I own no part of the Harry Potter universe; I'm just playing.
This came from the same idea as my other story 'Harry Potter and the New Life' but went in a different direction. Neither idea would leave me alone, so I'm writing both. Wish me luck.
Takes place immediately following the last line of OotP.
Uncle Vernon seemed to be struggling to keep his temper but realized how imprudent it would be to explode so close to the 'freaks' that had threatened him. Harry couldn't keep the smile off his face as he thought of the Order's show of support and protection. The only thing that could have made it better would be if they had told the Dursley's they were taking him with them and he would never see them again.
"What are you so happy about freak?" Dudley interrupted Harry's musings, "Your freaky school wrote Mum and Dad about your godfather. I guess you weren't that close if you're so happy he's dead. Or maybe you killed him."
Harry sighed, between hexing Malfoy on the train and his friends sticking up for him, he had forgotten about Sirius. His good mood vanished, replaced by a sense of guilt and gloom. He had little time to dwell on the state of things as he heard Aunt Petunia ask Dudley if he had everything. Harry looked up curiously as they stopped, not by Uncle Vernon's car, but next to a large SUV.
"Well, put your things in the back and be quick about it boy" grunted out a purple faced Vernon Dursley. "We haven't all day."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry muttered sullenly.
"And don't take a tone with me; I won't stand for disrespect from the likes of you."
"Sorry, Uncle Vernon," Harry managed a polite voice without throwing up, barely.
When the SUV was open, Harry was surprised to see Dudley's designer luggage set neatly stacked in the back. He lifted his trunk in and settled Hedwig's cage next to it. Harry barely managed to jump back when Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. The Dursley's plus Harry climbed into the SUV and Harry was pleased to see that he didn't have to share a row with Dudley. 'Finally, a car ride where I won't get smushed,' he thought in relief.
Harry soon realized that they weren't heading back to Surrey at all, but driving through London. He kept his questions to himself until they pulled into the short-term car park at the airport.
"Are we going somewhere?' he asked hesitantly.
"Don't be ridiculous," sniffed Aunt Petunia. "Dudders has been accepted into a very prestigious sports camp in America and will be spending the summer there. You'll have a grand time and become even stronger and better than you are now, won't you Dudlikins." Petunia turned her attention to her beloved son.
"It's a fat camp and I don't want to go," the enormous boy whined. "Why do I have to go away from all my friends? I won't have any fun, you'll see."
"Now, now, Dudley, we've been over this before and the decision is final. I'm paying a great deal of money for you to go here so you will do it and give it your all," Uncle Vernon cut-in, wanting to avoid a public scene.
After Dudley had been successfully deposited on a plane bound for the States, the remaining Dursley's and Harry continued on. Harry kept quiet, not believing his luck at a Dudley free summer, and not wanting to draw attention to himself. The trio pulled up in front of Uncle Vernon's office building and Harry was ordered out of the car. He followed the Dursley's up to Uncle Vernon's office and sat where he was pointed, waiting for some explanation of this strange behavior from his guardians.
Uncle Vernon took a deep breath. "Now, I don't want a peep out of you until I'm finished. Then and only then may you ask question, understood?"
Harry nodded silently, marveling at the unprecedented promise of being able to ask questions without punishment and wondering how many he could get in before Uncle Vernon snapped.
"No doubt you've noticed some changes this summer and there are more to come," Vernon said.
Harry was barely able to avoid snorting with amusement at just how dumb his family thought him.
Uncle Vernon either ignored or didn't notice Harry's reaction and continued,"Dudley will not be here for the summer and neither will I for a good portion of it. The company has decided to reward my years of hard work and dedication by giving me a plum position in the new Canadian branch. I leave this evening. Because these first months will be very busy getting things off the ground, your Aunt and I have decided that she and you will stay behind in England and I will be visiting, likely one weekend a month, but maybe less depending on how things go. The house has been sold and a flat has been rented for the summer here in London. After you and Dudley return to school in the fall, Petunia will be coming to Canada to set up a new house there. We are keeping Dudley in Smeltings, don't want to throw his education off by changing in the middle, now do we? You, of course, will return to that place, unfortunately we haven't a say in that. This brings us to matters we do have a say in. When you were left on our doorstep, there was only a letter saying that that VoldyMort person killed your parents and that we were the only ones who could care for you. There was no explanation of what to do if your freakiness caused problems or who to contact if anything went wrong. Your Aunt hadn't spoken to your mother in years. I'm sure you have heard stories about how wonderful your parents were from all those other freaks; well our perspective was a bit different. Your mother was quite a bit younger than your Aunt; she was still at school when we married…"
"Yes, and she brought that dratted Potter boy to our wedding," Aunt Petunia interjected furiously. "Mother and Father spent the entire reception showing off their perfect little Lily and her handsome, rich boyfriend. Father even missed his toast because he was bragging about what a brilliant match Lily had made, never mind that he was a condescending prat. No one saw us off for our honeymoon, they were celebrating Potter's impromptu proposal and planning Lily's wedding. Not that it influenced them at all. None of our family was invited to her wedding. The Potter's wanted a traditional Wizard Ceremony and it 'would have been just to hard to explain to everyone.' She never bothered to explain why she couldn't invite her own parents, it killed Father, he passed away in the night after she told them they couldn't see her get married. And when Mother got ill, she never visited, just wrote that she and James were terribly busy with very important business. The only reason we knew you had been born was because Dumbledore came to tell us about Voldemort and that we might be in danger due to his fixation with you. No offer of protection for my own son, no advice on what to do, just a thought you should know. Lily and James didn't come to Mother's funeral either, didn't even send a note. No, she was to caught up in her pretty new life as Lady of the Manor to pay her family any mind," Petunia had clearly been needing to vent for quite sometime.
