Story summary: Not long after the war ends, Harry, along with Kingsley, Ron, and Hermione, visit the Dursleys. What does Harry tell them of the war? What are the Dursley's reactions? Warnings: One usage of racial profanity; slash; HP/KS, RW/HG, VD/PE. In response to Howldaloom's P&S challenge "Ripples in the Pond".
A Ripple in the Pond
By Phoenix1001
Number Four Privet Drive was a house just like every other house on Privet Drive. It had the same small yard, the same red-brick façade, and the same tiny flower garden along the front of the house. However, the residents of Number Four had a secret that made them as different as can be from their neighbours. The family, Dursley was their surname, were related to a wizard.
Now, they had hidden this fact well throughout the years. Even when Mrs. Dursley's sister had gone and got herself killed and they had to take in Harry Potter, Mrs. Dursley's nephew, they kept the fact that the Potters were magical a secret. When Harry was eleven, and was retrieved to go to magical school, the Dursleys thought that they were finally free of the boy. That was not the case. Every summer, Harry returned to their home, albeit for increasingly shorter periods of time. Finally, the summer of 1997 came. That summer, Harry only had to be at their house for a couple of weeks to renew the wards before he could leave for good. Once the wards were renewed, they shooed Harry out and hoped to never see him again. That, however, was not the case.
On Harry Potter's 22nd birthday, he finally got the one thing he had wanted since his fourth year of Hogwarts: the destruction of all Voldemort's Horcruxes and the subsequent defeat of Voldemort himself. After the battle, he spent time recovering from the injuries he had sustained. Once he recovered, he started planning for the clean-up of the Wizarding World. He discussed it with Ron and Hermione, and it was decided amongst themselves to let the Dursleys know of the end of the war. At least they could relieve the Dursleys' fear of being killed by wizards a bit.
Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry's boyfriend of three and a half years and the Minister for Magic, got wind of their plans to visit the Dursleys, and decided to join them on their visitation. One by one, the four Apparated to Privet Drive, and, hand-in-hand with their lovers, Harry, Kingsley, Ron and Hermione walked up to Number Four and knocked on the door.
A rather rotund blond man resembling a pig-in-a-wig opened the door, and, upon seeing who stood on the other side, scowled and yelled, "Mum! The freak is back, and he brought two other freaks and a nigger!"
"Slam the door in their faces, Dudders! I don't want them contaminating our home ever again!" screeched Petunia.
Upon hearing that, Kingsley slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his old Auror badge and his Minister for Magic credentials, and said, "Dudders, is it? Let us in, or you will be arrested and tried under Wizarding law, and trust me, you will not win."
Dudley moved aside and let the quartet enter. Immediately, they were accosted by Petunia and Vernon. Vernon was holding a pistol and had it pointed at the group, and said, "Get out of our house, freaks, if you know what is good for you!"
"Don't even try it, Uncle Vernon. One pistol against four fully-trained wizards, one of which is a former Auror before he became Minister for Magic, another took out the Dark Lord, and two of our group are Unspeakables… I don't really know what they do, but I am sure they have some nasty things up their sleeves," Harry said calmly. "I came bearing good news, and this is how you react. I should have known. However, I thought you would like to know you can finally move on with your lives."
Petunia had given Harry a strange look at the mention of the Dark Lord. "Do you mean to tell me the person responsible for my sister and brother-in-law's death is gone? For good this time?" she asked.
"That is exactly what I mean, Aunt Petunia. This past July, on my birthday, in fact, I finally managed to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. It took us the last five years to track down some things beforehand, but we, that is Ron and Hermione Weasley, Kingsley, and I took out the Dark Lord and with him, all the Death Eaters. Now, would you mind letting us sit down like civilized people, and we can talk about what this all means, or do you want us to leave, and you will never be able to have any closure over your sister's death?" Harry asked, casting a subtle, wandless honesty charm.
"Vernon, put the pistol away. Please, do come in and sit down. Would you like some tea?" Petunia asked.
Vernon went and put the pistol back in the crisper of the refrigerator where he kept it before rejoining the group in the living room. Harry had conjured some tea and biscuits and they had settled in. Once Vernon had sat, and everyone had a cup of tea in their hands, Harry began to speak.
