Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

Harry Slithers-in: Goblet of Fire: Chapter 1: Home with the Dursleys

Harry's return to Privet Drive had been its usual, uneventful self. The Dursleys still treated him badly but they knew they couldn't do anything to stop him communicating with other witches and wizards because, if they did, Mrs. Davis or Mrs. Malfoy would visit them. None of the Dursleys ever wanted to see either woman again, especially Mrs. Malfoy whose presence invariably resulted in them fearing for their lives.

They had, however, come up with a new form of revenge that they had sprung on Harry on his first day back. Dudley had returned from Smelting's with a note from the school nurse insisting he go on a diet. After many complaints and tantrums from Dudley the new regime was in place – for all of them, including Harry. This had come as a shock to him, he was already underfed but now he was getting even less than before and he knew his health would suffer if he didn't do something.

A quick mirror call to Sirius had given him the opportunity to start putting right this situation. The second day of the holidays had seen an owl arrive carrying a loaf of bread and some butter. A second owl had arrived soon after carrying a pack of sliced ham and a supply of muesli bars and sweets and, the following day, another owl had arrived carrying a large box of biscuits. Sirius said he would a arriving on the 7th of July to review the situation, something Harry had already decided not to mention to the Dursleys who still thought Sirius was an escaped murderer.

Sirius hadn't mentioned a time so Harry wasn't disappointed that he didn't arrive until early evening, just as Petunia was placing their evening meal, a limp looking salad, on the table.

"Who the hell would come visiting at this time?" Vernon growled.

"I'll get it," Harry said before anyone else could get up. He hurried to the front door and opened it, letting Sirius into the house.

"Who is it, boy?" Vernon called from the kitchen.

"My godfather," Harry replied. "Come this way, Sirius," he then said in a quieter voice. Harry led Sirius to the kitchen.

When Sirius entered Vernon jumped up with a shout and Petunia shrieked, "You, you're a murderer." Dudley looked shocked at his parents' reactions.

"No I'm not," Sirius replied sounding amused. "Harry obviously didn't tell you I was cleared of all charges at my trial in February."

"It must have slipped my mind," Harry said, trying to hide his amusement.

"Go to your room," Vernon bellowed then, after looking at Sirius, he added "after you've eaten."

"May I take it with me?" Harry asked. "That way Sirius won't have to join us."

"Good idea. Go," Vernon replied. Petunia and Dudley seemed too shocked to speak.

Harry took his dinner to his room. While he was eating he talked to Sirius about different things. A short time into the conversation Sirius said, "I don't think I will be able to get my old job back. Being in Azkaban for 12 years has changed me and I no longer have the temperament to be an Auror. I will stay in the job until after the Quidditch World Cup but then I'll be unemployed."

"What do you think you will do?" Harry asked.

"I received a significant pay-out for wrongful imprisonment so I have no shortage of money. I think I'll just sit back and enjoy my freedom; for a while at least."

"Have you thought about investing your money in some project? Maybe you could become a financier for some new project."

"There isn't much room for that sort of thing in the wizarding world," Sirius replied. "I suppose I could try looking for investments in the muggle world. I'm not familiar with it, though."

"How did you create those magic mirrors?"

"Your father and I decided we needed some way to keep in touch whenever we had separate detentions," Sirius said with a laugh that sounded like a bark. "It took us a while but eventually we sorted it out. Why do you ask?"

"The muggles have something called a mobile phone. It is a new piece of technology which I think is going to become very popular in the future and these magic mirrors look like something similar. I was wondering if it was possible to modify them so you could talk to different people by saying a different name. The muggles use numbers for that so it might be possible," Harry explained.

Sirius thought about it while Harry finished eating. Eventually he said, "It might be worth looking into. I'll talk to Remus when I get back. Maybe he can help me with the development."

"Is that Professor Lupin?" Harry asked.

"Yes. He's staying with me at my house in London at the moment. He doesn't have a job any more so he has no income and I enjoy having some human company – most of the time."

The rest of the evening had been spent talking about different matters. Sirius had promised to send an owl every second day with supplements for Harry's diet which he now saw was quite sparse and had promised to visit again on the 13th with subsequent visits on the 19th; 25th and on Harry's birthday, the 31st when he would collect Harry for his promised birthday party. Before leaving Sirius told the Dursleys the days he would be visiting and about the plan to remove Harry on his birthday and reminded them not to mistreat Harry in the meantime.

Sirius' food parcels continued to arrive as scheduled. Harry appreciated them but the Dursleys soon noticed he was getting a lot of owls. He made very sure not to let the Dursley's know what they were carrying, however, simply passing them off as regular correspondence. Occasionally he received owls from other people, notably Tracey, and it was these owls that he allowed the Dursley's to check.

