Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, Sirius would never have died.
Thanks so much to my beta, Sophie / 3cheersforidiots! Thank you Sophie!
Written for the IWSC, Round 4
School and Year: Mahoutokoro, Year 2
Theme: AU - Neville is the Boy Who Lived
Main Prompt: Domineering
Additional Prompts: Snowing / Red
Word count: 3,300 (literally the limit)
Author's Note: Neville is the Boy Who Lived in this universe. I hope you all enjoy and love the story! Peace out! - Ninja
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It was Christmas Day. Snowflakes fluttered down from the gray sky, and Godric's Hollow was silent. The houses, however, were full of laughter and joy. One house in particular, was the happiest. Potter Manor was home to a joyous couple, James and Lily Potter, and their three children; Harry was 13, Samantha, or Sam was 10, and Aster was 8. Harry was in his third year at Hogwarts School and loved it with all his heart; his sisters were always pestering him for stories about his time there. Harry was a skinny boy with his father's black hair and his mother's green eyes. Samantha and Aster looked the exact opposite of their brother, having inherited their mother's flaming red hair and their father's hazel eyes.
Christmas was always a special time for the Potters, because it meant that Harry would come home from Hogwarts; but this year, Christmas would be a bit unusual.
Lily and her sister, Petunia Dursley, had not been on speaking terms with each other for a long time, but in the recent months, the two sisters had begun seeing each other again, occasionally meeting for tea or lunch. Petunia had even brought her son, Dudley, around once or twice to introduce him to the family, and he got on well with Harry. Petunia's husband, Vernon Dursley, however, despised the Potters and firmly objected to the idea of Petunia and Dudley seeing them. He hated anything to do with the Wizarding World and talking about it was banned in the Dursley household, so the Potters had never met him. Because of Lily's and Petunia's mending relationship though, Petunia had invited the Potters over for Christmas luncheon. Lily had accepted eagerly, hoping to meet Vernon, and perhaps to bridge the gap between their two families.
After the Potter family had finished opening their presents, Lily told them to change out of their pajamas and put proper clothes on.
"Something red and Christmasy!" she had called up to them on the stairs. Once the grumbling children had finished getting dressed and eaten breakfast, they trouped out to the car, a fancy 1979 Corvette. When Lily had been pregnant with Harry, James had bought themselves the car. He was so proud and excited when he had bought it, that he had placed nearly a dozen protective spells on it to make sure it never got scratched or dented. Lily had disapproved of the Corvette at first, thinking James should've bought a more practical car, but she couldn't deny how thrilling it was to fly down the street with the windows open. On rare occasions, such as their anniversary, James and Lily would go out alone and streak by the other cars, laughing and reliving memories of their younger days.
Usually, the car was reserved for just that, romantic nights, but since they wanted to appear as normal as possible, James had decided to drive the car, although Lily knew he really only wanted to try and show off to Uncle Vernon. They had just pulled out of the driveway when Aster piped up.
"Mum," Aster complained. "Why can't we use the Floo? It's so much easier and faster."
"Because," said Sam, who prided herself on knowing more than her sister, "Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Cousin Dudley are Muggles, Aster. They don't know how to have a connection to the Floo Network."
"Then how come Mummy does?" asked Aster confusedly.
"Because your mother is special and smart, Aster," said James from the front, smiling at Lily and giving her a kiss on the lips. Both Samantha and Aster mimed gagging, but Harry was miles away, ignoring everything going on in the car. He was thinking about his last Quidditch Match, when they had played against Ravenclaw. According to his Captain, Oliver Wood, it had been one of the best Golden Snitch captures he'd ever seen. He had been flying high above the Gryffindor goalposts, and they were leading 80-20, when he saw the Snitch near the ground. He had been so excited. He made a sharp dive, avoided a Bludger, and snatched the Snitch out of the air. Wood, seeing Harry fly past him, cheered loudly when he saw Harry come out of the dive with his hand clenched around the small shiny ball. The whole team had embraced him, his friends had congratulated him, and the Weasley twins had thrown a party in the Common Room. With that win, Gryffindor had very nearly clinched the Quidditch Cup, but because Slytherin beat Ravenclaw two weeks later, the snakes were still in the running.
