Disclaimer: All characters- you know who they are- belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000.
And I know that it starts out a bit like the first book. But, trust me, it branches WAY out AWAY from the first, second, third, and fourth books. Would I lie to you? Well, read at least to the fifth part and then decide for yourself.
I edited everything to make it better. If you notice any other mistakes, please tell me in the review. And speaking of reviews, please give me some. I love reviews. They're like soul food. Recipe: One review, one Internet connection, one reader, one very happy author...
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"centerChapter One/center
centerPotters' Day/center
Everything was quiet on Privet Drive, and Dudley was quite glad for it. It had been years since he had seen his cousin, Harry, and Dudley was quite glad for that, too. Of course, he'd heard things about him. He always heard people whispering on the corner. Dudley made sure to stay away from those people. Abnormal. Harry, judging from what the people on the streets had been saying, had twins- a boy and a girl- the same day Dudley had his own two beautiful twins- also a boy and a girl. And yes, Dudley was quite glad he hadn't heard from any of them.
As a matter of fact, it had been years since the "M" word had ever reached Dudley's ears. As far as Dudley was concerned, that was a good thing.
However, he had noticed odd, bad things. Especially that one morning.
Dudley had first realized that those insane, abnormal people were at work while he'd been walking down the stairs in his pajamas with his hair not even brushed. He jumped as an owl flew past the window in the front of the house. He kept watching. Yes, there was another. And another. They were watching the house! Spying on himself and his family. His cousin must have done this!
Owls flying around during the day in swarms. Spiders crawling all over the place, just as they had when his son and daughter were born. Not only owls and spiders, but snakes- tons of snakes. All of them were moving around wildly.
His father had told him about owls. He'd never mentioned spiders and snakes, though.
They were all watching them! His cousin was right then planning the perfect time to jump out and get revenge of some sort.
Dudley recognized the signs immediately. The "M" word's work, obviously. As soon as he got home from work, he'd nail everything shut. No taking chances with those people. Why, his cousin had nearly set the backyard on fire once, but Dudley had immediately seen that evil spark in his eyes and had gone to get help, and in doing so had saved the day. No, no taking chances with these people. They were dangerous. Yes, sane, ordinary people like him were all in danger. As a matter of fact, he couldn't wait until he got home from work. Dudley would have to protect his family and his home immediately. This matter had to be dealt with right away. Dudley quickly worked up a story and made his voice shaky and muffled, as if he had a cold. He hadn't done this since he was a child, but desparate times called for desparate measures.
Dudley called his office and said that he was severely ill- they shouldn't expect him at the office today.
As he was saying his good-byes and listening to the get-wells from his coworkers who were already there, his wife Evian came into the room and looked at him suspiciously.
Dudley put his fingers to his lips and tiptoed to the window, wishing that the floor wouldn't creak everywhere he stepped. It hadn't done that with his cousin- his cousin had probably cursed it somehow. He mustn't be seen or heard. Their spies were everywhere, probably waiting to destroy the normal people who weren't like them. Yes, that was it. He could easily see his cousin waiting crouched in the bushes, holding that awful wand, holding it ready to blow him and his family to smithereens. He brushed aside the curtains, dodging the sunlight like an overgrown beached whale would dodge the ocean. He stood against the wall, trying to suck in his large frame to no avail.
His wife, Evian, gasped, seeing an owl fly by and then another.
Dudley let the curtains fall.
"What should we do?" Evian whispered, frantic.
"We must stay calm," Dudley said as if he were very important and stretching himself as tall as he could go. He tried to suck in his stomach, but gave up when he realized the only change was that he was red in the face. "I shall go out into that world and get supplies to protect ourselves. But, Evian, my dearest, have the children ready. We may need to leave in a hurry. We must keep them safe."
Evian pinched his cheeks, making them red and leaving two white finger marks on each cheek. "You're so brave," she said fondly.
"Yes," Dudley agreed, putting on his modest expression. "I must go now. Be brave, Dearest. Be brave."
Dudley dashed out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, which wasn't all that fast if one actually thought about it. He heard Evian's sigh from the kitchen and reminded himself that he was on a mission. He must protect his family at all costs. He backed slowly out of the house, carefully trying not to trip over anything. He locked the door behind him, and, certain that the lock worked, turned and left. He would simply have to hope that nothing would happen to his family while he was gone.
He drove to the hardware store on the corner. Oh, no. They were already standing there, conspiring among themselves, two of them wearing robes and every one of them oblivious to everything around them- at least, that's what they wanted him to think. But Dudley Dursley wasn't dumb enough to fall for that. Whistling innocently, Dudley drove past and parked a block away. His family was more important than his fear. He had to protect them.
Slowly, trying to act casual (and failing), he ambled to the hardware store, still whistling a tuneless tune.
As he walked by the people on the corner, carefully averting his eyes from theirs, he caught snippets of the conversation.
"-Yes, Harry Potter. Escaped again-"
"-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
"-Gone. Can't find him!"
"-children?"
Ah, yes. Harry did have two children. He'd probably tried to kill them himself. Dudley had heard of someone called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He wasn't sure from where, though. Harry must have turned so evil and backwards that even his fellow institution friends couldn't stand to say his name unless he or she was incredibly brave.
Dudley, careful not to make eye contact, bought a hammer, plenty of wood and nails, and walked out of the shop. He went home and nailed up every entrance he could think of. He stuck cotton in all of the drains because he knew that abnormal people like Harry had funny ways of doing ways of doing things. Last but not least, although it was in the middle of summer, he set up a fire in the fireplace. That way, if Harry's kind took after old St. Nick, they'd be discouraged and wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks.
With the house sealed up, Dudley went upstairs. Evian had moved Shelton and Pernella's cradles into their bedroom so they could watch them through the night.
Although everyone in the house was sweating, they eventually fell into a restless, but snore-filled sleep.
center* * */center
In the middle of Privet Drive, the lights suddenly went out. They didn't go out one at a time as they had so many years before, but the pale white lights from the street lamps went out all at once. It was late, and there weren't many lights on in the houses. People, if they had noticed it, probably would have blamed a power outage.
Two figures seemed to appear out of thin air. One was a woman with a large amount of bushy brown hair which she had tied back into a bun although a few strands escaped the bun's tight hold. It could be seen that her teeth, when she smiled, were a bit large, but she wasn't smiling now. The other figure was a tall man with fiery red hair and a heavy sprinkle of freckles all over his face. The two stood before 4 Privet Drive. Once they saw each other, the woman, Hermione Granger, said, "Well, this is the muggle world."