Sirius turned up as scheduled on the 13th, bringing with him a note from Remus enquiring about Harry's "mobile phone" idea. Remus couldn't come in person because the full moon was only a few days away. Dudley already owned a mobile phone and Harry was able to show Sirius how bulky they were compared to the mirrors. Dudley didn't let Harry or Sirius touch it and neither of them pushed the issue but it did allow Sirius to see it.

"Our mirrors are already smaller than that," Sirius said after seeing it.

"Do you think it would be possible to adapt them so they could be connected to several different mirrors, just like Dudley's phone can be used to call many different numbers?" Harry asked.

"It is possible. The only question is how complex is it going to be."

"Wouldn't it be basically similar to the Floo network, though? And the same group that controls the Floo network could be put in charge of the mirror network. That is what muggles do with their telephones and mobile phones."

"That makes sense," Sirius replied. "I'll talk to my contacts at the Ministry and see what they think."

"I would prefer that as few people as necessary know about the idea at the moment," Harry cautioned. "Just in case somebody tries to steal the idea."

Sirius thought for a moment before saying, "Alright. I will only tell a couple of people; those you can actually help with the development. Arthur Weasley has an interest in muggle things and I'll talk to Madam Bones since she is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If anyone does try to steal the idea she will be a valuable ally."

"That should solve any problems," Harry replied. "I'll leave it in your hands, then."

Sirius reminded Vernon and Petunia he would back in a few days but added that he was happy with how Harry was being treated at the moment. After thanking Dudley for letting see the mobile phone (Dudley was surprised Sirius had spoken to him in such a friendly, polite manner) Sirius said good bye and disapparated leaving Harry to continue with what he had been doing.

The next two occasions Sirius visited Harry followed the now established routine. Harry was still receiving owls from several friends including one old, tired looking owl that almost passed out when it had delivered its letter. Harry didn't recognise the owl but, after reading the letter, realised it had been sent by Arthur Weasley. Harry used Hedwig to carry his reply explaining he would allow the Weasley's owl to return after it had recovered.

Mr. Weasley's letter said he was fascinated with the idea and would like to talk about it in person. He said he expected to be able to get tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final and ask if Harry would like to join him as his guest. Harry's reply thanked him but said Sirius had already received enough tickets for Harry and a few friends to attend anyway.

Harry's birthday saw him get out of bed at the usual time and make his way down to the kitchen. He was not surprised to find nobody had bothered to prepare anything for breakfast so he set about doing it himself. When he finished and the Dursleys had all arrived at the table he told them Sirius would arriving at 11am before heading back to his room leaving Petunia to do the dishes. Back in his room he carefully checked everything was safely in his trunk and ate the last of the food Sirius had sent him before tidying up.

At 11 o'clock Harry heard a motorcycle pull up out the front of the Dursley's house and, looking out the window, he saw Sirius step off an enormous motorcycle with a sidecar attached. He ran down the stairs and opened the door as soon as Sirius knocked. "Morning Sirius. Is that your motorbike?"

"Happy birthday, Harry, and yes it's mine. Hagrid has been looking after it for me ever since…well, he has had it for nearly 13 years," Sirius finished. Harry realised what he meant.

"Whose piece of junk is that?" Vernon demanded a moment later. When he reached the hall and saw Sirius he paled slightly before disappearing back into the kitchen. Harry and Sirius both laughed.

"My trunk is upstairs," Harry said as he invited Sirius into the house. They climbed the stairs and entered Harry's room where they picked up the trunk and carried it out the front door before placing it in the sidecar. Sirius returned to the room to pick up Hedwig's cage and Harry's broom while Harry went to say goodbye to the Dursleys, getting only grunted replies in return. That done he returned to the motorbike and donned the helmet Sirius gave him before climbing into the sidecar with his trunk and his other belongings.

Despite having to share the sidecar with is trunk Harry still had enough room to sit comfortably and enjoy the trip. Along the way he asked why muggles didn't seem to notice their passage.

"Three things," Sirius replied. "Firstly, a space adjusting relativity charm that allows the vehicle to 'sense' the amount of available space and adjust its own dimensions to fit. Secondly, a disillusionment charm meaning that muggles cannot see the bike and thirdly, a muffling charm that ensures only people who know of the bikes existence or who know the person riding it can hear it coming. The enchantments are essentially the same as those on the Knight Bus but modified for a smaller vehicle."

Harry nodded. "That makes a lot more sense now. I wondered why muggles didn't seem to notice the Knight Bus either. Thanks, Sirius."

After a journey less than an hour Sirius pulled into a cul-de-sac in London. Harry had seen the sign at the end which said Grimmauld Place and realised this must be where Sirius lived. A moment later Sirius confirmed this. "Harry, my house is protected by a Fidelius charm and I am the secret keeper. Welcome to no. 12, Grimmauld Place, London."