Author's Note: In my world I have two beliefs: one, Petunia Dursley was a huge bitch for letting the abuse happen so naturally she must have been the instigator for all of it. Two, that would Vernon still feel the need to abuse the child when he didn't really know what their world was really like? Would Vernon feel the need to hurt an innocent child for genes that they had no control of? Would Vernon hurt a girl/woman considering the 'shady' life that he came from? No. So, for once, Vernon Dursley will NOT be the bad guy in this story because he doesn't really know anything about that world. Vernon, to me at least, is an outside observer. He has to think "How would I feel if the situation was reversed? Would I want my child treated this way?" No. Petunia was jealous and bitter. Vernon was ignorant of all of it and only had Petunia's words to go on. Vernon will be smarter than originally shown, nicer, and in my opinion younger than Petunia. Will Petunia change? Maybe..and that is a huge MAYBE. It takes time for a person to get over bitterness, resentment, and stupidity.
Disclaimer: What the hell are you lawyers looking at? Do I look like I am J.K? Would my ass be writing fanfiction if I actually owned anything that is copyrighted and trademarked as J.K Rowlings? NO! You dumbasses. If I owned it I would be in Hawaii being rubbed by hot men and drinking fruity drinks. Instead I am watching it rain and so damn bored that I am playing with imaginary people….IMANGINARY PEOPLE DAMNIT!...So…no the following story is only based off from the original creation and is no way actually owned by this author, I am not making any profit and I have no claims of ownership to anything except what is obviously not something that was in the original HP movies, books or etc. Ha! Take that you stupid….poopy headed…lawyers… Yea…that was weak. *blushes*
Prologue: Rainy Days
Jasmine Jamie (J.J) Potter lived in a cupboard under the stairs for what, to her, seemed like an eternity but was just five years. Her Aunt would not settle for her to be lazy nor stupid and thus started teaching her from the time she could walk. No baby talk was allowed from her. If she messed up and accidently slurred a word or mispronounced it she was smacked rather harshly. J.J learned quickly.
Vernon didn't believe in hurting girls/women, in fact, Vernon tended to give J.J sympathetic looks whenever Petunia wasn't looking. A two year old with a busted lip for mispronouncing detergent was pretty sad, even to Vernon. But Petunia's motto was that you "Didn't show sympathy for the devil." So Vernon was cowed by his wife into staying out of the matter. But J.J would always find a filled first aid kit and a box filled with water and snacks for her to survive on in her cupboard at the beginning of every month. Vernon Dursley was actually J.J's first source of solace and relief. His small offering of food, water, and medical relief helped J.J greatly.
Petunia taught J.J how to read, write, do math, take care of her own personal needs, and start doing work around the house. Most 5 year old girls played with dolls J.J was doing laundry and cleaning the house. Most girls had play dates with other kids, J.J was learning how to cook and fix clothing. Other kids were given loved and tucked into bed, Petunia smacked and beat J.J repeatedly for doing the smallest thing wrong and threw her into a cupboard that you would normally put coats into not a child.
J.J was smart because she had to be to survive. J.J learned how to do things quickly because she didn't like being hurt by her Aunt. J.J hugged her old pillow for comfort as her body shook in pain. This was the young girl's daily life. Vernon Dursley watched it all from the shadows with sad eyes. He too had experienced abuse like this when he was younger. It is why he turned to food for comfort. It's why he valued money more than actually showing feelings. Because people hurt you and they lie. His father did the same thing to him and Marge that Petunia was doing to the young girl. He felt helpless because he didn't know what to do.
The girl was special. But Petunia called her a freak of nature. The girl was still a girl. Petunia called her an exact copy of her sister. The girl was so young. Petunia said age didn't matter she was still dangerous to Dudley. It was after a particularly harsh beating that Vernon decided to do more for the girl, at least, in secret. He told Petunia that "When the girl starts school I will handle all of that nonsense so you can relax. I will sign her reports and cards. You let me take care of it, Pet, you deserve a break." He said kissing her cheek. Petunia softened right before his eyes and became the woman that he loved instead of the abusive woman he constantly saw around the little girl. Vernon decided that it was time for things to change and, as he watched his wife walk upstairs smiling, he realized that he had to do it before she accidently killed the little girl for something that Petunia still held against her dead sister.
It was raining. J.J was sure of this because her fiery red hair was curled in bouncy little curls when she woke up. Her hair seemed to be wavy on most days but add a little rain into the forecast and it was a mess of firm curls. Her emerald eyes looked around her cupboard and she sighed. Today she had the upstairs chores to do: fold and put away laundry, take other laundry down to the laundry room, make the beds, pick up the floors, clean the bathrooms, remove any dust and spiders, and clean and freshen up the guest room incase Aunt Marge decides to stop by.
Right now the cupboard door was still locked so she had dressed and pulled her hair back with a rubber band waiting for her Aunt to open it. J.J sighed tiredly and with great sadness. Nothing she seemed to do was good enough for her Aunt. J.J had read that some adults were mean to children despite how good the child really was. Her Aunt obviously just…hated…her for something that she had no control over. Vernon was alright enough he helped her a little bit and relatively ignored her on most days. Dudley told her that girls were weird and left her alone though he did tease her but that was what she noticed all boys doing to girls at one point or another. She could shrug off the verbal because it was all easy to ignore but…the physical left lasting damage and pain. It's hard to shrug off a beating when there are scars left as a reminder.
The door unlocked but it wasn't her Aunt standing there it was her Uncle standing there. "Your Aunt had a bunch of errands to run today and took Dudley with her. Come out we need to have a chat." He said moving toward the sitting room. J.J haltingly moved feeling very confused but did as her Uncle said. He was nice enough but that didn't mean that he wouldn't hurt her. Adults tended to lie, after all, so it's best to be cautious of everything they did and say.
She entered the sitting room and stood over to the side waiting for him to talk. "Have a seat." He said motioning to the armchair. She looked very worried and confused now. She wasn't allowed to sit on the furniture. Aunt Petunia had beaten her very badly the first, last, and only time she ever had.
"I'm not allowed to, Uncle Vernon." She said softly, folding her fingers together. Vernon sighed deeply.
"It's alright you wont get into trouble and I wont say anything to your Aunt. Please, sit down." He said softly.
"Ok." She watched him wearily as she took a seat as if as soon as her body hit the soft chair that he would hurt her. Vernon watched as she sat stiffly but didn't fault her. Petunia had done the same thing to her. Told her to sit and then hurt her when she did. The girl was confused but that would soon change. He was going to help J.J greatly.
"First, from now on things are going to be different. You are starting school in the fall. If a teacher asks for your guardian to sign anything whether it's a test, paper, report, or something they need me to fill out, you bring it to me to do and not you're Aunt. Understand?" he asked. J.J seemed to relax minutely and nodded slowly.
"Bring things to you if they need to be seen or signed and not Aunt Petunia." She repeated back to him so he would know she heard. She memorized in her mind so she wouldn't forget.
"As for your grades I expect you to do the best that you can no matter what Petunia says or how Dudley reacts. You won't get into trouble for it." He said nodding firmly. J.J looked surprised but nodded again.
"Do my best." She muttered with a very tiny smile. Vernon grinned back at her.