Ronald Weasley glared at her. "I know that. I've been here before. I just didn't think it would be for this."
"I can't believe it happened, though," Hermione said, as if hoping he would tell her nothing bad had happened at all as she cradled one of the babies in the crook of one arm, her wand in the other.
"So? Voldemort's coming back to power. We all saw it coming." Ron's voice was harsh, "I'm just glad Harry didn't get himself killed."
Hermione glared at him. "Do you know how close he was?" she whispered hoarsely. "He was trying to do the same thing his mom did, except with two." She indicated the sleeping babies in her arm and in Ron's arms. "If we hadn't come along..." She let the sentence end there, not wanting to finish it for the fear that it had truly almost happened. She swallowed as Ron looked away.
Ron was silent for a few moments. "But why do we have to leave these two with them? You saw what they did to Harry. Plus, they're muggles. The worst ones, too."
"As far as this law is concerned, Harry is dead. He hasn't been here in years. By law, the children go to the closest relatives in the family."
"Stop making stuff up, Hermione. Harry's just trying to keep Voldemort away from them." He pointed to the scars on both of their foreheads with his wand. "If he can get Voldemort to believe they're dead, maybe he won't come after them." Through the years, Ron had learned to say Voldemort's name without flinching. Hermione had learned also.
"I don't see why they couldn't have stayed at Hogwarts," Hermione said stubbornly. "We would have taken care of them."
"And what would happen the second they step off the grounds or out of our sight?" Ron snapped back. "Face it, this is the right thing to do. I hate to do it, sure, but we couldn't think of anything else. This will keep them safe for a while."
"Do you have the note?"
Ron held up his hand, letting a piece of paper fly loose in the breeze while holding on to one end of it. "I put some threats in this too. If dear Dudley doesn't show this to them when they're old enough, or when they ask about their family, I said bad things would happen. Really bad things."
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. She and Ron both knew she wasn't serious, though. Without telling Ron, Hermione had added a few surprises herself.
"Come on. Harry wouldn't want us to hold it off. We have to get back to Hogwarts and figure out how to deal with Voldemort again. And visit Harry in the infirmary. He's been sapped of all his energy. Madam Pomfrey won't even let him talk. It'll take him weeks to sleep off this one." He tried to grin, but failed miserably. They stood in silence for a while, looking from the babies in their arms to the front step of the Dursleys' front step. Sometimes they'd look down the street, but not once did they look into the other's eyes.
"I can't believe it. All those years, and then he comes back with full power," Hermione finally said.
"And of course he picked up where he left off," Ron said dryly. "Trying to kill Harry. And these two." He indicated the two sleeping one-year-olds with his wand again.
"Doesn't it strike you odd that the same thing happened? Harry, when he was one. Parents died. He got that scar. Had to live with muggles. And then these two. He would have died for them if we hadn't come when we did. They got scars, too. And now, they have to live with muggles." Hermione had gotten used to calling them muggles a long time ago. Ron knew that, although she wouldn't admit it if asked, Hermione called her own parents muggles.
"Of course I think it's weird. But there are two of them. And Harry turned out okay. Even my mom noticed," he joked, not mentioning that compared to Fred and George, all boys were good.
She shook her head, refusing to believe him. "I hope they're okay."
"Me too. Well, I guess we've put it off long enough."
Hermione adjusted the blanket around the baby girl in her arms so Ron couldn't see a tear slide down her cheek. "Yeah."
Ron quietly took the girl from her and carried both the boy and girl to the front step. Hermione followed slowly. As he set them down, he said, "Never forget us. Your dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione. Deal?" One of the babies yawned and turned over. Ron sighed and placed the paper on the boy's blanket and pinned the blanket and the note together.
Behind them, Hermione said good-bye also, and then Ron walked with her back to the sidewalk.
"You know, if this keeps up, instead of Harry Potter Day, I think they should just call it Potters' Day," Ron commented.
"Let's hope it doesn't," Hermione said sharply.
They looked around them, and, seeing no one watching, seemed to disappear in the middle of the sidewalk. As soon as they did so, all the lights blinked back on.
centerChapter Two/center
centerLetter on the Doorstep/center
"Don't you dare!" a voice yelled hoarsely. "If you even so much as-" the voice was familiar, yet far away, and he couldn't quite place it. Although it was slightly hoarse, it still sounded nice, as if just the sound of it meant safety. The voice's owner started to mutter to himself. Or maybe it was to him. It was suddenly cut off by a different voice- one that was the complete opposite. One syllable of it was nearly sickening, revolting, disgusting. It made him shudder just to think about that voice.
"Oh, come now. You don't think that I'd let them live, do you? I won't even be able to take care of those two until I kill you. It's a part of history."
The words were louder now, but soft and slightly murmured, like the person was speaking through something. He couldn't understand most of the words, but he once again knew that the owner of the voice was crying.
"Oh, how touching. But come, it's time to get back to business. Now, where were we before we were interrupted last time? Oh, yes. Enjoy watching your children die, Harry-"
He saw a blinding flash of light. The voice became strained, but it kept on. By now, he couldn't understand any of the words through the sobbing and the person in the background, threatening. He saw more bright flickers of bright light. The voice sounded more strained and tired, as if the person was giving everything he had into the words.
"Harry! What are you-"
James sat straight up in bed. He looked around and pulled a string. A bare light bulb, a thirty watt, attached to the ceiling, blinked on. He reached for his glasses as he realized that he was covered in sweat. He looked in the direction of the other small bunk, where his sister, Lily, was also sitting straight up.
"You too?" he asked.
She nodded silently and the leaned over and stuck her hand under the bed after wiping sweat off of her forehead. First, she fetched a pair of glasses identical to his, slipped them on her small, skinny nose. She stuck her hand under the cot again. A few seconds later, she raised her hand once more. On it, James saw just what he had expected. A brown spider. A brown RECLUSE spider, Lily was always saying with pride. James himself went to his cot and felt behind it before he lifted a large garter snake. They'd found the two animals a year or two ago. Apparently, they had escaped the cold of winter by hiding in their stockings at Christmas. Every once in a while, the children wondered how that could have happened. They hadn't found any answers, though, and the spider, named Brownie, and snake, named Poison, had remained good and loyal pets.
"Think it's time for breakfast?" Lily asked. She started brushing her fingers through her hair, knowing what the answer would be.
"Isn't it always time for food here?"
