Part two – Vernon

Vernon Dursley looked down at his nephew as the boy came to a halt before him, head still bowed from his aunt's anger. He heaved a sigh, part relief that his wife had simply stormed away without an explosion and part regret that the child was always incurring her wrath. There didn't seem to be anything he could do right when it came to her.

He placed one heavy hand gently on the thin shoulder, "Harry, are you alright?"

Green eyes came up to meet Vernon's pitying gaze, "Yes, Uncle. I guess I took too long in the loo this morning." Harry hated it when his uncle looked at him like that; it made him feel like a wounded animal left to die, alone and unwanted. "I guess I need to get to work."

Dursley shook his head as the boy slid past him and hurried down the stairs, heading for the backyard to begin him tasks. Ever since the day he'd been left on their doorstep, Petunia had hated Harry. It had only gotten worse when he had his first outburst of accidental magic; that had nearly driven her over the edge. For days, she had raved about her sister and brother-in-law and what horrible people they had been. Now...now she had a viper in her home in the form of her nephew.

Vernon stepped into the bedroom he shared with his wife and sat on the bed to watch her for a moment as she carefully applied make-up to her long thin face. She was his complete opposite in both looks and temperament, but still, he loved her.

Seeing him in the mirror, Petunia smiled and called him over, "Vernon, dear, come and help me with my necklace. You know I can never get the clasp to work right!"

He came up behind her and took the offered bauble, fumbling it a bit with his meaty hands. Dropping it to rest lightly on her protruding collarbone, the big man fastened the ornamental clasp for the pearls and placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder before stepping back, "There you are, Pet, pretty as a spring day!"

She flushed in pleasure and graced him with a smile before digging through her jewelry for earrings to match, "Vernon, darling, would you go down and keep an eye on that awful boy? I don't want anything to mess this up today and you know how he can be."

"Of course, dear," Vernon replied as he headed for the door. "And I'm sure that everything will be just fine today."

A few moments later he was stepping out the backdoor, eyes sweeping the yard to find his nephew. He finally spotted Harry partially hidden behind the shed as he pulled what few weeds there were to find and lumbered over to him.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Harry sat up straight and turned his head, "I'm almost done with the weeding, Uncle, and the hedges don't need trimmed."

"I know, Harry," Vernon murmured gently. "Not that there's much for you to pull since you just did this two days ago."

There it is again, Harry thought, that note of pity. Merlin, why does he have to feel sorry for me? Why doesn't he just tell Aunt Petunia to leave me alone? Sirius didn't talk to me like this when he had to leave me, he treated me like a person with thoughts and feelings, not a two year old crying for their mother.

He rose to his feet, opening the shed to place his work gloves on the shelf inside, then moved to the side of the house where the hose was coiled up nice and neat in it's holder. As he turned on the water and carefully controlled the amount coming out the end, Vernon settled into one of the large, heavy patio chairs with a sigh.

"Harry, Harry, Harry...you really are such a good boy. You don't know how much I wish your aunt could see past the wizarding part of you to the sweet kid you are inside."

The sweet kid grit his teeth, nearly biting his tongue as his uncle went on in pointing out Harry's good points and bemoaning the piteous way he was treated. In an effort to tune him out, Harry focused on getting just the right amount of water to the flowers while wishing he'd get an owl from Sirius telling him that his godfather was free and coming to get him.

Watering finished, he recoiled the hose as neatly as he'd found it and turned to the large man, "I'm done out here, Uncle. I need to clean up real quick and start on the sandwiches."

"Of course, of course, Harry, I'll just keep your aunt occupied for a few minutes while you wash up."

Harry watched silently as the man disappeared into the house and up the stairs. Really, Uncle Vernon meant well, and he really did try to help Harry as much as he could, but the constant pity-party needed to stop! With a silent sigh, Harry went in to clean up and start on the food.