Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Not Again

By: ChoCedric

Petunia Dursley lay in an extremely uncomfortable bed in a pathetic little hut, bitter thoughts consuming her. God, this can't be happening again, she thought desperately as she listened to Vernon's deep, loud snores. Not again, please!

For many years she'd tried to forget, to forget about Lily, magic, and the wizarding world, but how could she when she had a constant reminder living in her house? If that wasn't bad enough, why did the reminder have to have emerald eyes just like her sister had, and the ridiculous hair and glasses like her brother-in-law?

And now, the same cycle was occurring with her sister's son as it had with her sister; magic was going to take him away, going to kill him just like it had Lily. They'd used to be the best of friends, her and her sister, but then magic had to separate them, had to change Lily completely. And then she and that husband of hers got themselves blown up, she thought bitterly, and I got landed with Harry.

And she knew that nothing that Vernon could ever try to do would stop the letters from coming, stop the inevitable. It wasn't possible to stop fate, she thought cynically. She'd followed Vernon here, however, simply because a tiny part of her still hoped that that Dumbledore freak wouldn't find her. God, she wanted magic out of her family; she just wanted normality. Was that too much to ask?

BOOM.

She felt Vernon bolt awake beside her, and a horrible feeling clutched her gut. Without even thinking, she knew it was one of those lunatics at the door. The inevitable had finally happened. They'd found them.

Vernon, who had kept the gun he'd brought with them not far away from him, jumped up and skidded into the room where Harry and Dudley were sleeping, Petunia following close behind. "Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you-I'm armed!"

Petunia wanted to yell at Vernon, yell at him that a gun would not help in this situation, that these freaks would ignore it like it was nothing. But it was no use: when Vernon got like this, there was no stopping him.

CRASH!

The door was blasted open with such force that it fell off its hinges and landed on the floor, and Petunia almost screamed in terror when she saw a giant of a man squeezing his way inside the hut. Oh, God. Lily had mentioned this man before, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember what his name was, but that didn't matter at the moment. All she wanted was for him to get out of this hut, out of her and her family's lives.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey. ..."

Anger bubbled in Petunia's gut as she stared at the man in disbelief. How dare he order them around! What right did he have? What an oaf! She crouched behind Vernon, absolutely petrified.

The figure went over to the sofa where Dudley was sitting, his entire face frozen in a look of shock and fear. "Budge up, yeh great lump," he said.

How dare he speak to her son like that when he didn't even know him! thought Petunia furiously, gritting her teeth. Dudley stood up and ran to crouch beside her.

"An' here's Harry!" shouted the giant jubilantly. Her nephew stared at him, and the giant's face crinkled into the first smile of the night. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."

Daggers stabbed at Petunia's heart then. She knew, just knew, the freak would mention that, and the ghosts of the past came back to haunt her. Lily, who had been so vibrant, so full of life, was no longer her sister the day she'd learned she was definitely magical. She became so engrossed in her witchcraft that she totally forgot about poor, plain, pitiful, pathetic Petunia who was left behind.

At that moment Vernon blustered, "I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, dursley, you great prune," said the giant nastily, plucking the gun easily from Vernon's hand and bending it as if it was nothing, and then tossing it away. Right again, Petunia thought bitterly. I knew that would happen.

"Anyway-Harry," said the giant, smiling at the very confused-looking boy. "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here-I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From his overcoat pocket he pulled out a box, and Petunia saw that Harry's hands were trembling as he opened it. Inside was a cake with candles, and it said, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY, on it.

Harry, looking totally bewildered now, burst out, "Who are you?"

You don't want to know, Harry, thought Petunia. You'll end up dead just like my sister, now that you've asked him that.

The giant chuckled and said, "True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and grounds at Hogwarts."

Of course. Hagrid. Of course that was his name. And Hogwarts. That dreaded school, lamented Petunia. The school who taught my sister to wave a stick in the air and chant silly incantations. The school which ended up getting her killed. The giant shook Harry's hand and said, "What about that tea then, eh? I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

He bent down over the fireplace, and Petunia dreaded knowing what he was doing. But as he stood up again, a fire was roaring in the grate, and Petunia stared, horror etched across her face.

The huge man sat back down on the sofa, took things out of his pockets, and started to make tea and sausages. None of the three Dursleys said anything while he was working, but as he removed the first burnt sausage from the poker, Vernon said, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

Petunia felt herself begin to shake with rage as the giant chuckled and said, "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

The sausages were passed to Harry, and Petunia felt disgusted as he ate hungrily, ravenously. The boy looked at him and said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

The giant then explained again that his name was Hagrid. And then, he mentioned Hogwarts again, and when he asked Harry whether he'd heard of it, he answered, "Er-no." Petunia felt a thrill of satisfaction go through her; the freak thought he knew everything, but of course, he didn't have a clue.

Hagrid's face was full of anger after Harry said this, and he demanded to know if Harry wondered where his parents had learned it all.

"All what?" asked Harry, still looking extremely bewildered.

"ALL WHAT!" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He leapt to his feet, and his anger was not something any of the three Dursleys wanted directed at them, but it was too late for that. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled, "that this boy-this boy!-knows nothin' abou'-about ANYTHING?"

Harry looked indignant then, blustering that he did know some things, like how to do maths and stuff, but Hagrid wasn't having any of it. When he mentioned his parents' world, Harry asked, "What world?" causing Hagrid to boom, "DURSLEY!" as he glared daggers at Vernon. Terrified, Petunia wondered if the big, hairy man was going to end all three of their lives just because they hadn't told Harry anything about his evil, twisted world.

As Hagrid, still shocked and furious, told Harry that his parents and him were famous, Petunia felt quite faint. She'd tried her best, her very, very best, to stamp the magic out of her nephew, but in her heart of hearts she knew it would never work. And here was the proof, standing right here in this hut, telling Harry what she'd so desperately wanted to deny. She knew that Vernon's screaming at Hagrid to stop, that he forbade him from telling the boy anything, would fall on deaf ears.

And she was right; as he mentioned the word "wizard" a horrible shudder racked through Petunia's body. Not again, she thought hollowly. Not again.

But as the confrontation continued, she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop events from going forward. Even when she screamed that her sister had been a freak, and that what she'd done with her life was unnatural, a part of her, a tiny but significant part, wished that Lily was still around, that they could be sisters again.

But magic had ruined it all, and she knew that it would ruin Harry too.

And later, as she lay in bed again, fuming at the pig's tail her son had been given, with Vernon's deafening snores encompassing her, she couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face. And the mantra that kept repeating in her mind would not stop, would not cease.

Not again, not again, not again.

THE END

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