Vernon handed Petunia a glass of water he had gotten at some point during Petunia's speech and picked up where he had left off.
"As I was saying, the only document left with you was a vague letter. I don't know if your parents left a will but I doubt it mentioned us, much less named us as your guardians. I have discussed the matter with a lawyer that has a familiarity with your world and have taken actions I should have taken long ago. Dumbledore has made it clear to us that you must reside with your Aunt until your seventeenth birthday and we agreed to that many years ago. However, none of your kind ever filed any paperwork to make the arrangement legal or set out boundaries. That is what I have done. The lawyer has done quite a bit of checking into whether the Potter's had a will and has been unable to locate one. He has explained that in your world's laws you inherited everything the Potter's had as their only heir. Without a legal arrangement declaring me as your guardian he was not able to gain specifics about the estate but had a passing familiarity with it. He confirmed my suspicions that your father was a very wealthy man. I have been told that without a will the majority of the estate is held in a bank trust and you have access to a limited amount of funds until you come of age. I can only assume that these have been used for your expenses the last five years, if it is with your knowledge or if Dumbledore has been providing your school supplies and not telling you the source of the money, I don't know. Regardless, I have no interest in the Potter Estate. Your father was an arrogant prat the only time I met him and I want nothing to do with his money. I have worked hard for what my family has and while we may not be as wealthy as some, I am proud of what I have accomplished. I don't know what work, if any, Potter did before he died, but I suspect most of his money was inherited. I don't want anything handed to me. Now, in the morning your Aunt will take you to the lawyer and he will review the paperwork we have come up with. This summer, you will stay in the flat with your Aunt and help her with chores. I don't know what can be done with the education you're receiving at that school, but if you decide to loaf about, living off your inheritance, it won't be because you can't work in the normal world. We have spoken to a high school in London and explained that you have been attending an alternative school due to your parent's wishes and we haven't been able to come to an agreement with the other parties involved so we're working around them. Next week you will begin attending The St Thomas Aquinas School. You will meet with an advisor and chose a course of study. For the summer, you will attend classes. This school specializes in students who have had the normal course of their education disrupted in some way. They will test you to find out where you should start and the classes are self-paced, meaning that as you complete a level and pass the test, you will be promoted to the next level, without following a set calendar of study. There is a maximum time limit for completing each level, but I have been assured that it is not unreasonable. When you leave for the school year, you will continue your studies by correspondence. I have been told that they will adjust your workload to take into account your other schoolwork. At the winter holidays either Petunia or myself will meet you at the train station and take you to be tested on any subjects you have completed. Next summer, you will be transferred to the Canadian branch of the school and continue there. After your seventeenth birthday, you may quit if you chose. However, if you do quit at that time, you will pay me back the cost of your tuition and books and will move out of my house. If you continue your studies until they are completed, I will allow you to live in my home until you leave for the school year and you may come back during holidays to do your testing."
Uncle Vernon paused and studied his nephew for a long moment and Harry shifted in his seat, not sure if he could speak yet. Just as Harry began to open his mouth, Vernon started again.
"There are other matters to consider as well. The lawyer has drawn up documents stating that we are your legal guardians and as such have the final say until you come of age. He will also work with you separately to get a handle on your financial status so you won't be unprepared for that. Dumbledore will not be able to take you from our home without permission and while we have agreed to keep you in that school, your trust fund will continue to cover those costs, I won't pay for two schools. You will write those people regularly and you may explain what you will of these new arrangements to them. Make sure they are aware that you will not be spending the summer with them and that if they take you anyway, I do have the legal authority to have you brought back and charge them with kidnapping. They are the ones who saw fit to leave you with us rather than take you in then, they can bloody well live with the decision now. Any questions?"
Harry frowned not knowing quite where to start. He suddenly blurted out, "Why are you being nice to me?"
Vernon sighed and said, "I understand that our behavior seems strange to you. I suppose we have had more time to adjust to all this and are accepting it. After you and Dudley were attacked last summer, I thought all my fears from when we took you in were coming true and I was going to lose my family. The rather ominous warnings from Dumbledore have always unsettled me and that brought it to the forefront. Before you went to that school, I'll admit I didn't make the best decisions in how to raise you but I didn't allow myself to see any alternative. I saw how much pain your parents caused your Aunt and lashed out at you because they weren't there. I apologize for that and for allowing those people to provoke my temper."