"Next, about your room. I looked at our house plans and discovered that the attic would be perfect place for you to stay from now on. I had forgotten all about the fact that the previous owner turned the attic into an apartment to rent out before they passed away and the house was put up for sale. It's not much but it's perfect for one person. A living room and Kitchen for the main room and a bedroom and bathroom. The windows and door to that opens to a small porch and has stairs down the opposite side of the house between the small space between our house and Mr. Reynolds house. There are no windows in that space so you will be able to come and go as you please. I will be giving you some money to live on from now on. You will have to buy your own clothes, food, and supplies. There is a small little closet with a washer and dryer hooked up too. I will show you how to use that. Everything upstairs is already hooked up and set up I did it yesterday while you were gardening and Petunia was down the street having tea with the neighbors. Everything up there is used and old but…oomph!" it came to a great shock for both Vernon and J.J to find that she had launched herself at him and was currently hugging the hell out of the man.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you…this…this is the nicest things ever. I can't tell you how much this means to me…I will get jobs and stuff so you won't have to continuously pay money for me but…" J.J rambled tearfully. Vernon, stunned at first, hugged the little girl to him and gently rubbed her back in comfort.
"It's alright Petunia won't notice anything different about the money as long as Dudley and herself are spoiled. You can consider this a large present to make up for the lack of anything these past years that you have been here. I don't blame you for anything. You haven't deserved anything that has been happening." He said softly. He felt shy that J.J had hugged him. It was like having his own little girl giving him a hug. It made him yearn for more children which was shocking because he had been happy with just Dudley and the shadow that was J.J. But now he thought about J.J being his own child and his eyes filled with tears at how she had lived so far. He gently put her down and patted her head.
"Thank you, Uncle Vernon." She said trying to hold back from crying in joy.
"No problem. Let's get you moved and set up before your Aunt gets home." He said standing. J.J quickly nodded and dashed to her cupboard smiling a grin for the first time over something good happening at Number 4 Privet Drive.
Chapter One: As Time Goes By
Getting J.J up into the attic had been easy. She didn't own much which Vernon lamented greatly and thus told her that everything in the attic was now officially hers and hers alone. When she moved out she could do whatever she wanted with the stuff in the attic. The apartment was hers as well from now until she leaves to do whatever she wanted in the future. J.J had been speechless even after Vernon left.
Vernon had brought up stored away and forgotten about items from the garage and basement that had been squirreled away to rot after new things had been purchased. These things also included a slew of hobby and craft items that Petunia purchased but never even used after reading a book and finding out how hard they actually were. J.J who learned quickly and loved learning new things to use for her survival and personal use was excited about all of it which included a new sewing machine, sketch pads, water color painting set, and a bunch of knitting supplies.
J.J had a tea set, cookware, bedding, and much more. Vernon, much to J.J's surprise, kept his word. He installed a mail slot on the attic door and every month would push an envelope with money through the slot with enough money for J.J to live on. J.J herself still did her chores but they were cut down to cooking breakfast, gardening, and doing the laundry. She went to school and got good grades. But J.J kept her word as well and got jobs outside of the house to do. She worked hard doing the gardening, running errands, and doing other work for neighbors. Mrs. Figg was so relieved for the help around her house that not only did she pay J.J but taught her how to knit, crotchet, and hand stitch things. This helped J.J greatly with her growing skills and ways of survival. She was able to keep everything she owned in good condition for as long as she could and even started making her own things like sweaters, blankets, gloves, scarves, and socks.
She managed her money well but still had enough for food, necessities, and new clothes for the school year. Vernon bought her one gift for her birthday and Christmas every year. He would have bought more but Petunia got suspicious when he tried. J.J explained that she was happy with just one and not to worry.
But Vernon, realizing that J.J needed more, became crafty. He would buy something every month until the day of the celebration. He would then put it all in one box and wrap it before sneaking it to J.J. The girl was always grateful and never complained. He bought her stuff that most little girls already had: a hairbrush set with the accessories, books, and more expensive clothing that J.J couldn't afford herself or refused to buy herself like a new winter coat. In return J.J made Vernon something and would wrap it up. Like a new sapphire blue sweater with snow flakes that he proudly wore during the cold months. Or when she made him a portrait of himself, Dudley, and Petunia happy and smiling together which he hung up in his office for his birthday.
Vernon was loosing weight and trying to get healthy. He was also trying to talk Petunia into having more children but she was constantly using Dudley as a barricade about how he still needed her. Dudley was following his father's example and started loosing weight himself. He was also, much to everyone's surprise, studying and working harder on his grades to make his father proud. And Vernon was proud. But he was still sad and wanted to have a larger family. And Vernon had an idea why she wanted to keep waiting. She wanted to see if Dudley was going to have magic or get a letter when he turned eleven. Because despite herself not having magic any of Petunia's future children could develop it because she herself was considered a squid…or squib or something like that. So he would wait but that didn't stop him from wooing her and slowly nudging her into that line of thought.
But J.J wasn't completely safe. Any time she was in Petunia's presents there was a chance of being beaten she had even taken a frying pan to the head one afternoon when she was bringing up laundry from the basement. Apparently she 'Should have been done by now!" even though it was still early in the morning.
Time seemed to fly by and the older J.J the more she changed. She got taller, prettier, more talented, and started discovering how different she really was. There was one hot summer day when she was nine years old that J.J's world shifted. She had been gardening when she heard a small voice talking….
*I love the warmth* came a small voice and J.J found herself responding.
*Yes, it's always nice working on hot days like this. Feels nice being out and about.* she said and suddenly she heard a surprised hiss and a rustle.
*A speaker?* A large green garden snake slithered out from the flower beds startling J.J momentarily.
*I suppose so* J.J replied staring at the snake. The snake was rather pretty and it slithered closer slowly.
*You taste surprised* it hissed amused, *you did not know?* it asked.
J.J smirked, *You are the first snake that I have seen* she hissed at the snake, *So yes I was surprised*
*What is your name, human?* it curled up in front of her and raised its head. J.J checked to see if anyone was looking. Once she looked and was safe she spoke back.
*Jasmine but everyone calls me J.J* She told the snake with a smile, *and you, what is your name?* she asked going back to planting the new flowers. The snake watched her work but replied.
*Ares, I used to be a pet of a rude and nasty smelling boy* He replied. (AN: Symbolism anyone)
And thus began the friendship between Ares and J.J. They spent the rest of the summer together and he visited her in the fall before he had to go deep in the ground for the coming cold months. Every spring, summer, and fall though they would talk and spend time with each other. Weird things started happening more frequently. It used to be that it would happen only occasionally but it started becoming more frequent and was worrying J.J greatly. Like when she started feeling other people's emotions or when she started moving things with her mind. Books that she found said that this was empathy and telekinesis which can be nurtured and developed until they were very powerful. J.J kept these things hidden but figured that learning control and strengthening them would be for the best. So…she got to work.
Focusing only on one person was really hard to do especially when she was in class. She learned that anything with a brain experienced emotions in various ranges. If it could communicate in anyway it had emotions. Small insects did not have emotions but larger things did: rats, gerbils, snakes, dogs, cats, birds, and all the way up to humans all had a slew of emotions that ranged sporadically. A human felt more emotions than anything else and they shifted almost all of the time. Imagine being in a room full of kids whose emotions constantly changed. At times it made J.J feel sick from how many people there was and how quickly they shifted. But slowly, very slowly, J.J learned to control it.
She learned she could control every emotion and its intensity with ease. She could develop it further that she could knock people out or make them fall in love with inanimate objects before breaking it and making them feel very, very weirded out and embarrassed. Like when Mrs. Samson decided to make fun of J.J in front of the class because she was wearing long sleeves during a rather hot day. As J.J sat down, tenderly from the beating she had gotten from her Aunt the prior evening, J.J got the woman back by making her fall in love and make-out with her chalkboard. It was rather entertaining and made J.J feel better at least emotionally. It would take her another year after that incident to learn to control her own emotions enough to help her with the physical pain that she felt.