Lily felt under her cot again and this time came up with a brush. She tried to pull it through her black mass of curls, but after about five strokes gave up and gave the brush to James, slipping Brownie under her hair at the back of her neck. James had better luck with his hair, but it still took him a few minutes to get all the knots out. He himself stuck Poison in his shirt, which used to belong to his cousin and was so big that the lump around his waist wouldn't attract that much attention. After that, the two pulled their bangs down to completely cover the scars on their foreheads. When they were younger, they had asked Uncle Dudley about them, but he had simply muttered something about a plane crash and then yelled at them for asking.
Finally, they went out into the hall as quietly as they could. Aunt Evian and Uncle Dudley, along with their cousins, Shelton and Pernella, were upstairs, asleep.
They had several chores to do in the Dursley home. Every day, they cleaned the entire house and did all the lawn work, whether it was a school day or not. Those, plus the extra chores, or favors, as the Dursleys called them, took up their time entirely.
Together they walked into the kitchen. They gasped when they saw that Aunt Evian was at the table, reading the paper and eating toast. James felt Poison tighten around his waist, nearly suffocating him. Lily felt Brownie rub her fangs together. Both animals wanted to get the Dursley family to punish them for what they did to James and Lily, but the children never let them for fear the Dursleys might take their pets away or, worse, kill them.
"Oh, so you two finally get up and out. I want you two to know that I had to get up and make breakfast myself. It's very good, too, if I do say so myself. Not that you two will be having any of it. You'll have extra chores for your tardiness and laziness. Now get the mail."
Lily squeezed James's hand. He nodded slightly. She immediately darted out of the kitchen to go get the mail while he started making the two's breakfast.
Lily went out onto the doorstep. She knew the mail wouldn't be there, but it was nice and warm compared to the Dursleys' home. And the sun never failed to cheer her up. Although she would never tell James, she often got sick of it- life with the Dursleys and everything about it. She hated the school they went to, where Pernella's group of friends simply loved to pick on her, and where James was her only friend. Everyone else was afraid to be friends with either of them because everyone feared the wrath of Pernella's group and Shelton's group, who loved to pick on James. After breathing in the fresh air for a few moments, she walked back inside and closed the door silently. She picked up the mail scattered on the floor. Three were bills; two were letters to the Dursleys, but it was the last one that attracted her attention the most. The address read:
FONT FACE="SIGNATURE"centerJames and Lily Potter/center
center4 Privet Drive/center
centerThe Cupboard Under the Stairs/center
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"Holding the envelope delicately in one hand, she walked slowly into the kitchen, as if the slightest breeze might crinkle the paper. This was their first piece of mail. Ever. Who could possibly write to them? Why? She put the mail on the table silently. Then she cleared her throat and said to James, "We got a letter."
James's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What!? We got a letter? From who? Why? What?" James started spilling out questions.
Aunt Evian nearly choked on her slightly burnt toast. Her brow wrinkled. "Who did you say it was for? Who is it from?"
"I don't know who it's from, but it's addressed to James and me."
Suddenly, Aunt Evian was on her feet, diving for the letter, snatching it out of Lily's hand, and bellowing, "DUDLEY!"
The younger two humans (not to mention their pets) in the kitchen heard a pounding on the floor above them and looked at each other, confused. After a few hurried shouts of "What is it?" and "I'm coming. Don't worry," and "I'll be right there," the children saw their Uncle Dudley pant into the kitchen, along with Shelton and Pernella.
The run down the hall and tumble down the stairs had not helped his looks. He was red in the face, and his cheeks were huffing and puffing in and out as if they were red hot air balloons that had a hole in them and were repeatedly blown up all the same. His blond, greasy-looking hair now looked orange against his red scalp. His numerous chins quivered as he bent over and laid his beefy arms on his thick legs. "Yes, Sweets?" he asked.
Shelton, who came hobbling (pounding) behind Dudley, resembled his father for the most part. He was also blond, and quite round. His nose, although big, seemed small compared to the rest of his face. His ears were so small that they were nearly invisible. Every time James saw him, he was reminded of an earless elephant. Shelton wasn't out of breath, though, since he got exercise from beating up the kids (such as James) at school with his group of followers.
Pernella's blond hair was long, straight, and stringy. Her head was so big and round that the hair failed to cover most of her neck, and although it was several inches long, it couldn't even reach her shoulders. Her nose was small, and that wasn't an illusion or trick of the eyes. Her eyes were beady, and her lips were thin as they covered her wide mouth. She never failed to remind Lily of one of those pigs that wins everything at the fair as long as it involved weight. She wasn't out of breath, either.
Aunt Evian waved the letter in her hand. "It's happened. The letter came today."
Dudley's face suddenly went pure white. "How did it come?"
"Lily found it in the mail. It's addressed to them, too. 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs,' it says."
Shelton and Pernella eyed the two curiously, then turned to each other.
"Who d'you think would send ithose/i two a letter?" Shelton asked Pernella.
"I haven't a clue," she answered casually. "Maybe one of the rats in the wall learned how to write!" They chuckled.
Aunt Evian went white. "Don't you dare ever say that rats live in these walls, do you understand?"
Shelton and Pernella nodded, agreeing, yet smiling in their wicked way.
Uncle Dudley suddenly turned to face Lily. "What did you do?" he asked her harshly. "How did you contact them? Did you-" James moved a few inches, then a few feet, until he stood between his uncle and his sister. "The same thing happened to your father, and look what happened to him."
Although Lily was confused and more scared of her Uncle Dudley than she ever had been before, she heard him mention her father and suddenly felt that she needed to know more. She'd been told all her life that her parents had died in a plane crash at sea and that their bodies had never been found; Lily and James knew nothing of their parents beyond that. They weren't allowed to ask about it or else they risked getting locked up in the cupboard. She gave in to the temptation to try and find out more. "What about our father?" she asked as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. Uncle Dudley never mentioned their dad. And she always wanted to know more, always hoped he'd let something slip.
Uncle Dudley jerked slightly, realizing what he had done. "Nothing. Let's have breakfast. Then," he sent a quick glance at the fireplace and then a fast look at his wife, pulling at his robe around his neck as if it were suffocating him, "then we'll all go on a vacation."
Shelton and Pernella clapped their hands together and looked at one another. They always went on trips with their dad. They were always glad to get away from their cousins, at least. "Where are we going, Pops?" Shelton asked.
Uncle Dudley looked at James and Lily. "How would you two like to go to New York?"
Now it was their turn to look at each other. "We- Uh, we-" James stuttered.
"You're asking them?" Pernella spat out, pointing at James and Lily.
"Well, of course. After all, they are part of the family, aren't they? And, well, they should come with us. It's for the best." James, who was closer to Aunt Evian, heard her mutter, "And safer if their kind can't find us."
