Title: View from the Streets

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: The Dursleys do not keep Harry, so his life is very different and even tougher. Extreme AU

"Was expulsion really necessary?" Dumbledore asked, sucking on a Lemon Drop.

"Yes." McGonagall replied with a flat look.

That look reminded Dumbledore that he was no longer really in charge.

"There were a number of previous incidents." McGonagall continued.

"Children will be children. One or two clashes is to be expected." Dumbledore pointed out.

"Thirty-seven incidents as serious as the one yesterday against Miss Granger since the start of term." McGonagall countered. "If you count minor insults then that number jumps to over a thousand. That is a persistent and malicious pattern. There were also five other victims, though none as persecuted as Miss Granger."

"That seems a bit unbelievable." Dumbledore mused.

"There were witnesses. Mister Weasley was smart enough, or more likely lucky enough, not to be seen by the same witnesses twice, so most of them thought it was an isolated incident or a simple argument." McGonagall clarified. "When I asked him to explain his actions, Mister Weasley proceeded to blame Miss Granger. Apparently, it was not Miss Granger's place to do better than Mister Weasley, but seeing as she was so smart she should have been grateful to do all Mister Weasley's work for him and when she refused, it proved to Mister Weasley that she was a Slytherin spy."

"That is a very disturbing attitude." Dumbledore admitted. "I agree that we can't let that kind of attitude take root. That being said, Mister Potter should be punished in some form for attacking Mister Weasley, no matter how noble his actions were."

McGonagall could not help herself and laughed at Dumbledore's last comment.

"Did I say something amusing?" Dumbledore asked.

"Mister Potter did not do it to be noble." McGonagall replied. "Nobility and self-sacrifice are not in Mister Potter's nature. He sees a threat and he eliminates that threat. He showed a lot of restraint simply hitting Mister Weasley rather than using his blades. Hell, after ten minutes listening to Mister Weasley rant I was sorely tempted to break his jaw myself. And as I said to Mister Weasley, not allowing Mister Potter to permanently eliminate the threat was sufficient punishment."

"Violence is not a solution. It never resolves anything." Dumbledore replied. "I'm sure Mister Weasley could have been shown the error of his ways."

"And that attitude is why You-Know-Who almost won." McGonagall snapped. "In order to be redeemed, people have to want to be redeemed. Some people just need to be locked up or put down as they will never change and threaten the innocent. Mister Potter is very practical. He does not want to kill, but will do whatever it takes to ensure his survival and that of his adopted mother."

Dumbledore frowned at that comment, but McGonagall simply turned and left the now powerless Headmaster to consider things he no longer had any control over.

"Boss, can I have a word?" Rebecca asked, popping her head into Madam Rosmerta's office.

"Come in, Rebecca." Jennifer Rosmerta said. "What can I do for you?"

"I just saw the roster that came out." Rebecca said, taking a seat in front of Jennifer's desk. "Have I done something wrong, because I have no shifts rostered for about a week."

"No, Rebecca, you have not done anything wrong." Jennifer replied. "It's Christmas and New Year break up at Hogwarts, so I gave you the time off to be with Harry."

"I appreciate the thought, but I can't afford the time off." Rebecca replied.

Jennifer simply smiled and retrieved a purse from her desk draw and handed it to Rebecca. Rebecca opened he purse and saw a jumble of about twenty Galleons.

"What's this?" Rebecca asked. "I don't want a loan or anything, I just need my regular shifts."

"It's not a loan." Jennifer replied. "There are no strings or conditions. It is your Christmas Bonus. You have gone well beyond what anyone could expect time and time again. You never complain, never mix up an order. You are well liked by the patrons. You more than earned this."

"Thank you." Rebecca said, genuinely grateful.

No one had ever been as good to Rebecca as Jennifer Rosmerta had been.

"I have a request. Feel free to say no if you don't want to do it." Jennifer said.

Rebecca simply nodded, Jennifer knowing that it was acceptance of the unknown request but acted as if it was acceptance that she could say no.

"I would like to invite you and Harry to have Christmas Dinner at my place." Jennifer continued. "It would just be the three of us, and I will prepare everything so you won't need to bring anything but yourselves."

"I don't know." Rebecca said.

She and Harry had never really celebrated Christmas. On the street, the Holiday Season was always cold and often a bit more of a struggle than the rest of the year to keep themselves warm and fed. Before her life on the street, her family Christmas experience was either chilly silences or screaming fights amongst the adults., which was not an experience that she ever wanted Harry to experience.

"It won't be a big formal event or anything." Jennifer said. "I just figured it would be nice for you and Harry, and it will mean I don't spend another Christmas alone or working here."

"Alright then." Rebecca said. "I just want Harry to have a good experience."

"Then we'll make sure he does." Jennifer said with a smile.

Harry was a light enough sleeper that he awoke when the soft rap at the door occurred at two am. Gently disentangling himself from Padma, Harry padded over to the door and opened it to let Su in. Su had a dressing gown on, which she shed as Harry closed the door behind her, revealing her typical sleeping attire of her underwear.

As soon as Harry climbed back into the bed, Padma's arms sought him out and wrapped around him, even though the Indian girl was still asleep. Su followed Harry into the bed and snuggled her back against his chest.

"You have another nightmare?" Harry asked softly.

"Actually, no." Su admitted. "I just couldn't sleep. I think I'm going to miss you both over the Christmas break."

They lay there silently for a few moments.

"How is the study group going?" Harry asked.

"Not too bad." Su admitted. "It took a few weeks for us to reign in Granger's over enthusiastic tendencies. It helped when we got a few more members. We got a good mix of the Houses now."

The study group had given Su and Padma a chance to interact socially with others without the tension that often sprung up when Harry was involved. For some reason people got tense around him as they knew he always carried knives and could probably beat them to a pulp if he wanted.

During the week however, it was always Harry, Padma and Su. The three were considered almost inseparable in every class except Potions. In Potions, where the benches were divided into pairs, Harry was paired with Su while Padma was paired with their fellow Ravenclaw Lisa Turpin.

As they drifted off to sleep, Harry absently ran his hand up and down Su's stomach, causing Su to unconsciously purr in enjoyment.

TBC…