As for telekinesis that was much easier to learn. It started simply: move a saucer from one end of the table to the other and back again. She watched Firestarter and got some ideas from the movie. First she would learn how to move light stuff and then heavier which would 'help' her mind develop its muscle. Then she would focus on more difficult things: bending things, floating something in space for a time and building that time up, throwing things and catching them with her mind, and so on. As the years passed so did the skill. She learned that this was a power that could literally develop further than what others may think. Like she could heal cuts, they would scar, but they would be healed non-the-less. Using the same movie she realized that that she could start fires, destroy a lot of stuff, and make things grow, fix things, and so on. The power was really very open ended.
Ares thought these things were rather amazing and that there was probably more to her than just what she had learnt thus far. J.J was rather skeptical she could speak to snakes, had empathy, and had telekinesis. What else could be special about her? But didn't she think the same thing when she started talking to snakes, or when her empathy started, or how about the first time a book flew into her hand; hadn't she thought this before and discovered something else about herself? Yes. So she told Ares that it was possible and that she would have to wait and see.
Though J.J or anyone else knew it at the moment the amount of abuse that J.J had suffered by Petunia Dursley's hand had forced her magic to change greatly. This was one of the reasons why Magical beings didn't believe in abusing their children because one, magical children were precious, and two, the effects that could occur were dangerous for the child because it could activate dormant blood lines that had been passed down through the generations, cause the magic to form new powers to protect the child from the abuser, and worse of all cause the child to enter their magical majority early if the abuse isn't stopped. A forced magical majority through severe abuse was the worse of all. This majority was supposed to happen during their seventeenth birthday and not before because of the effects. Like that dormant blood activating in a big way or the magic manipulating that dormant blood to form something new and more dangerous. It is actually what created the first Werewolf. Abuse and magic created a creature that really could defend itself from its aggressor.
But time continued to tick by. Vernon and J.J's relationship grew until it was almost like Vernon was her blood Uncle and not just by marriage. Dudley had joined in on the secret and now the only person out of the group was Petunia but that was because the issue of J.J changed Petunia into a harsh and cruel woman. J.J was thankful that not everyone in the family hated her and that she had some support. There had been some close calls when Dudley or Vernon had stepped in to stop the abuse but J.J had warned them off. She didn't want her to do anything to them or for her to be punished worse for doing 'freaky stuff' on Petunia's husband and son. So Dudley and Vernon had to sit back and watch in horror as the older J.J got the worse the abuse got whenever J.J got around Petunia longer than necessary.
Christmas was coming to Little Whinging. J.J's apartment was decorated for the festive season. She had a small 4ft tree up and decorated in the corner of her apartment with a red Christmas tree rug under it. Mrs. Figg and other neighbors had given her gifts and were under her tree or on it depending. J.J was happy that she had purchased a bicycle with a large metal basket on it to help her carry things and go to all of her jobs. Because of that bike she was able to carry the vast amount of gifts that she had received this year from the kind people she worked for, the gifts from the few friends she had at school and the secret prize she won from her teacher that was still wrapped and waiting for her to open. Her teacher had given out a series of hard questions on a piece of paper. They turned them in and whoever got some right would receive a special prize. The one with the most answers right got the grand prize. J.J had gotten all but one right and thus won the prize. She hadn't known the answer to that one math question but neither had anyone else. The teacher went over the answers so they could fully understand how to get the answers. She was curious but she was patient enough to wait on Christmas day to find out. Still, she had thought with a small sigh, Christmas was still two weeks away.
She had wrapped gifts under the tree for Vernon and Dudley. But surprisingly, and though she wasn't sure why she did it, she also had gifts for Petunia and Marge who was coming to Christmas at Number 4 this year. When Petunia went out to get groceries she was going to give Vernon the gifts to put under the tree. This was a very…dangerous…situation she was putting herself in but she had to try. J.J desperately wanted to have a good relationship with her Aunt. Despite everything the woman was her Aunt her last connection to her own mother who she knew nothing about. She didn't want this tortured relationship to be all that there was between them.
If J.J had known what would happen with her Aunt getting that gift she never would have bothered. She wouldn't have gotten her hopes up….or gone down stairs.
J.J had woken and started her chores as per usual. Vernon and Dudley said they were going out to get Petunia her gifts and would be back later. J.J got to work: she cleaned up the breakfast dishes, cleaned the bedrooms, and took the laundry down to the basement to be started. J.J was busy. The washer was going so she didn't hear the sound of her Aunt's feet stepping down the stairs. She didn't hear the small snap of the hard leather belt the woman had in her hand. She didn't see the bitter and ugly look on the woman's face as she watched J.J go about her usual chores. No, J.J never saw it coming.
SMACK
J.J stumbled forward into the washer as a searing pain shattered across her back. Blow after blow hit her and she fell to her knees onto the floor. She felt the back of her sweater rip with the vicious blows from the weapon. She felt her flesh tear and hot oozing blood spray from her back. Her Aunt threw the belt down and started using her hands and feet on beating the girl. She pulled her up by her hair and slammed her head hard into the metal washer repeatedly. Blood poured from the young girl's hairline and nose. Her lips split as the woman had jerked her around and started smacking her repeatedly across the face.
"Pl..Please stop." J.J gasped.
The woman's eyes shined with rage. Cruel words spewed forth but J.J couldn't catch much of it from the pain and ringing in her ears.
"Aunt Pet…Petunia...Please." she cried.
From what she gathered from the garbled words Petunia had found the gift that J.J had made her. The woman hadn't opened it, hadn't even looked at it. She simply threw it down and stormed to the closet and gotten the belt before coming down the stairs. In all honesty J.J didn't understand why she was doing this. Didn't understand what had set her off. It was a gift. But as darkness slowly moved in and her breathing got wet J.J figured it out. She didn't want a Christmas gift from an 'abnormal' girl. She didn't think the girl should even celebrate the day at all. Finally, darkness swallowed J.J whole and she let it. J.J's heart shattered along with whatever hope she had at trying to connect with her Aunt.
Petunia panted harshly and stared at her niece. Slowly she regained her breath before realization slowly started closing in on her. Her hands were coated with blood and a pool of it was forming around the girl as well. She stumbled back in horror. She…she hadn't meant to do that. She had been rearranging the gifts. She…she saw the ones addressed to her and her husband and son and just…..something came over her. She didn't know what happened. It was like one minute she was looking at the gift and the next she was looking at the blood. She shook almost crying. She had beaten the girl before but never this viciously. Never to this extent. Bruises yes and split lips and shallow cuts that tended to scar she had given the girl but not this.
She turned the girl over and saw how pale she was. Petunia gasped in worry. Panic surged through her and when she heard her boys arrive back she rushed up the stairs to her husband.
"Vernon…I…I didn't mean to. Something…something is wrong with me...I hurt her….I…" Petunia babbled and Vernon stared in horror at his wife who stood in the hall as they entered. Dudley paled and looked at his mothers bloody hands and thought the worse.
"You…you killed her?" he asked tearfully. His mother paled further, tears raced down her face.
"N-no….I…she…she is still breathing just…..hurt badly. Vernon ….I didn't mean to do this…something is wrong with me. I had been happy and was looking at the gifts. I saw the ones from the girl and suddenly….suddenly darkness and when I was able to see again…she…I had….in the basement." She said falling to her knees. Vernon swallowed harshly and blinked back tears. First, he had to see to his niece then he would do what he could to help…help his wife.
