DISCLAIMER: JKR ownes all Harry Potter characters and canon storyline. If you recognize it, its not mine.
Chapter 2 - Laundry Day Honesty
Sunday was Laundry Day at the Dursley household. It began before lunch and lasted up to dinner, and sometimes longer. That's if your Petunia or Harry. Vernon & Dudley usually went out somewhere together right after breakfast. They were very careful not to arrive home until shortly before dinner.
Harry spent the time after breakfast reorganizing his cupboard. It was important to him that the space for his new clothes be as perfect as he could make it. He ended up emptying everything out into the hall, thankful that Vernon was gone, and gave the space a thorough cleaning, including washing down the walls and ceiling. After changing his sheets and dragging his mattress back in, he started putting everything back. First went his new clothes, on the shelf that stayed the cleanest. Then his schoolbooks near the door and the old clothes on the shelf that always got dusty. He put his few toys, broken bits Dudley threw out, in the hardest to reach spot furthest in the back, behind the mattress. It wasn't even visible from the door. He'd always put things here that he was worried Dudley would take back or he might get in trouble for having. When he was finally done, he sat on his bed and stared happily at his new clothes on his clean shelf and though about school on Monday. He could hardly sit still he was so excited about being seen in clothes that fit and looked nice.
The clatter from the kitchen reminded him that it was probably time to help with the laundry. He found Aunt Petunia organizing for dinner, poking the thawing roast and taking a pie out of the oven.
"Ah, good, there you are. Could you check the veggie bin in the fridge for me? What do we have left?"
"Um, let's see…. Looks like enough salad greens, a couple tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and some clover sprouts so we've enough for a good green salad. There's enough carrots to cook with the roast & potatoes but not much else, just this little bit of broccoli." Harry held up a small spear.
"That won't do. Remember to add that broccoli to the salad when you make it later. Looks like we'll have to go with tinned or frozen for a second veg." Petunia wrinkled her brow. She forgot yesterday to check the vegetable bin for something besides carrots. She had such a nice meal planned, she wanted to subtly reward Vernon for 'his idea' of buying the boy new clothes. She was always careful to give Vernon a great many subtle and pleasurable rewards whenever he did something she had manipulated. It was important to keep his mood up and his thoughts positive these next few days while he would see the boy in new clothes. Until he became used to it all, he was completely capable of packing them all up on a whim and getting rid of them. Besides, she did like her Sunday dinners to stand out. One final adjustment and the pie settled on the cooling rack and she turned back to Harry. "Wasn't there a sign outside the market yesterday about new spring peas available?"
"Yes ma'am, I remember seeing it on the way home."
"I'll have to try and get up there later and get some. Those would go nicely with the roast & Yorkshires. I've got a jar of pearl onions as well. Try to remind me please if it looks like I've forgotten."
"Yes ma'am. If you want, I could run up there for you later? Once the first loads in and the sortings done, I could run up while you're working on the hand wash." Harry offered.
Petunia stared down at the boy. He'd always done as he was told and helped her with household chores, but she didn't recall him ever offering to run errands for her before.
"Why are you offering?"
"Umm, well, I wanted to help, because of the new clothes and everything else lately. I just wanted to try and do something helpful for you, to pay you back sorta. You know." Harry could feel his face glowing bright red. He knew he was messing things up and not saying it right.
Petunia started to give a knee jerk angry reply about him 'paying back', but something he said caught her attention and she paused and thought for a moment.
"What do you mean, 'everything else'?" The boy couldn't really understand what's been going on, could he?
He blushed redder and then gave his rambling, stammering, halting explanation; completely stunning Petunia in the process.
"All the changes, you know, especially Dudley and his gang leaving me be. It's really nice not to hurt anymore, and the, well, the more food and not having to hide the snacks, the clothes especially too - those are really brilliant - and Uncle Vernon lets me take breaks and have water with me while I'm working in the yard and he doesn't swat me anymore. And well, everything. I know the why wasn't because of me or anyone liking me. I don't mind that it's because of the gossip and looking good for neighbors. I just wanted to do my part. Uncle Vernon always says the best business deals are the ones where both sides get something they want, cuz then both are happy and nobody tries to cancel the deal. You helped me get some things that I've wanted, even if it wasn't done for me, so now I want to help you get what you want. I know that there is something about all this that works for you too, cuz you're not mad when its just you and me, and you would be if you really hated all these changes, so I just thought that maybe I can help you with whatever it is that's working for you, maybe I can help make it work better? I don't know what I could do, but if I can do anything, I just wanted you to know I'm willing to help, to do my part, you know."
He took a deep breath, "Cuz we're stuck, you and me. I know none of you want me here but we're all stuck together until I grow up. I just thought, you know…it doesn't have to be bad stuck, that maybe we could work together someway so it would be ok for both of us until we aren't stuck anymore, when I grow up."