Under his shirt, he heard a soft hissing sound. iYour kind?/i Poison inquired.
James shook his head, as if in disbelief and said under his breath, iI don't know what it means, either./i
"What was that?" Uncle Dudley asked, looking at him down his fat, oversized nose. He reminded James of an unhappy, upright elephant.
"I uh, I-"
"Do you have that snake? In the kitchen? After I told you to get rid of it?"
Poison muttered some things in his own tongue which James knew were bad, but he thankfully couldn't hear quite all of what Poison was saying. He struggled with whether or not to tell the truth as Lily looked at him desperately and Shelton and Pernella had looks of obvious amusement on their faces, and Aunt Evian's had a look of growing fear and apprehension on it. Uncle Dudley's remained unreadable. Apparently, Poison decided for him. The snake unwrapped himself from James's waist and crawled upwards. He poked his head up through the neck of James's shirt.
Uncle Dudley straightened and jumped back with a small cry. James's cousins stared. Aunt Evian gave a shriek and clapped her hand over her mouth right before she sank into a chair.
iYou shouldn't have done that/i, James told Poison.
iWhat sshould I have done? He dessserved it. He dessservesss a lot more./i
James shrugged.
Uncle Dudley turned to Lily, moving James away with his hand. Poison reached out for Uncle Dudley's hand, but James grabbed his tail.
"And I suppose you still have that spider?"
Lily nodded the slightest bit.
iIt's okay. Tell him I'm here. I want to speak with him. Give him a piece of my mind/i, Brownie directed her.
iYeah, right after you kill him/i, Lily retorted. iAnd then where would you be? Squashed on the bottom of someone's shoe. And I'd be without a spider./i
The six waited in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity. James and Lily moved to be close enough to hold hands. Uncle Dudley stared at them, considering. Aunt Evian made a run for the bathroom when she saw Brownie come out from under Lily's hair and settle on the girl's nose, waving her fangs at her husband menacingly. Shelton and Pernella sent many confused glances towards one another.
"Okay. I suppose you can keep the pests. As long as they behave. And if anything goes wrong, anything, I'll lock you two- Never mind." Uncle Dudley paused and started to breathe slowly, obviously trying to calm himself down. After about two minutes, he said, "Now let's eat breakfast and then pack. And hurry, too."
Everyone's mouths dropped. No one, absolutely no one, had expected him to say that James and Lily would be able to keep their pets. Uncle Dudley ignored all of their looks and went to the table to begin feeling his plate with pancakes, loading them with butter and syrup.
One by one, they sat down. James and Lily sat at one end of the counter, and the Dursleys crowded one another at the other end of the table.
When the pancakes reached the two children, there were only two. One for each. James put a pancake on Lily's dish, and then a pancake on his. Then he gave them each a small amount of the butter and syrup that was left, making sure that they both got even amounts. Lily told him how much he had left to go while Brownie informed her.
Meanwhile, now that he was out in the open, Poison made himself comfortable as possible on the table, coiled like his relatives, the real poisonous snakes, always were. He made his head look as pit viper-like as possible. When he saw how much the two Potter children had to eat, and then saw how much their relatives had, he made up his mind.
He uncoiled himself and in a flash, was racing Shelton's fork to the stack of pancakes on his plate. He snagged two pancakes and ripped them away, dropping them on James's plate.
James looked up at Uncle Dudley, fearing the worst.
"Daddeeeeeeee," Shelton wailed, glaring at James and looking at the snake as if he were about to cry. "That- that- that thing took my pancakes and stole them for James."
Dudley stopped eating with his fork halfway in the air between his own stack of pancakes and his mouth. "Don't worry about it, we'll get you more in New York."
Shelton glared at James harder.
iDon't do that again/i, James warned Poison, who was looking smug and more so by the second as he eyed Shelton.
"Did you just talk? To the snake?" Aunt Evian asked.
James looked at her. "I, uh, I guess so."
Pernella eyed Lily. "Can you talk to that spider of yours?"
James nodded for Lily. It had just dawned on him that they were afraid of them for some reason. He was going to milk it for all it was worth while he had the chance. "And there's a spider by your foot right now. Want her to get him to bite you? She can," he finished threateningly.
Pernella jumped up and ran out of the room as Lily chewed, confused, on her pancake.
"Well," Uncle Dudley said, standing up and clapping his hands, ignoring the crumbs that fell from his chins. "Let's get packed, shall we? I'm sure I can book a flight for us."
The Dursleys jumped up and nearly ran from the table. James and Lily got up and calmly started putting away the dishes out of habit.
iYou know, Brownie told her, /ithe two of you don't have to put away the dishes. iI don't think they'll mind/i.
Lily smiled, glad to have a conversation with her pet in the open kitchen. iI don't mind. I guess it seems like fun now./i
iWhat do you think all that talk was about?/i James asked Poison. iIt seemed like they were afraid of us./i
iOnly one way to find out/i, the snake answered calmly. iAnd that isss to get that letter, and find out what it sssaysss./i
And so the morning went. Lily and Brownie moved on to the normal conversation, like the weather and what Brownie had heard about the latest spider family in the attic. James and Poison started talking about a Nintendo 64 game of Shelton's that they'd like to play.
center* * */center
"And you're positive that she had the letter in her hand?" Harry asked.
"Harry," Hermione said, slowly but surely losing her patience, "why would we lie to you? That woman Evian snatched it out of her hand."
"She was in shock," Ron said. "I mean, she saw the address, and it was as if she were a zombie or something. Or maybe a robot."
Harry sighed irritably and looked to Hermione. At last, he said exactly what Ron and Hermione had expected. "Get them here. I don't care how, I don't care what you do, but I won't have the Dursleys do this again. Especially to my own children."
Ron looked at Hermione and then Harry. "Harry, you've heard the rumors. They'll be easier to find at Hogwarts."
Harry glared at him. "Don't you think I know that? Voldemort isn't dead. We all know that. It's a good thing the entire wizarding world doesn't know about it, that's for sure. But according to our sources, he's searched everywhere. He knows, just as well as we do that there's only one place left I would possible ever send them." He got up and started pacing. "We need to get James and Lily out of there quick. Bring them somewhere safe. At least at Hogwarts they'll have a chance. And they can learn magic, just like we did, so they can protect themselves."
Hermione sighed. They all knew what they had to do, but Harry was looking worse and worse every day. Madam Pomfrey was beginning to follow him around in the halls, and even Draco Malfoy wasn't sneering at him as much.
"Fine. They're going to New York. To the U.S. We'll go to, give them some more letters, be invisible, all that. But we'll bring them back here, Harry."