"Alright, kids." His mother's serious voice brought Harry out of his thoughts. "Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley are okay with magic, but Uncle Vernon isn't. So, I don't want any of you, including you," she looked sternly at James, "to talk about magic or do any magic or even say the word 'magic' near Uncle Vernon, okay?" The children nodded.
"If Aunt Petunia or Cousin Dudley ask you about it, you can talk about it quietly, but make sure Uncle Vernon doesn't hear you. And Harry," Lily continued, turning her gaze onto her eldest. "I know you love it, but try not to talk about Quidditch and Hogwarts too loudly, okay?" Harry smiled and nodded. He knew what his mother was referring to. A couple of weeks ago, when he and his mother had met Aunt Petunia and Dudley at a tea shop, Harry had gotten so excited during his and Dudley's conversation about Quidditch that his loud voice made people stare at him as though he were mentally challenged.
"Do you all understand me?" Lily asked the group. There was a chorus of assent.
"Good," Lily said, giving them a smile. "Now, I think we're almost there." She turned back to face the road ahead.
As they cruised slowly down the road, a large pile of snow and ice suddenly fell from a tree above, obstructing the road. James slammed on the breaks and a few other cars behind them did as well. Thankfully, an older gentleman, who was driving behind them, had a shovel in his truck, and he and James were able to move the snow with relative ease, only pausing their journey for fifteen minutes or so. Once James and Lily had thanked the man, the cars were moving again, and the Potters drove on. After another ten minutes, James pulled the car into the Dursleys' driveway. As she pulled a few bright red paper-wrapped presents for the Dursleys out of the trunk, Lily chuckled at her husband, as he tried to park. He was taking great care to place it where all the neighbors could see. Once he had finished, the entire family, dressed in red and trying to look cheerful, faced the front door of the house warily. They all knew that Aunt Petunia had changed and that Dudley was used to them, but they had never met Uncle Vernon, and from what Petunia had said, Vernon could be very rude and angry.
"You ready?" James asked Lily.
"I think so," Lily replied. "I just - I just hope that we don't fight." Lily took a deep breath, smiled and strode to the front door, her family a few steps behind her. She rang the doorbell, and they heard thundering footsteps approaching from the other side.
A heavy man with a large mustache and thick neck answered the door.
"Hello, you must be Vernon, Petunia's husband?" Lily said pleasantly.
"You're late," Vernon scoffed. "Petunia!" he yelled. He didn't even acknowledge what Lily had said. He merely looked the family up and down and walked off, leaving Petunia to greet them.
"Hi, Lily," Petunia said shyly. "Please come in." She moved aside so the family could pass her, then shut the door quickly. They all walked into the living room, where Dudley sat reading a comic and Vernon stood looking extremely wary of the visitors.
"You can put those right there with the rest," Aunt Petunia said, pointing at a small pile of presents near the coffee table. Lily deposited the packages they were carrying, and the children sat down hesitantly on the couch. Dudley had put down his comic book and immediately started talking to Harry in a low voice.
"So, the other day you were telling me about Quidditch. What were you going to say before we left? Something about a World Cup?"
"Oh, yeah!" Harry said excitedly and he began telling Dudley of the last Quidditch World Cup his family had gone to. He liked his cousin. Dudley was a large, beefy boy and looked very much like his father, but he was interested in the magical world and was fun to talk to. Harry enjoyed telling Dudley about Hogwarts, his friends, Hagrid, and especially Quidditch. Dudley was a bit spoiled, but it seemed to Harry that Petunia wasn't the one spoiling her son, for even though Petunia loved her son, she was not opposed to telling him 'no.'
While Petunia, Lily, and the girls chatted a bit, and Harry's and Dudley's Quidditch conversation continued, James attempted a conversation with Vernon, who was still eyeing the newcomers suspiciously.
"So, Vernon, Lily tells me that you sell drills? Good business?"
"Very good, as a matter of fact," Vernon replied shortly.
"Good, good," James replied, wondering what to say next. "So - uh - how do drills work?" Vernon turned his beady eyes upon James.
"You mean to tell me," he said, bewildered. "That you people don't know what drills are?"
"Well, no, we don't. We have no need for them in - in our world," replied James honestly. Vernon grunted disapprovingly.
"They're used for drilling screws into wood and things. They're used to build things," Vernon said in a mocking tone, and he puffed his chest out, obviously pleased that he knew something James didn't.
"Oh, I see," James said. He wished he could walk away from Vernon, but he had promised Lily that he would try to be friendly with him.
