Chapter Three

"Now, Dudley's probably going to be very suspicious of you." Harry told his young wife as they walked up the drive. Ginny just smiled.

"Fred lives on in his memory!" she shouted triumphantly. "I could use that to get some fun out of this." Harry gave his bride a disapproving look. She smiled a little more. "Fine. I won't upset my in-laws." Harry spoke quickly as they neared the door.

"Aunt Petunia's going to fawn all over you and she's going to be eying James. Might as well dump him while you can."

"Harry!" Ginny scolded, holding her child a little closer to her body.

"Well, you might as well. She won't be happy until she gets her hands on him." Harry knocked. Amanda opened the door slowly. Harry noticed that, though she was friendly and amiable, she was forever prim and proper.

"Oh, Harry! So very nice to see you back! Please, come in!" she said all this with a cheerful, happy smile and a friendly tone of voice. Her poise, however, was amazing. As sincere as her feelings were, she stood straight as a pin, her hair perfect, her clothes pressed and starched. She seemed to be exactly what Petunia would have wanted in a wife for her son; clean as a pin but kind to a fault. "Dudley! Mum! Harry and his family are here!" Amanda didn't shout. It would be unbecoming of a woman of her bearing, Harry supposed. Her voice was pleasant and firm and it floated daintly throughout the house. Harry could soon hear Dudley's heavy footsteps on the stair.

"Harry! You've brought the family!" Dudley sidled up to his wife, firmly grasping her shoulders in a surprising display of affection and gentleness that Harry would never have thought he would see from Dudley. Dudley extended a large hand toward Ginny. "Dudley Dursley." Ginny smirked a little to see Dudley gulp and his hand shake ever so slightly. She landed her hand in his, nothing harmful done to him.

"Ginny Potter."

"Ginny! So lovely to meet you!" Amanda interjected. The perfect hostess too, Harry thought. "Amanda Prewett-Dursley."

"My mother's maiden name was Prewett," Ginny said conversationally.

"Oh! I wonder if we could be related." Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Perhaps distantly." Very distantly, Harry thought sarcastically. Amanda drew Ginny away for 'girl talk' Harry guessed. He looked over and saw that Amanda was already holding the baby.

"So," he said, turning to Dudley, "are we going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"You know...about-" Harry slipped his wand out just enough for him to get the meaning.

"Well, I don't know. Dropping it on her like that. She might not like it." Dudley smirked. "Let's let her find out on her own."

"You mean when James makes the glass in the snake cage disappear?" Harry joked. Dudley laughed with him. Petunia entered the room, methodically stripping off her apron and yellow rubber cleaning gloves.

"Harry!" Petunia gave him a squeeze. Harry hadn't felt something like before. Mrs. Weasley were soft and warm but there had always been something missing. Here in Petunia's bony, hard hug was something Harry had never felt before. He remember the smell of her skin, the feel of her body. She had been the one who would feed him as a baby and as much as she may have hated the task, the body never forgets. There was a comfort in her clean, sterile scent that invoked feelings that Harry thought he would never have: that she would hold him with love. She would never replace his mother but one thing was made certain in that hug. Harry knew now that he could grow to love her back.

"Now," she began, "where is this baby?" Harry ushered her over to the couch where Ginny sat. Petunia gasped, "Oh, Harry!". Harry looked to see that she wasn't in rapture over James but staring at Ginny. Something clicked. How could he have never seen it? How could he have missed it before? Hagrid or McGongall, Hermione, someone should have pointed it out.

"It's your mother. Your mother and you sitting on my couch again.You're Lily and James." Ginny sat back a little. She had never seen it either. This sudden revelation sent thoughts running through Harry's mind. The only thing that could come out of his mouth was this:

"Aunt Petunia, I want to know about my mother." She dropped into a nearby chair and just stared, glassy eyed at Harry.

"What do you want to know?" She looked like a woman sentenced to hang.

"I want to know about her and Snape." Ginny's eyes sought out Harry's. He had never told her the whole story of the memories.

"Don't you want to know about the Great James Potter?" Obviously, Petunia never cared for him much either.

"I'll get to him. Snape was first."

"How do you even know about them?" she seemed a little scared.

"Snape told me."

"However do you know Sev?" Harry had to remind himself that talk of Hogwarts had been banned from discussion before.

"He was teacher at school. He taught-"

"Let me guess. Potions?" Petunia waved this comment off, as if it was common knowledge. Amanda got a rather strange look about her. Dudley and Harry exchanged a conspiratorial look.

"How'd you know?" Ginny said suddenly. Petunia got a rather wistful look about her.

"Sev used to drag us out into the woods at the dead of night to pick mushrooms and roots. One summer, we spent three days looking for this rare...thing. I don't even know what it was. All I know was that he yanked it out of the ground and the thing looked like a wrinkled up baby. He made us stuff our ears with cotton and wear earmuffs. Never did tell us why." Harry and Ginny looked at each other, the unspoken word 'mandrakes' understood by both.

"When did you do this?" Harry said.

"The summer before Lily and Severus went to Hogwarts."

"Aunt Petunia," her eyes met his and Harry could see the conflicting emotions. She wanted to remember, she wanted to think about Severus and Lily and yet all her old prejudice was rearing up. "Tell me about that summer."