Harry nodded as they walked out of his office.
And I know that it starts out a bit like the first book. But, trust me, it branches WAY out AWAY from the first, second, third, and fourth books. Would I lie to you? Well, read at least to the fifth part and then decide for yourself.
I edited everything to make it better. If you notice any other mistakes, please tell me in the review. And speaking of reviews, please give me some. I love reviews. They're like soul food. Recipe: One review, one Internet connection, one reader, one very happy author...
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"centerChapter One/center
centerPotters' Day/center
Everything was quiet on Privet Drive, and Dudley was quite glad for it. It had been years since he had seen his cousin, Harry, and Dudley was quite glad for that, too. Of course, he'd heard things about him. He always heard people whispering on the corner. Dudley made sure to stay away from those people. Abnormal. Harry, judging from what the people on the streets had been saying, had twins- a boy and a girl- the same day Dudley had his own two beautiful twins- also a boy and a girl. And yes, Dudley was quite glad he hadn't heard from any of them.
As a matter of fact, it had been years since the "M" word had ever reached Dudley's ears. As far as Dudley was concerned, that was a good thing.
However, he had noticed odd, bad things. Especially that one morning.
Dudley had first realized that those insane, abnormal people were at work while he'd been walking down the stairs in his pajamas with his hair not even brushed. He jumped as an owl flew past the window in the front of the house. He kept watching. Yes, there was another. And another. They were watching the house! Spying on himself and his family. His cousin must have done this!
Owls flying around during the day in swarms. Spiders crawling all over the place, just as they had when his son and daughter were born. Not only owls and spiders, but snakes- tons of snakes. All of them were moving around wildly.
His father had told him about owls. He'd never mentioned spiders and snakes, though.
They were all watching them! His cousin was right then planning the perfect time to jump out and get revenge of some sort.
Dudley recognized the signs immediately. The "M" word's work, obviously. As soon as he got home from work, he'd nail everything shut. No taking chances with those people. Why, his cousin had nearly set the backyard on fire once, but Dudley had immediately seen that evil spark in his eyes and had gone to get help, and in doing so had saved the day. No, no taking chances with these people. They were dangerous. Yes, sane, ordinary people like him were all in danger. As a matter of fact, he couldn't wait until he got home from work. Dudley would have to protect his family and his home immediately. This matter had to be dealt with right away. Dudley quickly worked up a story and made his voice shaky and muffled, as if he had a cold. He hadn't done this since he was a child, but desparate times called for desparate measures.
Dudley called his office and said that he was severely ill- they shouldn't expect him at the office today.
As he was saying his good-byes and listening to the get-wells from his coworkers who were already there, his wife Evian came into the room and looked at him suspiciously.
Dudley put his fingers to his lips and tiptoed to the window, wishing that the floor wouldn't creak everywhere he stepped. It hadn't done that with his cousin- his cousin had probably cursed it somehow. He mustn't be seen or heard. Their spies were everywhere, probably waiting to destroy the normal people who weren't like them. Yes, that was it. He could easily see his cousin waiting crouched in the bushes, holding that awful wand, holding it ready to blow him and his family to smithereens. He brushed aside the curtains, dodging the sunlight like an overgrown beached whale would dodge the ocean. He stood against the wall, trying to suck in his large frame to no avail.
His wife, Evian, gasped, seeing an owl fly by and then another.
Dudley let the curtains fall.
"What should we do?" Evian whispered, frantic.
"We must stay calm," Dudley said as if he were very important and stretching himself as tall as he could go. He tried to suck in his stomach, but gave up when he realized the only change was that he was red in the face. "I shall go out into that world and get supplies to protect ourselves. But, Evian, my dearest, have the children ready. We may need to leave in a hurry. We must keep them safe."
Evian pinched his cheeks, making them red and leaving two white finger marks on each cheek. "You're so brave," she said fondly.
"Yes," Dudley agreed, putting on his modest expression. "I must go now. Be brave, Dearest. Be brave."
Dudley dashed out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, which wasn't all that fast if one actually thought about it. He heard Evian's sigh from the kitchen and reminded himself that he was on a mission. He must protect his family at all costs. He backed slowly out of the house, carefully trying not to trip over anything. He locked the door behind him, and, certain that the lock worked, turned and left. He would simply have to hope that nothing would happen to his family while he was gone.
He drove to the hardware store on the corner. Oh, no. They were already standing there, conspiring among themselves, two of them wearing robes and every one of them oblivious to everything around them- at least, that's what they wanted him to think. But Dudley Dursley wasn't dumb enough to fall for that. Whistling innocently, Dudley drove past and parked a block away. His family was more important than his fear. He had to protect them.
Slowly, trying to act casual (and failing), he ambled to the hardware store, still whistling a tuneless tune.
As he walked by the people on the corner, carefully averting his eyes from theirs, he caught snippets of the conversation.
"-Yes, Harry Potter. Escaped again-"
"-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
"-Gone. Can't find him!"
"-children?"
Ah, yes. Harry did have two children. He'd probably tried to kill them himself. Dudley had heard of someone called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He wasn't sure from where, though. Harry must have turned so evil and backwards that even his fellow institution friends couldn't stand to say his name unless he or she was incredibly brave.
Dudley, careful not to make eye contact, bought a hammer, plenty of wood and nails, and walked out of the shop. He went home and nailed up every entrance he could think of. He stuck cotton in all of the drains because he knew that abnormal people like Harry had funny ways of doing ways of doing things. Last but not least, although it was in the middle of summer, he set up a fire in the fireplace. That way, if Harry's kind took after old St. Nick, they'd be discouraged and wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks.
With the house sealed up, Dudley went upstairs. Evian had moved Shelton and Pernella's cradles into their bedroom so they could watch them through the night.
Although everyone in the house was sweating, they eventually fell into a restless, but snore-filled sleep.
center* * */center
In the middle of Privet Drive, the lights suddenly went out. They didn't go out one at a time as they had so many years before, but the pale white lights from the street lamps went out all at once. It was late, and there weren't many lights on in the houses. People, if they had noticed it, probably would have blamed a power outage.
Two figures seemed to appear out of thin air. One was a woman with a large amount of bushy brown hair which she had tied back into a bun although a few strands escaped the bun's tight hold. It could be seen that her teeth, when she smiled, were a bit large, but she wasn't smiling now. The other figure was a tall man with fiery red hair and a heavy sprinkle of freckles all over his face. The two stood before 4 Privet Drive. Once they saw each other, the woman, Hermione Granger, said, "Well, this is the muggle world."
Ronald Weasley glared at her. "I know that. I've been here before. I just didn't think it would be for this."