"So, what do you do in your . . . place?" asked Vernon, sneering slightly.
"Well, see, I actually don't work," James said. He had a feeling Vernon would frown upon this, and he was right.
"What do you mean, you don't work?" Vernon asked incredulously. "How do you support your family? I guess your wife probably does all the work, does she?"
"Actually, no, she doesn't," said James indignantly. "See, my parents were, well, quite incredible people and they invented some incredible things, and it - it made them good money. When they died a few years ago, I inherited that money." Vernon grunted again and looked ready to say something about rich people, but luckily, Lily chose that time to beckon them to the table.
"I figured that we could have a small lunch, since we're all probably planning on eating a big dinner tonight," Petunia said, as they all took their seats at the table.
"That's just fine, Petunia," Lily said, turning to look at James and elbowing him hard in the ribs.
"Oh, yeah, sounds great! We had a large breakfast anyways," James said, lightly massaging his side.
As Petunia and Lily passed around plates of small sandwiches, crisps, and biscuits, Uncle Vernon turned to Harry. "So, boy, how old are you?"
"13, sir," Harry replied, digging into his plate.
"I see," Vernon said shortly. He still seemed to want to say something else, but kept quiet.
After that, nobody spoke, and they ate lunch in a rather uncomfortable silence, mainly because Vernon kept shooting James suspicious glances. Lily, Petunia, and the kids were usually comfortable with each other, but when James and Vernon were added to the equation, it was rather stressful.
"Well," said Petunia, after they were done eating. "Would you kids like to open your presents?" Both Samantha and Aster stood up immediately and smiled broadly.
"I think that was a yes," Lily said, laughing. The children bounced back in the living room, James and Vernon behind them. Vernon looked grumpy and sat down, pulling his newspaper out from under him and unfolding it. After hurriedly cleaning the kitchen, Lily and Petunia joined the children and sat down on the floor next to them.
"First, Dudley," said Lily, beckoning him towards her and handing him a large, shiny, red parcel. Dudley looked excited and tore into the present.
"Wow! Thanks, Aunt Lily, Uncle James!" Dudley exclaimed. They had given him the latest edition of a muggle train set.
"Your mother tells me that you love trains," Lily said, smiling happily at her nephew.
"Oh, yes!" Dudley replied happily. "I want to be an engineer someday," he said, admiring his present.
"Here you two," said Petunia to Samantha and Aster, but not before giving her husband an irritated look. Uncle Vernon was still reading the paper, and wasn't paying any attention to what was happening around him.
Aunt Petunia handed the two girls two identical boxes. Samantha and Aster tore into them immediately and gasped when they saw what was inside. Each girl held a box full of animal statues, which could stand and walk robotically.
"When I was at your house a few weeks ago, I noticed that you two girls had a lot of animal toys. I thought you might like these."
"Oh, thank you, Aunt Petunia," Aster exclaimed, jumping up to hug her.
"Yes, thank you, Aunt Petunia," added Sam, smiling at her, her eyes twinkling.
"You're very welcome, dears," replied Aunt Petunia, beaming.
"Petunia, this is for you and Vernon," said Lily, handing her a small envelope.
"Thank you, Lily," said Petunia kindly. She threw Vernon another glance as he continued reading, then opened the envelope.
"Oh, how nice," Petunia said. The Potters had given them a gift certificate to the nicest Muggle restaurant they knew. "Isn't this nice, Vernon?" said Petunia, showing the card to her husband. Vernon looked at it briefly.
"Hmph," he grunted, looking back at his paper. Petunia looked rather hurt and sent an apologetic glance James and Lily's way.
Once the presents were all opened, Petunia and Dudley settled into a comfortable conversation with the Potters. They had all nearly forgotten Vernon was there. They were talking about Harry and his schooling at Hogwarts. Harry had been hesitant to talk about Hogwarts, remembering his mother's words of wisdom in the car, but Lily, after throwing a furtive look Vernon's way, gave him a small nod to continue. Harry smiled happily and told his aunt everything about Hogwarts. He told her of his classes and Quidditch, and he told her of the castle and its occupants. It seemed to him that Aunt Petunia was drinking in every word. Little did he know, many years earlier, Petunia had begged Professor Dumbledore to allow her to accompany Lily to Hogwarts.