"Dudley, take these things upstairs to your room. I will check on J.J and help her. You put those away quickly and help your mother to the couch. Get her some ice water and a cold wash cloth for her hands." He said quickly handing the bags to his son before darting toward the basement stairs. Dudley rushed to do as his father said. He shook and through his tears got the glass of ice water and cloth for his mother. He…didn't want to be near her but…he couldn't turn away from the distraught woman. After she had, with shaking hands, drunk half of the water, she took the cloth to her busted knuckles cleaning them and applying the cold to her hands that would be bruised but she didn't care. She had almost….she could have…she broke down with harsh sobs. "I didn't mean to." She cried over and over again.
Dudley loved his mothers and hurt to see her like this. He pulled her into his small arms and rocked her as she sobbed her heart out. His mother was a good woman. Sure she liked to gossip. She liked to spoil him but she was still a good woman underneath all of those layers. He remembered when she would rock him in her arms when he got scared of harsh thunderstorms or when she would tuck him in at night. But he saw her turn into a monster whenever J.J was in her eyesight. Something was wrong. His mother really needed help. And he was sure that his dad would know what to do.
Vernon raced down the stairs quickly. He halted gaping in horror at how badly his niece was hurt. She had, in his heart, become the daughter he had wanted. He had silently admitted to himself that he loved her like she was his own child. So seeing J.J like this made his lips tremble as tears rushed down his face. He shook himself and dashed toward her. The man had changed a lot and he owed it to this girl for all of the good things that he had in his life. He had lost weight, shaved his awful mustache off, and looked much younger than he used to. He looked his age of a thirty-five year old man still young to have children and healthier.
Vernon had worked as a nurse when he younger but Grunnings had offered what he needed to support his family: higher pay, better benefits, and a retirement plan. But he still held that knowledge in his head it's why he always knew how to prepare those first-aid kits for J.J when she was younger. She had a no broken bones and he was thankful that his wife wasn't physically strong. The girl did have a lot of wounds the worse on her back and head. Bruises were already starting to form. He felt her ribs and sighed in relief, none were broken. He looked her over and sighed. She probably blacked out from the blood. All of this he could take care of here at the house so taking her to a doctor wouldn't be necessary. He gritted his teeth as he thought about his wife. Petunia on the other hand needed serious help. And he was going to finally put his foot down. He would be damned before he let that woman lay her hand on J.J again just because she was her sister's daughter and had magic. If they had other children that were magical would she attack them as well? He wouldn't let her.
He gently lifted J.J from the cold floor and gently carried her from the basement. He walked through the house and ignored the questioning looks of his son and wife for a moment as he sat her carefully down on the couch face first.
"Dudley, I need you to help me." He said tiredly, still ignoring Petunia, who stared at J.J whimpering.
"W-whatever you need dad, just tell me." He said shakily nodding.
"I need you to go get that big first-aid kit that I keep in my closet, some towels, and a large bowl of hot water." He said and Dudley nodded before taking off quickly.
"Vernon…" Petunia whispered not looking away from what she did, "How badly did I hurt her?" she asked.
"No broken bones. But plenty of lesions and bruises especially on her back. I need to doctor the ones on her back first and stop the bleeding before the blood loss really hurts her. Then I will work on her head. It's bruised and I am sure she will be dizzy and in pain for a while but her head didn't have any cracks or swelling. It's just bruising and split skin." He said plainly.
"I'm so sorry. I don't…" She started but Vernon cut her off.
"We will deal with this later. She is more important right now. Then we will handle you." He said firmly. Petunia swallowed harshly.
"Here you go, dad." Dudley said carrying the kit and towels. He rushed off to the kitchen as soon as Vernon took his burden. He pulled out the necessary items and cut J.J's sweater away from her back. For the first time they all got a good long look at the damage that had bee accumulated over the years. Short scars, long jagged ones, smooth ones, and now more added to the collection. The belt had ripped through her pale flesh several times. The longest one was straight down her spine that curved as the belt ripped upwards off of her back. Another crossed the long one. There were smaller ones here and there ranging from the top of her shoulders to her pants. At least ten long scars and 15 or more short ones from the belt dragging and lifting with each hit.
Dudley's mouth was covered in horror. Vernon was gentle as he cleaned and doctored each one. Her whole back from shoulder to hips had to be bandaged. He pulled up her pants legs and checked her there. A few shallow cuts and bruises but nothing that needed to be attended to now so he lowered the jean legs back down. He gently turned her over.
"Dudley, you need to leave the room." Petunia said softly.
Dudley looked like he would protest but looked at his cousin before hurriedly leaving the room. The adults could hear him crying from the kitchen. J.J and Dudley's relationship had started out rocky. At first Dudley had been jealous that J.J and his father had been bonding this whole time. He ignored her and snapped at her for a few months after finding out. But one night he witnessed another beating. He saw his father being deterred by Petunia from seeing if J.J was ok as she disappeared to the attic. Dudley felt realization hit him like a ton of bricks. J.J had, had nobody to hold her after his mother's …punishments. She had nobody to take care of her cuts and bruises. Had nobody holding her when things got scary or when she just needed to be held. Nobody scaring away the monsters or doing any of the stuff other adults did for their children. His father had been secretly helping where he could: food during bouts of starvation, first-aid kits to help with injuries, then moving her into the attic so she could be out of his mother's way more, and so on. He went and knocked on the attic door. As J.J let him in with a small smile he realized that he had to apologize to his cousin for being so greedy for so long. That afternoon and into the evening he stayed with his cousin and they talked, really talked, for the first time ever.
He learned that his cousin was sarcastic and funny. He learned that she was smart and crafty. He learned that she had taught herself how to survive on her own. He finally met his cousin. And later when Vernon joined them they all talked and he realized how strong and amazing his cousin really was. He grew to love her just as much as his father did. He slowly gained a sister and found that he liked the idea of being a brother. After all of that, how could their relationship not grow? It took time, of course, but his cousin changed him too. He had always admired his father but now he idolized his cousin. She just kept on going and surviving despite growing up with nothing but heartache. She encouraged him to go after his dreams and do what he wanted to do in life.
Dudley, after talking with his father, decided that what really interested him was the medical field. His father would tell him about his time as a nurse and it inspired him to want that life, maybe not as a nurse, but as a doctor or something in the medical field. He continued to raise his grades and J.J taught him new ways of memorizing information that made learning it easier and stick with him. Yes, that is why he was crying. Because it seemed that despite how good his cousin was, she just couldn't catch a break.
Vernon peeled off J.J's blood soaked sweater and sighed. Her ribs were bruised and there were more cuts just not nearly as bad. There was a few that would scar but the worse was just one long one down the left side of her ribs. Petunia stayed completely silent and watched her husband doctor J.J. The full amount of damage that she had done over the years had been…disgusting. Her father had never raised a hand to her. The most that her parents had done was scold her or smack her hands growing up. Lily and Petunia had argued but they never actively sought out to hurt each other. So, why had she done this to an innocent little girl?
Ah, her mind whispered to her, but is she really that innocent? You killed that innocence a long time ago when you first started hurting her. Plus, she is one of THEM, surely she had it coming. She was going to be abnormal. You would do the same thing to your sister, wouldn't you? The voice whispered mockingly.
Petunia spoke back mentally 'No, I would never hurt her! She was my baby sister. I loved her. I even loved her when she got that blasted letter. It's just she was gone and I felt like another world was separating me and her. We had been so very close. We were best friends. Then she met that boy and then the letter. Suddenly, she was being taken away from me. My baby sister was being stolen away from by those magic using weirdoes!' she snapped back.
