Harry's summer began disastrously, as expected. Confined to the Dursleys, his wizarding possessions were temporarily confiscated. Thanks to Ministry official Yurgen Smirnov checking on him, Harry accessed his homework a week later. Otherwise, he'd have resorted to stealing keys or worse. Like Hermione, Harry chose Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, and Muggle Studies for his third-year electives.
Third-years had to take at least two of these five subjects. Taking all five was rare; passing them, rarer. Prefect Garfield Galfgarion warned Harry against wasting time, but Harry was undeterred. He aimed to surpass Dumbledore, the century's greatest wizard, but more crucially, he needed knowledge for self-defense amid constant chaos.
Ron and Zabini picked Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Farkas added Arithmancy; Azrael chose Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy. Harry devoured mail-ordered textbooks, calling friends when Vernon and Dudley were out and Petunia was distracted. This was his solace.
Then came a trial: Vernon's sister, Marge, visited. A key reason for Harry's disdain for Muggles, she adored Dudley and her bulldog, Ripper, but loathed Harry. When Harry accidentally stepped on Ripper's paw, Marge let the dog chase him up a tree until midnight. Humiliatingly, she believed Harry was at "St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys." Harry endured her taunts, forced to placate her.
Marge was, at best, Harry's worst relative. She insulted Petunia's sister as a failure and Harry's father as a jobless wastrel. (Calm down. She's ignorant. Muggles aren't worth it…) Harry restrained himself, recalling last term's scum who justified killing Muggles. He refused to stoop to their level.
His mother, a Muggle-born witch, was scorned as "dirty blood" in Slytherin. Killing Marge would mean killing dozens of classmates. Above all, Harry had Muggle-born friends like Hermione. Hurting Muggles would betray them—an unforgivable act.
When Marge left, Harry locked himself in his room, venting to his snake, Asclepius. "I know it's wrong, but I hate Muggles. I should've bloated Marge and sent her flying."
"Do it next time. They'll never know," Asclepius replied, softened by two years with Harry, no longer curbing his extremism.
"You're the only one who gets it. Sirius, Hermione—they don't care about my suffering," Harry said, staring at his Hogsmeade permission form. He refused to ask the Dursleys, unwilling to seem manipulative or believe they'd listen. Sirius was his true guardian.
Pushing anger aside, Harry buried himself in Ancient Runes to avoid lashing out. Studying became his stress outlet. He read The Daily Prophet, noting Ron's father won a lottery for an Egypt trip and a small article: an anti-werewolf law was rejected.
Harry's escape from the Dursleys was anticlimactic. Last year, he was locked in a cupboard; this year, Smirnov approved his move to Sirius in Ramsgate after a week. Sirius, a busy Ministry worker regulating dark artifacts, had a colorful romantic life, often in the Prophet. Work delayed his guardianship, but permission finally came.
"Why must we bow to their whims?" Vernon grumbled but relented. Dudley's "good riddance" made Harry smile genuinely.
At the Dursleys, Harry was never family, only a lodger. He didn't mention Ramsgate, knowing they had their own plans and wanted no wizarding ties.
Harry begged Sirius for Hogsmeade permission. "Why me?" Sirius asked.
"I wanted your approval," Harry said hesitantly, unsure if he was a good son or a burden.
"I'm honored you trust me," Sirius said, signing neatly. Harry thanked him quietly.
In Ramsgate, Sirius's fiancée, Marida Zinneman, drove them. "You're a skilled driver," Harry said.
"Muggle work requires Muggle skills. I got my license," Marida said.
"Can't magic fake it?" Harry asked.
"Memory's easy; machines are hard. Wizards learn Muggle ways," she laughed. A recent graduate, she took her license post-Hogwarts.
"Everyone does that?" Harry asked, surprised. Smirnov's Muggle spouse made sense, but Marida, a high-society witch, seemed unlikely.
"Most do, quietly," she said. "We're here, Sirius. Wake up."
"Already? Fast," Sirius mumbled.
"Modern cars," Marida said. Understanding, she embraced Muggle culture and drove better than Vernon. To Muggles, she and Sirius were just a middle-aged man and young woman strolling the beach. Marida worked as a CEO's secretary in a Muggle company, her red hair and athleticism striking.
At the beach, Harry reunited with Hermione, Azrael, Farkas, Luna, and her parents. Luna stood out in a seagull hat. "Hey, long time. Where's Zabini?" Harry asked.
Hermione's face darkened. "You didn't read the Prophet? Zabini can't come."
"What happened? Is he okay!?" Harry panicked.
Farkas answered grimly. "Zabini's fine, but his mother was arrested—for insurance fraud."
Harry's third year began ominously.
Zabini's mother… The wizarding world's full of scum, Death Eater or not! Magic makes it inevitable!
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