a year again.

I know this chapter wasn't quite as long as usual. I wanted to get something up for y'all, especially after having been made to wait so long. Would you prefer shorter chapters or did you prefer the longer one? Just curious. The shorter ones can obviously be written quicker, but like I said, I'm curious.

Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/followed/favorited this story in the last year. While I probably never said anything, getting those notifications were the bright spots during a miserable year.

Also, if you're on Tumblr and you like reading stories with OCs, you should check out ocappreciation. I'm an admin there and we have a lot of stories you might not know about. Or if you write your own OC stories, we can help promote them there too! :)

Much love,

Cassandra (a.k.a. January Lily)