Petunia leaned against the counter, her thoughts reeling. 'How did he …?' She reached out, grabbed the back of a chair and slid into the seat. 'How on earth could that child have put everything together as he did? How did he know they were linked? Had he also heard the gossip or did he just pull together the pieces? and he KNOWS I'm getting something I want out of this, I can't believe he figured this out. Vernon hasn't figured that out! I miscalculated. I assumed he would be arrogant and self centered and believe the changes were done for his sake, if he thought about it at all. If the boy's noticed I'm fine with the changes, what has Vernon noticed? Have I not been careful enough? '
She heard a very nervous "Aunt Petunia?"
"Just give me a minute Harry. Maybe you should sit down. It's not bad, just let me think." She gestured to the chair across from her. Harry slowly crossed the floor and quietly took his seat and waited for her to speak.
"It seems you understand a lot more than I thought you did. Before we go any further, it's very important Harry that you promise to not say anything about this to Vernon or Dudley. This includes what you just said about the changes. Most especially what you said about my getting something I want out of them. Do you promise me? Can I trust you to keep your word on this and not say anything? You are benefiting out of this, so I think the very least you could do is to not muck things up for me and possibly put everything back the way it was before."
"Yes ma'am. I won't say anything. I REALLY don't want to muck anything up, that's why I've not said anything before now. Neither of them talk to me anyway so it's not likely anything will accidentally come out in conversation. We don't have conversations so that's real easy. It's always best if I don't say much of anything to them. We pretty much just ignore each other now days and I'm always very, very careful about what I say around them."
"How did you know the changes were because of gossip? Did you hear something from a neighbor?"
"I never heard any gossip, but you wanted me to make sure and have the neighbors see me eating and see me getting my own food, plus when I wore that odd outfit the other day, Uncle Vernon looked first at the neighbors and then he turned red, then 2 days later you took me shopping. They just seemed related. I couldn't help but notice that you were making Dudley leave me alone, so I thought if the other stuff was related to the neighbors, then maybe that was too. Some of them have made him stop when he was beating me up in the park, so I just thought that maybe they talked about it and then they were talking about other stuff. I knew he didn't stop because of me, I knew it had to be something else, but I couldn't figure it out until I thought of the gossip about the other stuff."
"Was this why you were so agreeable about people seeing you eat and wearing that outfit outside?"
"Well, yes, sorta. I hadn't put it all together with the gossip, but Dudley was leaving me alone and I got larger portions at dinner and we weren't having to hide the snacks. So, I thought I should try to be agreeable and all. That's when I remembered about what Uncle Vernon said about business deals & both sides getting something. I didn't know why, but I was getting something and I thought you should too and you weren't asking anything terrible of me. Making sure the neighbors see me eating and that I can get my own food when I want isn't hard or humiliating or anything. I mean, wearing that outfit about the neighborhood was pretty bad, but I know now why you had me wear it, so it doesn't matter. It was… what's that phrase? Oh yea! "A means to an end." Is that the right one? It was a little embarrassing, but it helped me get new clothes, which takes away all the future embarrassments over clothes, so it evens out."
"Looks like you are a much brighter boy that I thought you were. I don't think I've ever heard you say so much at once or something so well analyzed. I wonder why you…" Her voice fell off before finishing the thought. "Well, anyway. Let's get the laundry going. We can talk about the rest of this at lunch. Why don't you go upstairs and bring the hampers down to the basement. Dudley was to put his in the hallway outside his room. If he didn't, just skip his and bring down mine, the one in the bathroom, and gather your own things. I'll get Dudley's later. With all the changes, its best if we keep you out of Dudley's room."
The pair proceeded with their normal laundry day pattern. Gathering and emptying all the hampers and starting the first load of towels from the bathroom. Harry started sorting the rest of the waiting laundry by color and fabric into piles scattered about the floor. Petunia filled the laundry sink and dropped in a small pile of hand wash items. Before she got very far, she realized Harry was standing just behind and to the side, watching her.
"Yes?"
"Do you want me to go to the market and see if they have those peas or any other good fresh veg?"
She thought about it and made a choice. "Yes. That's a good idea. Go upstairs and change into some of your new things and bring me down my pocketbook." When Harry returned, she gave him a 20 pound note and told him to bring home some milk and enough veg for the next couple of days, he could choose the type as long as it went with Pasta Bolognese on Monday and baked fish on Tuesday. She wanted some time to herself to think about what Harry had said upstairs and decide how she felt about the whole thing. As she gently scrubbed the clothes, she wondered if the boy would be of any help and just how she could use him. It was nice to know he appreciated the fact that they were all quite 'stuck' together until he grew up. She snorted. A very apt way of putting the problem indeed!
Late Sunday morning found the inhabitants of Privit drive enjoying a rare sight. Harry Potter, dressed nicely, running down the street - with a happy face! Curtains twitched, people smiled and phones began ringing.