The voice seemed to be laughing at her as it spoke again. But that McGonagall woman told you what would happen if a witch or wizard doesn't get control. She told you that the untouched magic would lash out from being unused and hurt her or your family. She said: Petunia dear, that learning magic would ensure that your sister stayed happy and healthy. That it didn't have to tear any bonds apart. That because you and your parents knew about magic you could enter their world too and share in what your sister was experiencing. But you were jealous and bitter. You were always a little bitter toward your sister she looked like your mom and you looked like your dad. She got the red hair and you got the dirty blonde. She got the emerald eyes and you got the light hazel. On and on it went. Then she met the boy and she got the letter. The differences kept piling up and your bitterness toward her made YOU, yes Petunia, it made YOU push your sister away. Don't you remember how excited she was after her first year? She wanted to share it all with you but you pushed and pushed at her. Don't you remember or are you still being delusional?
Petunia paused and her eyes glazed over as she remembered. Remembered how excited her sister had been to be home and to share everything with her. Showed her magic, told her that potions could be done by anyone and tried to show her how, told her about ancient runes and the book she found in the library about how Petunia could learn. Lily had tried to show her that she could be apart of her world as well and that they didn't have to be so different just like she always had. She remembered her sisters face as she snapped at her and called her a freak that first time. She remembered the utter hurt that filled her sister's eyes.
So you see, Petunia, it could have been different. Your relationship didn't have to break apart like it did. But your bitterness and stupidity ruined it. You pushed her away yourself. You broke the relationship. It had to always be about you, Petunia. And Lily had tried to share with you but you weren't grateful or even happy about that. Now, you look at J.J and you think of your sister and your failed relationship. You think of what could have happened: raising your children and having them have play-dates, imagine what it would be like to have been there holding your sisters hand instead of smacking it away when she had wanted to talk to you. It is time, Petunia, that you stop running and get help before you kill your sister's baby. You have already done so much damage that you may not be able to repair it. Are you finally ready, Petunia, to admit all of it? Ready to accept that things don't have to destroy another relationship? The voice seemed to be gentle this time and Petunia started crying into her hands.
'I'm tired of being bitter. I'm tired of being angry. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm sorry, so very sorry.' She told the voice but it was silent in her head once more with just her apology floating through her own mind.
Vernon finished bandaging J.J's head and checked to see if her nose was broken. He relaxed when he found that it wasn't and that he was finally done. He turned to see his red eyed wife moving for the first time in two hours. He watched as she stood and moved her body gingerly.
"I-I'll got get her a shirt." She said and headed toward the basement with Vernon's eyes following her every movement.
Vernon closed his eyes and rubbed his face tiredly. It had started out to be such a good day. J.J had been happy and excited to hand him the gifts. He saw the nervous but excited look on her face when she handed him the one for Petunia and Marge. The two women who seemed determine to hate J.J for simply existing. Women that had hurt her at one point or another and still J.J were trying to bridge the gap between them. She was trying to form a relationship between them besides anger and fear. There was seven months, only seven months, before J.J turned eleven years old and would get the letter to her school. He had seven months to get his wife mentally stable, talk to J.J about all of this, and get the two of them to sit down without the world imploding.
Petunia came back and handed the shirt to Vernon. He gently maneuvered J.J into the loose button up shirt before turning to look at his wife. Her hands were bruised and busted up. He grabbed some medicine from his kit and told her to sit on the coffee table in front of him. She did so slowly and nervously. He was tender as he worked on his wife's hands. They both were silent for a long moment and as Vernon finished her second hand she spoke.
"After Christmas I want to, need, to start seeing a therapist to get help. I…I don't want to hurt her any more Vernon. I don't know what will happen the next time I loose my mind and raise my hand against her. I could…I could kill her. I have been thinking since I came back to myself in the basement. I think its way passed time that I did something about this. Vernon, I don't want to do this anymore. I pushed Lily away so viciously. I was the one that ruined our relationship, you know, she had tried so hard. She told me that others could do certain magic's without having a magical core. Lily tried to show me potions, astronomy, and ancient runes all of them were things that I was interested in when I had heard her talk about them. I still was so bitter and angry that I called my little sister a freak. I saw her heart shatter in her eyes and I just kept pushing her away despite how awful I felt." She told him brokenly. He sighed but pulled her into his arms.
"Ok, Petunia. We will get you some help. You will go to the doctor as many times as he says you need to and I will pay whatever he or she asks. You are right this should have stopped a long time ago and this is partially my fault. I could have stopped you but I didn't. I didn't want to interfere because this was stuff that you said you knew about and I was stupid enough to listen. J.J gave you that present, Petunia, not to be mean or to mentally torture you but because she was trying. She was trying to get some kind of connection between her Aunt, the only woman that really knew her mother, and herself, a child that has been abused for too long." He said firmly. Petunia flinched but nodded her head in agreement.
"Do…do you think I can save anything?" she asked weakly already mentally knowing the answer.
"I think that J.J is a loving and forgiving girl deep down inside of her but it will take more than just a simple apology before she will try and connect with you, love. J.J has been hurt one too many times to just trust anyone. She didn't even trust me for the longest time, don't look at me like that I love that girl like a daughter and we have been close for years now, it will take time but if you really mean it and I mean really mean it Petunia than J.J might just forgive you. You might even bond like she has with me and Dudley. But you have to show her, Petunia, you have to show her that this isn't another trick of yours. You have to prove yourself and might have to do it repeatedly. You might take a step forward but three back with her. She has fiery temper and I am sure that bubbling beneath the surface is a lot of resentment and anger as well as hurt and pain. Can you do it, Petunia? Can you hold out and prove you're that wonderful and lovable woman that I know you can be? Are you prepared to fight for this? Because, Pet, if this wont be easy and she may put you through hell for a long time." He said pulling her tightly.
"I…I want this, Vernon. I want to repair this. I want to beg for forgiveness. I want to have that connection with her that I could have had when she was left on our porch that November morning. I will fight, Vernon, I will fight tooth and nail to get that bond with her, to get over this…this thing that is wrong with my mind. I don't want her to be afraid of me, I don't want my son to look at me like I am a monster. I want our family to be whole. I even want more children with you. I want to have kids and not be afraid of them being like J.J. I want to smile and watch them learn like Lily had. I won't stand in the way of J.J either. I…I am tired of being so angry." She said with a sigh. Vernon was happy to hear that but knew it would take time and that nothing could change over night.
"Alright, I am going to take J.J upstairs and put her in her room in the attic. I will be back and we can talk more and look up local doctors who you feel that you could be comfortable with. We also need to talk to Dudley, probably best if we do that first." He said letting his wife go.
Vernon picked J.J up and carried her gently to her room. He tucked her into her bed and got a glass of water and some pain pills to put on her bedside table. He sighed as he stared at her before turning and walking out the door closing it softly behind him. In the bed J.J cracked her eyes opened and stared at the ceiling she had been awake since Vernon had cut her shirt off from her back. She had used her empathy to silence her severe pain. She could picture the red aura of pain flaring around her body and head. It had taken a moment but she had pushed it down and into nothing. And then she listened in on everything feeling no guilt as she did so years of trying to survive taught her that sometimes you had to lie, spy, and observe in order to live to the next day.
Vernon was right she wasn't just going to wake up one day and suddenly walk to her Aunt with a smile and start talking about the garden. She had years of hurt, pain, and anger boiling inside her. She had actually begged the woman to stop. Cried for her to…J.J blinked back the tears that wanted to fall and clenched her jaw. All she had wanted to do was give the woman a bloody gift!
Could she forgive her Aunt? That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Could she forgive a woman that had been verbally and physically abusive ever since she first arrived on those accursed doorsteps? If…she thought…if Petunia got helped and tried, really tried, to...to...work for a bond or relationship of some kind…if her Aunt kept trying no matter what J.J threw at her…if she kept going despite anything that J.J may say or do in the heat of anger…Maybe she would let the woman try. But she didn't know. Right now she felt like the woman could be on fire and she wouldn't spit in her generally direction.