"I can't believe it happened, though," Hermione said, as if hoping he would tell her nothing bad had happened at all as she cradled one of the babies in the crook of one arm, her wand in the other.
"So? Voldemort's coming back to power. We all saw it coming." Ron's voice was harsh, "I'm just glad Harry didn't get himself killed."
Hermione glared at him. "Do you know how close he was?" she whispered hoarsely. "He was trying to do the same thing his mom did, except with two." She indicated the sleeping babies in her arm and in Ron's arms. "If we hadn't come along..." She let the sentence end there, not wanting to finish it for the fear that it had truly almost happened. She swallowed as Ron looked away.
Ron was silent for a few moments. "But why do we have to leave these two with them? You saw what they did to Harry. Plus, they're muggles. The worst ones, too."
"As far as this law is concerned, Harry is dead. He hasn't been here in years. By law, the children go to the closest relatives in the family."
"Stop making stuff up, Hermione. Harry's just trying to keep Voldemort away from them." He pointed to the scars on both of their foreheads with his wand. "If he can get Voldemort to believe they're dead, maybe he won't come after them." Through the years, Ron had learned to say Voldemort's name without flinching. Hermione had learned also.
"I don't see why they couldn't have stayed at Hogwarts," Hermione said stubbornly. "We would have taken care of them."
"And what would happen the second they step off the grounds or out of our sight?" Ron snapped back. "Face it, this is the right thing to do. I hate to do it, sure, but we couldn't think of anything else. This will keep them safe for a while."
"Do you have the note?"
Ron held up his hand, letting a piece of paper fly loose in the breeze while holding on to one end of it. "I put some threats in this too. If dear Dudley doesn't show this to them when they're old enough, or when they ask about their family, I said bad things would happen. Really bad things."
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. She and Ron both knew she wasn't serious, though. Without telling Ron, Hermione had added a few surprises herself.
"Come on. Harry wouldn't want us to hold it off. We have to get back to Hogwarts and figure out how to deal with Voldemort again. And visit Harry in the infirmary. He's been sapped of all his energy. Madam Pomfrey won't even let him talk. It'll take him weeks to sleep off this one." He tried to grin, but failed miserably. They stood in silence for a while, looking from the babies in their arms to the front step of the Dursleys' front step. Sometimes they'd look down the street, but not once did they look into the other's eyes.
"I can't believe it. All those years, and then he comes back with full power," Hermione finally said.
"And of course he picked up where he left off," Ron said dryly. "Trying to kill Harry. And these two." He indicated the two sleeping one-year-olds with his wand again.
"Doesn't it strike you odd that the same thing happened? Harry, when he was one. Parents died. He got that scar. Had to live with muggles. And then these two. He would have died for them if we hadn't come when we did. They got scars, too. And now, they have to live with muggles." Hermione had gotten used to calling them muggles a long time ago. Ron knew that, although she wouldn't admit it if asked, Hermione called her own parents muggles.
"Of course I think it's weird. But there are two of them. And Harry turned out okay. Even my mom noticed," he joked, not mentioning that compared to Fred and George, all boys were good.
She shook her head, refusing to believe him. "I hope they're okay."
"Me too. Well, I guess we've put it off long enough."
Hermione adjusted the blanket around the baby girl in her arms so Ron couldn't see a tear slide down her cheek. "Yeah."
Ron quietly took the girl from her and carried both the boy and girl to the front step. Hermione followed slowly. As he set them down, he said, "Never forget us. Your dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione. Deal?" One of the babies yawned and turned over. Ron sighed and placed the paper on the boy's blanket and pinned the blanket and the note together.
Behind them, Hermione said good-bye also, and then Ron walked with her back to the sidewalk.
"You know, if this keeps up, instead of Harry Potter Day, I think they should just call it Potters' Day," Ron commented.
"Let's hope it doesn't," Hermione said sharply.
They looked around them, and, seeing no one watching, seemed to disappear in the middle of the sidewalk. As soon as they did so, all the lights blinked back on.
centerChapter Two/center
centerLetter on the Doorstep/center
"Don't you dare!" a voice yelled hoarsely. "If you even so much as-" the voice was familiar, yet far away, and he couldn't quite place it. Although it was slightly hoarse, it still sounded nice, as if just the sound of it meant safety. The voice's owner started to mutter to himself. Or maybe it was to him. It was suddenly cut off by a different voice- one that was the complete opposite. One syllable of it was nearly sickening, revolting, disgusting. It made him shudder just to think about that voice.
"Oh, come now. You don't think that I'd let them live, do you? I won't even be able to take care of those two until I kill you. It's a part of history."
The words were louder now, but soft and slightly murmured, like the person was speaking through something. He couldn't understand most of the words, but he once again knew that the owner of the voice was crying.
"Oh, how touching. But come, it's time to get back to business. Now, where were we before we were interrupted last time? Oh, yes. Enjoy watching your children die, Harry-"
He saw a blinding flash of light. The voice became strained, but it kept on. By now, he couldn't understand any of the words through the sobbing and the person in the background, threatening. He saw more bright flickers of bright light. The voice sounded more strained and tired, as if the person was giving everything he had into the words.
"Harry! What are you-"
James sat straight up in bed. He looked around and pulled a string. A bare light bulb, a thirty watt, attached to the ceiling, blinked on. He reached for his glasses as he realized that he was covered in sweat. He looked in the direction of the other small bunk, where his sister, Lily, was also sitting straight up.
"You too?" he asked.
She nodded silently and the leaned over and stuck her hand under the bed after wiping sweat off of her forehead. First, she fetched a pair of glasses identical to his, slipped them on her small, skinny nose. She stuck her hand under the cot again. A few seconds later, she raised her hand once more. On it, James saw just what he had expected. A brown spider. A brown RECLUSE spider, Lily was always saying with pride. James himself went to his cot and felt behind it before he lifted a large garter snake. They'd found the two animals a year or two ago. Apparently, they had escaped the cold of winter by hiding in their stockings at Christmas. Every once in a while, the children wondered how that could have happened. They hadn't found any answers, though, and the spider, named Brownie, and snake, named Poison, had remained good and loyal pets.
"Think it's time for breakfast?" Lily asked. She started brushing her fingers through her hair, knowing what the answer would be.
"Isn't it always time for food here?"