All of Harry's excitement was poured out as he ran to the small local grocery. So many things had gone well. He was psyched to be seen in his new clothes and his aunt wasn't angry at him when they talked about the changes and how he wanted to help. She even trusted him to go to the market for her. Aunt Petunia would never hand Dudley 20 pounds and tell him to go buy vegetables! Dudley couldn't even manage to get his hamper out in the hall on Sundays; he wouldn't have the first idea of how to pick out vegetables nor could he be trusted with money. Harry's grin broadened. Face alight with pride, he slowed down to walk with exaggerated casualness into the grocery.
After much thought and careful adding of prices, Harry took his selections to the checkout. He had enjoyed wandering through the store and being seen doing the shopping. He spent a good 15 minutes in the produce section dithering back & forth about what to choose. He'd first been excited, but actually being responsible for what the whole family would eat was a bit overwhelming. While nervously unloading his basket, he kept telling himself that he picked stuff he knew Aunt Petunia liked and had served with those mains before. He was so pre-occupied; he didn't notice the woman behind him and the clerk exchanging amused smiles while they watched him oh so seriously empty the basket.
"Hullo there, Harry. I don't see many children buying veg. You must be shopping for your Aunt."
Harry's head jerked up "OH, sorry there" he blushed, "Hello miss. Yes, Aunt Petunia needed some veg for tonight and she asked me to pick up some extra's for the week while I'm here." His face showed the struggle between pride at being capable of the task and his embarrassment for not noticing her.
She grinned. She'd always thought him an adorable little boy. "You don't need to miss or ma'am me, Harry. It makes me feel too old! I'm just Sarah."
Harry smiled back and handed her his money. "Alright, Sarah!"
Sarah finished making his change and began packing up. "Are you walking Harry?"
"Yes ma'am." Sarah paused and looked at him with a prompting smile, "I mean Sarah"
"Ok, here we go." She walked around the counter. "I've separated these for easier carrying. They're all pretty equal weight. Hmmm" as she looked at the young boy and the bags. "Do you want some help Harry? Me brothers out back doin' nothing, he could walk home with you. It'd just take a few shakes, it's no problem."
"No. Thanks, but I can do it. Really! Look." He put a bag of veg in the crook of each arm and cradled the milk bag to his chest. "It's just a couple of blocks and it's not heavy, really! I've got it." He said with an earnest tone and a hopeful look up at Sarah.
She looked at those big green eyes and sighed. "Alright then. See you later Harry."
His smile lit up his face and he strutted carefully out the door.
As it closed behind him, she looked at the next woman in line and said "Never thought male pride started so young!" and shook her head half seriously. They both burst into laughter. "Oh, he looked at me with those big eyes, and I just caved. I couldn't do it to him, send big ole Akiim to walk him home like a baby."
Mrs. Armley laughed "He would have never forgiven you! His male pride crushed before he's even 8."
Sareh piped up "Before he even has testosterone!"
They both almost bent over from laughing so hard.
Mrs. Armley wiped her eyes "I'm glad I ran out of butter in the middle of baking. I wouldn't have missed seeing this for the world! Chloe and Sonja are going to be in hysterics when I tell them about this. You should have seen him over in the produce section, evaluating every bean. Children are so sweet at this age, so proud of every accomplishment."
"And then we grow up and become impossible teenagers." Sarah grinned and tossed her hair.
"You dear, were never quite that impossible." She teased.
"I dunno, me Da says I'm still impossible and I'm 22." They grinned companionably at each other while Sarah made change.
Mrs. Armley glanced around, then said quietly "I have to say, it was wonderful to see him dressed decently for once."
"Yea, don't I know it. Da just about goes spare whenever anyone brings it up. He gets so angry; sometimes I'm surprised he hasn't taken a cricket bat to Vernon Dursley's arse!"
The small store again rang with their laughter as an older man came forward carrying a crate.
"Did I just see what I thought I saw? Was that young Harry Potter?"
"Yea Da. He's lookin good isn't he?"
"Well, well, well. It's about bloody time!" He smiled as he headed over to the produce section to unpack the crate in his arms.
ooOooOoo
Harry was barely half way home when he saw Piers with some of he and Dudley's gang blocking his way and walking towards him. He swallowed hard and thought that maybe he should have had Akiim walk home with him after all.
"Alright there Harry?" A voice came from his right. He turned to see Mr. Briggs walking across his front garden towards him. "Been running an errand to market for your Aunt, have you?"
A relieved boy replied "Yes sir, Mr. Briggs. Aunt Petunia wanted some fresh veg for dinners."
"Well then," He peered into one of the bags, "Looks like you made some good choices, best be on your way lad. Those bags have a way of getting heavier when you stand still." He patted Harry on the shoulder, looked up and then stepped forward. "Hello there Piers, how has your father been? Is he home today? I was thinking of stopping by and having a chat."