And then there was the other matter: magic, Hogwarts, and the letter she would receive on her eleventh birthday. Her Aunt had spilled the beans without knowing it. Her mother had been a wand waving, rune carving, and potion brewing witch. And so was she. J.J was a witch she mentally laughed and decided that she couldn't wait until she told Ares the news he would probably laugh at her and say 'I told you so'. Empathy, talking to snakes, and telekinesis but also a full witch as well, she really was turning out to be special. Growing up she had, at first, believed her Aunt's abuse that she wasn't special that she was nothing but a freak of nature. But she knew that all the woman had ever done was lie and treats her like garbage. One day J.J had sat down in the cupboard and thought 'why should I listen to a woman that lied a lot, was nosy and gossipy, and treated me so horribly?' she had thought. It helped her even more when her empathy showed up she could literally know when people were not telling her the truth or being cruel before they opened their mouth. Ever since then she had ignored the words and taunts but they still hurt. She wasn't emotionless and had feelings. She was excited about that. Being a witch and going away to a new world to learn about what she was and who her parents were.
She sat up slowly and took the pain pills. While the pain was pushed down it was still there. Slowly she used her telekinesis to seal off all of the wounds on her body. Next, was closing the cuts on her head and hairline. She sealed the cuts on her lips with a grimacing a tiny thin scar appeared. She would have to start wearing make up to cover them. She left the bruises for now. She stood and stretched her body testing it. Though the wounds were healed she felt pin pricks of pain all over plus the bruises. She sighed, the pills would help but so would a shower. She grabbed some clothes but decided a hot soak would be better as she entered her bathroom.
The morning came but J.J ignored it. She decided last night, as she soaked in the tub, that she wasn't doing any chores or anything today if ever again. She needed time to heal and that meant not doing heavy chores that she always had done without complaint. The maid, she had thought tiredly, is taking the day off. She only moved to get something to eat and use the bathroom other than that she stayed in bed alternating between sleeping and reading.
She looked out the large bedroom window her book open and laying down on her lap with the cover facing upward. She was leaning on her pillows her arm resting above across her blood red hair as she watched the snow fall in thick blankets outside her window. The radio was on and in between the Christmas music they were reporting that a Blizzard was coming through England and that it was best to stay inside and off the roads. She smiled slightly watching the snow fall. She always found it fascinating to watch the snow. Ever since she had a place with light she would watch the weather with a sense of awe. She had spent so much time in a cupboard under the stairs not seeing anything but spiders and dust that seeing something like that never failed to catch her attention.
Nat King Cole's Chestnuts Roasting cooed at her from her radio and her eyes softened. She loved this season it was so full of warmth and love that it was hard not to ignore. Of course J.J had her own traditions. She would, like she had the day before, give Vernon and Dudley their gifts first. Later they would give her gifts later, usually when her Aunt wasn't around. She would put them under her tree and thank them with a hug each. She would spend the time up until Christmas deciding on what she was going to make herself for the two special and amazing days to eat. She would clean her apartment and windows. She would visit Mrs. Figg down the street to check on her before she heads off to visit her family. J.J would dress warmly and as nice as she could and on Christmas Eve she would walk down with other neighbors to the local church to attend Midnight Mass. She always enjoyed the peace and love she felt when she walked into the sanctuary. She would sing, pray, and enjoy the service. Later she would walk back in silence still reeling from the love that she had felt wrapped around her in the sanctuary. She could stay in her apartment on Christmas without any fuss from her Aunt and thus would continue to enjoy the harmony that she had absorbed.
On Christmas J.J would wake and fix herself her favorite breakfast: cinnamon rolls, cheese and ham omelet, bacon, and croissants with pot of hot cocoa. She would eat in the living room at her coffee table staring at her Christmas tree grinning like a loon. She would collect the gifts off her tree first before sitting in front of her gifts and slowly she would open them one at a time carefully. She would cut off the tags and pieces of the wrapping paper and add it to her scrap books and make sure that she had their names so she could give them thank you cards later.
The song switched to one by Dean Martin and she tapped her foot and went back to watching the snow get thicker by the moment. She was disturbed from this routine around twelve thirty pm. She slowly moved from her bed and to the door leading to the second floor of the Dursley's home. She stepped carefully and unlocked her door but kept it chained in case it was Petunia. Seeing that it was Dudley holding gifts she unchained the door and let him in. He watched his cousin carefully as she locked the door and turned to see him staring. He smiled at her sadly.
"Alright, Dudley?" she asked tiredly.
"Yea, how about you, J.J, you ok?" he asked gently. J.J sighed.
"I am sore and shaky but I will be alright." She said motioning for him to go up. He did and J.J followed more sedately.
"You still in bed?" he asked looking at her. She nodded and watched bemused as he went into her bedroom. She followed and stared at him. He had set the gifts down on the bed and slipped off his shoes before crawling in on the opposite side. J.J slept on the left side of the bed. She walked over and carefully got back into her bed and covered up with the thick blanket. Dudley did the same thing. He sighed.
"Alright, asks." J.J said leaning back into her comfortable spot staring at her cousin.
"What….what happened?" he asked referring to the scene in the basement. J.J closed her eyes wincing. Before he could open his mouth to apologize J.J started talking. She told him about doing laundry and not even hearing Petunia coming. Told him that first she beat him with a belt before using her fist and slamming her head into the washer. She told him all about it and when she was done she stared at him. He was, obviously, upset.
"I am sorry, J.J." he whispered
"Dudley, why are you apologizing?" she asked confused.
"I feel like I should. Mum is…something is wrong with her mental state when it comes to anything about you. They told me last night that she was going to get help but I feel like I need to do it. I need to apologize because my mum, the same woman that was so gentle and warm with me is…she is a monster with you." He said tears spilling out his eyes.
"Oh, Dudley." J.J muttered. She pulled her cousin to her and held him as he cried. It must have been horrifying realizing that your mum wasn't the warm and perfect woman that she seemed to be. J.J knew that he just hadn't fully comprehended what was going on growing up. He was confused because Petunia always spoiled and loved Dudley to death but nearly beat J.J to death.
"It's ok Dudley. I don't blame you or Uncle Vernon for what happened. I know that Petunia has issues that she has got to work out. But she does love you and I don't think that woman would ever, ever hurt you or one of her own children. I am….I am something that she never expected to have to deal with. I am an anomaly that brought up stuff she had thought she had gotten rid of when she had pushed my mum away. I'll survive and maybe she will change. Maybe things can get better for her, for all of us, and maybe we can be a family. But it will take time. I wont be able to forgive her over night….I just can't." she said into his hair.
Dudley nodded knowing that J.J was right. He just didn't completely understand everything that happened. He knew that, while J.J and he were relatively the same age, they had lived different lives completely. J.J had to learn about reality and hard truths long before he did and that is why she was more mature and understanding about everything. But it was still all…muddled…to him. Dudley sighed and hugged his cousin who he felt was more like a sister to him. He just wished things were different.
Slowly, as the snow continued to fall, both kids drifted off to sleep. Dudley dreamed of being a happy and smiling family with his cousin and other brothers and sisters. J.J dreamed of having peace, her future, and maybe a way to forgive, forget, move on, and be a family with her Aunt. She also couldn't stop her dreams, like her cousin Dudley, from turning toward Christmas that was getting closer and her magical heritage.
The next weeks went by slowly. J.J didn't really have anything to do because Uncle Vernon wouldn't let her do anything. She did find herself visited constantly by Dudley. J.J would cook for them and spend hours chatting with him about anything and everything. Dudley talked about getting more interested in the medical field ever day and wishing that he knew more about it. J.J told him that, after the holidays, he could go to the library and look for books on basic medicine to get him started. He thanked her for the advice.