Lily felt under her cot again and this time came up with a brush. She tried to pull it through her black mass of curls, but after about five strokes gave up and gave the brush to James, slipping Brownie under her hair at the back of her neck. James had better luck with his hair, but it still took him a few minutes to get all the knots out. He himself stuck Poison in his shirt, which used to belong to his cousin and was so big that the lump around his waist wouldn't attract that much attention. After that, the two pulled their bangs down to completely cover the scars on their foreheads. When they were younger, they had asked Uncle Dudley about them, but he had simply muttered something about a plane crash and then yelled at them for asking.
Finally, they went out into the hall as quietly as they could. Aunt Evian and Uncle Dudley, along with their cousins, Shelton and Pernella, were upstairs, asleep.
They had several chores to do in the Dursley home. Every day, they cleaned the entire house and did all the lawn work, whether it was a school day or not. Those, plus the extra chores, or favors, as the Dursleys called them, took up their time entirely.
Together they walked into the kitchen. They gasped when they saw that Aunt Evian was at the table, reading the paper and eating toast. James felt Poison tighten around his waist, nearly suffocating him. Lily felt Brownie rub her fangs together. Both animals wanted to get the Dursley family to punish them for what they did to James and Lily, but the children never let them for fear the Dursleys might take their pets away or, worse, kill them.
"Oh, so you two finally get up and out. I want you two to know that I had to get up and make breakfast myself. It's very good, too, if I do say so myself. Not that you two will be having any of it. You'll have extra chores for your tardiness and laziness. Now get the mail."
Lily squeezed James's hand. He nodded slightly. She immediately darted out of the kitchen to go get the mail while he started making the two's breakfast.
Lily went out onto the doorstep. She knew the mail wouldn't be there, but it was nice and warm compared to the Dursleys' home. And the sun never failed to cheer her up. Although she would never tell James, she often got sick of it- life with the Dursleys and everything about it. She hated the school they went to, where Pernella's group of friends simply loved to pick on her, and where James was her only friend. Everyone else was afraid to be friends with either of them because everyone feared the wrath of Pernella's group and Shelton's group, who loved to pick on James. After breathing in the fresh air for a few moments, she walked back inside and closed the door silently. She picked up the mail scattered on the floor. Three were bills; two were letters to the Dursleys, but it was the last one that attracted her attention the most. The address read:
FONT FACE="SIGNATURE"centerJames and Lily Potter/center
center4 Privet Drive/center
centerThe Cupboard Under the Stairs/center
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"Holding the envelope delicately in one hand, she walked slowly into the kitchen, as if the slightest breeze might crinkle the paper. This was their first piece of mail. Ever. Who could possibly write to them? Why? She put the mail on the table silently. Then she cleared her throat and said to James, "We got a letter."
James's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What!? We got a letter? From who? Why? What?" James started spilling out questions.
Aunt Evian nearly choked on her slightly burnt toast. Her brow wrinkled. "Who did you say it was for? Who is it from?"
"I don't know who it's from, but it's addressed to James and me."
Suddenly, Aunt Evian was on her feet, diving for the letter, snatching it out of Lily's hand, and bellowing, "DUDLEY!"
The younger two humans (not to mention their pets) in the kitchen heard a pounding on the floor above them and looked at each other, confused. After a few hurried shouts of "What is it?" and "I'm coming. Don't worry," and "I'll be right there," the children saw their Uncle Dudley pant into the kitchen, along with Shelton and Pernella.
The run down the hall and tumble down the stairs had not helped his looks. He was red in the face, and his cheeks were huffing and puffing in and out as if they were red hot air balloons that had a hole in them and were repeatedly blown up all the same. His blond, greasy-looking hair now looked orange against his red scalp. His numerous chins quivered as he bent over and laid his beefy arms on his thick legs. "Yes, Sweets?" he asked.
Shelton, who came hobbling (pounding) behind Dudley, resembled his father for the most part. He was also blond, and quite round. His nose, although big, seemed small compared to the rest of his face. His ears were so small that they were nearly invisible. Every time James saw him, he was reminded of an earless elephant. Shelton wasn't out of breath, though, since he got exercise from beating up the kids (such as James) at school with his group of followers.
Pernella's blond hair was long, straight, and stringy. Her head was so big and round that the hair failed to cover most of her neck, and although it was several inches long, it couldn't even reach her shoulders. Her nose was small, and that wasn't an illusion or trick of the eyes. Her eyes were beady, and her lips were thin as they covered her wide mouth. She never failed to remind Lily of one of those pigs that wins everything at the fair as long as it involved weight. She wasn't out of breath, either.
Aunt Evian waved the letter in her hand. "It's happened. The letter came today."
Dudley's face suddenly went pure white. "How did it come?"
"Lily found it in the mail. It's addressed to them, too. 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs,' it says."
Shelton and Pernella eyed the two curiously, then turned to each other.
"Who d'you think would send ithose/i two a letter?" Shelton asked Pernella.
"I haven't a clue," she answered casually. "Maybe one of the rats in the wall learned how to write!" They chuckled.
Aunt Evian went white. "Don't you dare ever say that rats live in these walls, do you understand?"
Shelton and Pernella nodded, agreeing, yet smiling in their wicked way.
Uncle Dudley suddenly turned to face Lily. "What did you do?" he asked her harshly. "How did you contact them? Did you-" James moved a few inches, then a few feet, until he stood between his uncle and his sister. "The same thing happened to your father, and look what happened to him."
Although Lily was confused and more scared of her Uncle Dudley than she ever had been before, she heard him mention her father and suddenly felt that she needed to know more. She'd been told all her life that her parents had died in a plane crash at sea and that their bodies had never been found; Lily and James knew nothing of their parents beyond that. They weren't allowed to ask about it or else they risked getting locked up in the cupboard. She gave in to the temptation to try and find out more. "What about our father?" she asked as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. Uncle Dudley never mentioned their dad. And she always wanted to know more, always hoped he'd let something slip.
Uncle Dudley jerked slightly, realizing what he had done. "Nothing. Let's have breakfast. Then," he sent a quick glance at the fireplace and then a fast look at his wife, pulling at his robe around his neck as if it were suffocating him, "then we'll all go on a vacation."
Shelton and Pernella clapped their hands together and looked at one another. They always went on trips with their dad. They were always glad to get away from their cousins, at least. "Where are we going, Pops?" Shelton asked.
Uncle Dudley looked at James and Lily. "How would you two like to go to New York?"
Now it was their turn to look at each other. "We- Uh, we-" James stuttered.
"You're asking them?" Pernella spat out, pointing at James and Lily.
"Well, of course. After all, they are part of the family, aren't they? And, well, they should come with us. It's for the best." James, who was closer to Aunt Evian, heard her mutter, "And safer if their kind can't find us."
Under his shirt, he heard a soft hissing sound. iYour kind?/i Poison inquired.
