Figg walked to the door and looked out the peephole for a moment. Then she opened the door to meet a pair of people standing in the fading light of evening—a tall, African man and an older woman with a pointed hat. Both of them donned robes that would have been strange in public if they were normal people.
"Your letter sounded urgent," the man said.
"He's inside," Figg replied. "He told me there was an incident when the family visited the Zoo today—his magic flared up and something went wrong. His uncle took him home and started beating him, but I haven't seen him or any of the others since."
The man's eyes narrowed. "How badly hurt is he?"
"Badly enough that you should probably take him to a healer," she murmured sadly. "It's hard for me to tell, but I get the feeling that this isn't the first time he's been abused, either. They always keep him in there when he's not at school or out with them, so it could be they've been hiding it."
The other woman scowled. "With the wards on that house, we've no way of monitoring his health."
"We'll discuss his…protection after we've assured he's alright," the man said. "For now, our priority is his health and well-being."
"There's something you should know," Figg said, her voice hushed. "He's told me he's been speaking with snakes. They were the ones who convinced him to run here."
All three of them went quiet for a moment. The man eventually broke the silence. "Let's worry about that later. Let's see him first."
Figg nodded and opened the door to let them in.
As soon as they came into the living room, Harry stiffened and shrank into the couch. He clutched the backpack close, giving the serpent inside just enough room to watch the newcomers closely.
"Hello, Harry," the older woman greeted him with a small smile. "We're here to help you."
"Can you get me away from them?" He asked a little fearfully.
"We will," the man approached a little more slowly and knelt to make himself look smaller, and thus appear less threatening. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry. This is a friend of mine, Professor McGonagall."
Kingsley held out his hand. "Let me see your hand, Harry."
Hesitantly, Harry did as he asked. Kingsley's grasp was firm, but gentle as he turned Harry's wrist and checked his pulse. He looked into Harry's eyes and then placed his hand on the boy's forehead, noting how clammy he was and the somewhat glazed look in his eyes. More worrying was the rather erratic flow of magic in his body.
"Mrs. Figg, I think a calming draught would do him some good," Kingsley said quietly, which the woman heard easily and immediately set off to do as she was tasked. He smiled at Harry. "It's going to be alright, Harry. We'll get you to a safe house and make sure you're taken care of there."
Harry blinked slowly. "Why is this happening to me?"
"It's just your magic," Kingsley told him. His deep voice was calming. "There's a lot we'll need to tell you, but for now all you need to know is you'll be safe with us. I promise you that."
Harry nodded after a few seconds. "Can you promise not to hurt the snake I brought with me? She helped me get away."
Kingsley raised an eyebrow. "Can we see her?"
The boy hesitated. "Well…I guess. Just-just don't look into her eyes, or you'll freeze."
He opened the backpack and whispered something in a language Kingsley assumed was Parseltongue if the hissing sounds were any indication. After a moment, a small, emerald snake slithered out and wrapped itself around Harry's arm. The serpent didn't look at the Auror's face to lessen the chances of petrifying him, but she kept herself coiled up- ready to strike if necessary.
Kingsley's hand instinctively shifted to grasp the wand hidden in his sleeve while McGonagall turned deathly pale. He knew for a fact that those snakes were illegal to breed- not to mention deadly. How had Harry managed to get his hands on one, and indeed, one that seemed to obey him?
"Please?" Harry sniffed. "She just wants to protect me."
There was literally no precedent for this, so Kingsley thought about it for several seconds before he made a call. "It should be fine for now."
"Kingsley…"
He shook his head at McGonagall. "He's already in shock—we can't afford stressing him further. The snake stays. We'll just have to watch where our eyes go, right?"
She pursed her lips, but nodded.
"Harry?" He made sure he had the boy's attention before he said anything else. "Your friend can stay with you, alright? Just make sure she understands that we won't hurt her as long as she doesn't hurt us."
"I don't think she can hurt you," Harry frowned. "She said that she can only petrify people right now—whatever that is. I guess how she makes people freeze. She's not old enough to hurt anybody."
"That's alright," Kingsley assured him. "You just concentrate on relaxing for now, Harry. You're safe with us."
The boy hissed something softly to the snake and she slithered back into the bag. A moment later, Mrs. Figg brought more tea over to Harry, mixed with a calming draught. "Here you are, dearie. Drink up and get some rest."
Harry did as she asked and his eyes began to droop as soon as he emptied the cup. McGonagall took his glasses off for him and set them on the table, then helped Harry to lay down on the couch. He whimpered from the stinging in his back, but was just too tired to care. Within a few minutes, he was sound asleep, one hand still clutching his backpack.
McGonagall retreated to the kitchen to speak with Kingsley while Mrs. Figg stayed to keep an eye on Harry. The witch waited patiently as her Auror companion cast a Patronus Charm and sent it off to the Ministry with a message.
"We'll need to interrogate his Aunt and Uncle," Kingsley said after a few moments. "If they've been abusing him, we need to know the extent. His magic feels too unstable for my liking. It's not been suppressed enough to develop an Obscurus, but it's bad enough for me to assume he's undergone severe physical and possibly psychological abuse."
McGonagall frowned deeply. "I knew it was a bad idea, leaving him with those muggles."
"We'll discuss that with Dumbledore," Kingsley sighed. "What I want to know is who taught him to create a Basilisk egg."
"No wizard could have done that," she replied. "The Bond of Blood charm on that house would keep even Dumbledore out unless Harry actively gave him permission to enter. How he's done this doesn't matter right now, does it? The only thing we need to concern ourselves with for the time being is his wellbeing."
"Agreed," murmured the Auror.