As Harry reached the corner, he glanced back. Mr. Briggs winked at him and smiled. Harry smiled in return, and walked on with a returned lilt in his step. Looks like the neighbors were doing a bit more than just gossiping about him.
Petunia was in the kitchen, preparing their lunch, when Harry got home.
"I hope this is ok. They had the fresh peas and I picked out the good ones, just like you showed me last summer. For Monday, I got string beans & mushrooms and some romaine for a cesar salad. I thought maybe carrot salad and broccoli to go with the fish on Tuesday?" His Aunt didn't reply, she just continued unpacking the bags. Harry saw her stop and look at what she was holding. He quickly interjected "They had fresh mozzarella & basil that was on sale and you gave me enough, so I got some of that with more tomatoes. I know how much you like them."
Aunt Petunia tightened her lips and asked for the receipt. Harry handed over the bundle of change and receipt tape.
"Hmm" as she reviewed the tape and checked the change, "Well, you did a nice job at the market, good choices for Monday & Tuesday. Normally I would be upset at you buying something I didn't specify, but I would have bought the cheese & basil myself at those prices, and I do like fresh mozzarella & tomato salad. It will be a nice addition to tonight's dinner and maybe some for Tuesday as well, perhaps then marinated with the last of the cucumber. Yes, this will do, Sunday dinner should be special and now we've several fresh sides. Vernon will be especially pleased at how well and colorful the table looks."
"So, while I'm glad you did it this time, be careful in the future." She caught Harry's surprised look. "Yes, there will be a future trip. You did fine; I'll send you again when I need something small that you can carry." She paused…. "Thank you Harry, this was a help."
Petunia placed the platter of tuna salad sandwiches onto the small kitchen table next to the bowl of grapes already in place. She poured milk for Harry and filtered water for herself. They both sat down, served themselves and began eating.
"The towel load is ready to be folded and taken upstairs. By the time we are done with lunch, another load should also be ready for folding. Then I thought we could start preparing the sides for dinner. We can bounce between the two."
"Yes ma'am."
"I thought about things while you were gone. I'd rather not say too much now. You have said you will keep things to yourself, but you are only 7 ½ yrs old. Yes, I know you don't talk to Vernon or Dudley, but you may start talking to someone else and it could get back to them. I'll tell you more once I'm sure you can keep a secret. I think the best thing to say at this point is that you were right about the changes in the house. Vernon and I noticed the neighbors were watching much more closely and we began to hear negative gossip about Dudley's bullying and about your situation here. We jumped quickly on the bullying issue because that is something I have been thinking about for quite a while. I realize that you were not Dudley's only target and it was time that it all stopped. It's much simpler to have a complete no bullying rule than to try and enforce one that excluded everyone but you. Also, the neighbors were talking about your bruises and I thought it better they totally disappeared."
Petunia smoothed her hands across the table as she spoke. "You see Harry, what I want most is to have a normal, quiet life. This will make more sense to you when you are older, but I want to be normal, just like everyone else. I don't want people to be looking at me oddly because of something that goes on inside this house. Again, you were right; the changes were not made for your benefit. They are what we need to change here in order to have a normal life. The situation with you was not normal and I am simply working towards adjusting the background of our life here to be more in line with what a normal life entails. This has improved your life, and it feels very selfish to be telling you that it's not for your sake but my own, but it's the truth. Since you have been so honest with me, I don't think I should lie to you about that. We've never pretended that we wanted you here, but as you said earlier, we are all stuck. I agree that it would be best if we learned to make the best of the situation. There are things that you are simply too young to understand yet, things I can't tell you until you are older, and when I do, much of this will become clearer to you. But, until then, this is the best I can do. Do you understand?"
She looked up at Harry, defiant, but somewhat nervous. He very solemnly replied "Yes. It's a lot of what I already knew, and I guess I'll just wait until you think I'm ready for the other stuff. Thanks for not lying to me. I'll try not to lie to you."
"Thank you. I think it would be best if we tell the truth to each other, when it's just the two of us. Sometimes, in front of Vernon and Dudley, I may need to lie to you and you may need to do the same. But otherwise, I think if we are going to make this work until you grow up, we will need to be honest with each other. If we are, I think we will be able to defuse any problems before they come to the notice of the others, and that should keep things nice and quiet around here. That is something to the benefit of us both, yes?"
Harry nodded emphatically. Staying out of Vernon and Dudley's notice was one of his major goals in life.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in quiet companionship as they went about the familiar process of finishing the laundry, taking everything back upstairs, and putting Sunday dinner together. Although he has done these tasks with his Aunt dozens of times, Harry felt that somehow, they were working better together than ever before.
EOC
Edited version Aug 23.