"During my sixth year at Hogwarts, I had private meetings with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, where he showed me the history of a young Tom Marvolo Riddle, who grew up in an orphanage after being abandoned by his father, and his mother died in labour. With no friends during childhood, he became a loner, and had trouble trusting people in Hogwarts. When he found out he was magic, he assumed that his father was magical instead of his mother, because he thought she wouldn't have died if she magical. You know what they say about the word assume – you make an arse out of you and me – and he found that out when he could find no record of his father in the magical world, and found his mother's records instead. When he realized he had been abandoned by his Muggle father, he became hell-bent on seeking revenge on his father. He also sought immortality so he didn't meet the inevitability of death one day, like his mother had," Harry stated, sipping his tea as he spoke.
"Why would the headmaster think you would care about the personal history of this freakish Riddle boy?" Vernon spoke for the first time since sitting down.
"Don't you see where this is leading?" Kingsley spoke up. "Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort."
"I thought you said his name was Tom Riddle. How could Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort be the same person?" Dudley asked, looking seriously confused.
Hermione pulled out a bit of parchment, a jar of ink, and an ornate eagle feather quill out of her purse and leaned over the coffee table in front of the loveseat where she and Ron were sitting and wrote "Tom Marvolo Riddle" and "I am Lord Voldemort", drawing connecting lines between the letters. "You see here, Dudley? Vernon and Petunia? The letters in Tom Marvolo Riddle can be rearranged to spell I am Lord Voldemort. Tom thought his birth name to be too common. When he became hell-bent on revenge against his father, he became exposed to blood lust. The more he craved killing Muggles and Muggleborns, the more he thought himself better than them. He became enthralled in the pureblood supremacy ideology, and chose to ignore his own half-blood status."
"So it is sort of like the American Ku Klux Klan thing, right? I mean, the KKK was made up of "pureblood" Caucasians who thought that blacks should be eradicated, and the Wizarding pureblood supremacy people think Muggles and Muggleborns should be eradicated," Petunia asked.
"Er… yeah, basically. I never heard of that KKK thing, but yeah, it sounds about right," Ron offered.
"So, building up a bloodlust against the Muggles and Muggleborns, Tom began to build up a group of followers," Harry resumed telling the story. "He called his group of followers 'Death Eaters', and before you ask, I have no idea why, really. Then again, he always seemed a bit messed up in the head. He began to grow delusions of grandeur, and began to go by 'Lord Voldemort'. Eventually, his bloodlust got completely out of control. The first war, the one that got my mother and dad killed, began sometime in the early 1970s. Voldemort became more and more powerful, performing rituals that would increase his power, and increase his chances at immortality. In either late 1979 or early 1980, a prophesy was made by Sybil Trelawney, the great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney. The prophesy was made about a child who would be born as the seventh month dies, born to those who had thrice defied Him. How did that damned prophesy go again?"
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" Kingsley supplied helpfully. At the questioning looks from everyone in the room, he said, "What? I have been dating Harry for three years now, I was in the Order of the Phoenix, and I am the Minister for Magic, so I do have a little more access to things than people care to realize." At that, all three Dursleys spoke up at once.
"You've been dating my nephew for three years?!?" Petunia screeched.
"What's the Order of the Phoenix? It sounds interesting!" Dudley said, for once actually looking like he cared about something in Harry's world.
"Minister for Magic? You? How'd they end up letting a faggot like you into office?" Vernon said disgustedly.
"One more racist remark out of any of you, and I will Obliviate your memories, and we will leave with everything you own, and then some," Kingsley said, casually pulling his wand out and laying it on the end table next to him. "Do you want to risk it, or will you quit spouting out your bigotry?"
"Dad, realize that if you continue making comments like that, you will not only lose all your possessions, but you will lose me, as well. To be honest, I never really knew what the hell was wrong with magic, or with Harry. I would never have done anything to harm you, Harry, or to bully you, if it weren't for Dad threatening me behind you and Mum's backs. I am sorry for how I treated you all these years. Please forgive me?" Dudley pleaded.
"I truly forgive you, and believe that Uncle Vernon would do something like that. And to answer your questions: Dudley – the Order of the Phoenix is, well, was an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore to help aid in the fight against Voldemort. Aunt Petunia – yes, Kingsley and I have been dating for three years now. I would have told you sooner, but I couldn't very well traipse away from the Wizarding World and possibly bring Voldemort's Regime to your front stoop. Uncle Vernon – Kingsley was unanimously voted Minister for Magic by the entire Wizengamot… after he publicly declared us a couple. Realize, in the Wizarding World, homosexuality is as common as heterosexuality, because, with the right potions or charms, two men or two women can become pregnant. Now, can I finally get back to finishing the story of the war?" Harry asked, frustrated by the interruptions.