Finally, it was Christmas Eve and it was snowing outside. Marge had been at Number 4 for a few days now and J.J had been avoiding her. J.J was happy for her apartment the most at times like these. J.J dressed warmly and smartly. She had her shoulder bag and a flashlight with her. She locked up her apartment at 11:40 and started the walk toward the church. As she passed the Dursley's hedge she was surprised by dark figure jumping out of the bushes and nearly set him on fire until she realized that it was Dudley. She smacked his shoulder.
"You scared the bloody blazes out of me." She whispered her breath making clouds in the cold.
"Sorry." He said sheepishly, "I...I was wondering what you were doing." He said. J.J couldn't believe she never told him.
"Oh, sorry about that. Every Christmas Eve I go to Midnight Mass at the church up the road." She said with a grin.
"Can…can I come too?" he asked. He had only been to church a few times and usually only for a funeral or wedding.
"Sure, I don't mind." J.J said shrugging before motioning him to walk with her. They reached the church with five minutes to spare. Dudley sighed as the warmth of the church embraced him. The silence was pure and holy. He felt at peace and slowly relaxed. J.J nodded as she saw that it affected him the same way. She smiled and together they sat down and enjoyed the service.
They walked in a happy silence back to Number 4. Dudley was silently contemplative as they walked.
"J.J…I have been meaning to say this for a while now. I just didn't know how to spit it out without sounding silly or weird." He said glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She was paying attention which he was grateful for because people tended to overlook what he was saying sometimes.
"I'm here and listening so just say it, Dudley." She said nudging his arm with her finger. He smiled and dodged away from her finger when she tried to poke his ribs.
"I…I think of you as my sister." He blurted out, "I mean you…your awesome and kind. You listen to me, give me advice when I need it, you helped dad and me. You have been through so much but just kept going. I…I love you like you're my own sister through blood and not just my cousin." He finished blushing.
"Thank you so much." J.J said her voice filled with emotion and standing on the dark sidewalk she hugged her cousin firmly. He hugged her back and blinked back tears because it had felt so good to say.
"I love you too, brother by spirit if not by blood." She said happily. And he smiled brightly at her. Together they walked back to the house both feeling content.
J.J let up into her apartment and let him use her door to the second floor to get to his room. She wished him a goodnight and a Merry Christmas and he returned it as he tiptoed to his room. J.J locked up and went to bed feeling happier than she had ever had.
J.J woke to Dudley cheering downstairs that it was 'Christmas!' from waking up his parents. She heard the adults groan as Dudley refused to leave their bedroom unless they got up. He was yelling so loudly that she could hear him clearly even up in her bedroom. She huffed a laugh and checked the time. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. Usually Dudley would have been up sooner it was actually rather late in the morning. The clocked said 10am. That meant that Marge was probably awake and headed downstairs too and hearing the demon dog bark her theory was confirmed.
She stretched slowly and grabbed her robe as she stood. She tied her robe and threw her hair into a ponytail so it was out of the way. She went about fixing her breakfast. She ate and stared at her tree as it sparkled. Outside the wind howled and snow fell. On the inside she watched her tree as lights sparkled like hundreds of little fairies sitting on the branches she smiled at that. She finished and pushed her plates carefully to the side. Refilling her mug with cocoa she sat it down and collected the smaller presents from the Christmas tree's branches before sitting down and opening the smaller things first. The envelopes and small packages had to and from tags on them so she just had to set them to the side so she would know who to send thank you cards too later.
She received 250 pound voucher for groceries at the local market that she always shopped at which meant free groceries! She carefully took the voucher and set it down before standing and getting her purse. She put the voucher inside her purse before picking up the next. She received two gift cards for a bookstore in London, one for a girls clothing store for new clothes, and another for an art supply store all in various amounts.
One small package was from a girl in her class name Beth who gave her a set of earring studs 8 of them in one box. Another was from Beth's twin sister Anne who gave her a pretty necklace with a J on it that had crystal gems on the letter. She smiled happily and hoped the girls enjoyed the sweaters, scarves, gloves, and hats she made them. Beth's was in purple and Anne's was in red their favorite colors. She added white boarders on Beth's and gold on Anne's. From a shy boy that sat in front of her he gave her a thick about a Female Pirate Captain and her adventures. Another boy gave her two CD's and another girl gave her a set of rings that had different colored gems in them.
The prize that she won from the teacher was next and she carefully opened the gift. She was surprised by what was inside the box. The first thing she saw was a note which she read first.
Dear J.J,
I had a feeling that you will be the winner of this prize considering you make the highest grades in the class. Congratulations, and enjoy the prize. I picked all of it out with you in mind and had another gift ready if you didn't get win. But since you are reading this you did.
Merry Christmas
Mrs. Thompson
J.J blushed lightly but chuckled good naturedly. All she did was study and do her homework. She just did as her Uncle had told her those years ago and worked hard to make the best grades that she could. Sighing she looked into the box. She smiled happily: a full artist box of color pencils she would have bought at the art store, several sketch books, a puzzle book and a stocking filled with candy and chocolate but it had a stocking stuffer in that was a Barbie doll. She grinned this would be the first one that she had ever gotten. She hummed happily as she put everything to the side. A lot of people knew that J.J had several things that she loved: drawing, cooking, sewing, learning, and football.
J.J kept opening her presents and was surprised by how thoughtful some of the gifts were: a full set of different paints and another giftcard for the local art supply store with enough money to buy an easel and canvases, Mrs. Figg gave her a large box filled with filled with sewing supplies, material for clothes, and balls of yarn, more books, a few women had gotten her girl things like new makeup kits with real nice makeup inside, perfume, more jewelry, and some women she worked with bought her clothes. One neighbor had given her a large box filled with clothes all slightly bigger for J.J to grow into with a note stating that 'Girls grow faster than boys so she would need these clothes soon'. Finally, she opened the gifts from her cousin and Uncle.
Uncle Vernon bought her a large coat that was too big but she would use in by next winter with matching gloves, scarf, and hat. He bought her large and multi-paged sketchpads, a jewelry box with two necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings inside, a new wind up watch, and Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Other Stories leather bound book that was thick and pink with gold and white on it. She smiled happily because she loved reading and hadn't ever read anything by Lewis Carol before. She had heard about it but had never had the chance to read it. Finally there was one thing that took her by surprise it was the rest of the box a huge bag filled her favorite types of chocolates and candies: coconut covered chocolate bars, Mars Bars, Snickers, suckers, mints, gums, and suckers there was enough of them to last for years because she couldn't eat all of that in one….her thought trailed off. All of this stuff was things that she could take with her to her mom's school. She was surprised but shrugged she still didn't know a lot about it yet.
From Dudley, she was surprised by what she found, a large leather bound very thick journal that some adults used to write down their travels in that had thousands and thousands of pages and a nice ink filled pen with a sharp tip that would make lovely marks when she wrote. It also came with a lock so it would keep others out of it. He had taped a note on it saying that she should write about her childhood and up in the journal and include every adventure and etc. so she could have it written for the future like her own biography. Beneath the journal were more gifts: a book about Football, Expanding the Mind: A Guide for the Mind and Spirit by Alexander Harris psychic, a velvet box that had a silver necklace with a dragon pendant on it with green eyes, and a full kit full of lotions, bathing products, makeup, and perfume.