Petunia stood up and took Vernon's hand," You see Harry, last autumn your Uncle had a minor heart attack."
Harry went pale and gasped. An hour ago had he been asked if he cared about Vernon Dursley, he would have answered a resounding "NO", but now that he was faced with the idea of losing the man, he was terrified. He couldn't lose anyone else.
Petunia hurried to continue," It wasn't horribly serious, just a wake up call. We realized that we have become people we don't particularly like and decided to make some changes. They have been slow in coming, but are for the better."
"Like sending Dudley to fa..I mean sports camp," Harry said.
"Yes, and you can call it what it is," Vernon chuckled. "Dudley is having trouble adjusting, but I don't what him to grow up to be like me."
"I understand and while I admit that this is all a bit much to take in, I think the school arrangement sound good. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do in life and I don't like the choices I've seen so far. I hadn't thought about a muggle career."
"Well, I'm glad this is working out," Vernon said. "I have some meetings to deal with before my flight, Petunia dear, I'll call first thing in the morning."
"You'll call when the plane lands, no matter the time, or you'll be hearing about it Vernon Dursley," snapped Petunia. "I won't sleep until I know you've arrived safely and you are well aware of it."
"Of course, dear. Now, let's get Harry's things into your car and you two can set off."
After Harry's trunk was secured in the boot of Petunia's car and Hedwig had been sent off to stretch her wings with instructions to find him at the new London flat that night, Harry and Petunia settled in to the front seat and Petunia asked if Harry would like any lunch. They set off for a small pub Petunia often ate at with Vernon and upon arrival asked for a table in the back. After tucking in to their lunch, Petunia finally spoke about the matter that had been weighing on Harry for days.
"A Professor McGonagall sent us a letter about your godfather. I'm sorry, I know he meant a lot to you."
"Thank you. I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. Everyone, all my friends, keep telling me I can't keep things bottled up but I'm just not ready."
"Okay. Why don't you tell me about something else. Your friend, school, anything. Give me a chance to get to know the real Harry."
"No one has ever wanted to know me before. Just the 'Boy-Who-Sodding-Lived'. Even my friends have never bothered to get to know me, they just assume I am who they think I am."
"Well I want to know Harry."
Harry and Petunia spent several hours at the pub finally getting to know each other. Harry refused to speak in depth about the previous ten months at Hogwarts, but shared details of his adventures during his first four years there. Petunia was barley able to restrain her outrage at the life-threatening situations her nephew had been thrust into and wondered to herself exactly what Dumbledore was setting Harry up for in the future. She was pleased that he had some happiness there, when he talked about some of his classes and Quittach. Her mood was darkened again when Harry told her about his friends. She was glad the boy had made friends at Hogwarts, Lord knew Dudley hadn't allowed him any in Surrey, but she just didn't like the sound of them and thought Harry seemed very isolated from the students in other houses and years.
"So there are four houses and seven years in each? Who do you spend time with outside of Ron and Hermione? Do you have study groups or school clubs," she asked.
"I spend time with the Quittach team during practice, but we didn't have a season last year and I couldn't play much this season. I led a sort of study club this year because our teacher was horrible, but I didn't really hang out with the kids in it…" Harry trailed off.
"Why not, it seems like that would be a great opportunity to make more friends?"
"Well, in the club I was kinda the teacher so it would have been harder to get the others to listen if I was joking around with them and a lot of the rest of the school doesn't like me because of the Tri-Wizard thing, some of them think I killed Cedric and the papers keep running articles about how I'm crazy and dangerous."
"Hmm, I'll speak to the lawyer to see what can be done about the papers, you are still a minor and they shouldn't be allowed to print lies about anyone anyway. For now I think we have some errands to run before going home."
The rest of the day was spent in a furry of shopping. By the time they arrived at the flat, Harry had a new wardrobe that fit perfectly, new glasses (he had decided against contacts, finding the idea of sticking his finger in his eyes creepy) and numerous new books in every subject that had caught Harry's fancy.
"After our appointment in the morning we'll go get you a computer, you'll need one for school, and a few other things. The flat is furnished, so we don't need anything there, but let me know what kind of furniture you would like in your room at the new house so I can order it before we get there," Petunia said.
"Th-thank you, Aunt Petunia," Harry stuttered, astounded at the kindness his aunt was showing.
"You're welcome, Harry, but really these are all things we should have done all along," Petunia responded sadly.
That night Harry had trouble getting to sleep, not because of the events at the DOM but because of his family's odd behavior.
"I don't know what to think, Hedwig," he murmured to the owl, "I feel like this is all a dream and I don't want to wake up. I might finally have a real family of my own, who'd have thought I'd find it in the Dursley's. Well, at least for the summer, I can't imagine it lasting when Dudley gets back."
Unbeknownst to Harry, Petunia had paused in the hallway when she heard him speak and remained listening after she realized he was talking to his bird.
"Oh Harry," she whispered," I hope you can come to trust us. Vernon and I have made so many mistakes, most of them affecting you. Please don't let it be too late for us to be a family."