HARRY POTTER, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. © 2001 – 2005
That Awful Boy
by Eve13
rated : PG / K+
Authors Note : Set at the beginning of OotP, during the Potter-Dursley conversation about Dementors. Vingnette-ish. Intended to be a drabble, but probably too long – so, a drouble I'd say. Speech parts are taken directly from the book (shame on me).
''I heard – that awful boy – telling her about them – years ago.''.
Oh yes, she remembers. Greasy, black hair, the nose and – she shudders inwardly – the clothes. The clothes, too big, probably handed down from some freak relative, smelly ... him talking to her sister when she was still pretty much normal, infecting her with this ...disease. And the branch of solid wood. Her head still throbs everytime she thinks of the humiliation. He, calling her a sneak, oh, how she had wanted to hit him. And the letter, the letter. It had been too much then. It still is.
''If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names ?''.
Even though he is short from being expelled and thrown into a miserable life, Harry is fuming, his anger quickly drowning the initial surprise at Petunias sudden knowledge of ... things. He remembers the image from the Mirror of Erised, the unruly brown hair, the twinkling eyes, the kind smile. So much like him. He does not want that woman to discredit his family. She does not understand.
Yes, Petunia remembers that awful boy. Sometimes, when no one listens to the voices in her head, she wonders where he is now.