She smiled at the gifts he did know her. She had always wanted her own journal, she loved Football and like learning all of the rules, positions, and national players, he didn't know about her powers but did know about her love of learning how to expand who she was, the Dragon was the first thing that she had ever talked to him about her interest if Dragons were really out there and what it would be like to see one, and finally the girly things. She once told them that if there was one thing she was scared about it was not having the things that other girls did. Things that made them feel feminine and nice. He was a great brother to her and was going to be a fantastic great big brother when the time came.
She sat back and pulled out some of the candy which was her favorite which was the chocolate covered coconut. If a candy had coconut in it she liked it. Coconut was her favorite thing in the world to eat and even cook with. To be honest she loved several foods and sweets: anything with chocolate or coconut, fruit except grapes, cantaloupe, and star-fruit. She loved croissants; seafood like shrimp, crabs, and etc but she had only ate that two times when she ate dinner at her neighbor's house as a reward for a year of constant hard work. She loved and couldn't go without tea and tea time foods like cucumber sandwiches, petite fours, and biscuits.
She shook her head and relaxed looking around at all of her things with a smile. She couldn't hear anything from downstairs and that actually worried her some. She left them be for now but if she didn't hear any loud and flamboyant noise soon she would check to see if Dudley was ok.
Downstairs there was a reason for the silence: they had started opening the gifts. Dudley had handed out the gifts including the ones that J.J had given them. Dudley laughed and thanked his parents when he opened the new CD player. He was really excited about J.J' gift but couldn't open it without upsetting Aunt Marge so he opened hers next to which she smiled smugly. Inside were new clothes, bowties, and an expensive gaming system and a few games. He thanked her graciously before picking up the box from J.J.
Inside the box he smiled and snickered at what he found. A dark blue sweater in his size with a white dragon on it was what he pulled out first. Underneath that was another sweater but white with a black boarder and a howling wolf in the middle of it. The sweaters were made larger in length and shoulder size so that he could wear them for longer than a year. He found dark blue gloves, a scarf, and a hat. He paused. In the bottom of the box was a large thick book called Beginner Anatomy and Physiology by Dr. Adam Grey. He gaped openly and silence consumed the room as the adults stared at the gaping boy.
"THANK YOU, J.J!" he shouted startling everyone even J.J but she started laughing realizing he found the book.
"Dudley, what are you doing?" Marge asked sourly. Dudley looked up smiling widely which made him look very adorable.
"J.J made me some awesome stuff but she also bought me something that I have wanted for a while." He said picking up the thick book and held it up for everyone to see. Vernon chuckled in delight while Marge and Petunia looked confused.
"Why are you excited about the book?" Petunia asked. And Dudley's smile slipped a little.
"Oh, well I am interested in the medical profession and was talking about learning more about it so I can decide what I want to focus on so J.J bought me this book to get me started." He said setting it back into the box along with the things she made him he sat to his left out of reach of a scowling Marge and a sad looking Petunia. He hummed merrily and continued opening his gifts.
Vernon smiled and went to opening his own package from J.J. A few sweaters in his size in various colors and one white with blue snowflakes was the first he pulled from the box. He smiled but paused as he saw what she had in the box underneath the sweaters. It was an amazing full painting but unlike this one it was already framed and Dudley was slightly older in it. Everyone was smiling and happy. Petunia looked young and happy. His eyes softened.
"Vernon what has you grinning like a twit?" Marge asked looking up from the gift from Petunia with a raised eyebrow.
"This." He said holding it up for everyone to see. "Cool." Dudley said looking at it. Petunia paused her body freezing as she took it in. It was rather amazing portrait. J.J.P at the bottom corner told her who did it and she felt a stab at seeing how good it looked and how J.J herself wasn't painted into the picture.
"It's lovely." Petunia said softly. Vernon nodded and smiled at her.
"Humph." Marge said before picking up the gift from J.J and opening it. She herself looked surprise and touched. Inside the gift was a homemade quilt that was at least a King size. It was antique looking but obviously new. She pulled it out and underneath was a framed the same type of picture but for her. She smiled and put the quilt back in the box.
"Nice of the girl." She said gruffly before clearing her throat. Vernon hid a smirk. Petunia stared at the gift for a long moment before, and with trepidation, opening it. Inside was a soft white sweater, a pink button up sweater, and white with pink boarder gloves, hat, and scarf. Underneath that was a handmade throw blanket that made Petunia start crying. There were petunias around the board of the blanked and in the middle was a ring of them with lilies in the center of it. J.J had made her a blanket that represented both herself and her sister. Petunia collected the gift and ran upstairs to be alone. Vernon was smiling slightly and at Dudley's confused look explained it to him.
"Petunia was crying because she was touched and happy about the gift. It's a start, Dudley." He said and Dudley sighed in relief. Marge looked confused but let it go, for now.
Christmas ended and New Year hit with a bang. People celebrated all over the new year and J.J started making out her new schedule for the year. She would be shoveling sidewalks, salting down paths, cleaning off cars, and doing other errands as work started again. Plus she was working three days a week for several hours at the grocery store to earn more money. Everyone had liked their gifts and J.J was thanked by everyone including Marge and Petunia to which she nodded in reply.
Time clicked on and in moved Easter and the spring. J.J's worked doubled and she was happy that the end of school would be right around the corner because work always increased during the warmer months. J.J's grades were top marks and so were Dudley's. Since getting the book from his cousin Dudley had gotten more studious. The more he read on the subject the more interested and dedicated he became. Petunia was seeing a therapist several times a week since the week after New Years and it was helping. The therapist started to work from the beginning and the root of the problem and then moving forward. Petunia hadn't raised a hand toward J.J since that tragic day in December.
J.J herself hit a growth spurt and was now taller than Dudley which surprised everyone. With her new height came a strange magical outburst. J.J had a feeling something was happening but didn't know what and it worried her. J.J felt like something had happened inside of her during that beating in December and she didn't know if it was going to hurt her in the future. She put it off but did write about it in her journal and about how it worried her. However, she did have a lot of things to do and couldn't spend hours a day worrying about it.
Spring turned into summer and the hotter days moved in. J.J was gone most of the day but still managed to spend time with her Uncle and Cousin. The months passed quickly and July was just around the corner. Petunia knew it was coming and had to have an emergency session with her therapist to handle the stress of it all. Her therapist turned out to be a squib as well so Petunia could talk freely about magic and all of her issues though she had missed the look of horror in her therapist eyes when she realized who Petunia was talking about. It had taken all of her professionalism to not smack the woman for what she had done and instead focus on making the woman a better person. And Petunia was getting better a little at a time.
July came. At the beginning of the month Vernon and Petunia sat down with Dudley and J.J to explain what was going to happen. Dudley was excited but not jealous of his cousin going off to boarding school. If anything he was sad that she was going but happy that she would learn about who she was there. Dudley took the reality of magic existing rather well. He was focused on going to Smeltings and getting good grades so he could attend a good University and Medical School. He was still going strong.
J.J was not impressed by her Aunt. The woman so far wasn't trying but decided to give the woman until next summer to see how she would do. It was the reason why J.J hadn't talked to the woman since December. Her body was still scarred and would be for the rest of her life and that was before she got the letter. J.J couldn't help but think how the woman would react when the letter actually arrived or after she collected her things from the magical world. J.J didn't trust her and wouldn't at least not until she knew for sure the woman go off again like she had.
July, as it always did for J.J, passed slowly. And then suddenly it was her birthday. J.J hadn't felt good yesterday until sometimes after midnight when her body eased and she was able to finally sleep. She had been running a temperature, was cold, had severe body aches, and just generally not feeling well. She woke up on her birthday feeling…fantastic. The house was silent as the mail was delivered.
It had arrived
Ms. Jasmine J. Potter
Attic Apartment
Number 4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging, Surrey