When Harry paused for a moment, Aunt Petunia was about to ask a question, but Aster interrupted her.
"So, Aunt Petunia, you aren't able to use any magic?" Aster asked, momentarily forgetting her mother's instructions about saying the word 'magic'.
"I'm afr-" Petunia began kindly, but Uncle Vernon, who had been attempting to block everything out, shut her down with an outburst.
"HOW DARE YOU?" he roared with fury, standing up. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT - THAT WORD IN MY HOUSE! NOTHING GOOD WILL COME OF ANY OF YOU! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW, YOU - YOU FREAKS!"
"Mummy!" yelled Aster, full of fright, jumping into Lily's arms. Samantha moved to cling to her father's side, and James put his arm firmly around Harry's shoulders. The room was silent for a moment, except for Aster's sniffs and Uncle Vernon's heavy breathing, when Harry broke away from his father and took a few steps towards Uncle Vernon.
"How dare you," Harry began, very calmly and seriously, "speak to my sister like that?" Harry, always protective of his family, felt his magic boiling up inside him and took another step towards Vernon. He had opened his mouth to speak again, but Aunt Petunia cut him off.
"Get out!" Everybody looked at her. Lily was afraid that Petunia was speaking to her and her family, agreeing with Vernon, but Petunia's gaze was fixed on her husband.
"P-Petunia?" Vernon sputtered. It seemed that he did not understand the situation either.
"You heard me, get out!" Petunia said again. "You do nothing around here. Maybe you pay the bills, but I would rather get a job myself than have you turn Dudley into someone like you! You spoil Dudley rotten and never punish him for anything, even when I tell you he's done something wrong. You treat me horribly, and I hate it. You never do anything for this family. You berate anything that's different. You say you love me, but I see you flirting with the neighbor down the street. It's sickening! I'm sick of your attitude towards my family and your son and myself. Now pack your things and leave, because I'm calling a divorce lawyer first thing tomorrow." Vernon staggered backwards, stunned speechless. He turned and walked up the stairs, his step quickening every second, as what his wife had just said sunk in deeper.
"You - you called us your family," said Lily incredulously.
"Well, you are, aren't you?" Petunia replied. "Dudley," she began, looking at her son with love and sadness. "I'm so very sorry, my love, but I think our life might be better without your father." Just as she said this, they heard loud, slamming sounds coming from upstairs where Vernon was packing his things.
"I - I know you're doing what you think is best, Mum," Dudley said, a bit shocked and teary-eyed at what had just transpired between his parents.
"I love you, sweetheart," said Petunia, pulling Dudley into a hug.
"I love you too, Mum," Dudley told her thickly. The Potters kept quiet, leaving Petunia and Dudley to their private moment. Vernon interrupted it though, thundering down the stairs in anger.
"I can't believe you're doing this," he said at the foot of the stairs. "After everything I've done for you and our son!"
"You have done nothing for me or Dudley, except curse us with your prejudiced views and your filthy thoughts," Petunia screeched at him. "I agreed with you only for the sake of love, but I realize that isn't enough anymore! I want more out of life than what you can give me. I want my son to be a part of a real family and not grow up to be a small minded man like you!" Vernon and the Potters were astonished. Never had any of them heard Petunia frustrated and angry like this. Even Lily, who had witnessed some very memorable rants when they were younger, was surprised, yet proud. Vernon was still staring at Petunia, then turned to walk towards the front door. Just as he reached it, his voice echoed around the house.
"You'll regret this! One day you'll realize what a mistake you made and how much you need me!" he yelled, and he slammed the door behind him. The house was quiet for a few minutes, letting everybody soak in what had just happened.
"I'm so proud of you, sis," Lily finally said, breaking the silence.
"Thank you, Lils," Petunia said warmly. "Dudley, are you okay?"
Dudley looked at her with love. "I'm fine, Mum. Maybe a little shocked, but I'm okay," he said, with a small chuckle. Petunia smiled and hugged him again.
"Well," said James. "What do we do now?"
"Petunia, Dudley, please come over to our house for the rest of the day," Lily said. James and the children nodded their agreement.
"Are - are you sure?" asked Petunia hesitantly. "We don't want to impose."
"We insist," said James, looking warmly at her. "After all, you're family."
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Author's Note II: I hope you all enjoyed the story! Please leave a review as it really helps spur me on to more writing! Bye!