Seeing the Dursleys nod, he picked up where he had left off. "Sibyl Trelawney had made her prophesy about a child born 'as the seventh month dies', or at the end of July, 'born to those who have thrice defied Him'. Ironically, at the time the prophesy was made, there were two witches who were pregnant who had thrice defied the Dark Lord. Both children were born at the end of July. One of the children was myself, of course. The other one was Neville Longbottom."
"How do you know you were the actual child of the prophesy, though? I mean, if it could have been either one of you," Dudley asked.
"Think about it, Dudley. How many prophesies are there made in a day? Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them around the world. Why, then, are we not ruled by prophesy? The first portion of the prophesy was overheard by a Death Eater, and he relayed it to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord himself put the prophesy into motion by 'marking [me] as his equal'. Thus, since the prophesy was in motion, it had to be completed. It very well could have been Neville, had he been the one marked as the Dark Lord's equal. There was an enchantment in place that protected me from the AK that he threw at me. It rebounded and hit him, throwing him out of his body. No one knew how he survived. That is, except for one person: Albus Dumbledore. He had discovered Voldemort's secret Horcruxes. During the time of peace, we went about our normal lives. However, in my fourth year at Hogwarts, I was thrown into the Tri-Wizard Tournament as the fourth competitor. It turned out that our DADA teacher was a Polyjuiced Death Eater that Confounded the Goblet into taking my name as the only competitor from a fourth school. I made it through the first two tasks alright, as did the other competitors. However, the Death Eater manipulated the Third Task to where Cedric Diggory and I were the two that reached the Cup. We took it together, and it ended up Portkeying us to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. That night, Cedric was killed by the traitor that betrayed my parents to the Dark Lord, and Voldemort returned to a new body.
"Over the next year, Severus Snape tried to teach me Occlumency; it didn't work, and Voldemort ended up luring me and some of my friends to the Department of Mysteries, where the record of the Prophesy about us was stored. It was broken before he could get his hands on it, though. Also, Bellatrix LeStrange, one of the Death Eaters that helped torture Neville's parents into insanity, killed her cousin, my godfather, Sirius Black.
"In my sixth year, I had private lessons with the Headmaster, as I have already said. I learned the history of the man who became Voldemort, and I learned his dirty little secret: the Horcruxes, which bound him to this plane of existence so long as they existed. At the end of that school year, Headmaster and I went to a cave where he believed a Horcrux had been. There was one, but it had already been retrieved by Sirius' brother, Regulus. When we arrived back at the school, there was a full-blown battle going on, and Dumbledore ended up getting killed by Severus Snape.
"Over the next few years, Hermione, Ron, and I went searching for the remaining Horcruxes, and with Kingsley's help, we destroyed them all. This last July, we were finally able to finish off Voldemort once and for all. Now, here we are, and I just wanted to let you know that the War has ended for good, and you can go on with your lives without fear of the Dark Lord," Harry finished.
Petunia looked relieved that the Dark Lord was gone, and her sister and brother-in-law's deaths had been avenged. Vernon looked like he could have cared less about any of the "freaks". Dudley, though, was the first to speak after Harry finished.
"Cousin, I have a secret. I received one of those letters the same time you did. Mum and Dad refused to let me go, though, and sent me to Smelting's. I would like to learn magic, though, if you could teach me, please?"
Harry gave Petunia and Vernon dirty looks, and said, "Of course, Dudley. I would love to help you learn magic. Although, it would have been easier for you if you had been able to go when we were eleven."
Kingsley got a funny look over his face, as did Hermione. They both carefully pulled their wands, gave each other a Look, and cast spells.
"Stupefy!" Hermione called out, stunning Vernon and Petunia.
Kingsley cast a few diagnostic spells, and said, "They were magically coerced to treat you badly, Harry, and to refuse you permission to go to Hogwart's, Dudley. Also, Petunia has had her magic bound, and her memories of being a witch modified. Vernon has had a Hatred Curse cast on him, and it has corrupted his soul beyond repair. I would recommend sending them both to St. Mungo's, so they can be treated."
"Alright. Let's get it done. I want Vernon committed to a long-term treatment ward, Petunia to have her magic unbound and her memory restored, and, Dudley, if you want to come and stay at my place, you are more than welcome," Harry offered.
Kingsley sent his Patronus to summon a healer to take Vernon to St. Mungo's, while he unbound Petunia and escorted her there himself. Dudley, Harry, Ron and Hermione went on to Harry' and Kingsley's house, and finally, peace and normalcy prevailed on Privet Drive.
The End.
A/n: There will be a sequel to this in the near future. Thanks for reading, and please, it only takes a couple of minutes to review! ~~~