James shook his head, as if in disbelief and said under his breath, iI don't know what it means, either./i
"What was that?" Uncle Dudley asked, looking at him down his fat, oversized nose. He reminded James of an unhappy, upright elephant.
"I uh, I-"
"Do you have that snake? In the kitchen? After I told you to get rid of it?"
Poison muttered some things in his own tongue which James knew were bad, but he thankfully couldn't hear quite all of what Poison was saying. He struggled with whether or not to tell the truth as Lily looked at him desperately and Shelton and Pernella had looks of obvious amusement on their faces, and Aunt Evian's had a look of growing fear and apprehension on it. Uncle Dudley's remained unreadable. Apparently, Poison decided for him. The snake unwrapped himself from James's waist and crawled upwards. He poked his head up through the neck of James's shirt.
Uncle Dudley straightened and jumped back with a small cry. James's cousins stared. Aunt Evian gave a shriek and clapped her hand over her mouth right before she sank into a chair.
iYou shouldn't have done that/i, James told Poison.
iWhat sshould I have done? He dessserved it. He dessservesss a lot more./i
James shrugged.
Uncle Dudley turned to Lily, moving James away with his hand. Poison reached out for Uncle Dudley's hand, but James grabbed his tail.
"And I suppose you still have that spider?"
Lily nodded the slightest bit.
iIt's okay. Tell him I'm here. I want to speak with him. Give him a piece of my mind/i, Brownie directed her.
iYeah, right after you kill him/i, Lily retorted. iAnd then where would you be? Squashed on the bottom of someone's shoe. And I'd be without a spider./i
The six waited in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity. James and Lily moved to be close enough to hold hands. Uncle Dudley stared at them, considering. Aunt Evian made a run for the bathroom when she saw Brownie come out from under Lily's hair and settle on the girl's nose, waving her fangs at her husband menacingly. Shelton and Pernella sent many confused glances towards one another.
"Okay. I suppose you can keep the pests. As long as they behave. And if anything goes wrong, anything, I'll lock you two- Never mind." Uncle Dudley paused and started to breathe slowly, obviously trying to calm himself down. After about two minutes, he said, "Now let's eat breakfast and then pack. And hurry, too."
Everyone's mouths dropped. No one, absolutely no one, had expected him to say that James and Lily would be able to keep their pets. Uncle Dudley ignored all of their looks and went to the table to begin feeling his plate with pancakes, loading them with butter and syrup.
One by one, they sat down. James and Lily sat at one end of the counter, and the Dursleys crowded one another at the other end of the table.
When the pancakes reached the two children, there were only two. One for each. James put a pancake on Lily's dish, and then a pancake on his. Then he gave them each a small amount of the butter and syrup that was left, making sure that they both got even amounts. Lily told him how much he had left to go while Brownie informed her.
Meanwhile, now that he was out in the open, Poison made himself comfortable as possible on the table, coiled like his relatives, the real poisonous snakes, always were. He made his head look as pit viper-like as possible. When he saw how much the two Potter children had to eat, and then saw how much their relatives had, he made up his mind.
He uncoiled himself and in a flash, was racing Shelton's fork to the stack of pancakes on his plate. He snagged two pancakes and ripped them away, dropping them on James's plate.
James looked up at Uncle Dudley, fearing the worst.
"Daddeeeeeeee," Shelton wailed, glaring at James and looking at the snake as if he were about to cry. "That- that- that thing took my pancakes and stole them for James."
Dudley stopped eating with his fork halfway in the air between his own stack of pancakes and his mouth. "Don't worry about it, we'll get you more in New York."
Shelton glared at James harder.
iDon't do that again/i, James warned Poison, who was looking smug and more so by the second as he eyed Shelton.
"Did you just talk? To the snake?" Aunt Evian asked.
James looked at her. "I, uh, I guess so."
Pernella eyed Lily. "Can you talk to that spider of yours?"
James nodded for Lily. It had just dawned on him that they were afraid of them for some reason. He was going to milk it for all it was worth while he had the chance. "And there's a spider by your foot right now. Want her to get him to bite you? She can," he finished threateningly.
Pernella jumped up and ran out of the room as Lily chewed, confused, on her pancake.
"Well," Uncle Dudley said, standing up and clapping his hands, ignoring the crumbs that fell from his chins. "Let's get packed, shall we? I'm sure I can book a flight for us."
The Dursleys jumped up and nearly ran from the table. James and Lily got up and calmly started putting away the dishes out of habit.
iYou know, Brownie told her, /ithe two of you don't have to put away the dishes. iI don't think they'll mind/i.
Lily smiled, glad to have a conversation with her pet in the open kitchen. iI don't mind. I guess it seems like fun now./i
iWhat do you think all that talk was about?/i James asked Poison. iIt seemed like they were afraid of us./i
iOnly one way to find out/i, the snake answered calmly. iAnd that isss to get that letter, and find out what it sssaysss./i
And so the morning went. Lily and Brownie moved on to the normal conversation, like the weather and what Brownie had heard about the latest spider family in the attic. James and Poison started talking about a Nintendo 64 game of Shelton's that they'd like to play.
center* * */center
"And you're positive that she had the letter in her hand?" Harry asked.
"Harry," Hermione said, slowly but surely losing her patience, "why would we lie to you? That woman Evian snatched it out of her hand."
"She was in shock," Ron said. "I mean, she saw the address, and it was as if she were a zombie or something. Or maybe a robot."
Harry sighed irritably and looked to Hermione. At last, he said exactly what Ron and Hermione had expected. "Get them here. I don't care how, I don't care what you do, but I won't have the Dursleys do this again. Especially to my own children."
Ron looked at Hermione and then Harry. "Harry, you've heard the rumors. They'll be easier to find at Hogwarts."
Harry glared at him. "Don't you think I know that? Voldemort isn't dead. We all know that. It's a good thing the entire wizarding world doesn't know about it, that's for sure. But according to our sources, he's searched everywhere. He knows, just as well as we do that there's only one place left I would possible ever send them." He got up and started pacing. "We need to get James and Lily out of there quick. Bring them somewhere safe. At least at Hogwarts they'll have a chance. And they can learn magic, just like we did, so they can protect themselves."
Hermione sighed. They all knew what they had to do, but Harry was looking worse and worse every day. Madam Pomfrey was beginning to follow him around in the halls, and even Draco Malfoy wasn't sneering at him as much.
"Fine. They're going to New York. To the U.S. We'll go to, give them some more letters, be invisible, all that. But we'll bring them back here, Harry."
Harry nodded as they walked out of his office.