HP:[" the Illithid Inquisition"]

"Harry are you alright?" Professor Dumbledore asked as he finished his scans.

"How did you escape from Black?" Minister Fudge demanded to know. "Do you know where the man might be hiding?"

"Who?" Harry asked confusedly before he shook his head and addressed Professor Dumbledore instead. "Yes I'm quite alright. What's going on here? I only left home for a few days. What's all this fuss about?"

"You left your home?" Dumbledore asked quizzically. "On your own?"

"Well yeah." Harry reassured him, thinking quickly to excuse his absence. "My Uncle's sister Aunt Marge is visiting with us and you'll forgive me for saying this but she's a very unpleasant person, see. So when she started bad mouthing my parents a few days ago I decided I just had to get out of the house before I did something to her I might regret. So I've just been hanging out in the woods around the village for a few days, trying to clear my head."

Dumbledore and Fudge stared at Harry quite incredulously. Harry had to admit the story sounded pretty weak even to him but he couldn't think of anything else to say. The first part of that was true enough, he had left home to get away from his Aunt Marge. But the rest? It was rather unbelievable but he had said it so he had to stick with it.

"You spent three nights out in the woods just to cool your head?" Fudge asked in an astounded voice.

"I had too." Harry insisted. "She called my father a useless vagabond and implied my mother was a, well she called her a bitch in not so many words. I couldn't stand it. I was so mad I was worried I might accidentally use magic on her and the last time that happened the ministry warned me I would get expelled if it ever happens again."

"But weren't you cold and hungry?" The Minister pressed.

"I wasn't cold." Harry insisted. "The nights are pretty pleasant these days. And I've gone a few days without eating before so that wasn't a problem. It's not the first time I've run from home for a day or two. I don't see what the big deal is."

Fudge and Dumbledore exchanged looks at that but neither man said much in response at first. Harry didn't know it but Dumbledore had been the first on the scene when he suspected that Harry had vanished from the protective wards about his house and had met his Aunt Marge. So he could well believe she would say such tactless things to drive Harry off, but he hadn't imagined things might be this bad. Both men, more than a bit uncomfortable with what they had heard, silently agreed to change the subject.

"So you never ran into Black? You've been safe in the forest for three days and never heard any of us looking for you?" Minister Fudge pressed.

"Look who is this Black feller you keep talking about?" Harry deflected, he didn't know if the wizards had searched the forest or not and didn't want to be questioned about his movements in it. "I've never heard of him."

"Sirius Black was a supporter of Lord Voldemort back during the war." Professor Dumbledore explained while the wizards around him flinched at the sound of the self professed Dark Lord's name. "He killed thirteen people after your parents death and then was arrested by the ministry and sent to the prison of Azkaban. A few weeks ago he somehow escaped."

"Oh." Harry said as he suddenly remembered something. "I think I have heard of him, he was on the muggle news not too long ago."

"Well he is very dangerous." Minister Fudge said defensively, "I had to warn the muggle Prime Minister about him. Most of the people he killed in that attack were muggles. Black's a crazed killer, as dangerous as they come. We've been looking everywhere for him."

"When I realized you had left your home for more than a day I feared the worst." Dumbledore pressed on. "Many of Voldemort's followeds have plenty of reason to hate you Harry, and I was worried Black had come here to avenge his master. You would've been safe from anything he could have done in your aunt and uncle's home, but if he had caught you out beyond their protection I shudder to think what could've happened."

Harry nodded in acceptance of that, though he did wonder how Dumbledore had known he had left his home. But he didn't press it. He was just glad no one was pressing him on where he had really been during the last few days.

"Well I'm sorry for worrying you all. But I really have been alright." Harry apologized. "I just needed some time to cool my head, that's all. I'll be certain to stay safe at home until it's time to fetch the things I'll need for school."

"I'm not sure about that." Minister Fudge said. "You might have been alright but you could easily have not been. Perhaps it would be best if you spent the rest of your summer holiday somewhere people can easily keep an eye on you. Yes I think that might be best. Tell you what Harry, why don't you come with me to the Leaky Cauldron over in London. I'll get you a room there where you can spend the rest of August. That way you can easily get your school shopping done at Diagon Alley and can stay around a bunch of other wizards and witches where you'll be safe."

"I think that is very wise Minister." Dumbledore agreed. "Why don't you take Harry there directly and I'll head back to his home to fetch his things. I'll also have a chat with the Dursleys to let them know how things stand."

Both older men nodded and Harry shrugged in acceptance. He didn't get what the big deal was about this Sirius Black fellow. Plenty of Voldemort's supporters had escaped from the ministry at the end of the war and as far as Harry knew none of them had really tried to kill him. Luscious Malfoy had come kind of close the previous year when he tried to sneak a cursed diary into the school which had almost killed several people including Harry. But that had been more about disgracing Arthur Weasley by getting his daughter caught with a cursed artifact than anything else. Still this seemed to signal the end of the conversation which Harry was grateful for .